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 15, 2017

Losing

Jesus never loses a battle, but sometimes we do. 
It hurts so much that we tend to lose perspective on life when we lose a battle, a valuable asset, a trusted relationship or someone we love.  Victories are fun!  We take them in stride and pack them away into our collection of memories to be recalled when needed.  Chances are we don’t learn much from victories; they serve to affirm what we already know.  Losses, however, are a school, “the school of hard knocks,” it is called.  In this school our skills are examined and expanded and our philosophies are tested and adjusted.

If Jesus has the power to win all the time, why does the believer ever experience failure? 
There are too many reasons to explore in this devotional, but here are a few:

  • Sometimes we mess up. We lose when we let our discipline slip or when we yield to temptation.  When this happens we must accept the responsibility, repent, and pray for mercy.
  • Sometimes our methods are wrong.  God will let failure come our way when He wants us to abandon methods that do not please Him.  He loves us more than He loves what we can do for Him and He is pleased when we do things in His ways, not ours.
  • Sometimes are motives are wrong.  Improper motives can lurk deep in our spirits, unknown to us but most displeasing to God.  An unbroken stream of wins will keep these poisons out of sight so God sometimes lets us fall on our face to get our attention so we will seek His forgiveness and cleansing.
  • Sometimes others fail us.  Our faithfulness to God extends as far as our will, but we are not isolated from the failures of the people in our lives.  The wickedness, anger, deceit, and violence of the people around us can touch us in painful ways.  Think of the terrible bus accident several years ago in Kentucky where a drunk driver killed several young people returning from a church outing.  In these losses, God is an able counselor, a comfort and a friend.

Sometimes we lose and there seems to be no reason. 
When our hearts are right and our methods are pure and our faithfulness to God is intact, and we lose a battle or a loved one anyway, this is the toughest kind of loss.  There is no one to blame, no faulty methods to correct, no hidden sin to uncover and deal with.  There is no one to blame but God.

The book of Psalms contains prayers that boldly question God for His lack of action.  These make as uncomfortable as the “hallelujah” psalms make us happy.  What is the lesson?  Simply this:  It is not a sin to question God in such matters.  He can handle our inquiries.  He understands our doubts.  He remembers that we are human, not divine.  When we question from a standpoint of love, the Lord listens and comforts us with His presence, if not with all the answers to our questions.

Losses must be grieved; severe losses must be deeply grieved.
This is how God made us and it is not a sin to grieve a loss.  The psalms set an example of pouring our grief out to God. The key to this process of grief must also include solitude and listening.  “Beside still waters, He restores my soul.” In the quiet moments, after the crying is done and the tears have dried, after our legitimate questions have made the journey from our wounded hearts to His great, healing heart, God will speak to us.  We may not even have words for what He says, but He will speak.  He will be our solace.  He will touch us deep inside where no one else can reach.  He promises a greater day, a higher good, and a time to come when all our tears will be swept away by His own wounded hand.

Scriptures:
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Psalm 88
O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.  … You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them.  I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you… I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? …. You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, though You are the Victor over all, You suffered losses in Your earthly ministry. One of the twelve men You chose to follow You betrayed You instead. There was a village where You did not heal the sick and rescue the demon-possessed because of the low level of faith found there. In spite of Your creative and careful teaching about the coming atoning death and the subsequent resurrection, the disciples just didn’t get it. So You understand this world where sometimes we lose. I will take your advice and shake the dust of failure from my feet and follow You to the next thing. Through You I will win! Hallelujah!

Song:
Victory in Jesus
Words and Music: Eugene Bartlett

1. I heard an old, old story, How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning, Of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins And won the victory.

Refrain:
O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory, Beneath the cleansing flood.

2. I heard about His healing, Of His cleansing pow’r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro’t To me the victory.

Refrain

3. I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing, And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there The song of victory.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 8, 2017

Nations

The Big Blue Marble
It is said, and we have seen the pictures to prove it, that from the surface of the moon the earth looks like a big blue marble. Imaginative computer artists have shown us what our world looks like from deeper in space—just a blinking dot of light. These realizations make us feel small and perhaps insignificant.

For the Christ-follower images of earth from space cause us to be even more amazed at grace. To think that God “out there” who made all of creation would take notice of each of us individually, seems completely out of the realm of reason—except for one image—that of a cross, empty now with no helpless victim attached, and yet full of meaning, telling us that God loves us.

“What is man that you are mindful of him, O Lord?”
The question has been around since people first sensed a connection between the glittering night sky and the stirring deep in the human heart that tells us we are not here by accident. The Good News is that God made the universe and us, too! There in the secret place He knit us together. It was not a meaningless hobby of His—it was a purposeful act of destiny for us.

  • God made us.
  • God loves us.
  • God has work for us to do.

What work could that be?

If God loves people, then He must also love nations.
Reading in the Old Testament, God’s concern for the nations of the world is clear. He raised the nation of Israel up to be a witness to the pagan, god-cluttered world of the ancients that there is One True God. This chosen nation would also bring a Savior to the whole world.

God loves people and God loves nations. The world isn’t a big blue marble to Him, nor is it a distant speck of light. He has invaded our space and is standing by. Today we must call upon Him while He draws near. We must love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.

We have a story to tell to the nations—His story—the narrative that gives life and the saga that rescues from danger.

No one else is appointed this task. Angels might have been excellent witnesses but that is not their job. The heavens are telling the glory of God yet it seems most people don’t understand the love of God that shines in the stars or reflects from the moon. People need faces and voices and hands that are tender.

And that is why we are here on this Big Blue Marble.

Scriptures:
Psalm 67 NIV
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways
may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O
God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule
the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalm 8:3-8 NIV
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
Mark 16:15-18 NIV
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the Lord of the Harvest. You have called the Church to speak to the world, to the nations of men, to the cultures of peoples of the Earth. Help us learn their languages so we can tell them Your story. Send Your chosen ones to the nations of this earth and to the islands of sea. Call each of us to go and to send. You gave us Your Holy Spirit so that we might be Your witnesses starting with our neighbors and our neighborhoods, extending to our towns and nations and to the ends of the earth. This we must do. In Your holy name! Amen.

Song:
We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations
Words and Music: H. Ernest Nichol

1. We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light,
A story of peace and light.

Refrain:
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

2. We’ve a song to be sung to the nations,
That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
A song that shall conquer evil
And shatter the spear and sword,
And shatter the spear and sword.

Refrain

3. We’ve a message to give to the nations,
That the Lord who reigneth above
Hath sent us his Son to save us,
And show us that God is love,
And show us that God is love.

Refrain

4. We’ve a Savior to show to the nations,
Who the path of sorrow hath trod,
That all of the world’s great peoples
Might come to the truth of God,
Might come to the truth of God.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 7, 2017

Cities

The word “city” is rooted in the same source as “citizen,” “civic,” and “civilization.”
In ancient villages the work was much the same from generation to generation; progress was not high on the agenda. Skills were passed down by elders to younger folk. Except for the occasional trip to a nearby city, the long work days bound people together in community, reinforced by the Sabbath and the various holidays.

In ancient cities, and today, civilization is on the move. Progress is the agenda—improvement is the traffic in the busy streets. More of this, more of that, more time to do more things, more money, more, more, more.

All the while the civilized city dweller dreams of the country, the quaint village, the beach town and the beach itself, the mountain lodge with vast windows to look upon vast vistas of created things so far from the city.

The Psalmist explores the cities in his world and compares them to the City of God—Zion.
Zion began as a mountain—the Hill of the Lord—and became King David’s temporary tabernacle housing the Ark of the Covenant, and then Solomon’s Temple where the Shekinah of God rested in a little room, secure behind a heavy veil. Then it was a city—the City of David—where holy history, present power and promised prosperity trafficked together in the narrow streets.

The Psalmist speaks of the advantages of citizenship in Zion. “This one was born in Zion.” This fact granted immediate status, one greater than birthplaces with different names, to the People of God.

There were walls, and city gates, and law enforcement, and politicians whose job it was to keep the peace in and the enemies out. But the true security of Zion was the veracity of their covenant-keeping God. He was their Lawgiver, their gate, their walls against profane insurgents.

The city is also a biblical metaphor for the church.
The source word for church means, “the called out ones.” Because each Christ-follower has an inner light set ablaze by the Abiding Spirit of God, we become a shining City on a Hill that cannot be ignored when collect together to worship.

But what has this to do with Zion?

If you read every passage in the Bible that refers to Zion, as I have done, you will likely agree with my conclusion: What does “Zion” mean? It is the dwelling and ruling place of God.

  • So Heaven is Zion, uncompromised, untainted, unassailed and we spiritually ascend to Mt. Zion as we worship in Spirit and in Truth.
  • The church on earth is a part of Zion when Jesus takes residence in her and when she gives the reins of power over to Him.

Blessed is the one who is born again in Zion!

  • This is a civilization based on Truth.
  • Our citizenship is registered in heaven.
  • Our civic duty is to worship and serve the Lord.
  • There are no ghettos or darkened streets or alleyways.
  • The Peace of Christ rules in every boardroom.
  • The Plan of God is seen in every yearly projection.
  • The Power of God flows through every connection and line.

I know this is a millennial vision of a time yet to come. But can’t we have a little of it in the church today?

Scriptures:
Psalm 87 NIV
He has set his foundation on the holy mountain; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: “I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me — Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush — and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.'” Indeed, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her, the Most High himself will establish her.” The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion.” As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in you.”
Psalm 9:11 NIV
Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.
Psalm 46:4 NIV
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
Psalm 48:1-3;12-14 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. … is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress. …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 50:2 NIV
From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
Hebrews 12:22-24 NIV
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God…
Matthew 5:14-16 NIV
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as we pray each day for Your Kingdom to come and Your will to be done on earth, help us to remember the City of God is here—Your Glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle! We are her citizens, responsible keepers of the City. Just as surely as Zion is in heaven, it is also here on earth. Let me about the business of Your City today, the commerce of grace, the industry of hope and the keeping of the Peace of Christ. Amen and Amen.

Song:
Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
Words: John Newton; Music: Joseph Haydn

1. Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God.
God, whose word cannot be broken, formed thee for his own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded, what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded, thou may’st smile at all thy foes.

2. See, the streams of living waters, springing from eternal love,
Well supply thy sons and daughters and all fear of want remove.
Who can faint while such a river  ever flows their thirst to assuage?
Grace, which like the Lord, the giver, never fails from age to age.

3. Round each habitation hovering, see the cloud and fire appear
For a glory and a covering, showing that the Lord is near.
Thus deriving from their banner light by night and shade by day,
Safe they feed upon the manna which God gives them when they pray.

4. Savior, since of Zion’s city I through grace a member am,
Let the world deride or pity, I will glory in your name.
Fading are the world’s best pleasures, all its boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasures none but Zion’s children know.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 5, 2017

Ascending

The thing is—He didn’t stop!
He broke the gravitational pull of the earth He had created, passed through the stratosphere, and sailed by other of His little projects, suns and moons, stars and other things we don’t even know about yet. He didn’t stop until He reached the Throne of Heaven.

I remember celebrating when the race of human beings ascended to the moon in July of 1969. But we had to stop there. Humanists do their best to install mankind on the throne of the universe. “Man is the judge of all things.”

What a bleak prospect.

We need a higher standard than who man is and what man can do.
The coronation of sinful man on a throne demanding our obeisance is a short step downward to Francis Schaeffer’s “line of despair.” His scathing examination of 20th Century philosophies revealed that without God in our thinking each of us must cross a line leading only to meaninglessness. Without a Creator, creation is marvelous, random accident with no meaning.

On the other hand, we have The Ascension.

The followers of Christ might have called the days since their Last Supper with Jesus a roller coaster ride if they had known what that was.

  • He’s with us!
  • He’s arrested!
  • He’s pronounced guilty!
  • He’s dead and buried!
  • He’s back!
  • He’s full of promises!
  • He’s gone!
  • One more thing:  He’s coming back!

They had the good sense to obey the Lord so they filed back into Jerusalem to wait for the Promise of the Father—the power to tell the world about Jesus.

Who shall ascend?
Centuries before, the Psalmist David spoke of a different kind of ascension. He asked the most fundamental worship questions: “Who shall ascend the Hill of the Lord” Who shall stand in the Holy Place?”

This is the joy and power of the New Covenant: Jesus ascended to the Throne of Heaven and now, in the wonder of “spirit and truth” worship, we ascend the mountain of revelation to stand with the throng before The Throne of God and of the Lamb.

Forget the technical help needed for flight. Focus on the story of Redemption and the face of our Redeemer. Empty your heart of its earthly passion, your mind of its temporal distractions, and your body of its time-driven tensions. Fill your resulting emptiness with the truth, the presence, the power, and the peace of Christ.

In others words: Ascend!
Don’t stop at the limits of Earth’s pull. Sail past the moon. Leave the stars behind and ascend to the Throne of God where Jesus dwells and reigns. In the process, you cross “the line of hope.” He welcomes you there with a smile on His lovely face.

He is the measure of all things.

Scriptures:
Psalm 24 NIV
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty — he is the King of glory.
Hebrews 12:22-24 NKJV
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
Acts 1:1-12 NIV
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You have ascended on high—to the very Throne of Heaven. Let me hear the songs of the angels all through this day. “Holy, holy, holy!” Let Your holiness go before me and behind me today—no enemy can penetrate this cordon of defense. I will ascend this day, every step will be a step up. I hear Your upward call today and move in Your strength. When this day ends, I will have ascended. All for Your Glory, Lord. Amen.

Song:
We’re Marching to Zion
Words: Isaac Watts; Music: Robert Lowry

1. Come, we that love the Lord, and let our joys be known,
Join in a song with sweet accord, join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne.

Refrain:
We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God.

2. Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God,
But children of the heavenly King, but children of the heavenly King,
May speak their joys abroad, may speak their joys abroad.

Refrain

3. The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields, before we reach the heavenly fields,
Or walk he golden streets, or walk the golden streets.

Refrain

4. Then let our songs abound and every tear be dry;
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground, We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
To fairer worlds on high to fairer worlds on high.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 4, 2017

Commands

Commands are great—if they are for someone else—dogs, students, soldiers.
The ability to give commands involves a commander and an individual who has surrendered his/her rights. Not the kind of thing for which most of us would volunteer. The one being commanded is at the mercy of the commander. If the commander is skillful and caring, the commands given will be wise and beneficial. If the commander is incompetent and cruel the commands given could be deadly:

  • Abusing the dog,
  • Confusing the students, and
  • Using up the soldiers.

In the Viet Nam era some young men of draft age fled to Canada to escape the loss of freedom that would subject them to a military system of command. Others submitted to the draft and then to the service, surrendering their freedom and doing as they were commanded. In this way they followed the example of their WWII fathers who set their rights aside to secure ours. They did as they were commanded and saved the world.

Starting at Mt. Sinai
This remarkable record of sacrifice of rights for the good of the community goes back to the foothills of Mt. Sinai. The Kingdom of God under the Law of Moses was expressed in commands. Ten of them summed up the morality and spirituality of the People of God. These were not guidelines or suggestions. They were the commands of One who had the authority to give them and to expect obedience. Moses was the leader of the people, but Jehovah God was the Commander.

  • The people were not like dogs, responding by instinct learned in repetitive drills. They were the beloved creations of a Commander who understood the chaos in the world where laws were of the moment and were the province of men whose moments indeed were fleeting.
  • They were not school children whose job it was to sit down and shut up while the teacher droned and drilled the lessons of the day. They were adult family members who were meant to partner with God to subdue and sustain a land flowing milk and honey.
  • They were not nameless pawns of war, so much fodder for the hungry animals of battle. There were battles to fight, enemies to rout, and strongholds to bring down but the fighting would be done in name of the Lord and in the power of His might.

The songwriters of the day often expressed love for the commands of God, and not just the Big Ten—but all of them. This love for Law may be difficult for us to understand. In their best moments the psalmists remembered what God had done:

  • He delivered them from Egypt.
  • At His command the Red Sea split open for them to walk through.
  • They had food that fell from the sky and water sweetened by a tree or spilling from a rock.

Impressive! Their God had the right to issue commands. His love for them formed the context for their obedience to the Law.

A New Context
Now we follow the same God with a New Covenant. If the commands begin to chafe a little or we find ourselves longing to taste a few of the world’s delights, let us remember what God has done:

  • Choosing a manger over a heavenly throne,
  • An example of the faithful, faith-filled life,
  • A cross and an empty tomb,
  • Sins forgiven and cast away, and
  • An Abiding Spirit who gives us the victory.

Jesus has won the right of command. God, give us the sense to obey.

Scriptures:
Psalm 119:97-120
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. … The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. … I stand in awe of your laws.
2 Timothy 2:1-5 NIV
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer.
John 14:21; 15:10-15 NIV
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” …If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
1 John 5:2-5 NIV
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my commander! You have every right to send me on any mission You choose for me. It is my extreme privilege to obey Your commands. As I obey You, I will remain in Your love. How foolish it would be for ne to walk away from Your love! Help me know today that Your love is the context in which you command me. You see what is ahead; I cannot. Your formed me in the secret place of my mother’s womb with a plan in mind for me. Lord, I will follow You. Your commands and Your love are enough for me today. Amen.

Song:
Trust and Obey
Words: John H. Sammis; Music: Daniel B. Turner

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Refrain

3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

Refrain

4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Refrain

5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 3, 2017

Skillful

Many Christ-followers are confused about skill.
We who refer to the power of the Holy Spirit as “The Anointing,” are sometimes suspicious of skill on an almost subconscious level. The last thing we want to do is try to minister “in the flesh” rather than “in the Spirit.” In a blaring contradiction we also seek out those who are skillful to learn their secrets and hopefully to emulate their successes. Often we pay lip service to skill while leaning heavily on the anointing. Other believers have no trouble with skill while they scratch their heads over this talk about the anointing.

The truth is the Kingdom of God is seldom a place of “either/or” and is most often a wonderful land of “both/and.”

Learning from King David
Turning to our leadership guide, Holy Scriptures, we can see that each force has its place. In Asaph’s wonderful history lesson we call Psalm 78, he concludes with this statement about his boss, King David. “…David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”

King David functioned a like potter, skillfully molding a single peaceful Kingdom out of two waring ones. He was an administrator who recognized skillful leaders, put them in charge of their part of the work, and released them to do as their skills dictated.

It wasn’t foolproof. Sometimes it worked and at other times it failed.

  • He appointed skillful musicians in charge of planning and making music for the Tabernacle he pitched on Mt. Zion and soon the whole nation was singing the praises of God.
  • He commissioned the best cart-builders in his kingdom to make a cart to transport the Ark; a dead man was the result. God had a better plan that David had to discover.

Human skill is not the enemy of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In practical fact, they are partners.

There is a partnership between skill and anointing.
The errant theology that imagines a choice between skill and anointing springs from a poor definition of talent itself. Dictionaries refer to talent as a special, natural, innate aptitude. We often call skill talent: “He is a talented trumpet player,” and so on. What we really see is skill: talent developed into skill by discipline and preparation.

  • Talent, the ability to learn to do something, is God’s gift to us.
  • Skill, the ability to do something well, is our gift back to God.

So where does that leave us?

  • We must recognize the innate aptitudes God has given us.
  • We must find His will and get about the ongoing task of learning the skills required by that work.
  • We must always lean on the power of the Holy Spirit to do the work.

Like King David on his second and successful attempt to bring up the Ark, we can know the joy of ministering in power of the Spirit. David laid aside his kingly robes and danced before the Lord with all his might wearing the linen garment of the priests. He was dancing both in the flesh and in the Spirit.

How skillful of him!

Scriptures:
Psalm 78:56-72 NKJV
Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God…When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel, So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men, And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy’s hand. He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance. …Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine. And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever. He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
1 Chronicles 15:22 NIV
Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.
Psalm 33:3 NIV
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.
Galatians 3:3-4
Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
2 Corinthians 4:7-8 NKJV
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the talent You invested in me. Thank You for the wonderful grace of teachers and colleagues of similar giftings who have taught me over the years. If I have gained any skill, I offer it back to You in praise, worship, and obedience. Help me be evermore skillful in serving You. And when I have done my best, Lord, please add the power of Your Spirit to my art, to my obedience. Don’t let my music linger at the human level of entertainment or even art. Take it deeper into the spirit of those who hear me so that a spiritual work may be done. Let me live in this partnership of skill and anointing. All for You, Lord Jesus. All for You! Amen.

Song:
Anointing, Fall on Me
Words and Music: Donn Thomas

Anointing, fall on me. Anointing, fall on me.
Let the power of the Holy Ghost fall on me.

Touch my hands, my mouth and my heart.
Fill my life, Lord, every part.
Let the power of the Holy Ghost fall on me.
Anointing, fall on me.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 1, 2017

 

Splendor

Splendor is beauty on a magnificent scale.
The human heart longs for beauty from small to large, from intimate to public, from fleeting to lasting, from silent to deafening, and from earthly to heavenly.

  • We long to see beautiful eyes in a beautiful face and hear beautiful words from a beautiful voice, especially when we love the one who owns that face and voice.
  • We cannot step out of the door into a clear night with a full moon without stopping in our tracks to look upon such celestial beauty—shining moon, deep black sky, and silent stars blinking their promises of worlds yet to be found.
  • We collect works of beauty in museums and erect them on public squares.
  • We pay money to hear them and marvel at those whose years and hours of preparation have enabled them to perform masterworks.
  • We produce plays and films to tell beautiful stories again and again because these stories so often are our stories, or we want them to be.
  • We hold books in our hands: laws, constitutions, declarations—the documents of our chosen civilization—caressing beauty that extends beyond words to deeds and promises and civil expectations.

Taking what we can get.
The human heart takes what it can get of beauty, certain that with whatever portion we find, something will be missing. Beauty is not perfection; flaws are part of the charm beauty holds. Flaws are little chunks of failure that we, who may not be beautiful, can grasp and use to regain our balance, almost overcome otherwise by beauty.

This is the good news:

  • There is a beauty we can hold without fear or feelings of rejection.
  • There is a song that is simple in its perfection yet profound in its meaning.
  • There is a gallery of beauty where we are invited to enter, to share it, see it, hear it, and receive it deep into our longing souls.

Splendor shines forth.
This place is Zion, the place where God Almighty lives and rules, the place we come to when we worship. The writer to the Hebrews describes this place in terms of splendor. The psalmists keep returning to the word “splendor” to describe Zion. They knew it wasn’t a tent or a palace or even a magnificent temple. Zion is beautiful beyond man’s ability to design and construct. The music there is higher and lower and faster and slower than any music we can make. It takes angels to make this music.

And yet, there is a anthem that only people can sing—the Song of the Redeemed. And that is the song the church will sing every Lord’s Day.

As we do, our beauty-starved souls will feed on true splendor.

Scriptures:
Psalm 96 NIV
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
Hebrews 12:22-24 NIV
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Isaiah 6:1-4 NIV
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Revelation 4:2-11
At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders…Day and night they never stop saying:” Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the source of all beauty. You are the end of every search, the object of every quest. When a man or a woman or a child imagines something beautiful, it is merely a small fraction of the whole of Your Creation. Even these bits of splendor feed our souls. Give us the wisdom to pass through the riven veil of grace, torn at the moment of Your death on the cross. Take us through even the wonders of creation to behold Your beauty and that of Your throne. Here is splendor built for time and eternity, rich and satisfying in this moment and filled with promise for tomorrow. Amen and amen.

Song:
O Worship the King
Words: Robert Grant

1. O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

2. O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space!
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

3. Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

4. Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

5. O measureless Might, unchangeable Love,
whom angels delight to worship above!
Your ransomed creation, with glory ablaze,
in true adoration shall sing to your praise!

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions April, Devotions

April 26, 2017

Effect

We must remember that the heart of God never changes. 
His grace is a great River of Life that can never be stopped on its journey from HIs throne to the depth of our human need. “Wherever the river, everything will live!”  So said the Prophet Ezekiel.  God’s love has never diminished in strength from the days when He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day until today, when He delights to walk with us.  Just as His love has never grown or diminished, it has never shifted in its focus; God still loves what He has always loved and what has always displeased Him displeases Him still.

God made this world a realm of “cause and effect.”
Everyone son and daughter of Adam and Eve has been made for a purpose. We have each been designed to be the “cause” of certain “effects.”    Gravity (the cause) makes water run down hill (the effect.)  God made it so and the whole globe ebbs and flows with this dynamic.  Through the constant pull of gravity, great rivers drain their continents yet never fill the sea.  Jesus chose this image to represent the effect of the life of the believer—a cleansing, nourishing flow of life through a barren land.

The dictionary defines “effect” as:
noun

  1. something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence
  2. power to produce results; efficacy; force; validity; influence
  3. the state of being operative or functional; operation or execution; accomplishment or fulfillment
  4. a mental or emotional impression produced, as by a painting or a speech.
  5. meaning or sense; purpose or intention.

The River of the Spirit
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in us is the cause of certain effects God expects from us.

  • We walk this earth in the power of the Spirit (cause) and carry the Lord’s presence with us wherever we go (effect.)
  • The places we work (cause) are blessed with a living, breathing incarnation of the truth of God when we are there (effect.)
  • The residence and work of the Spirit of God (cause) makes us holy and powerful (effect.)
  • Just as Old Covenant Priests carried the Ark of the Covenant into the obstructing river and into battle and into the tabernacle and temple, Christ-followers likewise carry the Lord’s presence and power with them into this world.  Darkness rolls back like the River Jordan.
  • Enemies of God are thrown into confusion like the Philistines and the presence of God rests upon His people in worship as He did in the Temple.

Is this fancy?  Is this fiction?  If this is so, why do we not see hindering rivers roll back, enemies of God breaking ranks, and why do we have services without the manifest presence of God?

The Lord’s brother tells us why. 
It is because the greatest cause of any effect has been neglected—prayer!  James says that the fervent prayer of the one who closely follows the Lord Jesus is effective! It “avails much,” to use the King James language. God’s heart never changes.  He will still answer prayer and empower lives for His glory.  We are the one who change.

Life deflects us from praying.  The lazy flesh we all inhabit shrinks from the work of prayer. Time and convenience conspire against prayer.  Could it be that we don’t want to pray?  Might we be more interested in the effect than we are the cause?  God forgive us!

The apostles are unanimous in their call to prayer.  Jesus is detailed in His instructions on how we should pray.  The Spirit is resident and ready to empower our praying.  Our Covenant-keeping Father is poised to respond.  When our prayers approach the level of fervency (measured by consistency, not by volume) and faith our praying can be most effective; His power will flow through us.

Through consistent prayer we can each be a blessing to those around us just like an unstoppable river flowing to the sea!

Scriptures:
Isaiah 32:15-17
…till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high… The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
James 5:13-16
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
John 7:37-39
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Ezekiel 47:9
…so where the river flows everything will live.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the spring of Living Water bubbling in my deepest self.  As I pray, let the gentle flow become a torrent. Use me to affect this world for good. As I live, flow through me to the healing of the nations—of the people You place in my path. May my words be filled with truth, my eyes see with Your perspective, my hands touch with Your compassion. With You as my cause, the effect of my life will count in this world and in the next. Amen.

River Songs:
O River of God
Traditional
O River of God, flow down on me.
O River of God, flow out through me.
O River of God, so rich and free,
O River of God, I long for Thee.

I’ve Got a River
Words and Music: L. Casebolt

I’ve got a River of Life flowing out from me,
Makes the lame to walk and the blind to;
Opens prison doors, sets the captives free,’
I’ve got a River of Life flowing out from me,

Spring up, O well, within my soul.
Spring up, O well and make me whole.
Spring up, O well and give to me
That life abundantly.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions April, Devotions

April 24, 2017

Resolve

The admiral was right.
After his successful surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Admiral Yamamoto, of the Japanese imperial command refused to celebrate victory.   He had lived and studied in America and knew something of her war making potential.  Some historians believe the admiral expressed his fear with this statement, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” That “terrible resolve” destroyed the Japanese military machine in less than four years.

re·solve…  to come to a definite or earnest decision about; determine (to do something): I have resolved that I shall live to the full.

To resolve to do something is much deeper than making a simple decision. 
We resolve to do something when a strong stimulus has affected us in a deep place.  This is the kind of decision we write down and post on the bathroom mirror to be reviewed every day.  We are determined that nothing will keep us from doing what we have resolved to do.

Today as we again turn our inner vision to Cause of Christ, there are some deep resolutions we need to make.  Our continual contemplation of Calvary should fill us with a powerful resolve.

  • In view of the faithfulness of Jesus when he drank from the terrible cup of iniquity in the garden, we should resolve to live holy lives by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
  • With consideration for His willingness to endure the shame and suffering of the whole ordeal of the atonement, we must resolve to do whatever the Lord asks us to do for Him in this world.  Our prayer should daily be, “not my will but Yours, Lord.”
  • In view of the mercy of God on vivid display at the Cross, we should resolve to continually offer ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices of praise.

It is only reasonable that we do so

As we marvel at the amazing story of redemption in the Bible,

  • beginning from the unknown animal whose death supplied the covering for the naked guilt of Adam and Eve
  • to the salvation of Noah’s family through the waters of the Great Flood,
  • through the deliverances of the Children of Israel from the cruel slavery of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the forty years of God faithfulness to His faithless chosen ones in the wilderness,
  • to the crossing a the river Jordan and the conquest of Canaan,
  • to the miraculous ministries of the judges,
  • to the Kings, both those wise and righteous and those wicked and apostate,
  • to the warnings and promises of the prophets before and after the Babylonian captivity,
  • to the coming of the last and greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, and finally,
  • to the entrance of Messiah on His earthly mission of salvation, not as conquering King but as suffering sin bearer,  we must resolve to keep the story of God’s love alive!

We have a story to tell of God’s love and redemption.
Let us resolve to tell it, and tell it, and tell it again.  No other story changes peoples’ hearts.  No other narrative, brings reconciliation with God and peace between brothers and sisters.  Only the Jesus Story dispels fear, quiets the storms of the soul, and clears the mind of falsehood.

In view of The Cause of Christ, we pledge to be the people of God, a priesthood of praise, warriors of worship, and craftsmen of the truth.  Be it hereby resolved!

Scriptures:
Luke 9:51-52 NKJV
Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face.
Isaiah 50:7 KJV
For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
2 Corinthians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 58
As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain…
…Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.   For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 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.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Colossians3:2-4 NKJV
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, As Isaiah prophesied, the Bible tells us that You set your face like a flint, determined to go all the way the Cross to fulfill the Father’s plan. May we, may I, be no less resolved to take up my cross and follow You today. Holy Spirit put the steel in my backbone required to stand tall for the truth today. Light a fire in my eyes that will melt the frozen hearts who cross my path today. Give me a peace so deep it radiates hope to those who see no way out of the mess they have made of their lives. Project my voice above the noise of the culture’s clamoring so that I could be heard telling the old, old story that is still such Good News. I am thus resolved, my face set like a flint, to see what You will do. By Your Spirit, Lord. Amen.

Song:
I Am Resolved
Words: Palmer Hartsough; Music:James Fillmore

1. I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world’s delight;
Things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight.

Refrain:
I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.

2. I am resolved to go to the Savior, leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true one; He is the just one, He has the words of life.

Refrain

3. I am resolved, and who will go with me? Come, friends, without delay;
taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit, we’ll walk the heavenly way.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved