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Scripture
Flaming fire His ministers. Psalm 104
Observation
It is from verses like this one that John Wesley explained the attraction of his ministry, “Set yourself on fire and people wll watch you burn.”
Some pastors excell at chopping and stacking wood. With laborious exegesis they saw and split cords of firewood but there is no fire. Other preachers are like boxes of matches. There is not a depth of knowing that comes from the word of God. With spit and shout they ignight like a box of match heads all at once the flame is bright but it does not last.
A preacher needs firewood and the fire. He needs both careful study as well as burning prayer.
Application
Next weekend I’m speaking to some of my favourite folks at Peninusla City Church in Frankston, Victoria in Australia. I want to bring the wood as God sends the fire!
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Scripture He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3
Observation
There is an old protest song that says,
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree planted by the water,
We shall not be moved.
When I hear its defiant melody, I think of Suffragettes marching through city streets and going on hunger strikes until women were granted the right to vote. The verse in the Bible that the song is lifted from does talk about a tree that is firmly rooted. But the reason it is stable is not because of stubbornness but because of fruitfulness. The tree has a good thing going so it is not going to let go.
Let me pick apart Psalm 1:3 by digging into the Hebrew roots of the verse.
The tree is not just planted, it is transplanted into soil where it can thrive.
It is not planted by a river but rather an irrigation canal that will never run dry.
It bears fruit not only in due time, but even in every season because conditions are so good.
It never wilts.
It prospers in everything.
Because the fruitfulness is so good, the tree will not let go.
Application
Our stability in life is not like steel set in the concrete foundation; instead, our secure tenure in life is more like healthy roots in good soil. So long as we keep ourselves in the state that brings fruitfulness, we will not be moved nor will we ever want to go.
Human stubbornness may keep us put, but the vitality of God at work in us may long be gone. Instead, we must daily cultivate ourselves to keep fresh and useful. Stability is a growing thing. In 1876, Col. Custer took a photographic survey of the Black Hills of South Dakota, marking every picture with exact coordinates. One hundred years later, surveyors retraced his steps and took new photographs. To their amazement, the same dead trees that poked through the forest like stag horns were still standing a century later. A tree can stubbornly hold on, yet bear no fruit. How much better to be a healthy tree onto a good thing who will not let go, paying rent for the footprint of life through usefulness and fruitfulness.
Prayer
Father, let me not be moved because I am onto a good thing and you are doing a great work through me. Amen.
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Scripture“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14
Observation God is extravagant in his invitations but stringent with his expectations. The king invited anyone to the feast who could walk there. He even gave a free ride for the blind and the lame. But only those who took time to thoughtfully dress could stay for the gala event. There are many wonderful opportunities the Lord opens for us throughout life. The greatest way to show our thanks is by what we make of them. The call of God is not the end of the process, only the beginning. The finish line is being chosen. When the Lord invites us into a new thing (a new job, new investment, new relationship, etc) the clock starts ticking. He will leave us on our own for a period of time and return later to see what we have made of what we have been given. The evidence that we are chosen is usually seen in another opportunity he will give to us after that that is built on the first call.
Application Tomorrow I begin a new role with New Life Church in Colorado Springs. God has called me, but I have not yet been chosen. I have to make my wedding clothes so to speak. It is what I make of the call that I’ve received that will determine God’s choosing. Now is the time to give as much attention to ministry as I would to pressing and dressing for a black-tie event.
Prayer Father, I want to be chosen by you as well as called. Help me to be diligent.
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Scripture Jesse’s first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David. 2 Chronicles 2:13-15
Observation
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and John all had one thing in common: they were the youngest in their families. Even the Apostle Paul was something of the last born among the disciples. It wasn’t kosher for God to do much with the youngest, that was legally left to the eldest brother. But occasionally, when God wants to do something unique, he starts at the bottom.
So many expectations lay at the feet of the oldest child–from getting teeth, to losing them, from first steps to first days of school–everything must be done first and best. The other children all take their place and fit well into the family norm.
Just when life becomes predictable in comes the youngest child. He frustrates the oldest with his carefree jaunt through life. He colors outside the lines and marches to a different drummer. Occasionally this tag-a-long child catches the fancy of God and miracles happen.
Why does it surprise us when God behaves like God? Sovereignty means that God is full of surprises. Had it been up to the nitpickers it would have been King Eliab. Doesn’t that sound safe and boring! King David was a shocker at the time, but God liked it so much he had it written as the last human name mentioned in the Bible. God is unpredictable.
Application
If a man of God could be made of the baby of the family, then there is hope that God can use any of our lives for things unexpected. We should never let the yawning predictability of life keep us from the extraordinary. The Lord who led nations with little brothers has surprises in store for our days as well.
Prayer Father, take my life and do something interesting. Amen.
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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: Mercy Me Word of God Speak
Scripture The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on the road through Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites and took some of them as prisoners. Then the people of Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns.” The Lord heard the Israelites’ request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. Numbers 21:1-3
Observation
When life goes badly is God against us?
Many think so. Their motto is: “Life bad equals God mad; life good equals God glad”. That is the human race’s most basic theology. The crippling motto transcends every culture and religion. Even Jesus did battle with that corrosive thought. Such a theological proposition sounds plausible enough, but it is deadly wrong. This page from the desert journals of the Jews enables us to leapfrog over this pathetic concept.
Why use the word “pathetic”? Because when we take hard life circumstances as a reflection of God’s face toward us, we freeze in place afraid to move forward lest we cop it more. Instead of moving forward, using the strength God has given to us and the love he showers on us, we grovel in suspicions of the Lord’s intentions toward us. We who are favored sons and daughters of the Most High, behave as the friendless and fatherless. That is pathetic.
The Israelites were still in shock from a hit and run raid by their enemies. Blitzkrieg snatched up friends and family. At that point the people could have given into their feelings of vulnerability. It had been a rocky road through the desert. They had littered the wasteland with grumbling. There was ample evidence that they had ticked God off. They could have huddled in their tents like children afraid of daddy coming home. Instead, they stepped beyond their fear of God’s intent toward them and trusted his love enough to bargain.
Their deal was this: if God would put their enemies into their hands they would in turn scrape the map clean of every town they inhabited. They would have their loved ones back and God would have for himself the beginning of space to create a new nation. God liked the deal and delivered.
To make that deal with God the Jews had to step over the shriveling theology of God’s displeasure. The people risked rejection by probing God’s heart to find out his heart for them. It seemed as if God were against them, but they dared to ask for more. In the asking they discovered what is true for us: God is for us.
We will not discover the smile of God by stalling in the dust of our disaster. We must move beyond setbacks and ask in the road ahead if God will indeed open doors.
Application
There have been tough days in my life when I have believed the criticisms of those who had no interest in my progress and have taken their words as the voice of God. As I reflect over the past I see that God’s eventual blessings proved them all wrong. You loved me…and them…far more than I imagined. I have discovered that when life is bad, God is still good. Faith is the ultimate act of bravery to open the door and to see who is on the other side. The risk of asking a little bit more can open to us kindness brighter than we could ever imagine.
Prayer Father, no failure is final, including mine because your Son is my Savior. Give me the courage to step past the barricades erected by the fearful and to join where you are fighting for my future. The precious words today are “with” and “for”. God is with me. God is for me. That is reassuringly enough. Amen.
I'm Phil McCallum, a husband, father and most of all one of the people Jesus loves. I'm privileged to serve Evergreen Community Church in Bothell, Washington as Senior Pastor where people love enough to believe "it's all about relationships." In 1982 I made a vow to read God's word daily and apply it to life. Each day I write out my reflections. Some days I post those on my blog. It's a little personal but it's my hope it will stir you to go deeper still. Learn how I do my devotions. These are my thoughts and not necessarily those of the ministry I serve. By the way check out the computer study Bible Glo. I highly recommend it.
