Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Lest You Forget

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8:10-11


"Summertime and the living is easy...". So goes the song. Summer life gets busy quick. Have you found yourself running from barbecue to graduation party to wedding to family gathering? Life becomes filled with the busyness of connections and celebrations. It is easy to let 'mission creep' steal your momentum, your priorities go askew, and your spiritual disciplines become undisciplined. Everyone battles it.

Moses records God's warning to all the redeemed Israelites. Celebrate the freedom and blessing that God has provided but be careful in comfort...don't forget the God who brought you into this wide space of blessing. In all, your ease and satisfaction, watch and be careful to remember your God for there is danger in the forgetting.

In our Summertime adventures we must guard against complacency in our prayer lives, laziness in worship attendance, undisciplined spiritual habits such as Bible reading, devotions, sharing Christ with the lost. Don't forget to support the ministries of the Word of God, especially, your local church home. (Summers are hard on the budget of most churches I know of). In short, remember...remember the God who brought you to this place of blessing.

 We would do well to remember that spiritual life has no coasting. It goes against the flow of this world. To cease to move forward is to drift backwards. The wrong direction for those called to change the world one life at a time.



Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Under the Umbrella

“Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭4:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Isaiah prophecies in these verses of an end time revitalization of Israel. There will be a cleansing followed by this glorious glory cloud over God's people. The canopy of God's glory is worth considering here for a moment.

The canopy is for the washed. It takes a great cleansing by the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of fire to purge the impurity from the people of God. There is no use for the canopy in the hearts of those who do not seek to be cleansed.

The canopy of the glory of God will be a shelter. The harshness of the day is mitigated by the glory of God over his people. This allows them strength to endure and great security knowing that the Almighty has a covering over them.

Finally the canopy is God's provided refuge. no longer shall the people of God be caught unprotected in the harshest elements. They have a refuge to run to, protection provided, an umbrella of grace.

Today, we thank God for Jesus' covering blood. It cleanses and redeems, empowers and protects. It is our shelter and our provided,refuge. Only let us seek the refuge of the Lord's grace. Amen