Wednesday, February 8, 2012    

Drifting

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

I came across an interesting phrase this morning in the book of Psalms. Incidentally, I think maybe the Psalms are simply us getting to view King David’s journal (along with a few other writers). They are intensely personal, often raw expressions of David’s thought and feelings at the moment. Of course, they are spiritually focused…but they represent what was going on in his life at the time. I wish I journaled and prayed more like King David wrote in the Psalms.

Here’s what he said this morning that caught my attention:

Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. (Psalm 141:3-4)

It’s that “drift toward evil” phrase that has me thinking this morning. We all have this tendency…to drift away from God and toward the very thing that separates us from Him. Often it’s not a fast movement, but a slow and steady drifting (the word works).

Too often I drift and need a course correction. So I echo David’s request…

O Lord, don’t let me drift toward evil today…let me run to You!

23.06.2011 Devotional, Spiritual Musings 4 Comments

The Holy Spirit: Part 1

Monday, March 8th, 2010

I just picked up the book Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I absolutely loved Crazy Love so I thought this book would make for a good devotional read for Anita and me. We haven’t started it yet, but here’s a quick synopsis…

A follow up to the profound message of Crazy Love, Pastor Francis Chan offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives. In the name of the Father, the Son, and … the Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two? Chan contends that we’ve ignored the Spirit for far too long, and we are reaping the disastrous results. Thorough scriptural support and compelling narrative form Chan’s invitation to stop and remember the One we’ve forgotten, the Spirit of the living God.

During a breakfast meeting last week I had a quick discussion about the Trinity…and specifically about the neglect of the Holy Spirit in many Christian circles. So I’m excited to read the book. BUT…I’m not going to start it just yet. Why? Simple…I want to do a little study of my own and see what I can uncover myself before getting into Chan’s analysis (I fully expect his version to be much better than mine, but I still want to do a little discover on my own).

So I’m starting simple, and slow. I decided to take a look at what the Old Testament has to say about the Holy Spirit. We don’t typically think about the Holy Spirit in the OT, but He’s  there. A quick word search of “Holy Spirit” turns up three verses in the New Living Translation(NLT):

  • Psalm 51:11: “Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”
  • Isaiah 63:10-11: “But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them. Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, “Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people?”

The Hebrew phrase used here is “qodesh ruwach” which is literally translated “Holy Spirit” or “spirit of holiness”. It carries with it the idea that God’s Spirit is sacred and set apart. It’s a direct reference to God’s Spirit…to the Holy Spirit. The Psalm passage makes it clear that we have relationship with the Holy Spirit and that it’s this Spirit that can change and transform us. The Isaiah passage talks about grieving the Holy Spirit and that God sent the Holy Spirit to be with the Israelites. Both passages make it clear that the Holy Spirit referenced is not just an abstract concept or one way to think about God…but that the Holy Spirit is real and tangible.

The Holy Spirit is right there in black and white…but this isn’t the only place we see God’s Spirit referenced in the Old Testament. In fact, we’re just getting started. Next, we’ll take a look at the more common phrase used in the Old Testament: “The Spirit of God”. And that’s when things start to get really good…but you’ll have to wait for more…

08.03.2010 Holy Spirit, Spiritual Musings 1 Comment

Listening Day 1: Sacrifice of Thankfulness

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Yesterday morning was my first of five days simply listening to God…hearing from Him instead of filling the silence. And did He ever come through (like there was any doubt?). I started with some simple, but heartfelt, worship…praises and adoration for a God that would chose to love me even though He knows all about me.

And then God took me to Psalm 50. I actually read it a couple of times while asking the Spirit to speak to me through His Word…to direct my thoughts to what He wanted me to see here. What He wanted me to see was this:

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
(Psalm 50:14, NLT)

I have to admit that this verse opened up more questions than it answered for me. How is thankfulness sacrificial? I mean, sacrifice is supposed to cost us something…right? Well, how does thankfulness fit into that definition? Thankfulness doesn’t seem to cost much…if anything.

Maybe it’s about me putting aside my self-sufficiency…thanking God from a spirit of utter dependence on Him??

I am thankful. But I’m also still wrestling with this verse and its personal implications.

How about you…what do you think this verse means? What is sacrificial thankfulness? Let e hear it in the comment section…

18.08.2009 Devotional, Spiritual Musings 2 Comments

Tuned In

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

This past Sunday our Worship Pastor (I would like to his blog, but he never writes anymore…too bad too because he has good stuff to share) talked about something that has stuck with me since he said it. It must be something the Spirit wants to continue working on in me.

He talked about us tuning our heart into God.

I love that imagery. And too often I am out of tune instead of being in tune. I may be close…but as anyone knows (especially those of you with kids who learn to play an instrument), close is not good enough when it comes to being in tune.

This has been, and continues to be, my prayer this week: “God, help me be in tune with You.” I don’t want to be in tune with the world…I want my thoughts and my action to be in tune with the Living God…but Father…my Friend!

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14, NLT

29.04.2009 Spiritual Musings 2 Comments

The Source

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

I was doing a little journal reflection this week as part of my Spiritual Formations and discovered, rather quickly, that God had brought me to two very different passages this week with a very similar message:

There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy.
Psalm 43:4, NLT

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely
with joy and peace because you trust in him.
Romans 15:13

Do you think maybe God is trying to tell me something?

This morning I looked up the definition of “source”: “Any thing or place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained.” I kind of already had that in my head, but it never hurts to get some confirmation.

So I have to ask myself, where is my source for joy and hope? Where is my source for life in general? It is suppose to be God…and I think most times that is the case. But not always. Sometimes the source may even be something “noble”…but if it’s not God it just isn’t good enough. It falls short.

So this week I am focusing on this: Making sure God is my source.

13.12.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Sacrifice or No?

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
Psalm 51:16-17, NLT

This is one of my favorite Psalms. It shows King David’s more “human” side. His repentant heart poured out to God after his sin has been discovered and revealed by a close friend. In the middle of his confession to God, he utters the words above.

They are very much like Hosea 6:6, which I have blogged about before. This question about what God really desires is intriguing to me. Even in the Old Testament God demands a sacrifice, but here again someone who knows God intimately knows that the ritual of the sacrifice (just following the rule) is not enough. God wants more. God requires more.

God wants more than just our obedience (although He wants that too). God wants more than our “just enough” religion. He wants more than a piece of our lives.

He wants it all…He wants our heart, mind, soul, and body (I think I read that somewhere). :wink: This is not an easy God we are dealing with here. He doesn’t let us off the hook easy. He requires sacrifice…and then some. Giving Him my time, money, and skill is one thing. Giving Him everything is something else. And that’s what He wants. He wants me…and He wants you.

16.10.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Who Do I Turn To?

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

God has really been speaking to my heart over the past few weeks…and boy have I needed it. He’s been showing me areas in my spiritual journey where I need healing and restoration—and he has been providing both! It’s a great place to be and I am truly thankful for it.

One of the things He’s been working on with me is where I turn to when life gets tough or things aren’t going the way I expect them to. Too often I am turning to the wrong things when I should be turning to God. It’s not that the things I am turning to are necessarily wrong (although sometimes they are)…it’s just that my heart should be turning to God for strength and comfort. And with His help I’ve been doing that more and more.

So this morning I read this in my devotional time and it was yet another reminder for me on this topic:

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
Psalm 146:3 NLT

Where is my confidence? Too often it is in other people…those I think are “powerful” in one way or another. Where should my confidence be? In God alone. I’m starting to get the picture. :smile:

12.06.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

He’s Watching

Monday, May 12th, 2008

It has been a rough week. And aside from a decent Mother’s Day, I can’t say the weekend was much better. Saturday was not my most shining moment as a father or a husband. And I continue to wrestle with God about my relationship with Him…it just isn’t what I think it should be (which very well may be the problem). I feel David did in Psalm 22:1-2: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.”

This morning I poured it all out to God. I got brutally honest. With God, but mostly with myself. As I spent time in God’s Word (after asking Him to speak to me and help me listen better) this is the word I got:

The Lord keeps you from harm and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Psalm 121:7-8, NLT

He’s watching. And He cares. It doesn’t matter if I feel it (although it’s becoming a struggle)…He IS watching. And He DOES care. For today, that’s enough.

12.05.2008 Devotional, God's Love, Spiritual Musings No Comments

I Know the Feeling…

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

My Head Hurts

My brain has hurt a lot this week…frustrating, tiring week of work. But God is always by my side (and uses humor to lift my spirits). He gave me this word to chew on for today:

As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.
Psalm 119:143, NLT

08.05.2008 Humor, Misc Ramblings, Work No Comments

Theme Verse

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Do you have one? That one or two verses of Scripture that God has burned into you? That you come back to over and over again? A passage that you would call your “theme verse”?

I am terrible at memorizing Scripture…no matter how hard I try. But I have my theme verse memorized, because it speaks to me, encourages me, and challenges me. Here it is…

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14, NLT

In general this in one of my favorite Psalms (not number 1, but that’s another post altogether). I need this reminder every day and I’m sure that’s why I come back to it over and over again. It’s the desire of my heart. It’s my calling…to please God with my words and the very intent of my heart.

06.05.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Musings No Comments

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