pathoflifedevotions August, Devotions

August 5, “Rewards”

Rewards

Confession time:

  • I like winning better than losing.
  • I am more fond of good outcomes than bad ones.
  • When dreaming big dreams leads to accomplishing great things, I really like it.
  • I love it when there is progress to report in a progress report.

To work well but without reward is the definition of misery.

The Craftsman’s Rewards
I have a life-long friend from my college and teaching days named Dennis who is a wonderful singer, actor, teacher, choral director and Christian gentleman. In his retirement he works with wood producing, among other things, beautiful wooden cases for clocks. I visited his shop one summer and found it to be full of rewards. I don’t mean trophies and plaques on the wall. I mean precision equipment of all kinds and stacks of expensive, beautiful wood from the best of trees. A case for a clock was in the works with smooth wood and careful craftsmanship. Another couple of clocks, as yet undelivered, could be seen here and there. I knew that his sharp mind contained plans for the next creation.

Where were the rewards? I saw them!

  • A proven record of past achievements,
  • the presence of a current project, and
  • the promise of future work were his rewards.

Work and reward; work and reward.
It is the rhythm of life. God, the some Creator who said “It was good” at each stage of a grand project eons ago, made us this way.

Science calls this the Law of Cause and Effect. The Bible term is the Law of Sowing and Reaping. It is not at all complicated—we reap what we sow. If we do “this thing,” this “other thing” will be the result. This is one of the first things we learn in life—“Don’t touch the stove top!” “Get away from that electrical outlet.”

If we do not learn this law:

  • We will gain weight when we eat too much an exercise too little.
  • We are likely to stress over debt when we misuse our credit cards?
  • We will find it difficult to be pure in heart if we constantly feed on impurity.
  • Our children may walk away from God, if we do not walk with Him before their eyes.

On the other hand—while we are thankful—we should not be surprised when the rewards for sowing good things come our way:

  • Except for the prospects of disease or injury, healthy living leads to long life.
  • We can be generous on all occasions because it is more blessed to give than receive.
  • We can live unspotted in this wicked age, because we feed on the good things of God.
  • We can successfully hand deliver the True Faith to the next generation.

Best of all is the reward when we stand before Jesus and give an account.
We can hear Him say,

Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things,
I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

There is no greater reward than this!

Scriptures:
Psalm 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty. He shall say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust.” He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter and from the deadly pestilence. He shall cover you with his pinions, and you shall find refuge under his wings; his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day. A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Your eyes have only to behold to see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your habitation, There shall no evil happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.You shall tread upon the lion and adder; you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet. Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my Name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Revelation 22:12-13 NIV
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Galatians 6:7-10 NKJV
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NIV
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Matthew 25:21-22
Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are fair in all Your ways. Your promises, so ancient in their words, still ring true today. We will reap if we faint not! When we sow in tears, this will bring a harvest of joy! From creation’s season to this one, You have blessed the cycles of this earth: seed time and harvest, the seasons of the year, and rhythm of the work week and the Blessed Sabbath, a day to rest from sowing and tending and even harvesting. You are with me in the fields reminding me of Your promises. You are coming soon and Your reward is with You. Thank You, Lord of the Harvest! Amen.

Song:
Bringing in the Sheaves
Words: Knowles Shaw; Music: George A. Minor

1.Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain:
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

2. Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

3.Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions August, Devotions

August 4, 2017 “Fields”

Fields

“Field” is an extremely useful noun.
Literally, there are corn fields, hay fields, bean fields, and cotton fields back home. There are football fields, baseball fields with infields and outfields, and there are soccer fields. Tragically, the list of literal fields must include battlefields.

Figuratively, there are fields of study, fields of medicine, law, and science, fields of influence, mission fields and fields of personal interest. Ironically, all of these figurative fields can also be playing fields, fields of produce, and battlefields.

The Poet reports that in his day the enemies God had plans to steal, “The Fields of God.” This is still true and it is no limited strategy for the fields of God are wide and varied. God created human beings to be productive people with many fields to till and harvest.

Just What Is the Father’s Business?
Perhaps we have been too narrow in our understanding of God’s business, that business that sent the 12 year-old Jesus to the Temple to interview the priests. Some might say this, with the intention of shutting down the conversation, “The business of God is souls.” This is absolutely true beyond any “fear of successful contradiction” as a pastor I knew liked to say. Do we really think “souls” is the sum total of God’s business? Does the Lord have just this one field?

The Lord had many fields.
Many years ago I did some teaching on ministry through the arts. I talked about bearing fruit in terms of creating beautiful works of art. Unknown to me, the pastor’s secretary was a painter. She had never connected her art to the concept of bearing fruit for God. “That was always just winning souls!” She told me. Her field of interest was painting and it was God’s field, too.

Dramatically, Jesus calls us to the harvest fields in these last days. Exactly which fields are they?

More than the traditional concepts of witnessing: going door-to-door, passing out tracts, presentational services and events, the Fields of God are where He has planted us! Our interests, our vocations and avocations, our callings and skills, our craftsmanship and creativity, our planting and harvesting, our hobbies and games, our arts and endeavors, our passions and our compassion—even our battles and competitions can be the Fields of God.

  • Many have been successfully stolen by the enemy—let’s take them back.
  • Others have been corrupted by sin—let’s reform them by the Book.
  • Some fields have grown fallow and unused—let’s plow them up and plant them again.
  • Dusty and dry, some of our own fields need a fresh rain—let’s ask the Lord to send rain.
  • Here and there one of our fields may suffer from neglect—let’s pay attention and do the work!

Then, like the word, “field,” we can be extremely useful to God.

Scriptures:
Psalm 83
O God, do not be silent; do not keep still nor hold your peace, O God; For your enemies are in tumult, and those who hate you have lifted up their heads. They take secret counsel against your people and plot against those whom you protect. They have said, “Come, let us wipe them out from among the nations; let the name of Israel be remembered no more.” They have conspired together; they have made an alliance against you:… Who said, “Let us take for ourselves the fields of God as our possession. O my God, make them like whirling dust and like chaff before the wind; Like fire that burns down a forest, like the flame that sets mountains ablaze. Drive them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm; Cover their faces with shame, O Lord, that they may seek your Name. Let them be disgraced and terrified forever; let them be put to confusion and perish. Let them know that you, whose Name is Yahweh, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
John 4:34-38 NIV
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
Malachi 3:10-12 NIV
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
2 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NIV
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Hosea 10:12 NIV
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am headed out into the fields today! You have called me to work in these specific fields. I will sow good seed in them. I will water and care for the young plants. I will tend the vines in Your Vineyard You have given me to tend. I will gently harvest the fruit of these fields. Every day is an adventure in Your fields of labor! I will be joyful in the tilling, patient in the toiling, and fluent in the telling. I will not become weary in all this well-doing for I know I shall reap bountifully if I sow bountifully and do not give up! O Lord of the Harvest, thank You for calling me into the fields! Amen and amen.

Song:
The Call for Reapers
Words and Music: James Oren Thompson

1. Far and near the fields are teeming
With waves of ripened grain;
Far and near their gold is gleaming
O’er the sunny slope and plain

Refrain:
Lord of harvest, send fir reapers!
Hear us, Lord, to Thee we cry.
Send them now the sheaves to gather.
Ere the harvest-time pass by.

2. Send them forth with morn’s first beaming;
Send them in the noontide’s glare;
When the sun’s last rays are gleaming,
Bid them gather everywhere.

Refrain

3. O thou whom the Lord is sending,
Gather now the sheaves if gold;
Heavenward then at evening wending.
Thou shalt come with joy untold.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions August, Devotions

August 3, “Restraint”

Restraint

A Necessity
If human life depends the discovery of fire, and human industry flows from the invention of the wheel, human civilization is made possible by restraint.

If people were simply really smart animals with no spirit within and no soul to organize an inner life, we would be creatures of instinct alone. We might still be able to do remarkable things like animals can do—

  • perform long distance migrations like hummingbirds and butterflies,
  • build intricate construction projects like ants and wasps,
  • form complex societies like chimps and wolves, and
  • adapt to absolutely hostile environments like mammals who live in the water.

But none of these accomplishments would reflect the gift of a free will. We would simply be following pre-programmed instincts installed by the Creator and passed from generation to generation.

Captives to Instinct
We can see no evidence of any initiative of the part of animals to reform their conduct—they are captives to their instincts. Any restraint they my show, such as a lion crouching in the high grass stalking a calf straying from the heard, is merely a temporary tactic to complete the kill. It is never an action prompted by a stricken conscious laden with guilt over the lion’s innate taste for blood. Wild animals have been domesticated, but we should not be surprised if we see just a glimpse of the wolf in a friendly beagle.

The Will and the Restraint
For reasons known only to Him, God wanted people to have a free will—the ability to choose our own actions. When the world was a perfect place called the Garden of Eden, the first two people were also perfect. They enjoyed unbroken fellowship with God. This unrestrained voluntary righteousness did not last into a second generation.

The spiritual history of the world is one of possessing restraint or lacking it. The truth is that each of us cannot follow our every impulse. We cannot taste everything that looks like it tastes good. We have been given a mind and will that are intended to help us exercise restraint. In society restraint is called “the Law.” In the individual it is called “discipline.” In both arenas, a will informed with the truth can rule a soul and body filled with impulses and drives.

A Faulty Vision
When the will falls into sin, the mind operates on faulty information. In this post-modern society, young people are taught that they are simply really smart animals. It is unreasonable to expect purity of thought and deed—but it is profitable. Whole industries plan, promote, and profit from the lack of restraint in all things. This dim vision of who people really are makes morality a personal design springing only from base instinct. Thus, we have only the responsibilities we choose to have and there is no judgment to face when this life ends. We can cast off any restraint that does not suit our plans

A Better Vision and a Reason for Restraint
The Poet knew nothing of 21st Century life, but he faced the same challenges in ancient Israel. His wisdom still speaks to us today:

“I restrain my feet from every evil way, that I may keep your word.”

Because Jesus took on all the temptations we can ever expect to face and never gave into a one of them, His remarkable restraint is at work again in us.

Another Poet links the desire for restraint to a commanding vision for living.

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.”

The Christ-follower resists temptation because he/she knows that

  • Jesus will empower;
  • Jesus will be pleased; and that
  • Jesus will reward.

This vision of a Judgment Day filled with joy inspires restraint of all kinds:

  • Daily discipline,
  • Dynamic worship,
  • Determined, powerful prayer, and,
  • Delayed gratification—perhaps the greatest restraint of all!

Scriptures:
Psalm 119:97-104
Oh, how I love your law! all the day long it is in my mind. Your commandment has made me wiser than my enemies, and it is always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my study. I am wiser than the elders, because I observe your commandments. I restrain my feet from every evil way, that I may keep your word. I do not shrink from your judgments, because you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste! they are sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through your commandments I gain understanding; therefore I hate every lying way.
1 Corinthians 10:11-13 NIV
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16 NIV
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Proverbs 29:16-18 NIV
When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall. Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul. Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, restrain me! Put spiritual steel in my backbone so that I stand straight and tall in an bent and puny world. Help me restrain my eyes for seeing what should not be seen, my ears from recording what should not be heard, and my will from longing for what does not please You. Keep my sword in its sheath when the battle is not Yours. Put a Holy Ghost muzzle on my mouth when my words would injure or discourage. Keep me from the enticing bed of ease and give me Sabbath rest every night. Restrain the nagging remnants of my old self that sometimes plague me. Grant me an overpowering vision of You, Your Kingdom, Your People; a vision that justifies restraint. In Your Holy Name, Amen.

Song:
Show Me Your Ways
Words and Music: John Fragar

Show me Your ways That I may walk with You
Show me Your ways I put my hope in You
The cry of my heart Is to love You more
To live with the Touch of Your hand
Stronger each day Show me Your ways

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions August, Devotions

August 2, 2017 “Waiting”

Waiting

Do you know anyone who is good at waiting?
Waiting occupies the time between the moment a need is realized until it is met.

  • It could be a few seconds, like waiting for the thunder after the lightning struck nearby.
  • It may be a matter of minutes as in waiting for your food to arrive after the waiter has taken your order.
  • We wait for days for an order we placed online to arrive in the mail.
  • It certainly is a careful accounting of weeks and months until a new baby arrives.
  • Perhaps we wait (and work) faithfully for years building the credits to be awarded the degree.

We wait seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, years—and sometimes, a lifetime.

It would be accurate to suppose that any moment in anyone’s life is a moment spent waiting on something.

A Skill Learned in Childhood
Just when a child is old enough to communicate what he/she wants, he/she has to learn how to wait. Even as adults, we are never quite happy about “waiting our turn” if what we are waiting for promises to be pleasurable.

On the Path of Life, waiting takes its place alongside the other essential skills required by the prospect of getting from here—life on earth—to there—life in the glories of heaven:

  • Learning skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking—and waiting;
  • Spiritual skills: believing, confessing, praying, praising, reading the Word—and waiting;
  • Interpersonal skills: loving, being lovable, supporting, being supported, honoring; receiving honor—and waiting;
  • Financial skills: giving, receiving, saving, investing, spending, selling, buying—and waiting.

I need not go on.

A Skill Demanded by Adulthood
I don’t mean a certain age, though sometimes age and adulthood arrive simultaneously. What I really mean is spiritual maturity. Waiting is an exercise in faith, a demonstration of confidence in God, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in advance of answered prayer.

Since waiting is something we all must do, let’s put a smile on our heart as we wait on God.

  • Parents of prodigals—God has heard your prayers and is at work in their rebellious, trouble hearts.
  • Pastors of troubled churches—keep preaching the Word, loving God and feeding the sheep. Jesus still brings down walls of hostility.
  • Worship Leaders and Lead Worshipers—keep praying and leading in prayer, praising and leading in praise. The Lord has promised to pour out His Spirit in the Last Days.
  • Students—keep on studying; salesmen keep on selling; managers keep on managing and workers keep on working.

Waiting is not passive inactivity. Waiting is the work life demands—the planting, watering and tending that brings the harvest.

Scriptures:
Psalm 130
Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice; let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication. If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand? For there is forgiveness with you; therefore you shall be feared.  I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope. My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy; With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
Hebrews 6:13-15 NIV
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
Psalm 27:13-14 NIV
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 37:1-7 NIV
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Jude 20-21 NIV
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Titus 2:11-14 NIV
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Romans 8:23-25 NIV
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to wait in faith believing! When answers to prayers are delayed, I will wait in faith believing. When needs persist, I will trust in You and wait in faith believing. When it seems the enemy will win, I will wait for Your victory in battle. As I praise You, give me confidence. As I obey You today, going about my work as if everything is just fine, each completed task draws me closer to Your answer, Your provision, Your reward. I will wait upon You and You will renew my strength! Amen and Amen.

Song:
Waiting on the Lord
Words and Music: Charles F. Weigle

1. Waiting on the Lord, for the promise given;
Waiting on the Lord, to send from Heaven;
Waiting on the Lord, by our faith receiving,
Waiting in the Upper Room.

Refrain:
The Power! The Power!
Gives victory over sin and purity within;
The Power! The Power!
The power they had a Pentecost.

2. Waiting on the Lord, giving all to Jesus;
Waiting on the Lord, till from sin He frees us;
Waiting on the Lord, for the heavenly breezes
Waiting in the Upper Room!

Refrain

3. Waiting on the Lord, longing to mount higher;
Waiting on the Lord, having great desire;
Waiting on the Lord, for the Heavenly fire;
Waiting in the Upper Room.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions August, Devotions

August 1, 2017 “Vines”

Vines

June 1975.
I had just moved into my first pastoral office as Youth Pastor and Minister of Music at First Assembly of God in Camden, AR. The room was a converted Sunday School classroom in a creaky old wooden building. Across from my desk was a patio-type couch. I knelt there with my Bible open praying from John 15. The chapter begins with the good news that Jesus is the True Vine and we are the branches. This was the part that I wanted to claim.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…

We find Two Vines in the Scripture: Israel and Jesus.

Israel

The Nation of Israel is depicted as a vine planted by the Lord in the earth for two specific purposes—

  1. to Worship the One True God in the midst of pagan cultures, and
  2.  to bring Messiah into the world to make salvation possible for all people.

The nation stands today, countless generations removed from Abraham, as a strong people group even after being conquered and scattered time again—a geographical and political miracle and a testimony to the God Who Keeps Covenant.

The Poet pens a lament at a season when it seemed God had abandoned the Vine He had planted. They were overrun:

Jerusalem besieged,

  • The Walls of Jerusalem broken down,
  • The Gates burned with fire,
  • The Temple violated and destroyed, and
  • The craftsmen, musicians, priests and Levites lead away to Babylon as captives

The psalm is a plea for God not to abandon His Vine forever.

Pagan, like the World
This terrible calamity blighted the Vine of Israel because they had themselves become as pagan as the world they lived in. They had violated their part of the Covenant with Jehovah in the most serious way possible—to worship other gods.

While it felt as if God had abandoned the Vine of Israel this proved not to be the case. There was a remnant of true worshipers left in Israel, both among the people left behind and those carried away to Babylon. The remnant prayed. God heard. The Vine was restored. Jesus came into the world.

Jesus

In the New Testament Jesus refers to Himself as the True Vine. He explained that we were the branches. What does that mean? It means God is still at work in the world!

When we turned to Him in repentance, faith, and confession of His Lordship, we become a branch in the True Vine—vitally and functionally connected to Him. We have the same two-fold mission as the nation of Israel—to worship God in spirit and truth and to go into all the world to tell others about Him. In addition to these two points of mission we have a third—to make disciples.

We are meant to bear much fruit and fruit that remains. How can we succeed in this?

  • With disciplined prayer in the Secret Place,
  • With dynamic worship in the Sanctuary and
  • With determined, holy, obedient, and productive lives of service to God and man.

We will be a well-tended branch in the Vine, “safe and secure from all alarms” and free to produce much fruit.

He is the Vine, we are the branches. Without Him we can do nothing. With Him we can do what He calls upon us to do.

Scriptures:
Psalm 80
Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim. … stir up your strength and come to help us. Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angered despite the prayers of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have given them bowls of tears to drink. You have made us the derision of our neighbors, and our enemies laugh us to scorn. Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it. You prepared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered by its shadow and the towering cedar trees by its boughs. You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea and its branches to the River… Why have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes? … Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted…And so will we never turn away from you; give us life, that we may call upon your Name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
John 15:1-17 NIV
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, True Vine of my life! Thank You for grafting me into Your heart! I look back over my life since that 25 year old man knelt at that patio couch in that office and prayed for a fruitful life and I see that You have answered that prayer abundantly. I want to keep bearing the fruit You and I produce! Keep my creativity flowing. Guard my days and nights so that I am healthy and productive. May those who know me but not You sense that the fruit of my life is You. There is no secret of success—You are the reason! You are the True Vine and I am a branch firmly connected to You! All for Your glory, Lord! Amen.

Song:
Freely, Freely
Words and Music: Jimmy and Carol Owens

1. God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name,
I’ve been born again in Jesu’s name.
And in Jesus’ name I come to you
To share His love as He told me to. He said

Refrain:
Freely, freely you have received;
Freely, freely give.
Go in my name and because you believe,
Others will know that I live.

2. All power is giv’n in Jesus’ name,
In heaven and earth in Jesus’ name.
And in Jesus’ name I come to you
To share His love as He told me to. He said

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, July

July 31, 2017 “Released!”

Released!

In the Synagogue
On a hot day in Nazareth, Jesus rose in the synagogue to read from Isaiah that the Messiah would do wonderful things. Among them, He would set at liberty those who are bruised, bound head, foot, and brain by sin. They would be released from this bondage.

Right hand—free! Left hand—free! Right foot—free! Left foot—free! Right brain—free! Left brain—free!

We were designed for independent movement in the complimentary spheres of our human bodies. When we are shackled in any of these ways:

  • Hands bound by cutting ropes,
  • Feet bound together in iron chains, or
  • The Brain frozen in place by icy lies and frigid philosophies,

the bondage seems not only wrong but unnecessary.

God did not give us two hands to have them tied. He did not equip us with two feet to see them chained together as one. He did not give us a mind that is both logical and creative for us to settle for truths that freeze the brain in place.

Contrary to Creation
To match these matching dual implements, He created within us a deep desire to touch things with both hands—to leave our unique fingerprints on the objects life presents us. He gave a desire to move, guiding our two feet in the paths we choose, those of righteousness or of iniquity. God gave us our two-phased brains—creative and logical—so that when reason is needed we can do that and when imagination is needed we can do that, too.

To be fully human is

  • To touch meaningfully,
  • To go purposefully, and
  • To think deeply.

The dangers that threaten the hands, the feet, and the mind are many and they lie in the path of iniquity.

  • We grasp and hold on to things that are destructive.
  • We go places where evil is celebrated and goodness is mocked.
  • We hold ideas—false logic and corrupt creativity—in our minds that take us down.

Bondage is the result:

  • Hands tied.
  • Feet shackled.
  • Mind frozen.

Jesus is the only Liberator.

  • His is the only one who can cut the ropes that tie us up.
  • He is the only Chain-breaker.
  • And only He has the warmth in His hot, healing blood to thaw the frozen brain gripped by lies so that His Passion and Reason can find residence there.

Salvation is the temporal restoration of the humanity sin has robbed from us. It is a foretaste of the New Creation to come. Through Jesus our hands are free to serve God and man. In Him our feet have been released to follow Him wherever he leads us. In the power of the Holy Spirit, the Muse of Heaven, we can create. Through the Mind of Christ in us, we can see and understand the love, law, and logic of the Kingdom of God.

On a hot day in Nazareth, Jesus rose in the synagogue to read from Isaiah that the Messiah would do wonderful things. Among them, He would set at liberty those who are bruised, bound head, foot, and brain. They would be released from this bondage. He told His hometown worshipers, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

We are free to worship God!

Scriptures:
Psalm 142
I cry to the Lord with my voice; to the Lord I make loud supplication. I pour out my complaint before him and tell him all my trouble. When my spirit languishes within me, you know my path; in the way wherein I walk they have hidden a trap for me. I look to my right hand and find no one who knows me; I have no place to flee to, and no one cares for me. I cry out to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry for help, for I have been brought very low; save me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your Name; when you have dealt bountifully with me, the righteous will gather around me.
Luke 4:16-21
He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Psalm 102:18-22 NIV
Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord: “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my Deliverer! You snapped the shackles that bound and bruised my hands. You broke the irons that bound my feet. You cleansed my confused mind, releasing my reason and creativity. Your Spirit is a liberating force setting me free to love and serve You all my days—including this one! “My chains are gone!” Thank You, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Song:
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
Words and Music: John Newton / Chris Tomlin

1. Amazing grace How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

2. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Refrain:
My chains are gone. I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

3. The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

Refrain

4. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine. Will be forever mine.
You are forever mine.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, July

July 30, 2017 “Adorned”

Adorned

The Poet combines two words that do not, in our modern thinking, belong together.
They form a paradox:

“Holiness” and “Adorn.”

We think of adornments as decorations, surface improvements intended to enhance the appearance of something. Holiness is something deep and unseen.

  • Does holiness shine?
  • Does it sparkle?
  • What is its bling factor?

If the subject is your house or mine these terms do not go together.

  • What can we add to a home to tell the world that a husband and wife, still deeply in love and continuously faithful to each other, live inside?
  • Do the glittering ornaments on an artificial Christmas tree make it real?
  • Do the bright green plastic leaves give it life?
  • Beautiful jewels may highlight a beautiful face, but does that mean the heart is beautiful as well?

The Beauty of the House
How different is the House of God!

“…holiness adorns your house, O Lord…”

The beauty of the Kingdom of God is the beauty of the King Himself—the beauty of holiness! This is gold tried in the fire. This is the beautiful Rose of Sharon shining in the sun. This is the Day Star from on High, the Bright and Morning Star. This is the constant dawning of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings.

It is in the beauty of this Holiness that we are commanded to worship.
This is not a decoration. It is a deep condition of the soul—our whole being. When the world hears the church singing the praises of God, there is more to hear than music. There is a note that only sounds in the redeemed human heart. The world can sense this spiritual adornment but cannot understand it or its source—the absolute purity of the heart of God! Untouched by sin, there is no dissonance without resolution in the music of the holy. The dissonance of Calvary was resolved at the Empty Tomb.

The Beauty of the Dove
The strength of God is seen as the dove—a primary symbol of the Holy Spirit. The two covenantal shifts between the Old and the New Covenants are the true forgiveness of sins and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer.

The Bible explains to us that the Spirit of God speaks to the human spirit. This is the source of the universal longing for beauty—for adornment that is more than outward decoration. We long to observe beauty through our five senses and also to sense that authentic, inner beauty of holiness.

Worship is all about this sixth sense of the holy.

The Brooding Dove of the Spirit
So as the Dove broods over our hearts, those who can sing and make music must sing and make holy music. Those who can write must find pen and paper, their hearts “stirred by a noble theme.” Artists and art lovers must bring the inner beauty of Christ inside out into the open to be seen, heard, and felt by others.

The Beauty of Holiness is no veneer, pretty on the outside but cheap on the inside. It is no shiny decoration that glitters but is not gold. It is the splendor of a God who is good and whose mercy endures to our generation expressed in the works of the hands and hearts of those who worship Him.

The arts of True Worship, adorn the Father’s House with the beauty of Holiness.

Scriptures:
Psalm 93
The Lord is King; he has put on splendid apparel; the Lord has put on his apparel
and girded himself with strength. He has made the whole world so sure that it cannot be moved; Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; you are from everlasting. The waters have lifted up, O Lord, the waters have lifted up their voice; the waters have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the sound of many waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, mightier is the Lord who dwells on high. Your testimonies are very sure, and holiness adorns your house, O Lord, forever and for evermore.
2 Chronicles 20:21 NKJV
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord , and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”
Psalm 29:1-2 NKJV
Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 45:1 NIV
My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
1 Peter 3:3-5 NKJV
Do not let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel — rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, what a wonder You are! You are the object of our worship today, the content of our liturgy, the passion of our souls. I will lift my voice with the People of God in the Sanctuary of God for it is our chief purpose in life. One day all the work of the ministry to mankind will be done—no more sermons to preach, to more hurting souls to touch—but in that golden day we will still be occupied with the ministry of worship. Eternity must expand forever because we, the church and the hosts of heaven have so much worship to bring to Your Holy Name—Jesus! This is the holiness that adorns Your house. Amen and forever Amen!

Song:
O Lord, You’re Beautiful
Words and Music: Keith Green

Oh Lord, You’re beautiful.
Your face is all I seek.
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

I want to take Your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just, live it Lord.
And when I’m doing well, help me to never seek a crown,
For my reward is giving glory to You.

Oh Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright and clear.
Replace the lamp of my first love
That burns with holy fear.

Oh Lord, You’re beautiful
Your face is all I seek.
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, July

July 29, 2017 “Until”

Until

We’ve all been there. A question lingers without an answer.
It is an important issue as yet unresolved. Every clock we see tells us the same time—until. Not yet. Someday, but probably not today. The question will be answered, sometime. The issue will be settled, perhaps soon. Until then…Wait. Be patient. Have faith.

The Poet faces a common question—

why do the heathen prosper while the righteous suffer?

We’ve all been there, too, if we are honest.

Life isn’t fair.
It is a strange irony that we have been given an inborn sense of fairness and yet we must learn early on that life isn’t fair. As children we were shocked by this. After all we were the center of the universe so why shouldn’t things go our way? We spend the rest of our lives sorting out the details of what we deserve, of what we expect compared to what we actually get. Scorekeepers we are until—until we learn not to keep score.

Keeping Score
Hear the words of the Poet:

“I envied the proud and saw the prosperity of the wicked…”

Words written so long ago ring with resonance today because life isn’t fair. To be sure each way of life has a trajectory—an ultimate destination.

  • The Bible predicts and careful observation reveals that the selfish, self-centered, self-actualized life of the one who doesn’t follow Jesus is a downward spiral leading to death no matter how well one lives and to emptiness no matter how much one accumulates.
  • Also, the Bible predicts and careful observation reveals that the faithful life of the Christ-follower leads to life everlasting and fullness no matter how sparse the life here and now may be.

The score cannot be kept by human standards of momentary measures. Only eternity will balance the scales. The Kingdom that is coming will be one that is fair to behold and fair in all things else.

Like the ancient Poet, we must deal with the “until…”

“When I tried to understand these things, it was too hard for me…
Until I entered the sanctuary of God.”

The Worship Lifestyle
Life is not only unfair, it can be confusing if we fail to worship God every day and every week. Paul recommends a lifestyle of worship—the presentation of our whole lives to God as a “service of spiritual worship.” The Apostle makes an astounding promise—to worship God renews the mind!

  • Until we know the answers, we will worship.
  • Until we see the resolution, we resolve to worship.
  • Until we have peace over the conflict, we will do warfare in worship.
  • Until we reach the end of our time on this earth, we will prioritize the Presence of God.
  • Until Jesus returns for His Church, we will make sure His House remains a house of worship.
    Until then we can agree with the Poet:

Whom have I in heaven but you?
and having you I desire nothing upon earth.
Though my flesh and my heart should waste away,
God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Scriptures:
Psalm 73
Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; I had almost tripped and fallen; Because I envied the proud and saw the prosperity of the wicked: For they suffer no pain, and their bodies are sleek and sound; In the misfortunes of others they have no share; they are not afflicted as others are; Therefore they wear their pride like a necklace and wrap their violence about them like a cloak. Their iniquity comes from gross minds, and their hearts overflow with wicked thoughts. They scoff and speak maliciously; out of their haughtiness they plan oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their evil speech runs through the world. And so the people turn to them and find in them no fault. They say, “How should God know? is there knowledge in the Most High?” So then, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase their wealth. In vain have I kept my heart clean, and washed my hands in innocence. I have been afflicted all day long, and punished every morning. Had I gone on speaking this way, I should have betrayed the generation of your children. When I tried to understand these things, it was too hard for me; Until I entered the sanctuary of God and discerned the end of the wicked. Surely, you set them in slippery places; you cast them down in ruin. Oh, how suddenly do they come to destruction, come to an end, and perish from terror! Like a dream when one awakens, O Lord, when you arise you will make their image vanish. When my mind became embittered, I was sorely wounded in my heart. I was stupid and had no understanding; I was like a brute beast in your presence. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You will guide me by your counsel, and afterwards receive me with glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? and having you I desire nothing upon earth. Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Truly, those who forsake you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful. But it is good for me to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge. I will speak of all your works in the gates of the city of Zion.
Romans 12:1-2 AMP
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my Hope and my Friend! It is true that some things in my life are stored in the container labeled “Until.” I will leave these things undisturbed for now. Today I will walk in the path I see, one illumined by Your light, my steps made clear by the lamp of Your truth. These occupations are enough to keep me occupied—until—You return for me! If the grave is my destiny, only my body will enter there; my hope will be Your presence, Your peace, Your mansion made to my specifications. Until then with joy I’ll carry on! Thank You, Lord Jesus!

Song:
Until Then
Words and Music: Stuart Hamlin

1. My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that’s winding always upward,
This troubled world is not my final home.

Refrain:
But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I’ll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.

2. The things of earth will dim and lose their value
If we recall they’re borrowed for a while;
And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble,
Remembered there will only bring a smile.

Refrain

3. This weary world with all its toil and struggle
May take its toll of misery and strife;
The soul of man is like a waiting falcon;
When it’s released, it’s destined for the skies.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, July

July 28, 2017 “Dragons”

Dragons

Poets are known to exaggerate for effect.
They even have a word for their exaggeration that seems to legitimize it a little bit, “hyperbole.” Definition:

Hyperbole is a figure of speech…in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect;
an extravagant statement…”

Dragons are a prime example of the vivid imaginations of people through the centuries. All of the common fears of society were rolled into the idea of an evil creature out there in the dark. The dragon was neither reptile, bird, nor lion but seemed to be all of them at once. The dragon lived on the land, in the water, and it flew through the air. Its breath contained two deadly elements: fire and disease. The flight of the dragon through the night could blight the land and contaminate the rivers and lakes.

Poets took up the tale and sang songs of terror to entertain their audiences in lamp-lit inns and around campfires in the dark, disturbing woods.

St. George and the Dragon
The most famous of these tales is “St. George and the Dragon,” an ancient legend brought to England by Medieval Crusaders. The pagan king in a far-off land and his people were terrified by a plague-breathing dragon in a lake. The dragon demanded sacrifices to refrain from destroying the kingdom. At first it was sheep and then the demanded sacrifice was the children of the Kingdom, chosen by lot. When the lot fell on the King’s daughter, she was taken to the lake. St. George was passing by. He made the sign of the Cross and struck the dragon, taming it and putting a leash on it the girl used to lead the dragon to the King. Before the King, St. George advised the people to convert to Christianity. They did and he killed the dragon. At the site of the slaying a spring started flowing. It was a healing stream.

Message: We have a Champion who has killed the beast.
St. George is the Patron Saint of England; his sword was called “Ascalon.” Winston Churchill used this name for his personal aircraft in WW2.

The biblical Poet engaged in this same hyperbole:

“You divided the sea by your might and shattered the heads of the dragons upon the waters.”

The Bible is not promoting a belief in dragons; the Poet is extoling the victories of God.

Dragons are a metaphor for our fears—those undetected beasts of the night and those predators lying in wait in tomorrow’s high grasses. Our enemies fly in the skies, swim in the seas, and lurk in the shadows. We need a champion—a brave knight who is more than a match for any dragon. We need a God who commands the seas and the skies and the rivers and the mountains, plains, hills and deserts.

We still need a Champion.
Like St. George, we make the sign of the Cross—that is—we commit our lives to Christ! When we do, he tames any dragon who would dare oppose us and he lends us His mighty sword. He is the One who met the dangers we face and disarmed them. The darkness holds no terrors. The high weeds shield no predator. The skies are clear to be enjoyed. The water supply is rich in its healing flow and the breath we breathe is the breath of God.

Poets are known to exaggerate for effect. St. George and his dragon is not history—it is hyperbole. The victory of Christ over Satan is not hyperbole—it is accomplished fact.

Scriptures:
Psalm 74
… God is my King from ancient times, victorious in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might and shattered the heads of the dragons upon the waters; You crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him to the people of the desert for food. You split open spring and torrent; you dried up ever-flowing rivers. Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. … Arise, O God, maintain your cause…
Colossians 2:13-15 NIV
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58 NIV
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 John 5:1-5 NIV
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my Champion, I will fear no dragon, no hyperbolic imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of You. Your sword is mighty and unblemished by combat. Your shield shines with use against the fiery darts of the enemy. Your breastplate keeps my heart safe in me while danger dances around me in the dark. The helmet of Your Salvation guards my mind; no concussion of confusion will rattle my brain. Your righteousness is my belt and Your Spirit is my preparation. Lead on, O King eternal! No dragons will I fear today! Amen and Amen!

Song:
Victor’s Crown
Words and Music: Rob Packer

You have won the Victor’s Crown.
You have triumphed over sin and death.
Your name is lifted high and rings through all the earth.
Ev’ry demon spirit of hell trembles when your mighty name is heard.
And we, Your church proclaim Your vict’ry in the world.

O, the glory of Your name, the splendor of Your name,
And none can compare with the power of that name!
You are Jesus! You are Lord! You are God!

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, July

July 27, 2017 “Hills”

Hills

We build castles and forts on mountains. On hills, we build farm houses and barns.
This is the relationship the Poet describes in reference to the nation’s King:

That he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice.
and the little hills bring righteousness.

Metaphorically, mountains represent big ideas while hills represent the daily truths that occupy the details of our lives. It is said that we cannot live on the mountaintop and to a great extent it is true. Mountaintops are for pilgrimage and recreation and are useful when elevation is needed to see what is in the distance.

We come home from the mountaintop to dwell among the hills. Keeping the mountain in view through the bedroom window, we can rest in our hilltop home, secure and safe with all we own within easy reach.

The rule of our King is equally strong on the mountains as on the hills.

The Mountains
The righteousness of God is a mighty mountain, eternal—He has never been anything except righteous—and impervious to the erosive effects of time. It is the theme of worship in both the Old and the New Covenants—God is good and His mercy endures to all generations!

God’s love and His mercy form a mountain range of protection around those in Covenant with Him. No enemy can cross these mountains at any point. Out hilltop dwellings are safe in the shadow of the Almighty.

The truth of God is the highest peak of all. From the lofty heights of the Word of God we can clearly see to each horizon. We gain a perspective on the smaller issues somewhere down the mountainside that we could never see from the trails going up or down.

The Hills
Justice is the joy of the hills—truth, love, mercy, and righteousness at work in our homes and businesses.

It takes all the mountains to produce justice on the hills. Justice without mercy would not be loving. Mercy without truth would not be just. If these things are not all in order all at once the hills would not be safe for houses and barns.

Here is the redeeming order:

  • It is true that we have sinned.
  • It is also true that God made us and loves us.
  • In His mercy He sent His Son to bear our sins far away.
  • The righteousness of Christ has been credited to our record and the case is closed.
  • We have been justified by the Love of God in Christ Jesus!

We are free to build our lives on the gentle hills of daily discipline and obedience, praise and prayer, and with skillful hands and hearts.

In the shadow of the King’s Castle on the friendly mountain, we can till the fields on the hills, tend our flocks in the broad pastures, and rest each night in perfect peace in our hilltop homes.

Scriptures:
Psalm 72
Give the King your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the King’s Son; That he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice. That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, and the little hills bring righteousness. He shall defend the needy among the people; he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor. He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, from one generation to another. He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, like showers that water the earth. In his time shall the righteous flourish; there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more. He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. His foes shall bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts. All kings shall bow down before him, and all the nations do him service. For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper. He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy. He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, and dear shall their blood be in his sight. Long may he live! and may there be given to him gold from Arabia; may prayer be made for him always, and may they bless him all the day long. May there be abundance of grain on the earth, growing thick even on the hilltops; may its fruit flourish like Lebanon, and its grain like grass upon the earth. May his Name remain forever and be established as long as the sun endures; may all the nations bless themselves in him and call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds! And blessed be his glorious Name forever! and may all the earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.
Psalm 72:1-4;16 NIV
Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.
He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. …Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway.
Isaiah 55:12-13 NIV
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord ‘s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.”
Amos 5:24 NIV
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the mountains, the towering truths that do not change. Thank You for four horizons lined with these comforting peaks. Thank You also, the hills, these present blessings that make up my life: home, family, work, prayer, health, and hope among so many others. Because You are the author of it, my life is multi-dimensional, mountains and hills and streams in the valleys, constant health from Your hand. Thank You, Jesus.

Song:
Peace in the Valley
Words and Music: Thomas A. Dorsey

1. Well, I’m tired and so weary
But I must go along
Till the Lord comes and calls me away
Where the morning’s so bright
And the Lamb is the light
And the night, night is as fair as the day.

Refrain:
There will be peace in the valley For me some day
There will be peace in the valley
For me, Oh Lord I pray
There’ll be no sadness
No sorrow, no trouble I see
There will be peace In the valley for me.

2. Well, the flowers will be blooming
And the grass will be green
And the skies will be clear and serene
Where the sun ever beams
In this valley of dreams
And no cloud will be seen.

Refrain

3. Well, the bear will be gentle
And the wolf will be tame
And the lion shall lay down By the lamb, oh yes.
And the beasts from the wild Shall be led by a child
And I’ll be changed,
Changed from this creature that I am.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved