pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 22, 2017 “Crooked”

Crooked

My mother had a saying, “That man is as crooked as a barrel of snakes.”
Pretty descriptive, right? I tried finding an image for this devotion of a barrel of snakes and found some; they are too gruesome to use so I went with the crooked tree. That works too.

The poet says, “A crooked heart shall be far from me; I will not know evil.”

Good for him! I wish we could all be so certain.

Before we examine the “crooked” aspects of this, we must take a look at the heart.
That muscle faithfully pumping blood all through us has been our friend since we were snuggled in our mother’s womb. It survived the shock of our expulsion from that safe place into this dangerous world and has served us well ever since. We can feel it and hear it but we have never seen it.

Somehow in man’s attempt to understand the inner life, he has decided to call this hidden world within us, the heart. Like the muscle, we can feel it and hear it but we have never seen it clearly. We have little glimpses from time to time of the secrets lurking there, the good, the bad, and the unproductive. We resonate with the words of Jeremiah:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

The Crooked Heart
When we think of such a lofty theological concept as “The Fall of Man” it is difficult to realize what this really means. It means we come into this world with a crooked heart—a heart bent like that poor wounded tree in the picture, positioned next to a tall, straight tree with no sign of past trauma. A twisted, crooked tree is the result of a trauma when it was only a bendable sapling. It is twisted but it must be seen as a survivor, not at all pretty, but still alive.

This is how we are born, twisted by the sins of Adam and Eve and all our subsequent parents. For a few years we survive in our crooked form and then we are gone.

Except for Jesus.
He is the one who was born of woman but not of man, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. His heart was straight, a perfect example of the highest human potential. His heart never failed Him all through His life on earth: as an infant, a child, a teen, and as a young man. This was the heart that took on our sin because there was room in it for Jesus had no sin of His own to clutter it. This was the heart that broke and finally stopped beating on the cross when all His healing blood had been spilled to the earth. This was the heart Mary and the other women heard at the tomb and the disciples found again in the resurrected Jesus.

It is true we come into this world with hearts bent out of shape, but that is not the whole truth.
Our hearts were designed for better things:

  • To fellowship with God,
  • To be the dwelling place of God,
  • And the Temple of the Spirit of God, and
  • To host the Throne of God and of the Lamb.

We live from the heart out to the surface. Out of the heart flows the River of Life making us a healing force in this world.

Our hearts have been healed of the trauma and straightened by amazing grace. Now each of us is like a tree by rivers of water, tall straight, and fruitful.

Scriptures:
Psalm 101
I will sing of mercy and justice; to you, O Lord, will I sing praises. I will strive to follow a blameless course; oh, when will you come to me? I will walk with sincerity of heart within my house. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the doers of evil deeds; they shall not remain with me. A crooked heart shall be far from me; I will not know evil. Those who in secret slander their neighbors I will destroy; those who have a haughty look and a proud heart I cannot abide. My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me, and only those who lead a blameless life shall be my servants. Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight. I will soon destroy all the wicked in the land, that I may root out all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Matthew 12:34-37; 15:18-20 NIV
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.'”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 NKJV
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Psalm 51:10-11 NKJV
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the Keeper of my heart. You found it wounded and You healed it. You found it full of sin an selfishness and You emptied it. When You found it thus emptied You did not leave it there—You moved in to live there. You filled my heart with the Blessed Holy Spirit to make it strong and true, a heart to be trusted. With this redeemed, restored heart I worship You and that changes everything for the good. Praise You, Jesus! Amen.

Song:
Change My Heart, O God
Words and Music: Eddie Espinosa

Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.

You are the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.

Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer
How to find true-hearted people for your team: “Heart-Search”

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

 

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 16, 2017 “Arrogance”

Arrogance

Arrogance is a child sitting on a pretend throne.
It is a haughty look with the tongue extended. It is a nose in the air and a reeking scent of a superiority supposed. Arrogance is the overcoat for pride, the stage business of the polished actor in a fiction, and the polite conversation of those can only speak of themselves.

The poet says this:

The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor,
but they are trapped in the schemes they have devised.

Arrogance Is Wicked.
The only brand of arrogance you can get is wicked; there is no holy version to be had.

  • Arrogance is a faulty weapon that is guaranteed to misfire eventually. It will blow up in the face of the most skillful marksman. The arrogant set traps into which they themselves eventually step to the terrible injury and bondage they planned for others.
  • The arrogant are blind to the good and they rejoice in the prospect of their own advancement at any cost. They see others as devices to use and throw away.
  • They are quick to receive the credit they have earned and just as quick to steal the credit others have earned.

The fuel of the arrogance machine is pride—something God hates, something God opposes.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. NIV
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. NKJV
James 4:6

God’s Opposition
The opposition of God—His resistance—is a serious matter, but the arrogant are blind to this. They have deceived themselves so thoroughly that they think they will win against God. They will outlast the eternal; beat the courts of heaven, escape from the long arm of the Lord. How can brilliant people stake their lives on such foolish conceits? The temporary plight of the righteous is to work for and with the arrogant. We are confident of their end—eventually, but what about until then?

We must have confidence in the Path of Life!
As we walk with the Lord through this life we are doing good: (Not “doing well” which is a state of being; “doing good” is the productive life.)

  • we are sowing good seed;
  • we are watering the good seed others have sown;
  • we are letting the candle of our life shine;
  • we are standing in our assigned place in the line of battle; and
  • we are building our lives on the Rock, Christ Jesus.

The real books are kept in heaven, not it the boss’s office. We are assisted each day by grace of God Himself—“He gives grace to the humble!”

We cannot imagine how much good we are doing when we are doing good. But this we do know: In due time we shall reap if we faint not.

Scriptures:
Psalm 10
Why do you stand so far off, O Lord, and hide yourself in time of trouble? The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor, but they are trapped in the schemes they have devised. The wicked boast of their heart’s desire; the covetous curse and revile the Lord. The wicked are so proud that they care not for God; their only thought is, “God does not matter.” Their ways are devious at all times; your judgments are far above out of their sight; they defy all their enemies. They say in their heart, “I shall not be shaken; no harm shall happen to me ever.” Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; under their tongue are mischief and wrong. They lurk in ambush in public square sand in secret places they murder the innocent; they spy out the helpless. They lie in wait, like a lion in a covert; they lie in wait to seize upon the lowly; they seize the lowly and drag them away in their net. The innocent are broken and humbled before them; the helpless fall before their power. They say in their heart, “God has forgotten; he hides his face; he will never notice.” Rise up, O Lord; lift up your hand, O God; do not forget the afflicted. Why should the wicked revile God? Why should they say in their heart, “You do not care”? Surely, you behold trouble and misery; you see it and take it into your own hand. The helpless commit themselves to you, for you are the helper of orphans. Break the power of the wicked and evil; search out their wickedness until you find none. The Lord is King for ever and ever; the ungodly shall perish from his land. The Lord will hear the desire of the humble; you will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear; to give justice to the orphan and oppressed, so that mere mortals may strike terror no more.
Galatians 6:7-10 NIV
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Isaiah 66:1-2 NIV
This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
1 Peter 5:5-7 NIV
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Corinthians 3:5-8 NIV
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when I think of the foolishness of pride, I am ashamed that it has ever found root in me. Forgive me for ever seeking to elevate myself—that is Your part of the Covenant. It is my job to stay on task, to get lost in the work You have given me to do and not concern myself with who gets the credit. I live in a competitive world, Lord, and the pressure to “win” is great, both from without and within. Remind me today that life is not a game—it is a mission within a relationship. Your reward is my goal and so many times no one sees this trophy but the two of us. That is more than enough. Thank You, Lord! Amen.

Song
Just as I Am
Words: Charlotte Elliot; Music: William Bradley

1. Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

2. Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

3. Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

4. Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; sight, riches, healing of the mind,
yea, all I need in thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

5. Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

6. Just as I am, thy love unknown hath broken every barrier down; now, to be thine, yea thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

For more on Pride: “The Invisible Mountain”

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 15, 2017 “Useless?”

Useless?

No way! It is only an illusion, a cheap trick by a cheaper magician.
Each of us has immense value and usefulness to God. Sometimes this fact of faith is easy to forget. Why?
Because we know, also, that we are broken—all of us—not just the derelict on the street corner trudging to the cover of a bridge for the night. Pride would lift us up and say that he is broken but we are whole and healthy.

Check again. We are all broken. The difference is only a matter of degree.

“Great!” You might be saying, “Where is the encouragement in that bit of news?”

While the feeling of uselessness is a powerful one, that does not make it accurate. It is a story only half-told. There is more, another act to be seen in this drama.

The Poet expressed the feeling for us:

“I am as useless as a broken pot.”

This is emotion not information.

Clay pots were the creation of the potter.
His skillful hands and whirling wheel shaped the shapeless wet clay into a useful form. Baked in the oven, the soft clay hardened into stone as the useless thing became useful in the potter’s shop.

God, of course, is the Potter of our lives and His skills range far above those of the human potter. In the earthly shop, a broken earthen pot cannot be mended; it is good only to be thrown away. Not so in our Potter’s Shop! He specializes in the reconstruction of broken pots!

Earthly “wisdom” would tell us that we are beyond repair, ruined forever.
This is the cynical, earth-bound, deterministic lie that we who have been repaired must expose. Lies like this discourage us from another attempt at reform. Our record of unsuccessful self-reform programs is dismal.

There is another brand of wisdom we need to consult, “the wisdom from above.” In our brokenness we have come to the wrong shop. We need to keep walking until we find the Potter’s Shop where Jesus works. We will find work going on here that we can’t find anywhere else—the work of restoration. Jesus rebuilds broken pots, making the useless useful again.

This is information, not emotion.

Look around you and you will see many people living useful, productive lives.
Be assured they have not always been so busy and beneficial. They were once broken to one extent or another but Jesus repaired them.

His shop is open for business today.

Scriptures:
Psalm 31
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Incline your ear to me; make haste to deliver me. Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and my stronghold; for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me. Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, for you are my tower of strength. Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols, and I put my trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad because of your mercy; for you have seen my affliction; you know my distress. You have not shut me up in the power of the enemy; you have set my feet in an open place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye is consumed with sorrow, and also my throat and my belly. For my life is wasted with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones are consumed. I have become a reproach to all my enemies and to my neighbors, a dismay to those of my acquaintance; when they see me in the street they avoid me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am as useless as a broken pot. … Yet I said in my alarm, “I have been cut off from the sight of your eyes. “Nevertheless, you heard the sound of my entreaty when I cried out to you. Love the Lord, all you who worship him; the Lord protects the faithful, but repays to the full those who act haughtily. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.
2 Timothy 2:20-22 NKJV
…in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Acts 9:15-16 KJV
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Jeremiah 18:1-7 NIV
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”
James 3:13-18
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 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.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, to this day Your strong, carpenter’s hands bear the scars of our sin; yet they are still healing hands! You have handled me skillfully, tenderly restoring my marred and broken life. Today Your work in me will continue. I want to be pliable in Your hands, malleable beneath the gentle hammer of Your grace. I am grateful that You haven’t given up on me! With Your on-going repairs I can be a vessel unto honor, fit for Your use, Master Jesus! Amen.

Song:
The Broken Vessel
Words and Music: Andrea Crouch

1. The Potter saw a vessel, that was broken by the wind and rain
And he sought with so much compassion to make it over again.
O I was that vessel, that no one thought was good
I cried Lord, You’re the potter and I am the clay make me over again today.
Then God picked up the pieces of my broken life that day
And He made me a new vessel, and washed all my sins away.

2. My friend if your broken and scattered by the storms of life
And You’ve looked in vain for the answers for all your turmoil and strife.
Just look to the Savior Who’ll save your soul from sin
And cry Lord you the potter and I am the clay make me over again today
Then let God pick up the pieces of your broken life today
He will make you a new vessel and wash all your sins away.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

How to stay “Useful” to God? “Strange Place for a Tree.”

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, June

June 9, 2017 “Ruins”

Ruins

Some say the worship of the church today is in ruins.
The old ways, the tried and proven ways, are gone and in their place are experiments of dubious origin and doubtful outcome.

Others say the church is in ruins. The world has passed her by. She clings to outdated thinking and methods. It is time to rethink, redefine, and retool. We must become all things to all people to win some.

Still others say the world is in ruins. Man’s worship of Himself as the measure of all things has proven to be the most destructive of all idolatries. Despair has become the highest hope of the best people.

Anything that people built will eventually fall into ruin.
The world is littered with the ruins of great civilizations whose crumbling temples, palaces, castles, and monuments testify silently of the temporary nature of the most ancient of things. Tourists climb over them and take pictures, trying their best to recapture the past when real people occupied these old structures and the silent crumbling walls were sturdy and reflected the sounds of real life.

Societies of concerned citizens organize to protect the falling down houses and restore the neglected historical sights before time can destroy them completely. Why? Ruins of the past seem to somehow speak to us of the future. We are in the middle of a journey others have started and still others will finish. We need a connection to the past that gives meaning to today and a promise of tomorrow.

Ruin is the way of the world; time and gravity win eventually. All that is left are the hollowed out walls and arches of cathedrals hundreds of years old and the dry-rotted clapboard and collapsing roofs of humble country churches only a hundred or so years old.

But ruin is not the way of the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ!
Restoration is the business of King Jesus. Just as He was a builder in His shop in Nazareth for 30 years, He is now the rebuilder of broken lives. In this He does the work of His Father. It is practically routine that biblical heroes were reduced to ruins at some point and when they turned to God, he restored them.

If this is not your story yet, it probably will be someday. The enemy deals in ruin and few escape it completely in this life. Satan tells us the story is over. The curtain has fallen and there is no reason to go on.

But, as the old-time preachers used to say about the Devil, “He is a liar and the father of it.”

There is no ruin that Jesus cannot renovate, no relic that He cannot restore, and no derelict beyond His re-design. Impervious to time and untouched by gravity, the Lord’s work is quality work, work that stands the storm and resists the ravages of time.

But ruin is not the way of the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ!
Restoration is the business of King Jesus. Just as He was a builder in His shop in Nazareth for 30 years, He is now the rebuilder of broken lives. In this He does the work of His Father. It is practically routine that biblical heroes were reduced to ruins at some point and when they turned to God, he restored them.

If this is not your story yet, it probably will be someday. The enemy deals in ruin and few escape it completely in this life. Satan tells us the story is over. The curtain has fallen and there is no reason to go on.

But, as the old-time preachers used to say about the Devil, “He is a liar and the father of it.”

Look at people through the eyes of Christ.

  • When we see the homeless one leaning against the wall of a building in the center of the city,
  • when we hear of the recluse locked away in a fog of regret and pain, and
  • when we see young people speeding down the many roads to ruin, we should pray,

“Lord, speak to them somehow! Let some human hand be Your hand, some human voice tell them of Your love.” They are ruins waiting for someone to restore them before time and circumstance have finished their work.

There is no ruin that Jesus cannot renovate, no relic that He cannot restore, and no derelict beyond His re-design. Impervious to time and untouched by gravity, the Lord’s work is quality work, work that stands the storm and resists the ravages of time.

Scriptures:
Psalm 74 
O God, why have you utterly cast us off? Why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance, and Mount Zion where you dwell. Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary. Your adversaries roared in your holy place; they set up their banners as tokens of victory…They burned down all the meeting-places of God in the land. There are no signs for us to see; there is no prophet left; there is not one among us who knows how long. How long, O God, will the adversary scoff? will the enemy blaspheme your Name for ever? Why do you draw back your hand? why is your right hand hidden in your bosom? Yet God is my King from ancient times, victorious in the midst of the earth…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; remember how fools revile you all day long. Forget not the clamor of your adversaries, the unending tumult of those who rise up against you.
Isaiah 58:11-12 NKJV
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Isaiah 51:3 NKJV
For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me see people with Your eyes! Each one is a creation in Your image, though that visage may be horribly marred by things done to him/her or the things his/she has done. I divest myself of any pretense of superiority on my part. Ruin has touched my life, too. But when I called to You, You answered with a healing, restoring touch. Your carpenter’s hands are skillful and willing to touch anyone I can see as I walk this earth. Restore us, again, O Lord! Amen.

Song:
The Healing Waters
Words: H.H. Heimar; Music: L. L. Pickett

1. Oh, the joy of sins forgiv’n,
Oh, the bliss the blood-washed know,
Oh, the peace akin to Heav’n,
Where the healing waters flow.

Refrain
Where the healing waters flow,
Where the joys celestial glow,
Oh, there’s peace and rest and love,
Where the healing waters flow!

2.Now with Jesus crucified,
At His feet I’m resting low;
Let me evermore abide
Where the healing waters flow.

Refrain

3.O, this precious, perfect love!
How it keeps the heart aglow,
Streaming from the fount above,
Where the healing waters flow.

Refrain

4.Oh, to lean on Jesus’ breast,
While the tempests come and go!
Here is blessèd peace and rest,
Where the healing waters flow.

Refrain

5.Cleansed from every sin and stain,
Whiter than the driven snow,
Now I sing my sweet refrain,
Where the healing waters flow.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

For an article on the restorative ministry of the Holy Spirit go to: “Turning Hearts” http://stevephifer.com/renewal-4/

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, 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

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 20, 2017

Hunger

It is more than chemistry—calories in, calories burned, calories stored.
It is more than a process of the stomach signaling the brain that the body needs fuel. The hunger for food is so upfront in life that it retains our focus while deeper hungers drive us from deeper inside us.

There is something we want from life. When we get a slice of it, the taste and texture are pleasing but soon, like the proverbial cake which refuses to be eaten and possessed simultaneously, it is gone and the hunger remains, stronger even for the sweetness of the recent experience.

King Solomon and Mick Jagger
3000 years ago King Solomon expressed the hunger of his soul: “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “All is vanity.” The word translated “vanity” means trying to eat the wind. There is no wind made on earth that can satisfy hunger. 50 years ago Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones were just as poetic. “I can’t get no satisfaction.”

In the most immediate sense the tragedy of hunger in the nations of the world calls for those of us whose only hungers are spiritual in nature to share our abundance with their lack. God has blessed us now we must be his hands breaking bread and fish to feed this multitude.

The Hungry Heart
Back in our own kitchens with cupboards, mimicking us–bulging with excess, we must attend to these deeper hungers. Jesus said that people speak in their words and deeds actions springing from what is in their hearts.

  • If there is emptiness in our hearts it will speak.
  • If there are drives, hungers for inanimate morsels like recognition, affirmation, affection, attention, and power, hidden in our hearts, these things will prompt our words, propel our choices, and power our deeds.
  • Other people will become the means to the end of satisfying our hunger.

These inner hungers are in us because of the sins we have done and/or the sins done to us.

  • They are the stuff of Calvary.
  • They are susceptible to the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus.
  • They are fuel for the Refiner’s Fire.

They are not a life sentence.

Righteousness
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invited us to enjoy another hunger—to hunger and thirst for righteousness. This invitation to dine at the Lord’s Table comes with a promise—You will be filled! Satisfied! Not a meal made of air, but a feast of real soul food that strengths the body, new spiritual wine that gladdens the heart, and the very Bread of Life! Here is the life sentence—hunger for God and you shall be filled—no longer driven by unnamed passions and hidden fears—but free to drink of the Waters of Life freely and to feast at the Table of the Lord.

Hunger is, indeed, more than chemistry.

Scriptures:
Matthew 5:6 NIV
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
John 6:35-36 NIV
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 NIV
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Revelation 19:9 NIV
Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
John 21:12
Jes:us saith unto them, Come and dine.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I long to feast at Your Table today! I want to drink deeply from the cup or Your life, poured out for me. I want to consume Your substance today, the Words of life, the example of how to live this life, and the all-giving love, unsurpassed by any other. I hunger for You, Lord! Fill me! Fill me! Fill me! Amen.

Song:
Come and Dine
Words and Music: C.B. Widmyer

1. Jesus has a table spread where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen People come and dine.
With His manna He doth feed and supplieth every need;
O, ‘Tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

Refrain:
“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine;”
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time.
He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine!”

2. The disciples came to land, Thus obeying Christ’s command,
For the Master called to them, “O Come and dine;”
There they found their heart’s desire, Bread and fish upon the fire;
Thus He satisfies the hungry every time!

Refrain

3. Soon the Lamb will take His bride to be ever at His side,
All the hosts of heaven will assembled be.
O, ‘Twill be a glorious sight, all the saints in spotless white,
And with Jesus they will feast eternally!

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 19, 2017

Pure

The opposite of pure is polluted.
When something is pure, it has integrity from the inside to the surface.

  • There is no rotten core for the passage of time has had power to breakdown its substance.
  • No pollutants have broken its surface to spoil its contents.
  • No structural decay has weakened its frame.

It is as it always has been—full-strength, undiluted, pristine, untarnished, without rust or decay—pure.

Perhaps purity is the most amazing characteristic of the God we serve.
The angels sense this of God and they can only sing one song—“Worthy, Worthy, Worthy is the Lamb! Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty.”

  • He has not grown into this purity for it was always His.
  • He has not increased in purity for He has always been completely thus.
  • He will never suffer corruption or weaken or age or even tire for time and use are His ideas.

God is other. His ways are not our ways and they are past finding out.

God with Us!
Yet He has chosen not to watch us from a distance, like some play from the back row. He has chosen to be “God with us,” on the front row. He wants to watch each scene we are in, to coach us on the dialog and help us remember our blocking.

The Psalmist tells us that He deals with us in ways we understand:

  • “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
  • to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
  • to the pure you show yourself pure, but
  • to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.”

God does not change, but He reveals Himself to us in the way we choose to respond to Him—it is a mutual thing.

Amazing.

God is shrewd.
We cannot match Him in faithfulness or blamelessness or in purity but if we are crooked with Him—not good!

  • He will outsmart us every time.
  • He will foil our plans and wreck our dreams when we make plans and dreams without asking Him.

Why? Because His shrewdness is part of His love for us, His pure love for us.

Pure again?
When we allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from the pollution of this world, we can be pure again. The same Spirit can replace the rotting timbers of our sinful frame with strong supporting beams, composites of grace and mercy and truth. We can be blameless because our sins are nailed to the cross. We can live pure in a polluted world.

The opposite of polluted is pure.

Scriptures:
Psalm 18:24-30 NKJV
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks. For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
Titus 1:15-16 NIV
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Philippians 2:14-17 NIV
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Matthew 5:8 NIV
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Psalm 51:10-12 NIV
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Prayer Song:
Create in Me a Clean Heart
Words and Music: Keith Green

Create in me a clean heart, O God
And renew a right spirit within me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God
And renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, O Lord
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy Salvation
And renew a right spirit within me.

Song:
A Pure Heart
Words and Music: Rusty Nelson

A pure heart, that’s what I long for,
A heart that follows hard after Thee.
A pure heart, that’s what I long for,
A heart that follows hard after Thee.

A heart that hides Your Word so that sin will not come in;
A heart that’s undivided but You rule and reign;
A heart full of compassion that pleases You, My Lord;
A sweet aroma of worship that rises to Your Throne.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 17, 2017

Mornings

There are two types of people…
If we listen closely enough we will often hear someone declare, “There are two types of people in the world…” and go on to make some clever observation about how we human beings go about the business of being human. Usually it has nothing to do with gender.

Well, it is time to say it, “There are two types of people in the world, morning people and everyone else.” Some people do their best work late at night when all is quiet or when the noise is a chosen one. They look with deep suspicion on those who do their best thinking first thing in the morning, and their finest work to the accompaniment of birds and the early morning news.

It is a good thing when these two types of people marry; that way work or fun can happen around the clock in their house.

In the earliest days of the church, hours of prayer were kept all through each day and night. To this day some of us do our devotions in the morning and others at night. The only rule we need to consider is to give the Lord our best time, be that early or late.

A Special Gift from God
Think for a moment of a different application of “mornings” as a special kind of gift from the Lord. The broad rhythms of life are vital to our spiritual and physical health.

  • We need activity and we need rest.
  • We need wakefulness and we need sleep.
  • We need to be alert at crucial times and at other times we can tune out and the let the old earth turn without our help.

These alternating states of being come to us in the steady beat of day and night, of “morning and evening” as in the biblical account of the Creation.

Perhaps we should think of each morning as a “do-over”—a chance to try again. It is as if the darkness of night was a curtain drawn on the past and the light of day was the rising of the curtain on a future full of promise. Each morning is like a little New Year’s Day—a chance to out yesterday behind us and to improve on it today—a new challenge to keep life interesting. What a blessed gift from God!—Mornings!

Fear and darkness have always been partners.
Before the age of electricity homes and streets were dark or poorly lit by candles and lamps, slender flames against the wide darkness of night. The night held terrors both real and imagined. The ancient prayers the people of God used to pray through the night reveal this now-forgotten fear. In our modern world the troubles of the day or the frailties of the body may pain the mind or the human frame to the point of lost sleep. For these long nights, mornings are indeed a gift from God.

Of course the Bible famously promises that the loving-kindness of the Lord is new every morning. That means that as the earth is constantly turning, every moment is morning somewhere.

We can rejoice when the alarm shocks us awake. We can smile at the sunrise. We can spend time with God and a good cup of coffee, knowing that each morning holds a bit of the Resurrection morning and that God has gifted us each with a fresh start.

Maybe we will get it right this time!

Scripture:
Psalm 5 
Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation. Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I make my prayer to you. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you. For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, and evil cannot dwell with you. Braggarts cannot stand in your sight; you hate all those who work wickedness. You destroy those who speak lies; the bloodthirsty and deceitful, O Lord, you abhor. But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy I will go into your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness, because of those who lie in wait for me; make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth; there is destruction in their heart; Their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall, because of their schemes. Because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. But all who take refuge in you will be glad; they will sing out their joy for ever. You will shelter them, so that those who love your Name may exult in you. For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; you will defend them with your favor as with a shield.

Prayers for the Morning from the Book of Common Prayer
For the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep Your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done Your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give You thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Guidance
Heavenly Father, in You we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray You so to guide and govern us by Your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget You, but may remember that we are ever walking in Your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song:
Morning Has Broken
Words: Eleanor Farjeon; Music: Gaelic Folk Tune

1. Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word.

2. Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass.

3. Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 14, 2017

Ponder

When something is worth considering, it is worth considering deeply.
This means to ponder a matter; to think deeply about it, turning in over and over and around and around in our minds until we get it—or until it gets us.

God is really interested in our thought processes.
He installed neurons in our brains so that could fire at each other. He gave us synapses so they could synapse (not a verb but I am using it as one) up a storm. He wants all the stuff swirling around in our disordered, post-modern heads to settle into manageable patterns. (Some truths are linear! Pardon my modernity.)

One of the most amazing verses in the NT claims that we “have the mind of Christ.”
What could that possibly mean? Certainly not that we know everything Jesus knows—that would drive us crazy. It cannot mean that we understanding everything that happens or that simply is, because we clearly don’t.

It must mean that we have access to the Mind of Christ. Better than any search engine we know about, we can ask of the Lord and expect an answer. Asking questions of God is a privilege every believer has; it is not blasphemy or doubt. Asking questions is how God designed our minds to work with His. Ponder these things:

  • We are His feet as we walk in His will
  • We are His hands as we touch hurting people in His name, and
  • His voice when we speak the truth in love and tell His story.
  • We listen to the sounds of a fallen Creation and hear what He hears.
  • We keep our eyes open so that He can see what He sees.

And when we consider the things of God and ponder what we have seen, we have access by the Spirit to the mind of Christ.

He hasn’t called us servants for it is not necessary for a servant to understand why an order is given. He has called us friends, because He shares His heart with us.

This deep thinking is a form of prayer.
We listen to an inner dialogue between His Spirit and ours, His mind and our mind. We share the feelings of the meanings of the truth. The New Covenant promises that God will write His Word into our hearts.

When we take time to ponder who God is and what He has done, He is writing His Word onto our human hearts.

Scriptures:
Psalm 107: 33-43
The Lord changed rivers into deserts, and water-springs into thirsty ground, A fruitful land into salt flats, because of the wickedness of those who dwell there. He changed deserts into pools of water and dry land into water-springs. He settled the hungry there, and they founded a city to dwell in. They sowed fields, and planted vineyards, and brought in a fruitful harvest. He blessed them, so that they increased greatly; he did not let their herds decrease. Yet when they were diminished and brought low, through stress of adversity and sorrow, (He pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes) He lifted up the poor out of misery and multiplied their families like flocks of sheep. The upright will see this and rejoice, but all wickedness will shut its mouth. Whoever is wise will ponder these things, and consider well the mercies of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 2: 6-15
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.  No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
James 1:5-7
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, the thought that I have access to Your mind is overwhelming. Your mind is revealed in the Word of God; I will hide it in my heart so that I might not sin against You. Your mind reveals the significance of things around me; I will see with Your eyes. Slow me down so I can ponder these things, think deeply about them, and act upon them at Your prompting. I ask You for the wisdom this day will require so that I might be single-minded as I serve You. Amen.

Song:
Praise to the Lord the Almighty
Words: Joachim Neander; Music: Traditional

1.Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

2.Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

3.Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

4.Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

7.Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved