pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 13, 2017

 

Thirst

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

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

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

And so was Jesus in His passion,

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

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

All during his earthly life, Jesus had known thirst

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Refrain

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

Refrain

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

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 12, 2017

Grace

Grace—a gift, a blessing, a touch from the hand of God—it is no wonder we deem it “amazing.”

Three “Angels”
Actually there are three angels in our lives, sisters of the Spirit who selflessly attend to us: Grace, Mercy, and Peace. They are quiet, these sisters, but quite thorough in their ministries, blessing us with God’s favor, forgiveness and fortitude.

Grace surrounds us, precedes us, follows after us, supports us, and covers us. Commonly defined as the “unmerited favor” of God, grace is a fact of our lives, so prevalent it is easy to lose our appreciation of it. Think of it—God, who is no respecter of persons, favors us! How He can do this is a mystery of His being. He is totally fair with all of mankind, yet some of us move about in a constant rain of grace, soaked by His favor. How can such a thing be?

Jesus is the answer.

Like John the Baptist’s testimony of Jesus, His own statements concerning His mission on this earth are grand and all inclusive:

  • John: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29-30)
  • Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
  • Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

But there is a condition.
The grace of God is available to all the world, but some do not receive Him.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:10-13

Mysteries surround the dispensation of God’s grace in the world. Jesus told those who received Him to go into the whole world with the story of His grace.

  • Jesus: “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. (Mark 16:15-17)

For those who have received Jesus and His grace, there remains a danger: We can be tempted to presume upon His grace rather than simply walking in it. There is a vast territory between trusting God and tempting God, between pursuing God’s grace and presuming upon it.

  • Pursuing God’s grace is a process of relationship—presuming upon it is self-centered arrogance.
  • Trusting God in everyday things pleases Him greatly; tempting Him in anything is strictly forbidden.
  • Trusting is humility in action, presuming is pride on display.

God resists—opposes!—the proud but gives Grace to the humble. There is a vast territory between God’s resistance and His help.

Today, if we will humble ourselves before the Lord, He will be drawn to us. He will help us—surround us, precede us, follow after us, support us, and cover us with Grace. We will hear our three sister-angels singing of God’s mercy, His peace, and His amazing grace.

Scriptures:
John 1:12-18; 10
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth… For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known…to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Titus 2:11
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
Romans 3:22-25
There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
James 4:6
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Hebrews 4:16-5:1
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Matthew 4:7 NKJV
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'”

Prayer:
Confession of Mercy and Blessing
Psalm 90:13-91:1 NLT (From The Book of Daily Prayer adapted SRP)
Lord Jesus, You come to me in mercy; Your love is my portion today. As this day begins, I feast on Your truth and presence and I will joyfully sing throughout the day and night of Your unfailing love. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us see Your miracles again; let our children see Your glory at work. And, Lord, show us Your approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

Song:
Amazing Grace
Words: Isaac Newton; Music: Traditional

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

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

3. Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me on.

4. When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 6, 2017

Boundaries

Life is organized by boundaries.
Borders define nations. Standards of behavior define morality. Boundaries express and enable covenantal agreements. Think of traffic lanes on the highway. On a two-lane road a thin boundary divides the road into the two lanes. Even if the white line is broken into short stripes, it rules the road. Because of this agreement, we are unafraid of traveling nine miles above the speed limit (ten miles over might get us a ticket) with oncoming cars just inches away. Covenantal boundaries and rules make our highways safe at amazing speeds.

This is the power of boundaries.
Even in these “anything goes” times, teens are able to manage their hormonal surges When they have behavioral boundaries—there are things they will not do. Perhaps the boundaries are set from an internal sense of propriety or by carefully taught moral principles from the home or the church, but these unseen borders can keep youth sexually pure until a marriage contract draws delightful new boundaries for them.

Boundaries are necessities on the Path of Life.
The ancient words of Psalm 16 praise the Lord for the life-boundaries His covenant people enjoy.

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Boundaries are born in reality. I grew up in a small Delta town on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River–now there is a boundary! For more than a century of civilization people of the town of Helena had to cross the River by boat. When I was about 11 years old a magnificent bridge was built to span the mighty stream in all seasons of the year from the highest spring floods to the winter days when the temperatures and the waters were low enough for the river to freeze. Cars no longer needed to ride on the slippery decks if a dangerous ferry boat called The Pelican.

Another Dangerous River
When sin entered the human story, a wide and raging river carved a deep and dangerous boundary between our heart and the heart of God. For centuries the world had the nation of Israel as a witness to the One True God. The nation of Israel had the Law and a system of worship wherein the blood of innocent animals paid the high price of transit across the river. This ancient grace stood on pillars of the promise of some future Redeemer Who would come and build a bridge.

A Better Bridge
Jesus is that Redeemer. He has bridged the raging river for us and now we have ready access to the heart of God. Sin no longer needs to separate us from the God we need and love.

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Indeed.

Scriptures:
Psalm 16:5-11 NIV
LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 74:12-17 NIV
But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth. It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert. It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever flowing rivers. The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
John 14:6 NIV
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I owe You so much! My life, my salvation, my destiny, all come from You and through You. You are the bridge spanning boundary of my sin. Your Word gives me clear boundaries of behavior. Through the Bible I know what pleases You and blesses me and I can clearly see the sins that would grieve You and harm me. Your binding covenant marks the lane in which I should travel, warning me of curves and hills and hazards of all kinds. Your faithfulness to Your promises is my security. Yes, the boundaries of my life do occupy good and pleasant places. Thank You, Father, in Jesus’ Name.

Song:
Nothing Between
Words and Music: Charles A. Tindey

1. Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
Naught of this world’s delusive dream;
I have renounced all sinful pleasure,
Jesus is mine; there’s nothing between.

Refrain:
Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
So that His blessed face may be seen;
Nothing preventing the least of His favor,
Keep the way clear with nothing between.

2. Nothing between like worldly pleasure,
habit of life, though harmless the seem,
Must not my heart from Him ever sever,
He is my all, there’s nothing between.

Refrain

3. Nothing between, like pride or station;
Self or friend shall not intervene;
Though it may cost me much tribulation,
I am resolved, there’s nothing between.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 4, 2017

Tranquility

There are three kinds of tranquility:

  1. The kind we imagine when life is anything but tranquil,
  2. The kind we enjoy when living is easy, and
  3. The real thing, a tranquility based in the facts of faith.

God gave each of us a powerful imagination.
As children we commute from the real world of grownups and ordinary things to the world created by our imagination with its surprising shapes, colors, characters and happenings seen only through our childish eyes. Grumpy adults call it day-dreaming and continually require us to awaken and come back to the world of their reality.

Why are we grumpy?

Life—reality—called us one too many times and we never found our way back to the tranquility of our day-dreams. Our imaginations were forced to live on in symbols in our dreams, dancing with our fears or celebrating our hopes, but forgotten when the alarm clock sounds.

Sometimes stories, in print or on the screen, beckon to our long-neglected imaginations to live vicariously with

  • heroes and anti-heroes,
  • maidens in distress and strong women making it big in a man’s world,
  • animals so familiar in their four-legged humanity that we understand them perfectly, or
  • even monsters and villains we love to hate as they trample the cities of our imaginary worlds or threaten to topple the fail-safe structures of our imaginary civilizations.

But none of the tranquility of escapism is really ours. Soon the book is closed, or the credits roll and it is back to real life and its troubles still there waiting for our return, problems still unsolved, dilemmas still undecided, pain never soothed, bills unpaid, and conflicts still raging.

We long for more than this.
In quite moments before sleep overtakes us, we think of tranquil places we have known, images of home, of yesteryear, of childhood or school days when life was simple and fun. Those memories lull us to sleep where dreams deal with our fears in more fantastical ways. It is strange that memories of peace give way so readily to frightful dreams, but this is the fleeting, shadowy world of tranquility as a sleepy time exercise.

The Real Thing
There are days when real tranquility is our lot for a day. No conflicts threaten the peace we feel. Bills are paid. Pain is gone. Work is going along nicely, thank you, and the ones we love appear to love us right back. We want to memorize moments like these so we can hold them in our minds forever and recall them when we need them.

Going Deeper
There is a tranquility that does not spring from either the circumstances of life or our imagination; there is a real tranquility of the spirit. This tranquility speaks from the deepest part of us regardless of what our list of “things to do today” may hold—disasters, dreams, or delightful prospects.

This tranquility is based on the facts of our faith in God.

  • God loves us just as we are.
  • God has redeemed us as He found us and is transforming us into His likeness.
  • God has hemmed us in behind and before and has laid His hand on us.
  • No weapon formed against us shall prosper.
  • He knows the future and is already there.
  • God is One who keeps His covenant promises.

Let the seasons of life change the color of the landscape before us. Let the leaves bud, wave green in the summer wind, dry and die in autumn, and huddle to the ground in winter. We are blessed evergreen trees flourishing throughout the years of our lives. This reality is our tranquility, safe from storm, stealth, and savagery, because its source is the unchanging, unassailable character of God.

Scriptures:
John 14:27 NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Isaiah 26:3-4 AMP
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
Colossians 3:15 NIV
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Song:
Wonderful Peace
Words: W.D. Cornell; Music: W.G. Cooper

1. Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls
O’er my soul like an infinite calm.

Refrain:
Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.

3. I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, February

February 2, 2017

Deep

Beneath the glittering surface of our lives there is the deep of who we really are, who we were, and there are dark tidal forces taking us where it seems inevitable that that we will end up. Most people passing by us see only the glitter and never the deep.

We like it that way.

The deep is private stuff, like the ocean’s floor covered by tons of water, beyond the penetration of the sun’s light and effciently obscured by the silt and sand collected in our hearts.

So distant is the deep, that we seldom dare explore it ourselves.

Just a glimpse of the monsters that may lurk there or the mysteries that linger there is enough to send us searching for the shallows and the friendly splashes of air that welcome us back from the deep.

What Is the Truth?
How much energy do we spend in self-delusion pretending the surface is the true story? Concentric relationship circles radiate out from us with only a very few people in the closest ring and there are secrets we must never tell even them. There is no need. It is all under the blood of Christ, long ago forgiven and stricken from the heavenly ledger. We know this, of course, but even these forgotten and forgiven things erupt in strange images in our dreams setting little fear fires that burn in the night and leaping to mind at odd hours during the day.

The Deep Things of God
Who is there that we can trust to dive deep into the hidden, neglected caverns of our historical hurts and lingering fears? Is there a “Deep” that can speak to our “Deep?”

The good news is this: The Holy Spirit dives as deep into us as we go. At conversion, our sins were cast from us into a sea that is so much deeper than we are. Thank You, Jesus!

And the Spirit within us is an abiding Spirit. He does deep work. At the surface it may feel like an emotional tug, or we may feel nothing at all. But when we open our depths to the Lord whose dimensions are deeper still, He is faithful to do the deep work only He can do.

  • Hurts are healed.
  • Painful memories are managed, filed away someplace too deep to disrupt our joy.
  • Despair is dislodged and hope installed in the empty space left behind.

No matter how deeply we have been hurt, no matter how deep our shameful secrets are buried, no matter the terror that crouches deep in us, the Spirit of God goes deeper.

We are deep but the Spirit dives deeper. Trust Him with your deep places today

Scriptures:
Psalm 42:5-8 NIV
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. … Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me–a prayer to the God of my life.
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 NIV
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, 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, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts I pray;
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
Fulfill Thy Word and make me pure (and whole) within;
Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame;
Grant my desire to magnify Your name.
from Cleanse Me J. Edwin Orr

Song:
Deeper, Deeper
Words and Music: C. P. Jones

1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom, More of grace to know.

Refrain:
O deeper yet, I pray, And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord, In Thy precious, holy Word.

2. Deeper, deeper! Blessed Holy Spirit, Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus, And His perfect will.

Refrain

3. Deeper, deeper! Though it cost hard trials, Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus, Let me fruitful frow.

Refrain

4. Deeper, higher, every day with Jesus, Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image Perfected at last.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions February

February 1, 2017

Tenacity

“Hanging in there” is more than just a handy report in times of stress; it is a life skill. As this new day begins, each of us is making the attempt to “hang in there.”

The power to hang in there is deep within us.
Sometimes it gets covered up by layers of discouragement or disillusionment, fear or fatalism, but as we discard those things in prayer and confession of scripture, the power beings to flow unhindered from our inner depths to our outer disciplines. That power of the Spirit is resident in us because Jesus lives in our hearts and the Father surrounds and permeates us with grace.

Heroes of the Faith
The heroes of the faith possessed tenacity—the ability to hang in there day by day.

  • Noah used gopher wood and tenacity to build the boat that saved the world.
  • Abraham built altar after altar and made daily sacrifices, hanging on to his faith in God in spite of conventional wisdom’s prognosis. In time he held Isaac, the incarnation of God’s promise, and Sarah’s laughter was justified. Abraham even held on when God commanded another altar and his son as the sacrifice. It took an angel’s hand and a ram caught in a thicket to stop the tenacious man of God from obeying the Lord’s command.
  • Moses tenaciously unlearned the leadership techniques of Egypt and learned how to be a shepherd, a forty year plan of study, so he could lead the flock of God.
  • Jesus did carpenter’s work for most of His life waiting for the time to come for him to “set his face” toward His Father’s altar in Jerusalem all the while knowing there would be no rescuing angel and that He was the inevitable and final Lamb.

Jesus encouraged us to be continually faithful in so many ways:

  • “Love me and keep my commandments.”
  • “Build your house upon the rock.”
  • “Pray in the secret place and the Father will reward you openly.”
  • “Ask and keep on asking.”
  • “You are my friends if you do what I command.”
  • “Take up your cross daily.”

His Cross; My Cross
The cross was the Father’s will for Jesus. He carried it every day, not just on the road to Calvary. The every-day nature of the Christian life is crucial to each of us. For most of us, our daily cross is not an instrument of torture and death, but a structure for life—the will of God for us—the reason we were created and called out of darkness. Never does a day dawn for us to forego our cross and let it lie in the back of our minds.

In the daily, personal will of God for each of us dwells these powerful things:

  • the light we need,
  • the strength the day will demand,
  • the wisdom the tasks ahead of us will require, and
  • the seeds of the harvest that we must sow today.

Tenacity Exercises

  1. Take a deep breath of the Spirit’s oxygen in praise.
  2. Stretch your sleeping muscles with adoration.
  3. Massage your mind and heart with truth.
  4. Bend down in prayer and take up your cross.

Be thankful that Jesus carried His cross of pain so yours can be a burden of joy and service.

Scriptures:
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.
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, and sent messengers before His face.
Matthew 16:24-26
…”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.
Galatians 6:9 AMP
And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of tenacity. Thanks also for the amazing example You set for us in Your life among us. As I begin another day of work, I know that You will be with me, strengthening me, encouraging me, and empowering me. Thank You for meeting me here in this place of morning prayer. You deserve my complete attention, my whole heart and mind. I remind You of the covenant You have made with me—You will be God and I will be Your partner. I will give You my life and You will give me Yours. I will live in You and You will live in me. From such a position of strength, I will hang in there! Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

Song:
Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand
Words and Music: Jennie B. Wilson

1. Time is filled with swift transition, Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Refrain:
Hold to God’s unchanging hand, Hold to God’s unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Refrain

2. Trust in Him who will not leave you, Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken Still more closely to Him cling.

Refrain
3. Covet not this world’s vain riches That so rapidly decay,
Seek to gain the heav’nly treasures,They will never pass away.

Refrain

4. When your journey is completed, If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory Your enraptured soul will view.
Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 30

Diversion

Just as we have been called to work for the Lord, we have been called to rest before Him, to rest and be refreshed in body, soul, and spirit. Refreshing the body requires a cessation of physical activity. To refresh the spirit is to drink deeply from the Word of God and to breathe deeply in the atmosphere of Heaven, the holy Presence of God.

How do we refresh the mind?
Often we do it with a pleasant diversion. A mental diversion is not the same as a distraction. A diversion is like a temporary detour on the road we are traveling. It will lead to pleasant or interesting surprises and will eventually bring us back to the road to our destination. A distraction is more like a wrong turn that takes us nowhere, shows us nothing, and leads us far from our destination. A diversion is time well spent. A distraction is time wasted.

Why? Because God made our minds to never stop running. Awake or asleep, our busy brains never stop processing information, (How else can an unfamiliar noise in the house wake us from a deep sleep?) dealing with our fears, and processing our plans. The only way to give the mind rest from all the heavy lifting it must constantly do is to divert it toward something that is equally fascinating but absolutely inconsequential.

Gone Fishing!
When someone goes fishing, the mind is diverted from crucial the daily tasks and is

  • occupied with the business of fishing,
  • absorbed in the beauty of the water and sky, and
  • fully engaged in the demands of landing the limit.

Whether we catch fish or not is not the point. The family will not starve if we return home empty handed. The same can be said for hunting, golf, tennis, hiking, camping, or vegging out in the recliner watching a sporting event or a great classic film. The mind is engaged so it is happy to

  • buzz along doing the math,
  • supervise the movement of hands and feet, legs and arms,
  • remember the lyrics of the songs,
  • measure and admire the ironies of the story,
  • hit that little white ball better than you did last time,
  • climb that next rise on the mountain path, or
  • contemplate the vastness of the sea stretching before us to the horizon.

This mental activity is untroubled by the life and death issues we face all week, so that part of the soul—the worry part, the obsessive part, the responsible part—gets a break, a much needed break.

Another Gift from God
Because we work hard all week, the Lord is pleased to give us interests that ease the emotional strain of the responsibility we carry while letting our ceaseless minds continue to chug along. In the process we are refreshed. When we follow this little detour back to the road God has given us, we bring our whole, refreshed humanity to the tasks before us. Rest is a part of the work He has called us to do. We pray for the anointing of His Spirit so that the work of the Kingdom, and our part in it, gets done.

Scriptures:
1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm23:1-3
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.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Your lovingkindness is, indeed, better than life. Thank You for making rest such a noble and necessary thing. Let Your call to rest drown out the fleshly call to busy-ness. Protect us from any hint of a Messiah complex that would lead us to believe that if we leave the frontlines even for a day, the war is lost. What nonsense! You and You alone, Lord Jesus, are Messiah. We are simply Your servants, called to work passionately and thoroughly but not tirelessly. Weariness of the flesh is not sin; it is simply a part of the ordained rhythm of life: work-rest; work-rest. As we rest before You today, letting our active minds explore paths of fun and amusement, we know that You are renewing our strength and soon we will soar again on eagle’s wings. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Song:
Near to the Heart of God
Words and Music: Cleland B. McAfee

1. There is a place of quiet rest Near to the heart of God,
A place where sin cannot molest, Neart to the heart of God.

Refrain:
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee Near to the heart of God.

2. There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

3. There is a place of full release Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 28

Change

Politics
Young, angry people form a mob in the streets. They shout slogans and hold signs crystallizing the changes they want to make into a few memorable words.

Prayer
A solitary figure lights a candle against the darkness he sees all around. He opens a Bible and perhaps a prayer book and in the dim and flaring lamp of the candle speaks ancient mysteries, unchanged from the time of Moses and David and Jesus.

Who will bring about real change, the protestor or the pray-er?

Both, we can be sure.

With violence one human system can bring down another and set itself up in its place to stand until a stronger group rises up with shouts and signs in the same streets.

Unseen by the human eye and certainly unrecorded by microphone or camera,

  • a heart turns from selfishness to servanthood.
  • A sinner turns around, repenting of his sin.
  • In a flash of grace seen only by spiritual eyes, forgiveness flows from the One who has been wronged to the wrongdoer and a new life begins.
  • Old ways pass away and new ways take their place.
  • A second birth on earth ignites a celebration in heaven. Angels dance and sing because another prodigal has started the long journey home.

These examples are not extreme as they may appear. Political protests affect change that may or may not be good, may or may not be lasting, and may or may not be legitimate. Wars are fought to change borders on a map, to free one people or to enslave another; only a few horrid things are certain in wars—death and destruction.

Prayer changes things in ways that are always good, though not always pleasant. God has chosen to work in league with mankind through spiritual things like, prayer, faith and obedience. These changes can be eternal and God has the legitimate right to make them. He is building a church and we are part of it.

The powers of hell will march against the church inflicting damage and wounding faithful soldiers, but there are things in the church which will remain unchanged by hell’s repeated assaults and the wounded warriors are healed while the battle still rages.

  • The Word of God is fixed and cannot be altered. It is written.
  • The Name of Jesus remains the hope of those who believe and the curse of those who do not. It is powerful.
  • The Father in Heaven remains secure on His throne of majesty. No power can unseat Him. He is unchanging.
  • The Spirit of God goes through the earth at the Father’s bidding, bearing the banner of Christ, convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. The Spirit is moving.
  • The empty cross stands against the moving clouds of a constantly changing cultural parade, unchanged in its message, untarnished in its purity, and undiminished in its power to save—to change hearts. It is finished.

In a time when the world is shaking with seismic change events and the ground beneath us trembles at the violence of the day, we stand on the unchanging Rock of Christ, impervious to the temporary storms of societies rising and falling around us.

We share with Him a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Scriptures:
Hebrews 12:26-29
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
James 1:16-18; 5:16
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my security. Changeless You remain in times of violent and constant change. At the same time, You have sent me into this world as an agent of change. I must preach Your peace into the constant conflict. I must sing Your praise over the noise of the lies wicked people tell. I must demonstrate Your compassion when I would rather shrink back from horrors of victimhood on every street corner. You have called me to shine a holy light into the back alleys where darkness goes unchallenged. You Holy Spirit goes deep into me to make the deep changes I need to be more like You. Change is present where it needs to be present—deep in my heart, and at my fingertips. Change is absent in Your great heart and to the glories of Your Kingdom. 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

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 27

Circumstance

Circumstances; we all have them and we must sort them out every day. This sorting of circumstances is a type of prayer.

Definitions include:

  • A condition or fact attending an event and have some bearing on it;
  • A determining or modifying factor.
  • A condition or fact that determines or must be considered in the determining of a course of action.
  • The sum of determining factors beyond willful control.

The omnipresence of circumstances yields a bevy of clichés in our speech:

  • “Circumstances permitting,”
  • “Under the circumstances,”
  • “Pomp and circumstance,”
  • “A victim of circumstance,” and
  • “Face the circumstances.”

Things We Can Control
Our ability to live through each day with any degree of self-determination depends on our ability to sort out the conditions and facts we will face. As free will agents, there are many things we can control, enough of them to count and to count on to give us courage to get out of bed, cleanup and dress for the day, and even to go out the door and start the car. Free will is a gift from God and He enables those who worship Him to do this regularly and with great redeeming effect upon the world.

Things We Cannot Control
However, some of the circumstances we face are well beyond our ability to control. The person without Christ must file these things safely away from the conscious mind in order to function. If the unbeliever cannot do this, the burden of life becomes too great to bear. That person must find relief in an altered state of consciousness, using anything from alcohol to drugs to soul-numbing addictions, to suicide.

God Is in Control
The Christ-follower is never left alone to face the circumstances of his/her life. The worshiper of Jesus does not stand in awe at a distance, but is held close in a secure embrace. There are no circumstances beyond the Lord’s control.

In prayer this morning, sort out the circumstances you will face today. Renew your vows. Rely on discipline to fully engage the fruit of the Spirit called self-control. Look for opportunities throughout the day to change the circumstances others may face. Look squarely, fearlessly into the circumstances beyond your control and place them in the hands of your Lord.

He can handle anything.

Scriptures:
Psalm 61 NKJV
Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name … So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.
Ephesians 1:21-23
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Romans 8:28-29
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am so grateful for Your lovingkindness; it is better than life! Your Spirit enables me to prevail through this day regardless of the circumstances I will face. You were tempted in all points that I could ever be tempted yet you did not sin. Help me walk in Your victory today. By Your grace I can hear Your tender voice deep in my spirit, comforting me, challenging me, changing me. Let me say in every circumstance, “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.” Amen.

Song:
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Words and Music: Ira Stamphill

1. I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future, For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him, for He knows what is ahead.

Refrain:
Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.

2. Ev’ry step is getting brighter, As the golden stairs I climb;
E’vry burdens’ getting lighter; Ev’ry cloud is silver lined.
There the sun is always shining. There no tear will dim the eye.
At the ending of the rainbow, Where the mountains touch the sky.

Refrain

3. I don’t know about tomorrow, It may bring me poverty;
But the One who feeds the sparrow, Is the One who stands by me.
And the path that be my portion, May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me, And I’ve covered with His blood.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, January

January 26

Work

Are we confused about work?

It is both noun and verb, art and craft, active and passive, finished and continuing, debilitating and renewing, and it is both labor and leisure. The law in physics (W=Fd) that says work happens when force moves a body in the direction of the force. Work is also the term for manual labor, a painting, poem, a production on a stage, and a white collar corner office This is an amazing noun!

The verb is equally diverse describing our actions from our motivations deep within, to the principles commanding our choices, to the simple actions of the day, to the business of leisure, to the reflection at the end of the day, and even to our restless subconscious minds while we sleep through the night. Human beings are working all the time.

When we have had our New Covenant Sabbaths—days of rest and worship— for most of us it is time to go back to work.

There is no way to summarize in this space how the noun and the verb affect each of us. Suffice it to say that we have jobs to go to and work to do. Until we consider the wisdom of God, work is one of our deepest needs and one of our least favorite things. This contradiction is easily observed. Listen to our declarations.

  • “If you find a job you love, you will never work a day in your life.”
  • “Thank God it’s Friday!”
  • “I hate Mondays!”
  • “Back to the salt mines!”
  • “I’m out of work. I need a job!”

Indeed, to be out of work is a terrible thing, yet so many spend their lives working at jobs they hate, living for retirement and the all-too-brief vacations between now and then.

So what wisdom can be found to combat these natural responses to work?

The will of God is something to be proved in our lives.
We are not meant to live randomly or to work pointlessly. God has a plan for each of us. If we discover it early in life, we have time to prepare for it and to do that chosen work throughout our lives. If we discover it later, this has not short circuited God’s plan. He can work all the circumstances to allow us to do the work of getting back to the work He made us to do. We prove God’s will for us by either doing the work He called us to do or preparing to do that work

The attitude we possess when we are at work changes everything. Paul tells three ways we are to do the work before us:

  1. With all our life force,
  2. As unto the Lord and not unto men, and
  3. In the name of the Lord Jesus.

Today we have the choice to do our work sullenly, resentfully, half-heartedly, and in our own name, or to work cheerfully, thankfully, with our whole heart, and in the name of Jesus.

  • We can choose to work for the boss, for the family, for the company, for ourselves, or for the money.
  • We can also choose to do the work before us for the Lord Himself. When this is our choice, our work, if it is honest and helpful, becomes worship.

And it is fit to be God’s habitation.

Scriptures:
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
1 Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You have a work for me. Thanks for including me in the building of Your Kingdom on earth and Your church in the world. Let me be inspired by others but not distracted by them. They have their work; I have mine. Show me how I can do my work in the way the Bible says I should: as unto You and not unto people, in Your Holy Name, and with my full life force. Then my work will be a witness of You and an offering of worship to You. Help my work to be a blessing to those to whom I am responsible and help me be a blessing to those for whom I am responsible. Help me hear the words David spoke to his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work.” In Your Lovely Name, Amen.

Song:
Take My Life and Let It Be
Words: Francis Ridley Havergal; Music: Henry A. Cesar Malan

1. Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days—Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

2. Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3. Take my voice and let me sing Always only for my King;
Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold—Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect and use Ev’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine—It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart—it is Thine own, It shall be Thy Royal Throne.

6. Take my love—my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself—and it will be Ever only, all for Thee.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved