pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 24, 2017

Hypocrites

Hypocrites are handy to have around.
If your goal is to discredit the church, hypocrites-in-the-church is a plea that seems always to work for you. Who can deny that there are people who say they are Christ-followers who are faking it—putting on a front? Their outward appearance is a mask hiding an inner reality that bears no relation to the Man from Galilee.

For critics, no matter how much paint there is around, there is still only one brush so we all get painted with it.

  • “Christians” are Bible-thumping bigots, gun-toting morons trafficking in hate and self-interest.
  • All “preachers” are fakes—snake oil salesmen, charlatans, money-grubbing showmen or slick, sick imposters one jump ahead of the law.
  • Small churches are little covens of ignorance singing silly songs and teaching who knows what.
  • Mega Churches are empires of opulence providing members with luxuries while the hungry go without on their doorsteps, collecting buckets of cash each week to buy their preacher another airplane.

Yeah, yeah—hypocrites are handy to have around if what you want to do is feel superior and un-holier than thou.

Forego the Mask
But, if you want to really follow Christ, no mask is needed for there is nothing to hide. You wear your heart on your face.

  • You don’t thump your Bible, you read it. More than that, you let the Bible read you—changing you from the inside out.
  • You may or may not have a gun somewhere, but if you do, you are far from stupid with it.
  • You traffic in love, not hate with a documented record of giving and compassion to prove it if need be.

Real preachers are called of God to learn the truth and how to tell it, no matter where that takes them.

  • They have no interest in career ladders or the applause of an audience.
  • They have a story to tell, a Kingdom to represent—one of love in the midst of hate, of light shining out of darkness, of integrity in the face of corruption, and of peace from strife.
  • They aren’t interested in publicity but in the public ministry of Jesus in a hurting world.

The Real Thing
Real men and women of God have a single, shining moment in mind—the one that counts—the one in which they kneel before Jesus and wait to hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” They measure all career choices against this moment.

Churches, large, small, or somewhere in between, are collections of people:

  • the true and the false,
  • the hypocrites and the real,
  •  the strugglers and stragglers,
  • the untested and the proven,
  • the fallen and the restored,
  • the rich, the poor, and that all-powerful middle class that wins elections.

Churches collect money and spend it; most of the time they spend it well. No one can calculate the good done by the least of these churches in the communities they serve. No government could afford to step in and cover for the works of believers if they were suddenly absent from the scene—which someday soon they will be!

So, Christ-followers! Be real—Jesus is! Be present—Jesus is! Be true—Jesus is!

Come to think of it—Christ-followers are handy to have around!

Scriptures:
Psalm 26 NIV
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord, proclaiming aloud your praiseand telling of all your wonderful deeds. I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells. Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me. My feet stand on level ground;in the great assembly I will praise the Lord.
1 John 4:1-3 NIV
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
Matthew 6:2, 5, 16 NIV
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.
Matthew 15:6-9 NIV
Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'”
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this world doesn’t need another pretender, another poser, checking the mirror in mind to make sure his appearance is just right. The world needs another genuine person, one of truth not fakery, peace not strife, humility not pride. You were that person when You walked this earth. Walk this earth again today in me. May Your reality shine through my humanity. This is what the world needs. It is what I need, too. Amen and Amen.

Songs:
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Traditional

1. I am weak but Thou art strong
Jesus keep me from all wrong
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee

Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it Jesus, is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord, let it be

2. When my feeble life is over
Time for me will be no more
Guide me gently, safely over
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore

Refrain

Keep Me True
Traditional

Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.
Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.
There’s a race that I must run.
There are victories to be won.
Give me power every hour to be true.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 19, 2017

Pure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazing.

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

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

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

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

The opposite of polluted is pure.

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

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

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

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

Song:
A Pure Heart
Words and Music: Rusty Nelson

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

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

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 18, 2017

Worthless?

What It Takes…

  • It takes a good eye to see the difference between worth and worthlessness.
  • It takes a good heart to understand the differences between unworthy and worthless.

I was a freshman in college, away from home for the first time, alone one afternoon in my dorm room. It was spring of 1968. I had a visitor whom I had known a long time but on this afternoon, I came to know Him better.

I was listening to my record player, a new album by a Gospel quartet called, “The Statesmen.” About the middle of one side was a song called, “Unworthy.” When the song began to play I began to weep.

That was me—unworthy.

A Call to Ministry
There was a call to ministry on my life and yet in definite steps the Lord had led me to this little state college to get a music education degree. I was active in several campus ministry groups and learning how to be a Pentecostal among those who love Jesus as much as I do but are called by some other name.

I wept during the whole song.

I lifted the needle and placed it at the beginning of the song to play it again. With repetition, my tears increased to become sobs. I paced the floor of my dorm room weeping with great heaves.

The song ended and I played it again.

I have no idea how many times this cycle repeated but I was not going to let this moment of visitation go until God was through with me. I don’t remember how it ended. I just know that I was changed by the truth of the song.

To this day I cannot put it all into words but somehow I learned the difference between worthless and unworthy.

  • Worthless things and people are useless, a burden to the world.
  • Unworthy things and people are useful, a blessing to the world.

Not without Worth
If I had been tempted to believe the lie from Satan that I was worthless, I now had the truth from God. Like everyone else I was certainly unworthy, but I was not without worth.

  • Think of the Roman whip, the hammer and nails, the crown of thorns, the twisted trials, the beatings and the cruel words like rocks hurled at Jesus until, suspended between earth and heaven He breathed His last breath.
  • Think of the blood streaming down from the cross to splash on the sand and sink down into a fallen earth.
  • Think of words of forgiveness fueled by those last few breaths falling with the rain from high above the unworthy crowd of mourners and murderers.
  • Think of Jesus and know that He was thinking of you.

Unworthy? We certainly are unworthy.

But worthless? Not on His life!

We have been deemed so precious, more precious than flawless diamonds, to the Lord Jesus that would endure the suffering and the shame to solve our sin problem.

Don’t be Confused.
The Psalmist observes that people are confused about worth. They highly prize worthless things. The Father makes no such mistakes—He does not waste the blood of His son on worthless people.

“He made me worthy and now by His grace, His mercy has made me His own.”

Scriptures:
Psalm 12
Help me, Lord, for there is no godly one left; the faithful have vanished from among us. Everyone speaks falsely with his neighbor; with a smooth tongue they speak from a double heart. … The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined from ore and purified seven times in the fire. O Lord, watch over us and save us from this generation forever. The wicked prowl on every side, and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone.
John 3:16-18 NIV
“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Hebrews 12:2 NKJV
…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isaiah 53:5-6 NKJV
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Matthew 16:26 KJV
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 6:25-27 NIV
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, When You came to this earth, a child born to an ordinary girl, in a stable, with shepherds and barn animals as Your attendants, it was the picture of unworthiness. Appearances were not accurate. There were angels in attendance and kings paying court—witnesses from heaven and earth to Your value, Your worthiness of honor and praise. That is what I will give You today with my thoughts, words, and deeds. My faithfulness will not balance the scales for I will remain unworthy. My value, unseen by this world, is measured in redeeming blood, in unspeakable condescension, as the King of kings became a man to solve my problems, deal with my sin and give me new life. What contradiction–unworthy and beyond price! Thank You, Jesus!

Song:
Unworthy
Words and Music: Ira F. Stanphill

1. Unworthy am I of the grace that He gave,
Unworthy to hold to His hand;
Amazed that a King would reach down to a slave,
This love I cannot understand.

Chorus
Unworthy, unworthy, a beggar
In bondage and alone;
But He made me worthy .and now by His grace,
His mercy has made me His own.

2. My sorrow and sickness laid stripes on His back,
My sins caused the blood that was shed;
My faults and my failures have woven a crown
Of thorns that He wore on His head.

Chorus

3. Unworthy am I of the glory to come,
Unworthy with angels to sing;
I thrill just to know that He loved me so much,
A pauper, I walk with the King.

Chorus

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, May

May 16, 2017

Garments

Garments are temporary.
No matter how they might fit, tight and clinging or loose and comfy; no matter how old or new or clean or soiled they may be, garments are just temporary. We put them on just to remove them a few hours later and replace them with something else from a closet or drawer. Temporary though they may be, our clothes last longer than we have use for them. With infrequent use, they get pushed back in the closet or deeper in the drawer until we need the space more than we need the clothes and they get taken out to be given away or to be stored so we can give them a way later.

If garments are temporary, so are the bodies we clothe with garments. We are only here for a short while so we must make the days count as the years pile up to a significant heap.

Beneath the ever-changing garments the body is changing, too:

  • Shifting weight,
  • the eventual surrender to gravity,
  • pains in places that never hurt before, and
  • mental gaps that stop us in our tracks until we remember why we came in this room.

Changes, like garments that clothe the body, also dress our souls.

  • Do we remember the wonderful wardrobe change when guilty garments were cast aside and shining white robes of righteousness replaced them? It is called “getting saved!
  • There was that bad attitude that kept hanging around in your closet until you put in on and spoiled everyone’s day. Convicted in your heart, you repented of it and threw it out of closet and out of your life. Your friends were so glad they never saw you in that again! It’s called holiness.
  • The dark clouds of depression kept you in a raincoat all the time. You kept reading and memorizing the good things from God until the clouds parted and the sun came out again and you ventured forth into a beautiful day with just a sweater. It’s called healing.
  • It seems the only songs you knew where in the key of the blues. One day it was enough of sadness and your traded your sorrows for the Joy of the Lord. It’s called worship.
  • If there was a potential danger you saw it and prepared for it. Then you recounted all the grace in your life, the bad things that didn’t happen and you decided life was worth the risk. It’s called faith.

So in preparation for the day’s activities, put on the right garments—faith, worship, healing, holiness, salvation—and see how good it all looks on you.

Scriptures:
Psalm 102:24-28 NKJV
I said, “O my God, Do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations. Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will have no end. The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You.”
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn  and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
John 19:23-24 NKJV
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
Revelation 7: 9-12
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for laying aside the garments of royalty, rightfully worn by You on the Throne. You emptied Yourself of heavenly majesty so the royal vestments were no longer appropriate. You came into the world in the scandal of human nakedness, a child born in a stable and placed in a manger. Mary dressed you as an infant and as a child. You wore the work clothes of the carpenter’s shop. In Your brief ministry You wore a seamless robe, one stained by the tears an sweat of Gethsemane. Soldiers stripped it from You and clothed You in mockery while pounding You with their fists and carving Your back with the Roman whip. You wore the cross like a cloak through the city streets and all the way up the hill called the Place of the Skull. Dying there You wore the robes of our unrighteous, so heinous a sight that, the Father turned His face away. They wrapped You in grave clothes and on Resurrection day You left them folded neatly in the empty tomb. Now You are robed again clothed in regal splendor. The rags I used to wear are gone. You have given me the garments of praise—Today I will wear them! Hallelujah!

Song:
Garment of Praise
Traditional

Put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Lift up your voice to God.
Praise with the spirit and with understanding.
O, magnify the Lord!

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 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 29, 2017

Collecting

To be human is to be a collector. 
We just seem to accumulate things.  Collections range from a garage filled with so much stuff you could never park a car there, to carefully indexed and displayed collections of books, paintings, model cars, guns, recordings, films, etc.   People collect things.  Some of us find it difficult to let go of the past and those boxes of random objects in the garage are all that’s left of it in the physical world.  Others of us have become so fascinated by an object that we can’t seem to get enough of them.

On days of rest and recreation, our collections call to us. 
A casual trip to the garage reminds us of all the boxes we need to go through so we quickly get back in the house.  For those intentional collections, the possible ways to enjoy them are many:

  • We can just look at them, appreciating their value and meaning.
  • We can look for more of them online or out in the market place.
  • We can choose one or more of them to play with.
  • We can catch up on the indexing and cataloging for it seems we are always behind on that.

As a Christ-follower we also accumulate valuables:

  • Moments with the Master, times of presence and power filed neatly away in our hearts for times when we need to remember,
  • Truths eternal, packed into certain words and into the many names of God for times when enemies or errors confront us,
  • People we love and who love us in return, gifts of grace from God’s own hand for times when we need a human touch or a word from a friend, and
  • Blessings all around us, far outnumbering the things we still need, for every moment of every day, the provision of Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Who Provides.

The treasures we have accumulated speak peace to us, bring a smile to our face, relax the tension in the back of our neck, and give us pause in that wonderful gap between the work of the week and the worship of the Lord’s Day.

Follow your interests.
Collect wonderful things that fascinate you.  If God made them, they were made for you to enjoy.  If human beings made them and they are honorable, those artists and craftsmen have created from the image of God in them.  That same image in you responds to their work and it is a good thing.

We must also look deeper than our various collections of things to the astounding accumulation of grace stored in our hearts, indexed in our minds, and available to our spirits.  They are kept in heaven’s secure vaults where there are no moths, no decay, no thieves, and where nothing is ever lost.

To be human is to be a collector.

Scriptures:
Luke 12:32-33
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 13:52
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
Colossians 2:2-7
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.  For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”   “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”   For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Ephesians 1:18-19
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I love the Bible, that shinning collection of stories and words of wisdom and unbelievable poems and essays that brings You to me. I love the massive collection of worship songs Your people have written and sung through the ages, going all the way back to King David. I see Your Church as a collection of narratives, stories of grace so amazing and I see beyond their stories to the people in Your collection, people You have called out of darkness into Your marvelous light. I consider my own story, a narrative of Divine intervention, of miracles of miles and inches, of moments of astounding grace and most of all, the people in my life, good people and true. When I count my collection of blessings, there is no ending to them. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Song:
Count Your Blessings
Words: Johnson Oatman; Music: E.O. Excell

1. When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

2. Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, ev’ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

Refrain

3. When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Refrain

4. So, amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions April, Devotions

April 21, 2017

Thoughts

The universe was once simply a thought in the mind of the God.
The thought became a word. The word became the Creation, piece by piece. Everything we can see, or hear, or feel, or smell, or taste began as a thought in the Master’s mind. Our mightiest telescopes and microscopes reach out and in to search out the limits of creation only to find more—more space in outer space, more detail in inner space. Such are the thoughts of God: infinite in scope and minute in detail, “un-resting, un-hasting, and silent as light.”

The Secret of Human Life
He installed the ability to think into our hearts and brains as well, equipping us to create our own little universes as thoughts become words and words become deeds and deeds produce results. Created are we, in the image of God, “imago dei.” This is the secret of human life.

Almost as an aside as he is warning against the evils of selfishness, King Solomon reminds us of this: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” That nails it. The evil thoughts residing in our hearts will come spilling out of our mouths and usually at exactly the wrong time. It works the other way, too. Good things planted in the heart flow from us in words of praise to God and deeds mercy to humankind. Jesus calls these godly thoughts the “good treasure” stored up in our hearts.

Garbage in…
In the early years of the computer revolution there was a platitude. (Some of us can remember a time before computers, comical days of typewriters and mimeograph machines and libraries and other wonders of the ancient world.) Anyway, the saying was this: “Garbage in; garbage out.” This meant if you want your computer to produce valuable stuff, you have to put good stuff into it.

This still has massive application to life. If we feed evil thoughts in our hearts, like a reverse of the creation process, thoughts will become words, words will become deeds, and the devastation of evil will surround us. Garbage in; garbage out. In this way such things as hate, violence, addiction, lust, and greed perpetuate themselves from heart or heart and generation to generation.

Only Calvary…
Were it not for the Salvation Plan of God, this would be whole of the human condition. People have never found a way to turn off the evil thoughts-to-words-to-deeds machine. Only Calvary does that. That innocent Man nailed to that instrument of punishment was the divine plan for the human condition.

Because of true forgiveness, we are now hosts to the Holy Spirit of God. He prompts good thoughts and tends the heart making it a garden brimming with goodness:

  • stunning flowers of grace,
  • satisfying fruit of Spirit, and
  • a New Wine to gladden the soul.

Our inmost being becomes the dwelling place of God—treasure indeed—tried in the fire and brightly shining for all to see.

Scriptures:
Psalm 55 NIV
Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest — I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.” … But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. …God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them — men who never change their ways and have no fear of God…. Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. … But as for me, I trust in you.
Proverbs 23:6-7 NLJV
Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; nut his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
Philippians 4:8-9 NIV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Luke 6:45 NKJV
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, guard my heart. Help me rehearse Your words, sing Your songs, obey Your commands, and share Your joy. You promised that a spring of living water would flow deep in me, in my heart. It is there, bubbling with life. Sometimes it seems to be only trickle and at other times it is a swelling tide. In small measures or large, Your life is in me—the Great Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price. Holy Spirit, keep watch over my heart. Alert me to the dangers of this world. Warn me of the insurgent wickedness that seeks to steal away what You have given me. I will fill my mind with thoughts of You. Lord Jesus, guard my heart. Amen.

Song:
Immortal, Invisible
Author: Walter Chalmers Smith

1.Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious—Thy great name we praise.

2.Un-resting, un-hasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

3.To all life thou givest—to both great and small,
In all life Thou livest—the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.

4.Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render—O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions April, Devotions

April 4, 2017

Life

Searching for Life

  • Powerful telescopes search far out into space looking for signs of life.
  • Powerful microscopes peer into the smallest of spaces looking for the mysteries of life.
  • Here on earth scientists scrape the surface and probe the depths of this globe for clues of how things and people lived and died before our time.
  • Secular prophets study current trends and
  • pagan fortune tellers read palms to try and see how life will be lived in the future.

For the follower of Christ the search is simple—life is a gift from God.
The breath in our bodies came from the Spirit of God, giving us a life that is unique in all of creation—one that lasts for all time.  This life must not be lived as an animal lives, following instinct:

  • the will to survive, and
  • the avoidance of pain.

Neither is our life like that of plants: thoughtless, responding to wind and rain and sunlight only to perish with the passing of time.

Ruach— Hebrew for the Breath of God
The breath of God in us, first given to Adam and now passed through the generations to each of us, gives purpose to the life we live.  We are not the center of our world.  As the solar system revolves around the sun, the believer’s life revolves around the Son of God.  His will is our highest goal, not our survival and pleasure.  Wealth and prominence are not the measures of the life we are called to live for Jesus.  Jesus’ approval is the reward we seek.

The life we are called to live for Jesus is one of joy, an unusual joy that gives strength.  We have a guaranteed eternal destination and s daily walk with God to take us there.  We share a community with others who follow Jesus, and we are noted for the love we share together.  This life is more than physical systems: air coming and going through us, blood coursing in us, and the systematic transformation of food into energy.

It is even more than the sum total of our thoughts and words spoken each day.

  • Our real nourishment comes from the Bread of Heaven.
  • Our wisdom is from the Living Word.
  • The animating spirit within us is itself animated by the Holy Spirit.
  • According to scripture, we have the mind of Christ.
  • The life we live we live by faith in the Son of God.
  • Our innocence before men, healing through time, and justification before God are ours the through the power of the Blood of Jesus.

We have no need of telescopes or microscopes to find the life we enjoy.  We simply inhale the Breath of God, gaze into our hearts, and find Jesus there.

Scriptures

Romans 6:23 NKJV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Luke 12:15
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Genesis 2:6-7
…the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Psalm 16:11
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.
Matthew 10:39; 19:17
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
… If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
Luke  21:19
By standing firm you will gain life.

Prayer of Confession:
John’s Testimony of Christ
John 1:1-5; 1 John 1:1-3; John 1:10-14
(from The Book of Daily Worship, adapted SRP)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us 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. 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. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Song:
My Life Is In You
Words and Music: Daniel Gardner

My life is in You, Lord,
My strength is in You, Lord
My hope is in You, Lord
In You, it’s in You. (Repeat)

I will praise You with all of my heart.
I will praise You with all of my hope.
With all of my life, and all of my strength.
All of my hope is in You.

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved

pathoflifedevotions Devotions, March

March 25, 2017

Energy

The dictionary defines energy as “available power.”
To have the energy life demands, one must have reliable sources of power. So we exercise and eat and prepare for the day in ways that seek to get us energized.

Sleep is a source of energy. Food obviously fits into this category as does water, oxygen, vitamins, minerals, sugar, caffeine, and Wonder Bread. (In the 1950’s, Wonder Bread promised to build strong bodies eight ways!)

Our natural energy comes in specific types:

  • Physical energy,
  • Mental energy, and
  • Emotional energy.

These three forms of energy have their own sources and each of us must provide the raw materials these sources need to produce the physical, mental, and emotional energy life requires.  If we do not, we risk losing the ability to function through:

  • Physical exhaustion,
  • Mental fatigue, and
  • Emotional burnout.

Spiritual Energy
There is also a spiritual dimension to the human life and a fourth type of energy—spiritual energy.  This energy also has its sources:

  • Prayer,
  • The Word of God,
  • Praise and Worship, (Which, of course, are forms of prayer.)
  • Fellowship with other believers, and
  • Christian service.

Deny or Embrace?
People who deny the existence of the spiritual side of life still need the things of the spirit.  They substitute physical, mental, and emotional activity for the spiritual activity for which their depleted spirits are starving.    No matter how high the art, how sublime the culture, how elated the aftermath of the workout, none of these things satisfy the human spirit.

People who embrace the spiritual side of life face a danger as well—we can also substitute human activity for the action of the Holy Spirit.

  • We can deplete our physical beings by working in the Kingdom of God solely in our own power.
  • We can drain our brains of all life trying to manipulate people and events toward a “spiritual” outcome.
  • We can approach an emotional breakdown by trying to save the world or even our little corner of it.

Ruach—The Breath of God
The truth is this: when we gave our hearts to Him, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit came to live in us!  We have the ruach, the Breath of Heaven in us!  Talk about an energy source!

How do we tap this source?  Two ways:

  1. Christian Disciplines, (Prayer/Word/Worship/Service) and
  2. Deeds of mercy.

The Christian discipline of daily prayer including worship and the Word is as essential to spiritual energy as diet, exercise, nutrition, hydration and breathing are to physical energy and study, fun, and concentration are to mental energy.

When we expend our energy to touch a hurting soul through witness or service, we are sharing Jesus’ favorite meal!  He told the disciples after he had ministered life to the Woman at the Well, “I have food that you know nothing about–my nourishment is to do the will of my Father and finish His work.”  Serving God does not cost us energy; it provides us energy.

With daily prayer and faithful service, we find an energy source that will never be depleted—and neither will we!

Scriptures:
John 4:31-34
…his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
2 Timothy 1:6-7
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Ephesians 3:16-17; 20-21: 6:10
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen….Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my strength! I stand in dangerous places because You are my safety. Help me build the structure of my life on You, the Solid Rock. In the cycle of day and night, You are my energy throughout each day and my rest every night. As the Bible says, I want to be “strong in the Lord and the power of Your might.” Grant me a constant source of spiritual energy as Your Spirit dwells within. I need Your wisdom to regulate my life so that I rest when it is time to rest and work when it is time to work—all in Your amazing grace. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Song:
Old Time Power
Words and Music: Charles D. Tillman

1. They were in an upper chamber,
They were all with one accord,
When the Holy Ghost descended
As was promised by the Lord.

Refrain:
O Lord, send the pow’r just now,
O Lord, send the pow’r just now;
O Lord, send the pow’r just now
And baptize every one.

2. Yes, the pow’r from Heav’n descended
With the sound of rushing wind;
Tongues of fire came down upon them,
As the Lord said He would send.

Refrain

3. Yes, this old-time pow’r was given
To our fathers who were true;
This is promised to believers,
And we all may have it too.

Refrain

Semper Reformanda!
Stephen Phifer

© 2017 Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved