Deeper Still by phil mccallum

Press the arrow to listen to 10th Avenue North “By Your Side” as you read today’s devotion about God’s direction.

Scripture
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Observation
This Post-It note sized verse was one of my mother’s favourites. As a child it seemed simple. But now life is complex. It’s tempting to look for more complicated things. However, this simplicity is just what we need.

Here’s my paraphrase:

Instead of trusting your instincts and distrusting God, totally lean into everything he says with every part of your willing and choosing. Hold your own opinion with skepticism, because you don’t know best.

Don’t worry about knowing what to do, instead just know God and then you will know what to do. Strive for the deep knowing between friends that is wordless but deep. Sitting in a silent room both know the others thoughts. As you fall into that friendship with the Lord you will know what is on his mind.

The blessing is not so much that God will take you to the right road, but that he will bring the good road up to meet you. He will straighten the kinks and bumps.

Application
The choice word in this is “acknowledge”. The Hebrew word is one we all know. “Yada”, made famous by Jerry Sienfeld, “Yada, yada, yada.” The word means more than “to know” as if God’s direction were just information. The word means more like “knowing”, because through deep relationship we know what is on the mind of a friend even without words. Life is confusing and requires direction not so that I will get directions and make my way, but so that through all the bewilderment I will come to really know the Lord.

Prayer
Father, today I want to know you more than I want to know my way. That is the test of whether I’m leaning on my understanding or my own. I don’t want just information, I want an ever deepening relationship with you. Amen.

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Press the arrow to listen to Nicole Mullen sing “My Redeemer Lives” while reading today’s devotion.

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Scripture
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” Luke 4:42-43

Observation
Jesus had lived a busy day, with many people, too many invitations and constant conversation. But behind all the voices there was a background hum of another voice speaking to him. Like the electronic noises of stereo speakers that are heard only in the silence between songs on a CD, in the same way, during little gaps of conversation, Jesus could detect his Father’s voice speaking to him. The message was unclear, but the voice was unmistakable.

He stayed with the party, but after he was refreshed with a night’s sleep and there was the early morning space from people, Jesus took time alone and remote to hear the voice speak again. This time the message was as clear as the sound of the voice. There were orders waiting for him to go on to other towns.

Application
In any given day, in the midst of buoyant conversations, I sense a voice calling me aside with thoughts other than everyone else is sharing. I can ignore those nudges, but always to my own hurt. Eventually the voice that I hear in a whisper will be plain for all to hear. Out of love, the Father shares it with me with enough advance notice for it to be helpful. Whenever I sense an echo, I need to trace it to the source and listen for details.

Prayer
Father, there are things I’m sensing right now that you are speaking to me. In the gaps between conversations I sense the voice speaking. So in the silent place I listen, for there are other villages, other opportunities that can be missed if I do not. Amen.

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Press the arrow to listen to Mercy Me sing “I Can Only Imagine” while reading today’s devotion

Scripture

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.” Matthew 12:30

Observation

What Christian would want to be known as someone who works against Jesus?
Who would want to be known as someone who stands in the way?
Who would want to be responsible for uprooting what Jesus has planted?
Worst of all, would want to be someone who picks a fight with the Lord?

Who would do such a thing? The answer is anyone who forgets the word “with”. It is just a four letter preposition, but living with the word “with” makes all the difference. There is a subtle temptation to go on our own, even if we have followed Christ for some time. Perhaps a prayer is answered and we say, “Thanks for the help, I’ll take over from here.” Maybe we hear the voice of the Shepherd calling and we answer “just a minute.” The degree of separation is slight but substantial, for just a few degrees of separation now can mean hundreds of miles of distance on the future flight path.

Leslie and I walk two German Shorthaired Pointers at night. Lucy is seasoned with age and knows to heel without being told. Jose, however, beats with a puppy’s heart. The world is so interesting and she soon forgets the master’s voice. Normally, Lucy walks on the left and Jose on the right with Leslie and I in the middle. But I experimented the other day by putting the dogs in the middle and Leslie and I on the outside. The measured stride of the old dog Lucy settled the rambunctious young dog Jose. Something of one rubbed off on the other.

I find one of the best ways to remember to keep close to Jesus is to journey with those who have learned to lean well on the Lord. There is a scampering puppy inside of me; I like the old dogs that keep me close to Jesus. There is something about their spirit, that without spoken word, seems to say, “Stay close.”

Every Thursday I receive a phone call from my old friend Larry. Larry is a Berle Ives lookalike, with a cheerful laugh and a warming smile that reaches right into the core of his being. The cadence of his voice, even more than the words that he speaks, set a pace for me in his phone calls that keep me close to Jesus. I hope, one day, to become an old dog myself who steadies others on their journey.

I think Lucy knows the secret of walking with Jesus, but she’s not telling. It’s something about seeing my life as an extension of the Master’s walk, for though Lucy never looks up, I somehow sense she is with me heart and soul as we walk along the road. She is not distracted by birds or passing dogs. She’s with the master and that is enough.

Application
It was James Thurber who wrote about the dog who walked his master. There are so many times I am calling to Jesus and asking him to follow me instead of waiting to follow him. My journey is really the Lord’s journey; if I am to be with him I need to let him walk through me.

Prayer
Jesus, keep me close. Amen.

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Press the arrow to listen to Michael Card and Phil Keaggy sing “The Poem of Your Life”

Scripture
“Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, ‘Now at last Naomi has a son again!’ And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.” (Ruth 4:16-17).

Observation

God is the author of each life story. That clear from the first biography God ever wrote – the book of Ruth.

Ruth as a book is perfectly balanced.

The introduction and the conclusion have the exact same number of words. The novel starts bitter but ends better.

There are four main sections that pull the reader along.
Each section has an introductory sentence that introduces segment.
Each chapter starts with a problem that is answered and leads to the next problem.

There is balance between selfless Ruth and selfish Orpah and between selfless Boaz and the selfish relative.

The story starts with a picture of Naomi an empty a widow with two dead sons.
The fairy-tale ends with a picture of Naomi now filled with a baby in her arms.

And in the first biography in the Bible everyone lives happily ever after in the end.

Why is the book of Ruth so perfect? Ruth is not beautiful just because the writer spun a good tale but because the Lord was the author of her life. The book of Ruth is beautiful because Naomi had a God-written life. The book is a masterpiece because there was a master-plot planned by the Master Himself. Remember, God is the best selling author of all time.

Every human life is like a story. Some are tragedies. However, lives given to God are stories authored by the Almighty Himself. If my life is in Jesus then my life is a story written by God. No matter the character, the plot, the scenery, every life-tale under God’s control ends better than it began.

Some like Naomi want to stop reading the story of their lives too soon. At the start of the book Naomi tried to stop the story of her life. When her husband and sons died she thought her story had come to an end. But it was really the beginning of a brand new story.

Application

My life is like a book, being written by God every day. It all takes longer than I think it should sometimes. Writers are notoriously slow. I heard James Mitchner wrote just 3 pages a day. God takes his time working out the plot of our lives.

Our lives are like a book, a plot written day by day. Many pages are senseless. Some seem to have temporary purpose only to be lost in the next chapter. But Jesus is the author skilled at turning bad beginnings into better endings.

In all of the Bible, any human life participating with the Lord has ended better than it began. Jesus wants to dip his pen into my life to inscribe his eternal purposes. My choice is, will I scrawl an autobiography, with each chapter written by me, struggling to find meaning. Or will I let Jesus story blend with my own story so that I can inscribe eternal purposes?

Prayer

Father, here’s a pen, here’s my life, please write your story all over me. Amen.

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Press the arrow to listen to Christy Nockels sing “Holy Roar” while you read today’s entry.

Scripture
For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5

Observation
Discouragement should encourage us, because when suffering comes so too God’s comfort overflows. Setbacks should alert us to the coming of God’s uplifting comfort. Just as water seeks the lowest level, so the encouragement of the Lord naturally finds the low place where we may find ourselves. When we are disappointed we should be on the prowl for the hidden sources of God’s comfort.

Look for God’s comfort, not his coddling. The Father’s heart is always moved by our condition but like a wise parent he does not spring to action at our first cry. My son has been kept awake for the last few nights with his crying one year old son. He had been away for a few days and sleep patterns were disturbed. The little boy began crying multiple times in the night. So I gave my son the advice that worked for us decades ago, “When the baby cries, first call out to him and tell him you will soon be there. Let a minute or two lapse and then tend to him. Then progressively over the next few nights take longer and longer to get out of bed for him. Eventually, just call out to him without leaving your room, assuring him that he will be okay. This will teach him how to put himself to sleep.”

Doesn’t the Lord do something similar with us? The Father cares but he doesn’t coddle, he comforts us. In extreme times we want God to front up when and where we would like him to appear. The Lord does come, comfort does overflow, however sometimes it happens in ways we don’t expect. We must look for the comforting presence of Christ in our hardships.

I was watching an Australian survival show, where an Aboriginal bushman was showing a Caucasian adventurer where to find water in the thirsty Outback. While trekking through the scorched earth, the Aboriginal tracker disappeared from camera view and scampered down a rocky cliff. He pulled away a rock to reveal a hidden collection point for rainwater. He scrapped back moist leaves and damp earth. Patiently he waited as the hole in the ground filled with water. The Aborigine knew from experience where the secret water supply was and he knew where to find it.

Application
We should mark our life roadmaps with the places where God is most likely to show up with encouragement. In discouraging times we should camp at those places. Finding this comfort requires the effort of going to church, going to a home group, phoning someone who needs more than I do, doing my devotions, and ending the day with a stocktake of the smallest of encouragements that have come from the Lord. The comfort is all around us, and we are encouraged when we acknowledge it.

All around us is the comfort of the Lord. It may be an unexpected phone call. Perhaps an email comes. Maybe there is an opportunity to be helpful. Comfort can show up in our daily devotional reading. It may arrive in the first flower of spring or the last leaf of autumn. There are many ways that the Lord brings reassurance to us. There is only one catch: we must search for the comfort that surrounds us. The Father sometimes comforts us from a distance. It takes maturity to receive comfort like this. We must still our fretful cries and look for the comfort that abounds around us.

Prayer
Father, today I need not ask you to comfort but I do ask that you’d open my eyes to your comfort. It abounds, so help me to abound with it. Amen.

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Song: Audio Adrenaline Hands and Feet

Scripture
You have stayed at this mountain long enough. Deuteronomy 1:6

You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north. Deuteronomy 2:3

Observation
It is true that we must endure. It is reality that we must wait on the Lord. It is a fact that we must be patient. But there comes a time that even God becomes impatient with his own delays in our lives. When the Lord says, “long enough” we know that the days of walking in circles is over. It is time to move forward.

It is surprising that God does not just order Moses, “Move north.” Instead, God did what he rarely does: he explained himself with the words “long enough”. It was time to move on. There are moments of setback. There are seasons to trace and retrace the same lesson over. There are times to time out to adjust character. But none of these last forever. God’s design is for all of us to eventually move forward, even obnoxious people who try his patience.

Humans are prone to wad up other human beings and toss them aside into forgotten waste cans. People like to clear other people from their memory and get on with life. But God does not behave like a human. He is a Redeemer and Saviour. He remembers those in wandering places and recommences their journey.

Application
If God says it is time to move out, who are we to stall? When God lets others get a move on who are we to keep them frozen in their tracks with our judgments. God lets others move on with lessons learned even when we would like to teach them a thing or two. And God gives us permission to occupy new regions simply because it is his time and his doing.

Prayer
Father, I can become so accustomed to right hand turns over and over again to move in circles that it seems odd to move straight ahead. When you speak so to my soul help me to be prompt to obey. Opportunity knocks often just once. I don’t want to miss out. You ask me if I am surrendered enough to move on? I say, Yes Lord. When you say to move out so I will. Amen.

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Scripture
Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” Mark 4:21-25

Observation
The message of these words of Jesus is this: if I become a bright light bulb the Lord will put me in a useful place to shine as far as possible.

How do I become a higher wattage follower of Christ? By paying close attention to what I hear. And how can I hear? I must read the word and let it affect me. I listen to some after they read a Bible passage and squirm as they argue against hope and question the book. I have come to a conclusion. To gain true insight, I must not read the Bible, I must let the Bible read me. The scripture is living and active and it probes through my soul like pruning shears. The more I let the word of God have its way in my hidden areas the candlepower of my heart will increase.

If my light is bright, will the Lord put me in a cupboard? Well look to history.

Take an obscure preacher who spoke to a handful of bible college students in a now defunct institution and who spoke to dying men as an army chaplain. He was cut down from an appendicitis attack and his widow returned home to London. But she took with her folders of shorthand dictation that recorded every word her husband had spoken. Ten years later she published a book of his thoughts called My Utmost for His Highest.

Take another story of a missionary to Japan filled with burning zeal to touch every household in Japan with the gospel. But declining health sent him as an invalid back home to be nursed by his faithful wife until his death. Wanting to change the world, the missionary could not change his own clothes. His wife nurtured her own soul through the ordeal with books, magazines, scriptures and kept clippings of the encouragements that the Lord sent her way. The result was a devotional called Streams in the Desert.

Application
Jesus does not make it clear who brings the lamp out into the open and places it on a stand so that all will see its light. One could take his words to suggest that we should put ourselves forward to position our story of Jesus in the most accessible place possible. But I think more often it is the Lord who gives us a lamp stand and it is he who pulls us out of ineffective places and puts us in a place where our light is useful. The one thing we have control of is the brightness level of our light. The Master puts us where he wills, but it is up to us to be sure we are the highest wattage bulb possible.

Prayer
Father, somehow it is comforting to know that all of this is not up to me. You place the lamp on the lamp stand it is mine just to shine. I trust you in that. Amen.

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