Deeper Still by phil mccallum

Scripture
I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14

Observation
The older we get the more storage space we need because we gather more and throw less away. Like layers of fossil record, tie-die shirts from the 70’s, Cabbage Patch dolls from the 80’s, to monochrome monitors from the 90’s pile up the story of our life. We don’t throw enough away and life slows down under the load.

Today I see that I’ve read Philipiians 3:13 wrongly for the past 48 years. I used to think that Paul was trying to forget bad things so he could move onto better things. But that’s not so. It’s clear from the context that he could remember many good things, proud deeds of days gone by that would swell his chest with pride. Forgetting the past for Paul meant dumping the attic and garage and starting life each day with a swept-clean perspective. He would not live in old glory days. He would not put hope in past treasures. Instead, he would look forward to what was next.

Application
It isn’t just regrets of the past that slow me down. It’s also all of the wonderful accomplishments that fill a resume. Landfill is all that stuff is. Leslie and I are on the verge of downsizing. Levi’s almost gone. We don’t need a 5 bedroom house anymore. We’re thinking small and sparse. I think that Spartan outlook needs to clean deeper than our closets. I need to clear out in my mind a lot of extraneous good things from the past and get on to what is immediately at hand. The prize is ahead.

Prayer
Father, show me how to clutter-free my life. Amen.

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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 what  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.

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Press the arrow to listen to Desperation Band sing “Counting on God” while you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David. 1 Chronicles 27:23-24

Observation
David took a census. What was the big deal? Governments count heads. That’s what governments do. Why did God threaten David with a triple whammy because he wanted to make a book of pie graphs?

There is a great difference between counting up the nation and counting on the nation.  David was doing more than counting noses, he was moving his confidence from depending on the Spirit of the Lord and onto the biceps of his nation.

The Absolam insurrection was over. The nation was in a time of peace. David’s final retirement was looming. Perhaps the aging king was nervous about the transfer of power. Another son would rebel against him before Solomon was placed on the throne. Maybe he wanted to take stock of his resources before the final battle.

Application
Whatever his motive, David did what any of us do when things are going well. We depend on the gifts and not the giver. It is God’s good desire to bless us richly, whether it be a slice of bread or a place to call home. Then he wants us to live as if we did not have it with total dependance on him.

This morning I held a simple glass of water in my hand, chilled from the refrigerator. I thought to myself, that even something a simple as this drink must be seen as a gift and not a possession. I should live with a sense of awe and wonder at the grace in air to breathe, a chair which to sit, a roof that collects the rain and a pillow to call my own. That should lead me to a life of profuse gratefulness thankful for every moment of life.

When I live without counting and instead count on God, then there is no limit to the resources he can draw from to help me. There are infinite resources in God that are not found in a tally sheet. When I live detached and grateful there is no end to what God can do to rescue me.

Prayer
Father, let me live with nothing as if I have everything; and when I have everything as if I have nothing. And in so doing let me live in your abundance, available whenever I have need. Amen.

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Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “Halleujah” as you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. 1 Corinthians 9:10-11

Observation
A truly great leader is not known by how much money he keeps but by his generosity in giving away. The word “generous” has its origin in a Latin word that means someone of noble birth. The idea is that the truly noble person is a giver, for he has a combination of power and tenderness.

When God calls us to be generous he is inviting us to act regally and royally, for to give is truly a noble thing. We think of royalty reflected in possessions, while God considers true nobility in an open heart.

There is a harvest with all of God’s financial development in our lives. When exactly does that harvest come? Does it come when we receive more financially? The answer is, no. The harvest comes when we show generosity. The produce God is looking for in what he invests into us is that characteristic of kings and queens: the ability to be generous. The money is inconsequential; the generosity that is created in us is what matters most to him.

An open, sharing heart is one of the greatest gifts we can give to the Lord, for it is then that we are most like him. When funds flow into our lives we are not to think that we have come to the finish line and arrived. The harvest has yet to come. There is no harvest until we give, then we have become like the Lord.

Prayer
Father, with or without money, I want to have an open heart of generosity. In each gift I give, make my heart like your own. Amen.

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This round barn was a labor saving Shaker design. The haywagon could circle up to the hayloft for easy off loading. The circular design allowed for easy care of animals.

What the Bible Says

Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always. Psalm 131

What My Mind Thinks

I grew up in a church in Niskayuna, New York. Just down the road from our Wesleyan Church was the birthplace of one of America’s odd religious groups. They were called the “Shakers” and are famous for their minimalistic furniture, labor saving designs and simple view of life. They gave us the circular saw, the flatbroom and the washingmachine, so they weren’t all that bad.

Their church theme song sums up the Shaker outlook:

‘Tis the gift to be simple,
’tis the gift to be free,
’tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
‘Til by turning, turning we come round right

There is a simplicity of life that comes when we pare away the externals and come to the simple basics. God knows, we do not and it is enough just to be near to him. The Shakers took this simple view of life right into the workshop where they designed their famous furniture. My father has a Shaker rocker in his livingroom. Like all Shaker furniture it is simply beautiful. The extraneous is removed, and what remains is both useful and beautiful. There is something comforting about rocking that chair because life comes down to it’s basics.

Yes we would like to get ahead, find out the future and to know all sorts of things that are smarter than we are. But the Lord invites us to the place of simplicity where we do not have yet what we want but we have him and that is enough.

Listen again to those words:

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
‘Til by turning, turning we come round right

There are many turns in life and much bending and bowing. But we won’t be ashamed if we just live simply. Jesus is enough for me today.

What My Spirit Prays

I can’t say I’m harmonizing yet totally with Psalm 131. There is still some kicking in screaming in me. I’d like my bottle. But the Lord calls me to leave difficult questions with him and to just content myself to be with him. So I’ll look for that place of simplicity today.

What My Heart Says

Father my restless soul seeks rest in you today.

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