pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 8, 2017 “Rain”

Rain

It is hard to imagine this earth without rain.
We get all technical and refer to something called “the water cycle,” but what we mean is rain—clouds of vapor building until they are too heavy to stay aloft so they wring themselves out. Winds may push the clouds along in a different direction from the earth spinning below but somewhere the dry land gets wet. With enough rain the shallow creeks think they are rivers while rivers act like tidal waves spreading out in all directions at once.

When it is cold enough, the clouds dress in their gray winter clothes and sprinkle snow down from their high places to the earth below. We should not be fooled by these gossamer robes. When the weather warms, the costumes come off and we see that snow is only water after all. In the spring, swollen rivers care not whether their cargo fell as ice or rain.

No one can dance to the rhythm of the rain; it is too broad and irregular. It can rain for days at a time or not rain for even more. Drought conditions can give way to flood conditions in a matter of hours if the rain is heavy and hard enough. The earth and its people need the rain and depend on it to till the soil and make flowers and food stuffs grow.

Rain is a biblical image for the blessings of God to His people.
The parched earth is a picture of a people whose life rhythms have been disrupted by drought, a long time without rain. Crops are in trouble which means the people are in trouble, their flocks and herds in peril as their pastures bake in the sun. The people call on God for relief that only rain can bring.

Over the horizon water evaporates from the surface of the sea and rises to form clouds. The warm air ascends carrying the moisture with it as winds begin to push the thickening clouds toward the drought-stricken land. Soon the clouds turn from a bright white to a deep blue as they walk on lightning legs to cast their shadow over the thirsty earth rumbling a booming prophesy of what is to come—rain. When there has been no rain and then comes the storm, there is rejoicing not fear. The land, the animals, the people welcome the drenching.

Today our lands are dry.
White clouds tease us but they are clouds without rain. Arid winds, hot in our faces, fail to refresh us. It is time to turn to the Lord and seek His blessings. He will send rain. He has promised an outpouring of His Spirit in these last days. Even now the sea of His mercy is building up the cloud base as the prayers of the saints ascend to the Throne of God. Not a water cycle but a blessing cycle is at work: praise and prayer ascending; blessings descending.

There shall be showers of blessings!
God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh! The air we breathe is growing thicker with the waters of life as the Word of God is proclaimed. Signs and wonders follow the Word like bolts of grace striking here and there. The thunder of praise from the church is shaking the earth, preparing the way of the Lord.

He is coming! He is coming now in our worship and in our obedience. He is coming soon in clouds of glory—clouds full of the rain of His goodness and justice. Look to the horizon and expect to see the forming clouds, the coming rain. Our fields will not always be dry, our riverbeds will not always be shallow, but our prayers must always be humble. He has promised rain but we must be prepared for the deluge, ready to rejoice in the drenching.

Scriptures:
Psalm 72
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. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. … Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
Isaiah 45:8 NIV
“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it.
Joel 2:23-24 NIV
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

Prayer Song:
Send Your Rain
Words and Music: Kelly Carpenter

Send Your rain, Oh Lord! Send Your rain, Oh Lord!
Send Your rain, Oh Lord, to Your People.

Soften our hearts and pour out Your Spirit,
Fill us anew. Let Your rains come!
Soften our hearts and pour out Your Spirit,
Fill us anew. Let Your rains come!

May Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done
On the earth as it is in heaven.

Send Your rain, Oh Lord! Send Your rain, Oh Lord!
Send Your rain, Oh Lord, to Your People

Song:
There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
Words: Daniel Whittle; Music: James McGranahan

1. There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love.
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy drops ‘round us are falling.
But for the showers we plead.

2. There shall be showers of blessing:
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

Refrain

3 There shall be showers of blessing:
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come and now honor Thy word.

Refrain

4. There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 5, 2017: “Pressure”

Pressure

That we don’t just explode is amazing. It also astonishing that we do not implode.
We all live with tremendous pressure in us and on us.

  • These spaces suits our souls wear—these human bodies—have to exert pressure from inside to counter the weight of the atmosphere. Our hearts create blood pressure and our lungs produce pulmonary pressures that keep the brain going. Inside us also are the forces of the feelings and fears, affections and ambitions that pressure our souls.
  • From outside of us there is more than the atmosphere pressing down. The culture pressures us to compare and perhaps even to conform. Debts to complete strangers and responsibilities to those we love or work with or work for, press upon without letup. Time itself is like gravity on steroids pressing us to either take a nap or get busy.
  • The world we live in is filled with pressure: terrorism, wicked countries with nuclear weapons, chaos in the city streets and random crime in the towns and in the country. The weather gets stranger every year and they tell us we are past due for the “Big One” earthquake.
    Well, that’s enough of that!

There is a solid foundation of rock beneath the squishy, porous pressure pressing down on us.
Beneath the fear of what might happen, we have the solace of what happened:

  • Jesus has come to earth, bearing the Good News that God loves us and demonstrating the strength to push back against the pressures of life and of this world.
  • Jesus has come to us, bearing forgiveness for our sins and a precious infilling of His Spirit. He us our Rock, our security, and our counter-pressure, giving us inner strength that is more than a match for the forces pressing up on us from within.
  • Jesus makes all the difference for us. He sends an umbrella of angels to cover us, an army of them to watch fore and aft.

Deep inside us Jesus is like the core of the earth:

  • heated white hot with love, ever moving yet solid,
  • shaking anything that we think might shake us, and
  • boiling through the surface like a mountain on fire when it seems the atmosphere itself will press us into the earth.

With His personal strength he pushes back against the pressures we face from outside.

With His pulsing heart he calms our fears and comforts our minds, reminding us that He has us. That makes us strong enough to press through the pressure no matter where it comes from our how strong it is.

We will neither explode or implode.

Scriptures:
Psalm 55 BCP
Hear my prayer, O God; do not hide yourself from my petition. Listen to me and answer me; I have no peace, because of my cares. I am shaken by the noise of the enemy and by the pressure of the wicked; For they have cast an evil spell upon me and are set against me in fury. My heart quakes within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling have come over me, and horror overwhelms me. And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee to a far-off place and make my lodging in the wilderness. I would hasten to escape from the stormy wind and tempest. …But I will call upon God, and the Lord will deliver me. In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice. He will bring me safely back from the battle waged against me; for there are many who fight me. God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me and bring them down; they never change; they do not fear God. … Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous stumble. For you will bring the bloodthirsty and deceitful down to the pit of destruction, O God. They shall not live out half their days, but I will put my trust in you.
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
Philippians 4:12-13 NIV
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Romans 8:28-29 NIV
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
2 Corinthians 4:7-11 KJV
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Isaiah 59:19 KJV
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am strong in You today. The forces pressing down on me are great, but Your power pressing up in me is greater. You said You had overcome the world and it is still the truth. Like an old-fashioned big game hunter in a photograph, You have defeated the “roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” and Your foot is still on him. In Your name I will walk in victory today. I will do the things You have called me to do and be the person You have called me to be. I will be “strong in the Lord and in the power of Your Might!” Amen and Amen.

Song:
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Words and Music: Jamie Owens-Collins

In heavenly armor we’ll enter the land.
The battle belongs to the Lord!
No weapon that’s formed against us will stand.
The battle belongs to the Lord!

We sing glory, honor, power and strength to the Lord.
We sing glory, honor, power and strength to the Lord.

When the power of darkness comes in like a flood.
The battle belongs to the Lord!
He’s raised up a standard, the power of His blood.
The battle belongs to the Lord!

We sing glory, honor, power and strength to the Lord.
We sing glory, honor, power and strength to the Lord.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 4, 2017: “Sparrows”

Sparrows

Each day there are gatherings of sparrows over all the earth.
No exaggeration. Sparrows are found in every climate from snowy plains to deep jungles to desert wastelands to mountain peaks. The experts at Wikipedia say,

“Sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds worldwide.”

They are social little birds who love to gather together.  The Lord chose these little brown birds to illustrate the extraordinary care He provides to those who follow Him.

Like sparrows, God’s people are everywhere: from snowy plains to deep jungles—even those of steel and concrete—to wilderness wastelands to mountain villages. The church is everywhere and each worshiper is like a sparrow in the eyes of the Lord—cared for tenderly, faithfully by a Covenant Keeping God.

Wild Birds in the Church House
In Psalm 84, the poet reported that sparrows and a swallow had built nests next to the altars in the House of God. This sounds like a scandal to me—some maintenance man was sure to get in trouble for neglecting the altars! I am sure the poet, not King David but a member of a group called the Sons of Korah, is just caught up in the irony of the beauty of the carefully planned Temple and the rustic improvisation of the feral birds. He didn’t mean to get anyone in trouble!

The point is the birds found a home in the house of God and so should we! This lovely Temple was the House of God where all were welcomed if they were in the covenant and they came to worship.

It was also the house where altars were not be neglected.
They had to carefully tended. They had to be ready at any time for the penitent sinner or the troubled soul or the earnest seeker of the face of God. Neglect was not only a failure of the one charged with maintenance, it was a lost opportunity for the advancement of someone’s spiritual life.

On this Lord’s Day, we can each, like a healthy little sparrow and the enterprising swallow, find a home in the House of God—if we are in the covenant and if we have come to seek the face of God.

Our time will come to tend the altar—to pray and seek the Lord. When the praise music starts, let’s tend the altar. When the shift is made to worship music, let’s tend the altar. When it is time to pray let’s tend the altar.

He cares for us more than He loves the sparrows. Let us be faithful to His house and to His altars of grace today.

Scriptures:
Psalm 84
How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. The sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Happy are they who dwell in your house! they will always be praising you. Happy are the people whose strength is in you! whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way. Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, for the early rains have covered it with pools of water. They will climb from height to height, and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion. Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; hearken, O God of Jacob. Behold our defender, O God; and look upon the face of your Anointed. For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is both sun and shield; he will give grace and glory; No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk with integrity. O Lord of hosts, happy are they who put their trust in you!

Matthew 6:26-27 NIV
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Luke 12:6-7 NIV
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Prayer:
Before Worship
BCP (adapted SRP)
O Almighty God, who pours out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and of supplication: Deliver me as I draw near to You, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections I may worship You in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Songs of the Father’s Care:
His Eye Is on the Sparrow
Words and Music: Civilla D. Martin 1905

1. Why should I feel discouraged and why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion, a constant Friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free;
His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me.

2. Let not your heart be troubled; these tender words I hear;
And resting on his goodness I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Refrain

3. Whenever I am tempted; whenever clouds arise;
When songs give place to sighing; when hope within me dies;
I draw the closer to Him; from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Refrain

The Sparrow Song
Words and Music by J.D. Phifer

1. When you are sad downhearted and blue,
Think of how He cares for you.
When things look bad your courage you lose,
Think of how He cares for you.

Refrain:
Think of the sparrow He feeds with such care,
The flower He waters with dew.
Dwell on the things He’s promised to do;
Think of how He cares for you.

2. When you are lost in realms of despair,
Think of how He cares for you.
When there’s a cross you know you must bear,
Think of how He cares for you.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

See also: “A Prayer for the Sanctuary”

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 3, 2017: “Congregation”

Congregation

The congregation is not an audience.
To confuse the two requires a cultural understanding of public worship instead of a biblical one. The two words are based on different words:

  • “Audience” is based on “audio” which refers to hearing.
  • “Congregation” is based on the verb, “to congregate.”

An audience is there to hear. A congregation is an intentional gathering of people.
To put it plainly:

  • An audience is a gathering of people to intent on hearing something.
  • A congregation is a group of people who have come together for more than just to hear.

Why does a congregation congregate?

A biblical name for the church is “the called out ones.” We congregate because the Lord has called us together. The Bible is clear: “Do not stop congregating!”

Important Differences
By observation we can see important differences between an audience and a congregation:

  • People in an audience have no inherent relationship to each other. They are just in the same room at the same time for the same event—to “hear” the same thing.
  • Members of a congregation are in relationship with each other. They are brothers and sisters in Jesus, parents and children in the faith, and grandparents and grandchildren in the Family of God.
  • Audience members are observers; they have come to watch the goings on. They expect to receive something from the presenters.
  • Congregation members are participants; they have come with work to do. They intend to give something to the Lord—worship!
  • Audience members have few responsibilities toward each other, just common decency.
  • Congregants have great responsibilities toward each other. These can be summed up in the biblical phrase “decently and in order.” We must worship with all our heart, soul, mind and strength while not taking the spotlight off the Lord Jesus.

A Powerful Prepositional Phrase
One of the most important phrases in the Bible is easy to overlook: “In the midst of the congregation…” Another version of is: “In the Assembly…” To me these words mean that I must always consider the “common good” of the whole congregation. I must not treat them as if they were an audience—that would be a terrible demotion.

They are the people of God!

Scriptures:
Psalm 40
I waited patiently upon the Lord; he stooped to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many shall see, and stand in awe, and put their trust in the Lord. Happy are they who trust in the Lord! they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods. Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God! how great your wonders and your plans for us! there is none who can be compared with you…. Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, and so I said, “Behold, I come. In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: ‘I love to do your will, O my God; your law is deep in my heart.'” I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; behold, I did not restrain my lips; and that, O Lord, you know. Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation. …. Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad; let those who love your salvation continually say, “Great is the Lord!” Though I am poor and afflicted, the Lord will have regard for me. You are my helper and my deliverer; do not tarry, O my God.
Hebrews 2:10-12 NIV
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”
From the Psalms NIV
22:22; 25
I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26:12
My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the Lord.
35:18
I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.
68:26
Praise God in the great congregation; praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
79:13
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
107:31-32
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
111:1
Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord ]with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
145:4-5
One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works
149:1
Praise the Lord .Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
1 Peter 2:4-6; 9-10 NIV
As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Song:
Come Now, O Royal Priesthood
Words and Music: Stephen Phifer

1. Come now, O Royal Priesthood, bring the Sacrifice of Praise,
The fruit of lips that sing His Name, the song of ancient days.
Made holy by His Righteousness, made regal by His Grace,
Come now, O Roy-al Priesthood, bring the of Praise.

Refrain:
O sing! Sing unto the Lord Your King
And Praise! Lift your voice with thanksgiving.
Let the measure of your praises be “the glory due His Name.”
Come now, O Royal Priesthood, bring the Sacrifice of Praise!

2. Come now, O Holy Priesthood, bring the Sacrifice of Love;
The first commandment now obey, affections fixed above,
Where Jesus reigns in majesty on a Throne of Truth and Trust.
Come now, O Holy Priesthood bring the Sacrifice of Love.

Refrain

3. Come now, O Holy Nation, for the King is calling you
To stand for Him and live for Him, a people brave and true;
Ambassadors of Heaven with Heaven’s work to do.
Come now, O Holy Nation for the King is calling you!

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

See also: “A Prayer for the Sanctuary” 

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 2, 2017: “Revealed”

Revealed

It’s like a curtain in your mind opening.
The teacher lives for what we call the “AH HA!” moment when he/she can see on the face the student that they get it! The curtain has opened for them.

There are several ways we learn things:

  • We reason things out.
  • We memorize words and repeat them until they become a concept.
  • We rehearse our lines in the play along with the cues the lines respond to.
  • We practice the hard parts until we can play them flawlessly, or at least better.
  • Baseball players drill the double play time and time again until it is a reflex requiring no thought to execute.
  • We read books and articles on subjects of interest and learn for fun.

And so many more ways are in our arsenal of weapons against ignorance.

Today were are considering a different way of learning something—revelation.
Through no process of our own doing, through no steps that we can recall, without the aid of any other person or source of information, we just suddenly know something. The curtain in our mind opens and there it is. We get it! Ah Ha!

This is the way the Holy Spirit works. The Bible says it this way: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit…” In other words the Holy Spirit works the curtain.

If we know anything about God, it isn’t because we have figured it out. The Bible makes it clear that His ways are beyond our capacity to figure out. It isn’t because we have memorized a bunch slogans and proverbs and formulas and incantations. It is because the Holy Spirit, just as promised, has written the Word of God into our hearts. The Lord’s brother, James, said this wisdom is from above not from below. James even tells how to get this revelation—it is a very involved process. He said. “Ask for it!” It really is that simple.

Don’t ask some celebrity or professor, ask God!
He is happy to reveal His truth to us. This marvelous grace makes the truth of God available to a child or to an adult with the mind of a child as well as the smartest person in the room.

How do we ask of God?

  • We come to Him humbly with thanksgiving.
  • We open our hearts to His instruction.
  • We open our Bibles and read prayerfully with a listening ear.
  • We listen all through the day for He often speaks through others in our lives.

The moment will come when the curtain in your heart will open and you will know. You will know with a knowledge deeper than logic or reason or intellect. Your spirit will come alive because His Spirit has borne witness to it. You will know in your spirit.

The word for this special “Ah Ha!” moment is an ancient one—Alleluia!

Scriptures:
Psalm 50: 1-2 BCP
The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken; he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God reveals himself in glory.
1 Corinthians 2:10 NIV
… as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
Romans 8:15-17 NKJV
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
James 1:5-6; 3:17-18 NIV
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. …But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Hebrews 8:10 NIV
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
Ephesians 1:17-18 NIV
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Prayers for Illumination:
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Open our eyes that we may see the wonders of your Word; and give us grace that we may clearly understand and freely choose the way of your wisdom; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

God, source of all light, by your Word you give light to the soul. Pour out on us the spirit of wisdom and understanding that our hearts and minds may be opened. Amen.

God, source of all light, by your Word you give light to the soul. Pour out on us the spirit of wisdom and understanding that our hearts and minds may be opened. Amen.

Song:
Be Thou My Vision
Traditional Irish Hymn

1. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

2. Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one

3. Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art

4. High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 31, 2017

Citadels

A citadel is a fortified fortress.
It is a strong and high tower at a strategic point on a fortress or city wall. These watchtowers provided a higher vantage point for those charged with sighting potential dangers and warning the city. Every night someone had to leave the comforts of the streets and dwellings the city provided to help keep the precious peace of all involved. The height and strength of the citadel provided cover and safety for men with a dangerous job.

Walk about Zion
The Psalmist is like an ancient tour guide, inviting us to journey across the centuries to tour the Holy City, the City David, Jerusalem. The Temple is magnificent, built to King David’s specifications by his son. King Solomon. The city walls, with regularly spaced citadels, were impressive and effective, keeping enemies out and citizens in. When the gates closed at night, the safety of the whole city was in the hands of the soldiers in the citadels. Their eyes were the radar of the day; their ears the antennae to detect the sounds of danger.

That desert debate (“turn stones into bread”) wasn’t the only temptation of Jesus—He was tempted in every way we are tempted but never did He disobey. It is this record of purity that enabled Him to take our impurity upon Himself on the cross.

Citadels of Truth
The days of walled cities and castles on mountains are long gone, but the danger and the diligence remain. There are strong towers today that guard the peace of the church. These citadels are truths that guide us and define us. These citadels are the things that we agree on.

  • The Bible is the Word of God.
  • God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—three in One and One in three.
  • Jesus is the only Savior and we are saved through faith in Him.
  • The Holy Spirit is our helper and guide.
  • God is our Heavenly Father.
  • The church is the Body of Christ on this earth.
  • The church should strive to be one, as Jesus prayed.
  • Jesus will come again.
  • We are commanded to Love God.
  • We are commissioned to tell our world the Jesus Story.

I counted ten Citadels of the faith. From these exalted vantage points we can see a great distance.

  • We can detect the dust of an approaching enemy who tells of a different God.
  • We can hear the music of hell wafting on the wind, even at great distance, so that distance can be kept. We must not dance to the devils tune.
  • From these fortified fortifications we can keep our families safe and secure through the long night until the Great Dawn when our King shall return with everlasting light.

Keeping Watch
We must see the signs of war before the attack. We need to hear the noise of their gathering armies. We cannot see and hear these things from ground level, if we think and act like the world. We need elevation. We must live on a higher level of morality and truth. We need a tower, a tower of strength—Jesus is our Citadel, our tower of Hope. He will not be surprised. He will not be defeated.

We can sleep tonight safe within the walls of His grace and under the watchful eye of His Spirit.

Scriptures:
Psalm 48 NIV
Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress. When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together, they saw [her] and were astounded; they fled in terror. Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor. You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever. Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
Psalm 61:1-4 NIV
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Proverbs 18:10 NIV
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Psalm 18:2-3 NIV
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 28:8 NIV
The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
Psalm 46:4-7 NIV
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 62:5-8 NIV
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 91:1-2 NIV
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my Tower of Strength! When evening comes I will rest in the safety of this citadel. But this morning the day is before me, not the night. I will take my battle station. I will scan the horizon signs of the enemy. I will listen with depth to the sounds on the winds of culture and media that blow without ceasing. The enemy seeks entrance into city; he wants to breach the walls. I will not be blind to him or deaf to him. I will sound the alarm to my fellow citizens. Your walls will stand secure; the citadel of truth will not fall to deception. Lord Jesus, You are my Tower of Strength! Amen.

Song:
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Words: Martin Luther; Music: Traditional

1. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

2. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?  Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.

3. And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

4. That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 30, 2017

Weapons

Armies are known to be armed.
They carry weapons into battle. It would be foolish not to. From ancient times until today there have been two kinds of weapons: offensive and defensive—symbolized for all times by the images of the sword and shield.

The Scriptures carry on this imagery:

  • The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.
  • The Shield is the Shield of Faith.

There is no need to modernize these ancient images or to update them to the digital age for they have no metaphorical counterparts. All the weapons of modern warfare are conceived as either swords or shields.

Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual warfare is not a metaphor; it is a reality; we are in a battle! In Scripture, the church is seen as the Army of the Lord and He does not send us into battle without weapons.

Evil is not some impersonal force, like an airborne plague that sickens individuals and society itself. Evil has a face, and a mind, and a plan. If we believe the Bible record, Jesus went toe-to-toe with Satan in the wilderness and defeated him two fantastic weapons: The Truth of God and Obedience to God.

Satan was beaten in the first round. His only counter-punch for Truth is a lie and the better we know the Truth the easier it is to spot a lie. As for Obedience to God, the enemy is outnumbered because he isn’t fighting just us and our will power but the Holy Spirit and a squad of warrior angels sent to help us inside and out.

That desert debate (“turn stones into bread”) wasn’t the only temptation of Jesus—He was tempted in every way we are tempted but never did He disobey. It is this record of purity that enabled Him to take our impurity upon Himself on the cross.

Evil is in this world because it dwells in the hearts of people.
The forces of darkness latch on to a person through thoughts and behavior. Until the Blood of Christ cleanses the heart and the Holy Spirit takes up residence there the evil will only be a matter of degree.

The Blood Bought Church is the Army of the Lord.
We have weapons of warfare that are of the spirit not the flesh. Our faith in Christ is our sure and certain shield. The Word of God is our double sharp sword. One more weapon do we need, it is both a defensive and an offensive one—Obedience. Hell has no defense against our obedience!

Armies are known to be armed—they carry weapons into battle. It would be foolish not to.

Scriptures:
Psalm 44:1-8 NIV
We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.
Psalm 76:1-3 NIV
In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.
2 Corinthians 6:4-10 NIV
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NKJV
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ephesians 6:16-18 NIV
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Psalms 149:6-9 NIV
May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints.
Romans 12:21 NIV
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Captain of the Hosts of the Lord, call me to attention today. I will put on the Gospel Armor; each piece put on with faith. I will sharpen the Sword of Truth and wield the Shield of Faith. I will walk securely in the security of my preparation of the Gospel. With my head covered with salvation and my heart secured with Your righteousness, I will march forth wearing the belt of Truth. I will wage a good warfare today, with spiritual weapons not those of the flesh. And You will triumph through me! Lord Jesus, Captain of the Hosts of the Lord, call me to attention today. Amen.

Song:
For the Lord Is Marching On
Words and Music by Bonnie Low

1.For the Lord is marching on
And His army is ever strong
And His glory shall be seen upon our land
Raise the anthem, sing the victor’s song
Praise the Lord for the battle’s won
No weapon formed against us shall stand!

Refrain:
For the Captain of the host is Jesus
We’re following in His footsteps
No foe can stand against us in the fray!
No foe can stand against us in the fray!

2. We are marching in Messiah’s band
The keys of vict’ry in His mighty hand
Let us march on to take our promised land
For the Lord is marching on And His army is ever strong
And His glory shall be seen upon our land.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 29, 2017

Memorial

Remembering and Forgetting
Forgetting what we should always remember and remembering what is better forgotten are the twin plagues that can rob us of our heritage, our joy in each moment, and our legacy.  For this reason, the Bible instructs us both to remember and to forget.

  • We should always remember who God is in Christ Jesus, what He has done for us, and what He has promised to do.  We must never forget the darkness out of which He called us and we must always remember to choose to walk in His light.
  • At the same time we must forget the guilt of our sin for these things have been cleansed from our record in heaven. We must let the Lord heal us from the wounds of our history. God can heal our memories so thoroughly that  there is no reason to cling to hurtful things.

In other words, the Lord can help us adjust our time consciousness to remember what we should remember and forget what we should forget.

There are memories and then, there are memorials. 
A memorial is a more formal reminder of something of high importance.  We celebrate the remembrance of birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays with memorial rituals.  Some of us remember other milestones like the day we gave our heart to the Lord, the home-going of someone we love, or some other life-altering event.

In the USA, we celebrate a certain day in honor of the people who fought and died to preserve our political freedom.  We simply call it Memorial Day.  Throughout the country special ceremonies are held in remembrance.  Prayers of thanksgiving are offered to God.  People are encouraged to take the day off from work to enjoy the freedom won for us by those we honor.  This memorial activity has many effects:

  • We decorate the graves of the fallen.
  • We are reminded of the cost of our freedom.
  • We are humbled to remember those who gave all to preserve it.
  • We are grateful to live in such a land.
  • We renew our personal commitments to do our part to make their sacrifices count.

In the same way, each time of morning prayer is a memorial.
God not only hears our prayers, He collects them.  They are the record of our service.  In Acts chapter 10, we find an intriguing insight into this. An angel tells a Gentile believer named Cornelius that his deeds of mercy and his prayers had come before the Lord as a memorial—a remembrance.  He was about to be involved in the spreading of the New Covenant into all the world, not just the Jewish people.

When we take time to pray each day, the effect on us is similar to the effect of Memorial Day.

  • When we humble ourselves before our victorious Hero we do not bow at a graveside, for His tomb is empty.
  • We kneel before an empty cross, the symbol of death and of resurrection.
  • We honor the Lord Jesus who gave His life for us.
  • We remember those who brought Jesus to us, so that we might know Him.
  • We are thankful to live in this Promised Land of Grace.
  • We renew our commitment to live for Jesus in this, our time of service and sacrifice.

Prayer maintains the brain.
Faithfulness to prayer keeps us from forgetting what we must forever remember while it heals the wounds of memories best forgotten.   It is one thing when we remember—it is something else when God remembers!  In prayer today and in the way we live, let us give Him something to remember!

Scriptures:
Joshua 4:4-7
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
Acts 10:4-5
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,  and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Psalm 103:2-5
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Philippians 3:13-14
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to never forget! My freedom to worship You is mine because of those who gave all to secure it. The lovely sanctuary in which I worship You was by built by others. Generations before me handed down the Word of God to me, leaving their loving fingerprints on the Holy Book. Help me move out today in full remembrance of such blessings and thus fulfill my heritage. Other things are not helpful to remember. Help me, Lord, to forget these things. Remembering the right things and forgetting the rest, I walk forward into this day to serve You with joy! In Your name, Amen!

Song:
America, the Beautiful
Words: Katherine Lee Bates; Music: Samuel A. Word

1. O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain;
for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

2.  O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine.

3. O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years
thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 28, 2017

Seen

Some things are so beautiful they have to be seen to really know them.
The Northern Lights are like that. My father saw them in Alaska in WW2 and he told me about them. I was fascinated. Over the years film and pictures failed to help me see them. A few years ago on a teaching trip to Alaska I stood on a hillside in Kotzebue, inside the Arctic Circle. While the heavens danced over my head, a verse of Scripture repeated in my heart: “The heavens are telling the glory of God.”

Now I can say I have seen the Northern Lights—I have experienced them for myself.

When something has been “seen,” this often means more than a visual recognition of it. We use the word to also mean “understanding,” as in “I have seen the light!

How many eyes do we have?

  • the mind’s eye,
  • the eyes of the heart,
  • the eye for beauty, and
  • the eyes of our understanding.

In a biblical sense, all three parts of our humanity have their own kind of vision:

  • the eyes of the body see the reality of creation,
  • the eyes of soul see patterns of human behavior, the intricacies of mathematics and logic, and wide-screen technicolor movies of our imagination, and
  • the eyes of the spirit, the God-conscious part of us, see the throne of God.

With these eyes we perceive the world, we understand what is observable in life, and we obtain by the Holy Spirit an inner vision of the world beyond our senses and our minds.

This wonderful impartation of inner sight is the work of the Holy Spirit.
It happens when we worship God.

  • As we give God the glory due His name, He enables the eyes of our spirit to see Jesus.
  • To see Jesus is to be changed. To behold Him, to contemplate Him. is to be changed from glory to glory.
  • This is a Bible promise and it really does happen.

Seeing is knowing.
On this Lord’s Day when it is time to sing to the Lord, let’s give it all we’ve got! There is no greater enterprise for the expenditure of our energy. What other activity can open the eyes of our heart? Is there another One we can behold and be changed into His likeness?

When we have seen with the eyes of our own spirit, then we will know as never before because, like those dancing streams of light in the Arctic sky we will have gone beyond the testimony of others or even the high definition photos others have taken. We will have seen for ourselves that God is good and His mercy endures forever, even to our generation.

Scriptures:
Psalm 63 NIV
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Psalm 34:8 NKJV
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Isaiah 6:5 NIV
“…my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah 9:2 NIV
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
John 1:14 NIV
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 14:9 NIV
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
John 20:18 NIV
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Prayer Songs:
Exalted Lord
Words and Music: Steve Phifer

I came into Your holy presence loaded down with care and fear,
Just one hope that something good might happen for me here.
As I hear Your people singing songs of worship, songs of love,
Something stirs within my heart; by faith I’m looking up.

I lift the eyes of my heart toward Your Holy Temple.
I lift my heart with heaven’s songs of love.
I lift my soul to see a throne of majesty and then
I see You, Lord, high and lifted up!

Exalted Lord, I hear Your angels singing,
“Holy, Holy! Holy, Holy!”
I join their song for You alone are worthy.
Exalted Lord, You’ve come and lifted me!

Open My Eyes that I May See
Words and Music: Clara H. Scott

1. Open my eyes, that I may see
glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

2. Open my ears, that I may hear
voices of truth thou sendest clear;
and while the wave notes fall on my ear,
everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!

3. Open my mouth, and let me bear
gladly the warm truth everywhere;
open my heart and let me prepare
love with thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 21, 2017

Soul

We know it is there—somewhere inside us.
We can feel the soul better than we can define it. We use the term loosely calling some music “soul music,” some persons an “old soul,” and a close friend a “soulmate.”

We see the souls of others and sense that they have the same worth, the same value, as we have because we each have a soul. We are not sure about our dogs but we are pretty sure about houseflies and plants—not every living thing has a soul.

In the Image of God—a Trinity.
We sense also that this mystery living in us is connected to God in some direct way. The Bible indicates that we are each made of up three distinct parts: body, soul, and spirit. Here’s how I understand this:

  • The body is our sense-consciousness.
  • The soul is our self-consciousness.
  • The spirit is our God-consciousness.

Let me explain further:

  • We process the material world through the five senses resident in the human body.
  • We maintain an inner world through memory, emotion, and various kinds of intelligence.
  • We relate to God through the spirit He gave us and for the New Covenant believer this is done with the aid of the Abiding Holy Spirit within.

The soul then is our inner person: mind, memory, needs, wounds that have been healed and those that still hurt, passions (good and bad) and unnamed urges we don’t like to own up to.

Some may ask, “What about the heart?”
I have heard it said and it make sense to me that the heart is both the soul and the spirit of a person, the total inner life. When Jesus lives in our hearts He occupies both soul and spirit.

In Psalm 116 the poet implores the Lord to deliver his soul and later gives testimony to that deliverance. We cannot overestimate this miracle. It begins deep inside and works its way out to the surface affecting the whole of our being—body, soul, and spirit.

“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”

Such complete deliverance bring freedom, joy, stability, and of all things—rest!

Scriptures:
Psalm 116:1-10 NKJV
I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NKJV
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Matthew 16:24-28 NIV
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Matthew 22:37-40 NIV
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Luke 1:46-48 NIV
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”
3 John 2-3 NKJV
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, from the depths of my soul I cry out to You! Like the panting deer pursued by hungry hounds, I thirst for Your presence. All that is within me, soul and spirit, longs for You—and finds You! You are near to me! You are “God with Us” and that includes me. When I stand beneath the banner of Your name, You are with me. When my mind ponders the wonders and riches of Your love, You are with me. When my wounded soul cries out for Your touch, You are there with healing virtue flowing. I repeat the words of Mary: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

Song:
Be Still, My Soul
Words: William H. Monk; Music: Jean Sibelius

1. Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

4. Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

5. Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved