Walking With Jesus

Unhealthy Habits

“A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away.” (Proverbs 22:15 NLT)

Habits form our lives and, far too often, interrupt or even block our progress as children of God. Why is that? One reason is we’re too quick to believe we can’t change negative or harmful habits. We grow comfortable with our habits, as destructive as they may be, because we learn to rationalize their existence. We can even dupe ourselves into believing that God is somehow okay with them, when He clearly is not. There comes a point where we begin to believe we just don’t have what it takes to change.

And the truth is, we don’t! I have a friend who is an alcoholic. They are literally killing themselves, but they’ve come to believe they have made some kind of agreement with the Lord that it’s okay. It’s not, but Satan has them believing they no longer have to struggle with their inevitable fate. And the truth is, that’s the lie Satan’s using to cripple and kill the lives of millions of believers.

Lust, greed, gossip, pornography, all manner of immorality and debauchery is being carried on by those who profess the name of Jesus, which is horrifying, but the greater tragedy is, they like their sin too much to stop it. For most it’s not a question of can’t but won’t! We sing in church on Sunday: “OUR GOD CAN!” But nullify the truth of those powerful words by not even giving our sin a second notice.

Am I somehow suggesting sinful, destructive habits are easy to break? No, but I am saying it is certainly possible to break them! But how? Dr. Robert Schuller was fond of saying: “Inch by inch anything’s a cinch.” As much as someone may love steak, or salad, or lobster, or whatever it is, it’s more satisfying and better for your digestive system if you eat it one small bite at a time.

To believe we’re going to stop a lust or gossip problem we’ve had for 25 years in a day may not be realistic, but I can assure you it will never stop until we take the first step. But how do we do that?

By God’s grace and with His help you can do anything. My mom and dad both smoked and drank for years. One day my dad decided to stop, and he did. He was done with both immediately. My mom, on the other hand, struggled for years. What’s my point? Different people, different results. However, there came a point even in my mom’s life when she’d had enough.

The heart surgeon told her that if she didn’t have the surgery, she would die. But then he said: “Even if I do the surgery, if you don’t stop smoking, you’ll still die. You must decide whether you want to live or die!” That’s ultimately the decision we must make. Do we want to live or die spiritually? Do we want to be someone who merely professes a relationship with Jesus or someone who demonstrates His life and love through our very beings?

Talk is cheap. We can know the right answers to all the right questions and still miss heaven. May I be honest? Who or what owns your heart? If you love your sin more than your Savior, you’re not heading to heaven. The Lord demands first place. To believe we can “love Jesus,” yet live anyway we choose is to believe a lie from the pit of hell.

Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life (your sinful habits), you will lose it. But if you give up your life (your sinful habits) for My sake, your will save it.”

We’ll look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

You Are Designed By God

*As I do on the 15^th of each month, I’m sharing another beautiful and powerful devotion from Sylvia Gunter. Please allow Syvia’s words to challenge you as the Holy Spirit forms you into your Savior’s image. Enjoy! Blessings, Ed 😊

Spirit, listen to God’s Word in Ephesians 2:10. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…” Accept and receive this truth deeply in your being. Your Father had His eye on you long before you loved Him. He intended you and wanted you. He planned you; you were not an accident. You are a product of His love. You were not mass-produced. We live in a disposable age, but you are not a throw-away. You are one of His best ideas, the result of His fine craftsmanship. His wisdom creatively designed you for Himself. You are “a keeper,” a treasure, valuable and valued. You are carrying a huge reservoir of treasure of generational blessings because He is generous. He is a just and extravagant God. He celebrates everything that He planned and deposited in the gold mine that is you, everything that He intended for you and pledged to you, and He cannot lie. In Him, you know who you are and what you are living for. Be blessed to live in the freedom of maximum fulfillment as you accept, approve, and receive your design, how God made you to be.

Listen to the Word of God for you in Matthew 15:13. Jesus said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.” Be blessed to receive the restoration of God’s original intent for you. Receive the hand of your Father removing everything that He didn’t install in you, everything you got from ungodly generations, in the womb, and since then from unholy sources. Be blessed with seeing the hand of your Father plucking up by the roots what He did not plant in you. Receive God’s restoration of what needs to be restored to its rightful formation and place. He put some special things in you when He created you, and you may have tried to remove them, hide them, or change them. Others may have tried to squelch you or change you all your life. Be released from the soulish plans, prayers, and manipulations of others to make you other than who God intended you to be.

Hear God’s Word for you in Romans 12:2 NLT. “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think, and you will know how pleased God is with his will for you and what God wants you to do.” He has designs on you for glorious living in His purposes, to set you in the fullness of Christ in everything in every way. He is actively working out His purposes that are beyond your comprehension. Paul said that no man has heard, seen, or even imagined what wonderful things God has for those who love Him. The power of the Holy Spirit in you is renewing your mind and soul, to give you a new attitude of heart. Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, is helping you to trust God completely and believe that He knows what is best for your life.

Let God confirm to you those facets of yourself that He designed to be revealed. Jesus lives in you to shine out of you. Be blessed to grow in all the character, skills, potential, and magnificence that is in your true spiritual DNA. Be blessed to be you. Be blessed in the name of the Spirit of God who made you, the breath of the Almighty who gives you life (Job 33:4).

Taken from You Are Blessed In The Names of God, pg. 27.Sylvia Gunter. For archive of past devotionals:www.thefathersbusiness.com

Bitterness and Worry

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT)

When bitterness is coupled with rage, as in the above verse, it means “extreme wickedness” with ongoing negative implications. It speaks of an anger that won’t go away; that becomes as if it were a boiling rage that demands a destructive response. That’s what happened to the Jewish religious leaders in Mark 3 when Jesus healed the man with the deformed hand.

Their anger wouldn’t subside because, in their minds, Jesus had disrespected and disregarded what they understood as their Sabbath demands, an anger that would become a bitter root of rage until they ultimately had Jesus nailed to the Cross. That’s why it’s so critical to handle anger quickly and effectively, we literally can’t know where it might lead.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 16:32: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (KJV) Tim Keller made an interesting observation when he said: “Worry is not believing God will get it right, and bitterness is believing God got it wrong.” Worry is like a spiritual ulcer that eats away at our faith, while bitterness becomes as a raging storm bent on destroying everything in its path, including our faith.

Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-27 (NLT): “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

David Jeremiah gives us sound guidance when he writes: “But we can minimize anxiety. One of the greatest techniques of peaceful people is learning to go about today’s business while leaving tomorrow in God’s hands. As you focus on what God has placed in front of you today, the giant of worry about the future will fade! God will take care of today and tomorrow.” (See Turning Point Horrors! – 02-07-23)

Did you notice the word Dr. Jeremiah used? “One of the greatest techniques of peaceful people.” A person at peace with Jesus, themselves and others will not be bitter and is far less prone to worry. The place to start in dealing with bitterness and worry is at the feet of the Savior. He is the “Prince of Peace” and will enable us by His grace and through the powerful ministry of His Holy Spirit to conquer worry and bitterness before they conquer us.

Some wrongly assume worry isn’t a problem, but worry is a sin that robs God of glory and us from the peace that only faith can give. Each moment we have a choice. We can borrow problems from the future through worry, or we can trust the Lord for today’s provision and trust Him with tomorrow when it comes.

“But I need to prepare!” we tell ourselves. But faithful prayer and trust in our Savior IS preparation. Without trusting the Lord, we nullify whatever profession of faith we make and essentially destroy whatever positive witness we might be seeking to make. The logical question then becomes: “Can I trust Jesus for eternal salvation and heaven, but not trust Him for today’s provision?”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

After Testing Comes Blessing

“Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” (Matthew 4:11 NLT)

Tests are gifts of God to strengthen our faith and to prepare us for our next assignment. We sometimes wrongly assume a test is a punishment or reprimand for something we’ve done wrong, but that’s not what the Bible teaches. Jesus walked perfectly, flawlessly for 30 years before being tested in the wilderness by Satan. It wasn’t punishment, it was preparation. The very next verses in Matthew describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

Rick Warren wrote: “God is going to test you before he blesses you. And in that test, you’re going to learn a lot about yourself. If you give up praying, you’re never going to learn the lessons that help you become more like Jesus. Keep praying with persistence each day. And remember that after the testing, the blessing will come.”(See Daily Hope Testing Comes Before Blessing – 02-03-23)

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Tests and temptations, while similar, are not the same. Temptation is of Satanic origin and is always something that, if given into, will result in sin. Tests, on the other hand, originate with God and are basically anything that can cause you to doubt God or turn you from the path He’s planned for you. But when overcome will lead to greater fruitfulness and usefulness in God’s Kingdom. Things like unanswered prayer, a difficult habit that seems impossible to break (habitual sin), unfaithfulness (something that tests your faithfulness to your spouse, your job, the people in your family or spheres of influence who look to you as a positive example of Christlikeness).

Perhaps the Lord gives you a clear instruction to do something that’s frightening or challenging, but instead of immediately proceeding on the path of obedience, you begin to question God or yourself. Tests and temptations come throughout our life as a Jesus follower and are not, in and of themselves sin. They may lead to sin, but like with Jesus, they certainly don’t have to.

God’s plan is that tests lead to deepening faith and stronger commitment, which leads to greater levels of fruitfulness and usefulness to the Lord. But please don’t miss the point. The true “blessing” isn’t overcoming the temptation or gaining the victory, it’s putting a smile on your Father’s face. It’s the joy it brings to your heavenly Father as He affirms you and expresses to you His pleasure.

Rewards come and go and may or may not be remembered. What will build your faith and sustain your spirit is the confidence you gain, not in yourself, but in the powerful Spirit who resides in you. Recognizing you are not your own, you were bought with the high price of the blood of your Savior, will enable you to find strength in the knowledge you are never alone to face ANYTHING!

Tests sometimes seem to come “out of nowhere,” but they haven’t. They’re like the sun, rising right on God’s schedule. God’s perfect time doesn’t always coincide with our schedule, but if we’ll learn to go with His “flow,” we’ll face tests and temptations in stride, realizing they aren’t there to make us bitter, but to make us better.

There’s a very real sense in which we are the cumulative result of our tests. Some we’ve failed, but others, by God’s grace, we’ve passed with flying colors. On some levels our tests define us. How we handle them will largely define the kind of person we are and are to become. Trials that lead to trust strengthen and stabilize us, enabling us to hear God’s voice more clearly and follow Him more nearly.

Regardless of what’s happening in your life right now, hold on to Jesus with unwavering faith and the blessings He will bring to you will humble, encourage, and enlighten your soul. He is always good.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Hungry Heart?

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13 NLT)

Have you ever been hungry? No, I’m not speaking about having an early breakfast and by lunch you’re starving. Personally, I’ve missed a few meals I hadn’t planned to miss, but having seen some of the suffering in our world, I’ve never really known hunger, with one exception. My heart aches like the gnawing pangs of hunger to know my Savior more intimately, to sense His presence more closely, and to hear His heartbeat as though it were my own. These are the longings of my heart in this season.

Nothing satisfies the human heart and soul like intimacy with Jesus. Jesus longed for closeness with His Father. That’s why the agony of the Cross was so hard for Him. Having to be separated from the Father, if only for seconds, was like an eternity for Jesus. How can we walk with the Lord and not long for His presence in every second?

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James L. Snyder wrote: “Throughout the history of humanity, there have been great discoveries. I am not sure which one we could point to and say, ‘That is the greatest discovery in the world.’ But for the hungry heart, there is but one discovery that satisfies it: the discovery of the manifest, conscious presence of God.” (A. W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, ed. James L. Snyder – Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2014)

I wish I could tell you it’s always been that way for me, but it hasn’t. It’s a growing process, but once we finally make the connection between the nagging ache of our heart for “something more,” and the thirst-quenching, life-sustaining presence of the Lord, our lives will never be the same. As I understand the process, pain is the pathway that leads to the heart of God.

It may be physical, emotional, financial, relational, even spiritual pain, but too often our hearts are not willing to be postured to hear God’s voice until our pain is deepened to the point the voice of the enemy is stilled. It’s in the quiet agony of our brokenness that the voice of God becomes crystal clear.

Beloved, it’s a journey, but to bask in His presence is heaven! To sense the affirming, loving, inviting presence of His Spirit, healing your heart, informing your spirit, and soothing your soul is something no one or nothing of this earth can accomplish.

I’ve shared before how I’ve wrestled with regret regarding my first marriage, but especially my failure to love my kids well in critical times in their lives. My failure has led to their walking without Jesus as their best friend, which is my deepest regret. Recently, the Lord has freed me of my regret.

He’s shown me that to focus on what wasn’t done in the past has blocked what He’s wanted to do in the present. To fill my mind with “what if’s” is to block the path to His “what will be’s.” Anytime we choose the past over the present, we choose death over life; sorrow over hope; defeat over victory. Our God has no limits. Prayer is our lifeline. What belief in a living God can do is literally unimaginable. He alone satisfies the hunger of our aching heart.

How will it all turn out? God alone knows. But I know this! It will be good, better than anything I or you can imagine. How do I know that? Because I’ve sat in His presence, and He whispered it to my heart.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Living As Children of Light

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:6-10 ESV)

What does it mean to be darkness? Yes, you read that right. I’m not asking what it means to be IN darkness. Most of us know what that’s like. I’m asking what it means to BE darkness. Jesus touches on this in His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:22-23 He said: “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”

While He uses the literal eye as an analogy, what He’s addressing is far more tragic than literal blindness, as horrifying as that is. I think of my friends trapped in the bondage of Mormonism who wrongly believe the god and jesus they love and serve is the same as the God and Jesus of the Bible. Yet, when you show them Scriptures like John 1:1 that clearly says: “In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed,” it’s as if the meaning escapes them. This verse verifies that God the Father and God the Son are two separate entities, yet, are co-equal and exist in unity with the Holy Spirit – the holy Trinity.

But the verse continues: The Word was with God, and the Word WAS GOD!” (emphasis mine). There are literally dozens of verses that verify the deity of Christ in unmistakable ways, yet, those who walk in darkness cannot see the truth. Why not? It has nothing to do with intellect, it has everything to do with spiritual darkness.

If Satan, the father of darkness, owns a person’s heart and mind, they literally CANNOT see the Truth. The only power great enough to illuminate a darkened mind and heart is the power of the Holy Spirit released through believing prayer. That’s why we cannot become partners with those who walk in darkness.

The word used in verse 6 above literally means: “of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell.” What does that mean? It means people are so blinded by the lie they cannot see the truth, but while they may believe with all their heart that their lie is true, because of the darkness it brings to their soul, though they may not be “immoral” in the popular sense of the word, their “immorality” is born and grows out of their evangelization of their lie, thus damning immortal souls to hell for their “unbelief” in the God of the Bible.

Why is this darkness so blinding? And why does it bear such a vile punishment? Paul challenged the Corinthians, as he challenges us, when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” If the Spirit of God doesn’t illuminate the life of Jesus in and through the way we speak, live, and behave, we’re blind to the Truth and living in spiritual darkness.

If the light of Christ’s life isn’t being evidenced through the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (that cannot be faked), then the Spirit of Christ is not alive in us and we’re walking in spiritual darkness. However, the greatest evidence is the test of Romans 8:16: “For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Agreement

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16a NLT)

Have you ever agreed to something, then, almost immediately you knew you shouldn’t have? Yet, at that point you felt obligated not to back out. What did you do? What did you learn? It’s tempting, based on a negative experience, never to agree to anything, but that isn’t right either.

The verses above have reference to not aligning ourselves with those who are unbelievers in key relationships like marriage but can also be applicable to other relationships. Paul touches on another aspect of this in Romans 12:18 when he writes: “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” On some levels these are like two extremes of the same issue of agreement.

As Jesus followers were called to be agreeable, but sometimes there’s a thin line that we dare not cross. It’s like our obligation to love the sinner but hate their sin. That’s easier, because it’s the same battle we fight each day within ourselves. We’re commanded to love ourselves, but we certainly need to form a healthy hatred toward our own sin; otherwise, we’ll not feel any inclination to be rid of it, as Paul writes in Romans 8 we certainly should.

We’re also commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 19:19) without regard to whether or not our neighbor is saved. Implicit in that loving is some measure of agreement; otherwise, we’ll be in constant friction with them. That speaks to something Russell Moore wrote: “I’ve never been humiliated into agreement. I have, however, been loved, served, and patiently convinced into agreement.”

What’s my point? Regardless of where we live, work, or serve, we’re called to be agreeable. To be a servant of the Lord and be cantankerous, argumentative, and uninviting in our outlook and demeanor towards others is an insult to the Savior we love and serve. Jesus loved the men who nailed Him to the Cross, and it was that love that prompted the words of the Centurion in Mark 15:39: “This man truly was the Son of God!”

Our loving kindness, cooperative spirit, accepting demeanor will open doors our trying to cram Scripture down someone’s throat never will. Is that to say there’s never a time or place to use Scripture? Of course not. The use of Scripture is crucial in helping someone come to the Lord, but how and when we use it must be guided by the Holy Spirit and flow from a heart of love and desire to see someone come to the Lord to meet their need, not ours.

But here’s the truth. There is no agreement between light and dark; right and wrong; good and evil. There are certainly opportunities for compromise, but not on core issues. I understand if someone continues to struggle with a sin or sins with which they wrestled when they first came to the Lord. But to still be “wrestling” with the same sin after 10 or more years is another story.

Our goal as a Jesus follower is to walk in the light of our new life and to lovingly seek to win the lost to the Lord Jesus and His holy way. My personal goal when I speak with someone about the Lord, if they aren’t open to beginning a relationship with the Lord in that moment, is to keep the door open so the next person with whom they speak will, hopefully, be able to lead them home. Or perhaps they’ll be more open in our next conversation.

But if I’m ugly, in their face, and turn them off to anything about the Christian life, I could ruin mine or someone else’s opportunity to ever help them see Jesus in a different light. We must be agreeable, even in our disagreement.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Believer’s Greatest Desire

“Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.”” (Hebrews 6:11-12 NLT)

Desires, even for believers, range somewhat due to our level of spiritual maturity, age, stage in life, and many other factors. What I desired at 17 when I first gave my life to the Lord looks a lot different than the things I most desire today. Yet, on the other hand, there are still similarities.

What drew me to the Lord then and holds me on course today, was and is a desire to be free of sin and to be in a right relationship with Jesus. My greatest desire is to please God and walk in harmony with His will for me, but therein lies the question: What does that look like? What does it mean to please God and to walk in harmony with His will?

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Granted, there are similarities for each of us who bear His name. Obedience. Submission to His authority in and over our lives. Willingness to love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and body, and to love others as we love ourselves. But realistically, that can look different in the life of a new believer and a veteran saint; a young unmarried and a middle-aged married person; a retiree and someone just starting their career.

Stages of life can shift how desires manifest themselves, but at their core, our desires should always focus on what pleases and honors God, not just ourselves. Intimacy with the Lord is certainly among my strongest desires in this season of my life, but true intimacy flows out of obedient surrender, doing what pleases and honors the Lord regardless of how I might feel about it.

What’s important to the Lord must be important to me; thus, dictating policy in my life to conform to what pleases Him. We must consider the basics to see what’s most important to the Lord. From the beginning of time God chose to create beauty and order. Everything had a purpose; nothing was random or haphazard. Oceans flowed within their set boundaries, the sun, moon, and stars all follow the course of their Creator. Animals and wildlife operate within the guidelines of their instincts and abilities.

Only man was given freedom of choice, but why? Because love is meaningless without the option to receive or deny it, and the greatest gift God gave us as human beings is the gift of relationship – with each other and with Him. The Bible says in John 15:13: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” But how? What does “Laying down our life” look like in 2025?

It looks the same as it did when the words were written, denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him (Matthew 16:24). The reason Jesus died wasn’t so we could stay the same, but in order that we might be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). When did that begin? When someone introduced us to Jesus!

J. C. Ryle wrote: “Happy indeed is that Church whose members not only desire to reach heaven themselves, but desire also to take others with them.” As great as it is to be secure in our salvation, it pales in comparison to helping others find their salvation. When our intimacy with and joy in Jesus translates into brokenness over the lostness of our loved ones, neighbors, friends, co-workers, classmates, and others in our spheres of influence, our desire for God will increase exponentially with our desire to see others come to know Him. To know Jesus and not want to share Him is an oxymoron.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Bitter Cup

“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’” (Revelation 21:3-4 NLT)

Being the wimp that I am, I have a very low tolerance for pain. Having had several kidney stones and having had to wait in the emergency room numerous times while they confirmed that I indeed had a kidney stone, in agony I was begging them to give me something for my pain, but my cries fell on deaf ears. I can’t help but believe there are people in our spheres of influence who are crying out in pain, but their cries are falling on deaf ears.

As the verses above indicate, there is coming a day, sooner than any of us can imagine, when pain will no longer be an issue for those who are in Christ Jesus. But the exciting part to me, that brings me much comfort even in the midst of my pain, is that I’m seen! The Lord is with me NOW! And He’s with you, child of God. The same God who will be with us throughout eternity is with us NOW!

As a child of God, we don’t take a breath without His presence with us. “Then why don’t I feel His presence?” Do you feel the air you breathe? Do you feel the blood flowing through your heart, through your body, keeping you alive?

We place far too much emphasis on feelings. Emotions are rarely, if ever, a reliable source of what’s happening in our lives. There are so many sources of pain, each of which has its own system of torture and agony. Emotional pain may have physical manifestations, but words aren’t adequate to describe what happens in grief when it seems our heart has been torn out of our chest.

When our sense of loss is beyond words to describe. When we can hardly open our eyes without seeing something to remind us of that one who so filled our lives with such love and joy and happiness. The bitterness of our cup of grief seems in those moments to be incurable. Yet, the truth is, it is not.

Two things encourage me when I consider the pain I/we face as believers in Jesus. First, we never face those traumatic times alone. Vaneetha Rendal Risner wrote: “We never drink the bitter cup or endure any pain without him.” There is no comfort in empty words or hollow promises, but the presence of the Lord is more real than the skin on our bodies.

He literally NEVER leaves us and is, as His Word promises in Psalm 46:1-3: “our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”

The point is simply this – we’re literally never alone! No matter what our emotions tell us, we can count on the presence of the Lord to be with us. Even though His presence doesn’t guarantee immediate relief, He doesn’t jump in and jump out, He’s with us every step of the way. I love the picture of the footprints across the desert and the caption that says: “Jesus, I noticed when I was struggling the most You left me. There was only one set of footprints.” “No, precious one, that was the time I was carrying you!”

There is no cup so bitter our compassionate Savior is not “tasting” it with us. Take heart, you are NEVER alone!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Faithful or Just Busy?

“Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to You that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.’ But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42 NLT)

As a rule, when we read this passage, we’re immediately drawn to one of two “camps.” The “Martha” or the “Mary” camp. But why? It’s not like Jesus and His disciples would have starved if Martha had chosen to sit with Jesus. In all fairness, Martha was likely well versed in hospitality and, very likely, used to serving a level of diners with much more class than Jesus’ disciples.

But to her credit, she recognized she’d never served the Lord of Creation before. This was no ordinary meal; it was a gift to her King. The problem wasn’t what she was doing, it was the priority she gave it. On a much smaller scale we do the same thing when we fail to spend time with our children because we have to work. And when pressed we’d argue: “It’s all for THEM! So, I can provide a nice house for THEM, a great education for THEM, fun vacations for THEM!”

And on and on it goes, but in the process of providing all those very nice things, we lose our kids to the world. The looming question on the hearts of so many unhappy kids is: “Where’s dad/mom? Why is he/she always working (too busy for me)?” And to respond with: “It’s all for YOU!” is empty, shallow, and just not true.

The truth is Martha was a very spiritual woman (check out John 11), and Jesus wasn’t “reprimanding” her, He was merely making a statement of fact. We can’t have intimacy with anybody, but especially Jesus, without spending time with Him. Did you catch the word used in verse 42 in reference to Mary? The Bible said: “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” “ONLY ONE THING… Mary has discovered it.”

The word translated “discovered” is a word that means “to choose one out of many.” It’s the same word used in reference to Jesus when He chose His disciples. Intimacy with Jesus is a choice we make in and through the routine decisions we make every day. Many today refer to their “God time,” and I respect that and believe I understand what they mean, but the Lord NEVER leaves us. There’s a sense in which every moment of every day is God’s time.

He’s as interested in us “sitting” with Him (posturing our heart) while we’re doing taxes as He is when we’re praying, working, fixing a meal or anything else. Some of the richest times with the Lord in my life have been under a car trying to figure out what’s wrong and/or how to fix it. I remember praying when I was just a young man, under a car with a transmission sitting on my chest: “Lord, if You’ll get me out of this, I will never do this again!” (and I haven’t 😊).

Our option as 21^st century believers isn’t Martha OR Mary! It’s Martha AND Mary! There’s a time to give our undivided attention to preparing a meal, working, serving in whatever capacity, but those acts of service must grow out of extended times of worship, sitting at the Savior’s feet, feasting on His goodness, mercy, kindness, wisdom, knowledge, fellowship.

We can’t and won’t be prepared to serve effectively until we’ve worshipped wholeheartedly, enthusiastically and without reservation or interruption. Sit at the Master’s feet – THEN “fix the meal!” Please don’t allow busyness to rob you of intimacy with your Master!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊