Deeper Still by phil mccallum | Archive

Encouragement, Hope, Overcoming, Peace, Troubles

Where Does Hope Come From?

No Comments 03 June 2009

Press the arrow to listen to Natalie Grant’s song, “Our Hope Endures” while reading where hope comes from.

Scripture

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Observation

Where does hope come from? Hope is a fresh scent of good things God is cooking up for us. It is the sun that makes us get out of bed in the morning. It is a song in our mind that wakes us up in the night. Hope is what keeps us looking long after the posse went back home. Hope is what keeps us praying longer than is reasonable.Â Hope is not a superfulous, expendable extra in life like the cherry on a sundae. Hope is mission critical.Â In the toughest conditions, hope is what makes the difference between those who survive and those who do not

We need hope. But where does hope come from? Thankfully hope does not come from us, but from God. Hope somehow doesn’t feel hopeful when we have to talk ourselves into it. But when hope comes from heaven it enables us to believe more than we could ever do so on our own. Hope is a gift from God that keeps us walking forward when the road runs out.

How do we get new hope? Romans 15:13 is full of exciting possibilities of hope. God’s last name is apparently “hope”. With hope come the children of “joy” and “peace”. Hope can get out of control as it abounds in tough places. Hope is power that comes from the Holy Spirit, a power that others do not have to rise above their circumstances. Hope is totally of God. There is only one word in Romans 15:13 that is up to us as human beings. Our responsibility is “believing”. If we will use faith then God will give us hope.

Application

If I will believe, God will give me more hope. No matter how discouraging the circumstances, there is always something we can believe for, no matter how small. We as Christ followers are to be defined by what we are believing for. We are to live from “faith to faith”. We should be believing for something. Though my nose may be bruised from the crush of doors slammed in my face, yet I will continue to believe. In that resolute faith I will have more hope.

Prayer

Father, today you see what I’m believing for. I pray that you would shovel hope into my life. I need this power of anticipation that the Holy Spirit can give to me. Amen.

Peace, Salvation, Simplicity

Dumbed Down Faith

No Comments 25 May 2009

Scripture
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…. Romans 5:1

Observation
Having a relationship problem is bad, but what is worse is to have someone out of sorts with us but to never know that they are offended. We are blase to their hurt. It pushes us apart, but we don’t know what is wrong.

This is exactly what is between God and us. Without Jesus, no one realizes that God is offended. None have a clue of how deep that damage is. The proof of the pain between us and God comes by the price tag of the clean up of the mess. The repair bill to restore our relationship with God was astronomical. The Father giving his precious Son was more costly than even the Exxon-Valdeze clean up bill.

But the expensive repair of our relationship with God through the death of his only Son shows us another thing. God loves us more than all of the hurt between us. In fact, he wants our thoughts to focus on the enormity of his love for us.

The greatest gift that God can give to us is the gift of peace. The sense that relationship is restored and that we are right with God is enormous reassurance. Just as when a human relationship is fixed up, we can sit with a person and say nothing yet feel everything that is good inside of our hearts. The greatest thing that God has to give to us is the gift of peace. The awkwardness is gone. God accepts us.

Application
I’m not supposed to get used to the peace that God has given to me through Jesus Christ. I’m supposed to live in amazement that I’m forgiven. My tenendency is to get used to the peace of God. I do want to move onto whatÂ think must be “higher things”. But there is nothing greater than this. The rift ifs healed. God is at peace with me. This is to keep me amazed forever. I’m always making my Jesus walk more complicated and moving away from simplicity. I must come back to this simple centre: I am at peace with God.

Prayer
Father, I choose to dumb down my faith and to live in the centre of peace. Amen.

Peace

The Man of Peace

No Comments 18 March 2009

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong Church sing “Mighty to Save” as you read today’s devotion about peace.

Scripture
There is a future for the man of peace. Psalm 37:37

Observation
What is the opposite of peace? It is not war. War is a symptom of the other side but it is not the opposite of peace. The antithesis of peace is craving. The restless gnawing hunger of unfilled desires is what causes us to fight and struggle. War is the result of these unfilled desires.

The man of peace is a person who has a future. That must mean logically that a man of craving does not have a future.Â Immediately he might grasp something, but in the long term he will come up empty.

A man of peace, on the other hand, has a future. His life is absent from craving. It isn’t that he has everything that he needs in life. He might be hungry. He may have debts. He may need a vacation. But he isn’t craving these things. He has found completeness from a contentment with God and God alone. He is aware that friendship is more valuable than possession.Â God is enough.

Peace attracts more peace.

If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. (Luke 10:6)

When we let the fullness of God come into our emptiness we become the rock in the desert that makes the sand dune grow. Peace gathers at our doorstep. This is why a person who has stopped craving prospers. It is safe for God to give to a person of peace, because the gifts will never replace the deepest human desire for relationship with God.

Application
I want to become a man of peace. My prayers are often pockmarked with desires instead of contentment in the Lord. “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) By taking my attention off of the things I crave and becoming content in the abundance of God strangely my desires are fulfilled. That is a man of peace.

Prayer
Today, Lord, make me a man of peace. I let your peace in. Amen.

Desire, God's Presence, Peace

Enjoying More On Less

No Comments 08 October 2008

Press the arrow to listen to New Life Worship sing “In Your Presence” while reading today’s devotion on contentment.

Scripture
O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. Psalm 131

Observation
One of the sure signs that we are growing up is that we are happy when our needs aren’t met. A mother and her small child are sketched in Psalm 131. The child is happy, not because he is getting the bottle. Instead, the toddler is content simply because mama is close.

I know I am maturing when I am content praying even if no answers come. All the selfishness of requests are set aside, and it is good just to be with the Lord.

Application
There is a place of rest for me somewhere between desire and fulfillment. Most will not be content until the answer comes. But the Father shows me a another option of satisfaction even when the bag is empty for me. I suspect in the current economic earthquake that there will be a lot more need to find contentment in the word “without”. That will spare me from overreaching. Instead, the instructions for me are clear: compose and quiet yourself. I must pull in my insatiable longings and find my contentment in just being with the Lord.

Prayer
Father, help me to really value what the word “present” means. It is not a possession that you offer me, like a boxed present. It is a relationship that you give me in the sense that you are present in the room. That is more than enough for me. Amen.

God's Presence, Home, Peace, Rest/Sabbath

Peace

1 Comment 16 February 2008

Scripture
I will give you peace in the land…. Leviticus 26:6

Observation
Of all of the gifts God can give to us, peace must surely be the most precious. What good is it to receive things in life without the peace to enjoy them?

Peace is, as the saying goes, not the absence of conflict but the presence of Christ. Everything in life glistens and glows with special joy when Jesus is present. When peace is present, the gifts we receive are a conductor through which we enjoy the Giver.

The Lord promises to give us peace in the land, if we make his way our way in life. There are many bumpy rides recorded in scripture, but it is interesting to see how most of them make a landing in a place of peace. Isaac was harassed from well to well until he came to peace. Joseph was harried in slavery and prison until he came to a place of peace. We could talk of Jonah, David, Paul and more. The Lord has a way of navigating the faithful into a place of his peaceful presence where the Lord’s good gifts can be enjoyed.

Application
Of all the things I want in the next season of life, peace is at the top of the list. Peace is not something I must strive for; peace is a gift.

Prayer
Father, give me the land but most of all give me peace. Amen.

Criticism, Encouragement, Family, God's Presence, Peace

Home Sunnyside Up

No Comments 18 November 2007

I built this diningroom table for our first house. We had hundreds of happy family meals around it.

Scripture
Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

Observation
There are some homes that the front door opens into idyllic peace. There are other houses where it seems lightning is about to strike. My wife, who is the veteran of four church nurseries over the past 25 years, can detect the homes with unhappy marriages by the way children play. Every house has an atmosphere that is generated by the people living in it.

How can we create a good climate in our homes? Paul gives three operative words: encouragement, harmony and peace. If we need any evidence of how well these words work, just think of homes filled with the opposite: sarcasm, discord and strife. It’s obvious these words work.

Encouragement: that starts with a deliberate choice to say “good morning” with a smile and hug and tailgates through the day to back family up with constructive words. Yesterday my wife said one uplifting sentence about my work well that gave me 10 hours of enthusiasm. Every man needs a cheerleader, but he won’t have one unless he regularly dates the woman on the sidelines.

Harmony: that is the choice to fit into the relationships around me. If I’m angry I may want to play off key or sing another song all together. We call disharmony argument, strife, independence, etc. Harmony is my choice to blend into my family and bring the most out of the people around me. It starts by listening when I want to talk or get to work. It extends by helping those around me achieve their hopes for the day while on the way to my own. It is built on respect and service.

Peace: this word suggests an end of conflict but there is a positive side that is often overlooked. Peace is not just the absence of war but the presence of good relationships. The first is obviously with Christ. When he is in the home there is a deep contentment. But peace is the choice to be together in love. Peace starts with the simple act of eating at least one meal together each day. The microwave is endangering the home not with radiation but with a convenience that allows everyone to eat on their own schedule. Where is the family dinner table in contemporary homes? Peace comes when I chose to stop what I’m doing, adjust my schedule, sit down with those I love, show interest in their world and do what we all love best…eating and laughing. Peace is the result of presence.

The reward for doing these three things is that our heavenly Father shows up at the door with love and peace.
Prayer
Father, I want today more than every to have a home filled with encouragement, harmony and peace. My home is great but I want it even better. Show me how to be secretively deliberate about this today. Amen.