pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 14, 2017

Passion

Today is a day for passion.
The scripture tells us to gather all our inner feelings and concentrate them on actions that express love for the Lord. There is no reason to hold back, to keep a measure of our love in reserve. In a worship service, when the moment comes to praise, we must release the joy pent up in our hearts. Our opening acts of praise in a worship service  must be full-throated, hot-hearted, and mentally captivating. No less praise will do.

Why? The measure of our praise is not that of our passion for God, or our knowledge of God, or even our faith in God. The standard we are given in the Scriptures has nothing to do with our feelings, our knowledge, or even with the level of our faith. The standard, the measuring rod is this: “the glory due unto His name.” (Ps 29:1-2)

All other measures are changeable

  • as passions heat and cool,
  • knowledge is gained and forgotten, and
  • faith swells and shrinks in our hearts.

His worthiness goes on and on and on and on forever.

Our praise is a matter of justice—the praise due unto His name!
He is worthy of nothing less than our very best praise—our best music, our finest words, our most sincere gratitude and our most humble hearts. Any part of our mind held back for lesser considerations is a sacrilege, a selfish, careless oversight to be corrected at once as we marshal all our mental resources to consider and express the wonders of Who God is.

When another Sunday comes and you join the Saints of God in the House of God and the call to worship sounds, lift your eyes beyond the music and the lights, the singers and players of music and their leaders, and tune your heart to heaven’s songs. Some of them are recorded for us in the Bible. Others are works of the Spirit through His troubadours.

The Spirit speaks through songs in every generation.
Surrender to the spirit of the song and join the songs of angels, thousands of them in joyful assembly. You will also be singing with loved ones who have gone before you, gathered as a special choir of the redeemed in a gallery made just for them. You will take your seat with them someday and today you may add your voice to theirs in worship.

Lord, send a heavenly fire to ignite a passion for You in each of our hearts today!

Scriptures:
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.
Colossians 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Prayer:
You are God
From the Book of Common Prayer (adapted SRP)
You are God: we praise You; You are the Lord; we acclaim You; You are the eternal Father: All creation worships You. To You all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of Your glory. The glorious company of apostles praises You. The noble fellowship of prophets praises You. The white‑robed army of martyrs praises You. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you; Father, of majesty unbounded, Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide. You, Christ, are the King of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When You became man to set us free You did not shun the Virgin’s womb. You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. We believe that you will come and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help Your people, bought with the price of Your own blood, and bring us with Your saints to glory everlasting. Amen.

Song:
I Love You, Lord
Words and Music: Laurie Klein

I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship You, O my soul, rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what You hear;
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 13, 2017

 

Thirst

Each of us can go for days without food but not without water.
Thirsts of all kinds steer our lives, sending us here and there for some relief, some refreshing satisfaction, no matter how brief, that slakes the thirst within.

The Psalmist captures the desperation of thirst in the image of a deer, pursued by predators crashing through the underbrush of a forest, using its vital moisture internally in a flight from danger. So thirsty is the deer it pants for water, not a stagnant supply caught in a hollow stump, but clean, running water fresh from a spring, the hidden source of life for the forest itself.

And so are we; pursued by our soul’s predator, aching and dry within but unable to rest from the chase, dreaming of, longing for, the water-brooks. Panting in prayer for a taste of strength from the spring we know to be somewhere in these woods.

And so was Jesus in His passion,

  • pursued by the sins of mankind,
  • hounded by nasty little demons at His every step,
  • secure in His own soul, the outcome never in doubt, but
  • submitted to the mission.

The mission demanded that He experience the terrible thirst of being human. He who made all deer must know the terrible thirst of the panting prey crashing through the underbrush.

All during his earthly life, Jesus had known thirst

  • from the breast of Mary,
  • to the cool drink of water in the heat of the day in the carpenter’s shop,
  • to the mid-day water break at the well in Samaria.

Spiritually though, He always knew where to find the Spring. Faithfully the record tells His story: He arose a great while before day to find a solitary place of prayer—that’s where the living water was found—in the Father’s presence. Each day’s Messiah-work demanded a fresh supply of this Living Water, flowing freely in prayer with His Father.

When the Water Ran Dry
His passion brought Him to the place where, like the prophet’s brook, the Divine supply dried up. On the cross, His Father somehow had to leave Him thirsting.

  • “Why have You forsaken Me?” was the cry of a parched soul.
  • “I thirst.”

And the soldiers gave Him what they had—wine spoiled and bitter. He tasted and then refused the rest. He had had enough. Bowing His head He committed His soul to the Father, dying from our thirst for life.

That was not the end of course. He now promises to each of us that if we will but hunger and thirst, we will be filled. “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.”

And we do. We come to Him this morning and He pours us another cup of life, sufficient for whatever the day may bring.

Scriptures:
John 7:37-39 NIV
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
John 19:28-30 NKJV
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Psalm 42 NIV
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, … Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my thirst is deep. By your provision my storehouse is full; there is nothing my body needs that You have not provided. Yet within me still is a thirst, a thirst for You—for Your kindness, forgiveness, and continuing grace. This thirst itself is a great gift from Your heart to mine. Save me from other thirsts, those sweet-tasting things that end up bitter on my tongue and sick in my soul. Righteousness—that is my thirst and my hunger, so here I am at the Spring.  Fill me now, Dear Lord!

Song:
Fill Me Now
Words: Elwood Stokes; Music: John Sweeny

1. Hover o’er me, Holy Spirit, Bathe my trembling heart and brow;
Fill me with Thy Hallowed presence, Come, O come and fill me now.

Refrain:
Fill me now, Fill me now, Jesus come and fill me now;
Fill me with Thy hallowed presence, Come, O come and fill me now

2. Thou cans fill me, gracious Spirit, Though I cannot tell Thee How;
But I need Thee, greatly need Thee, Come, O Come and fill me now.

Refrain

3.I am weakness, full of weakness, At Thy sacred feet I bow;
Blest, divine, eternal Spirit, Fill with power and fill me now.

Refrain

4. Cleanse and comfort, bless and save me, Bathe my heart and brow;
Thou art comforting and saving, Thou are sweetly, filling now.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 10, 2017

Glory(1)

A spectacular promise from the Bible is found in Isaiah 40:5 KJV

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

This verse is also the text of one of the most beloved choruses in Handel’s Messiah. Handel’s music and this glorious promise came together, not by an accident of human creativity, but at the direction of the Holy Spirit. This promise needs to sing. It must be merged with a tune that will keep it in our minds and send it to our hearts.

Each Lord’s day we gather again with the people of God in the House of God to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

What is the point of it all?

  • Certainly not our glory,
  • Not our relaxation and enjoyment,
  • Not the precise presentation of our beliefs,
  • Not the exhibition of our artistic gifts,
  • Not the reestablishment of our standing before others,
  • Not the exercise of our ego,
  • Nor even for the healing of our wounded souls and battered bodies.

Public worship is about seeking the face of God as we try to express His holiness, majesty, compassion, wisdom, strength, goodness, mercy—His Glory!—with all the human resources we can muster. As the Psalmist said,

Psalm 103:1 NKJV
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

It is true that many benefits flow to us as we worship God in spirit and truth:

  • It may be that His glory will spill over on us.
  • We may be refreshed and relaxed in His Holy Presence.
  • Our heart-held beliefs will be publically proclaimed with the unction of the Spirit.
  • The fullness of our artistry will be demanded by the splendid task of worshiping God.
  • If we have fallen into pride, we will be humbled by worship; if shame has overtaken us, we will be elevated to our full value before God.
  • All the worshipers will stand on level ground before King Jesus–holy, level ground.
  • Our wounded souls will sing in tune with angels and with the spirits of those “just men made perfect” in the throne room of God as healing virtue flows from Jesus’ hands to our needs.

All these benefits are the blessings that should not be forgotten as we focus on giving glory to the Lord and not on receiving blessings from Him. The scriptures command that we give glory to the Lord.

How much glory?
The exact amount is this: the glory that is “due unto His name.” (Psalm 29:1-2) That means, all we can give and still more as the angels join us and the Spirit give us utterance. We have been called out of darkness into marvelous light for this purpose!

Call for the brass! Alert the percussion! Line up the woodwinds! Tune the strings! Signal the conductor, and count off the rhythm! It is time to give God glory!

Scriptures:
Psalm 29:1-2 NKJV
Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the
Ephesians 1:12 KJV
…we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 103:1-2 NKJV
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits…
Psalm 150 NKJV
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
2 Chron 5:12-14
All the Levites who were musicians… raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Prayer/Song:
O the Glory of Your Presence
Words and Music: Steven Fry

Oh the glory of Your Presence,
We, Your Temple, give You reverence.
So arise to Your rest and be blessed by our praise
As we glory in Your embrace,
As Your presence now fills this place.

Jesus, all glorious, create in us a Temple,
Called as living stones where You’re enthroned.
As You rose from death in power,
So rise upon our worship,
Rise upon our praise and let the hand that saw You raised,
Cloth us in your glory, draw us by Your grace.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 7, 2017

Breath

It is more than air, this breath we breathe.
There is something in us, the breath of life, that was imparted to us at the moment of the creation of Adam, that is different from the breath of animals. With this transfer from the being of God to the lifeless form of Adam, freshly fashioned from earth, Adam became a living being, a living soul, as the Old King James Version says. This was a separate act of creation; God spoke everything else into existence but Adam and Eve were handcrafted by Him. One of the definitions of “breathed into” is “inflated.” Spiritually, Adam was like a deflated balloon, flat, useless, full of nothing. But the breath of God changed all that. This is so personal, this personal inflation of a created being with the breath of its Creator.

Why? Why a separate creative process? Why so personal an impartation of life from God to mankind?

“The One Most Beloved”
There is a biblical term that has found its way into common use meaning for “the one most beloved;” “the apple of my eye.” God calls Israel this and expects us to consider His Word to be the apple of our eye.” “Most beloved” status in the heart of God is the result of this moment in the Garden of Eden when Adam came to life. This breath of life has been passed down to each of us, the children of Adam and Eve. We are designed to thrive on the breath of God, the Holy Spirit. One of Hebrew words for spirit is ruach, meaning the breath of God—His very life!

ruach OT:7307, “breath; air; strength; wind; breeze; spirit; courage; temper; Spirit.” (Vine’s Dictionary)

The breath in us is God’s living Spirit!

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” the Psalmist says. Praise is our purpose, the reason we have breath to breathe. We praise Him with:

  • Our songs of praise and worship,
  • Our witness to His story and His grace in our lives,
  • The integrity of our hearts,
  • The work of our hands, and
  • The obedience of our walk with Him.

So, when the music starts and you are given a song to sing with the Saints—go for it! Give it all you’ve got.

This is the reason you have breath within you!

Scriptures:
Genesis 2:7 NKJV
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Psalm 150 NIV
Praise the LORD.Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Mark 12:29-31 NIV
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I will praise You today! I will praise You whether I like or even know the songs we are asked to sing. My praise shall be as authentic in me as my breath. At Your holy inflation, my life was filled with Your life. When sin had caught me and left me struggling for air, You rescued me and returned me to Your Holy Presence, where I can breathe the clear air of heaven. I will not waste my breath on curses, or vile words, or empty musings that do not smell of Your sweetness. I will use the breath of life within me to sing of Your virtues, to proclaim Your excellence, to shout Your praise and to tell Your story! All for You, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Song:
Let Everything That Has Breath
Words and Music: Rich Gomez
(from Ron Kenoly’s album  “Lift Him Up”)

Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord
And let the living proclaim
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord

Let every instrument Sound His praise
As all His people adore
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord

I will open up my mouth And He will fill it with praise
I will magnify His name The name that stands
Above all names is Jesus

High sounding cymbals and trumpets of brass
The sound of one accord
Let everything that has breath
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord

My Lord has put a new song in my heart
It’s a song of praise to my God
And everyone who hears it will rejoice
Let everything that has breath
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 31

Worship

Today is a day for worship.
It is the day the Lord has made! Yesterday we discussed the call to rest to the refreshing of our bodies, minds, and hearts. We must garner our strength for what we have the honor to do today. We will worship. We will minister to the Lord! He has filled us to overflowing, so we will let our thanksgiving and adoration overflow. He has been faithful to us, so we will be faithful to Him on His day. He has ministered to us and now we will minister to Him.

What does it mean to minister to God?
It is very different from the common understanding of ministry. We have learned to think in terms of the strong ministering to the weak. If that were the only way ministry flowed—from the strong to the weak, the able to the unable, the rich to the poor, the well to the sick—it would make no sense to say that we can minister to the Lord. He is never weak or unable or poor or sick, and if He were, we would be powerless to help Him.

But worship is ministry to the Lord.
We who are weak respond to His strength. Because we are unable, we rejoice in His limitless ability. In our poverty, we extol his vast riches—not the paltry residue of earthly commerce, but the priceless resources of all creation. We press through our illness to touch the hem of His garment and as our worship flows to Him, His healing flows to us.

Just as a child can delight the heart of a loving parent, the Lord Jesus delights in our gratitude. He takes joy in our offerings of music and speech when they emanate from a sincere heart. He responds to our worship just as He did the alabaster jar Mary of Bethany lavished on Him. “Leave her alone! She has done a beautiful thing to me. She has done what she could.”

It is amazing to think that we can minister to the Lord. We can do this incredible thing because He has ministered to us. He has taken away our sins. He has given us His Spirit to dwell in sweet communion with our spirits. His loving-kindness has brought us to this day—a day to minster to the Lord, to give him the glory due His name and to worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

Scriptures:
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.
Hebrews 13:15-16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I hear much talk about worship these days, what people like and don’t like, what they want and don’t want. You know my heart. You know my list of what I like and want; there is no need to pretend you don’t know these things. What I like and what I want in today’s worship will be the very first thing I will sacrifice to you. Take my preferences and my expectations of men and burn them on Your altar of fire. Holy Spirit help me keep my focus on Jesus. Enable me to set my affections on Jesus. I want to open my heart to You and empty it of all it contains. Then, may You fill it with nothing but passion for You. All for You, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Song:
I Worship You, Almighty God
Words and Music: Sondra Corbett

I worship You, Almighty God, There is none like You.
I worship You, O Prince of peace, That is what I want to do.
I give You praise for You are my righteousness.
I worship You, Almighty God, There is none like You.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved