He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna… Deuteronomy 8:3
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. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Deuteronomy 8:10-14
Observation
There is a pattern in God’s ways of dealing with us. First, he blesses us by denying us comforts of life. The hairy shirt ordeals of life draw prayers out of us. At first we pray for stuff, but if we pray long enough we start to pray about ourselves and if we pray even longer we start to cry out for the Lord himself. About a mile or two after we’ve said “enough”, the Lord shows up and blesses us by giving us more than we ever asked for. Abundance falls like manna. The drought turns into a flood. Grace abounds.
I saw this pattern of God yesterday in talking to a young dad at church. He was so excited, because after 9 months of joblessness, living in a cramped apartment, God showed up. His wife got a huge raise. He got a job. And both of them got a much bigger house. As he spoke, I thought of this principle of austerity then abundance.
Application
I need to keep the memories of scarcity close to my heart so that in times of abundance I do not loose sight of what matters. Moses advised the people to “praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you” so that they would never forget who got them there. So today I make a memorial not to my successes, but to the hard days. There have been days of living without a paycheck. There have been days of sickness. There have been dead-end, dirty jobs. There have been unfair conditions. These too were the blessings of God. And while I remember them, I give thanks to God for bringing me to Bothell, to Evergreen, to new friends and new potentials.
Prayer Father, this day I praise you for your wise leadership of my life and your sustaining presence leading me home. Amen.
Scripture “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Mark 11:24
Observation
What keeps prayers from being answered? The secret is in the verse above and the verse below.
The first shark under the water is doubt. It isn’t doubt alone that is the problem; it is where the doubt is kept.
“…And does not doubt in his heart…” (Mark 11:23)
Doubt stored in the heart is dangerous to faith. It is the fear unspoken that is most debilitating. The safest place for fear is in the presence of God. Prayer is more than telling God what we believe he can do; it is also confessing what we are afraid he cannot.
The second setback is unconfessed resentment.
“…Whenever you stand praying, forgive…” (Mark 11:25)
The choice to forgive is the release of the problem from our hands and placing it into the Lord’s. In a state of unforgiveness, God cannot help us because we are clutching the trouble. But when we forgive we release and the Lord takes control.
Application
I need to assess what I’m clutching in my hands and in my heart and bring it out into the presence of the Lord.
Prayer Father, I want to approach you today with open and empty hands and heart. Amen.
I was at Hillsong in 1995 when this song was first introduced. It came at the most important turning point of my life, and began the journey that has put me here today. I’m so glad that I said ‘yes’.
Scripture So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” Exodus 3:3
Observation
We live in an old farm house with wide-white woodwork, creaking hardwood floors and a cast iron, wood stove in the living room that heats the house. Mornings are cold. I dash out in barefoot and build a fire. Today I have just two sticks for kindling. I pack the box with paper, I break up the sticks to make as many bits as I can and toss in a match. After pampering the fire it promptly goes out. The stove is full of logs, but black and cold.
I give up on the fire and turn to prayer. After about a half hour of praying I hear a sound of heat-expanding metal. A miracle has happened in my firebox. All the logs are blazing. It happened when I gave up and turned to prayer. I laugh out loud in the morning quiet as I hear logs pop in the flames. The wordless message is not wasted on my heart.
Application
One of the strangest sights is a fire burning that I did not start or a work flourishing that I did not build. I feel the need of this lesson today as I enter day 13 of my beginnings at Evergreen and Bothell. Astute arranging and heavy lugging do not build a burning flame. Sometimes to build a fire, we need to turn our back on it and just pray. As this room is warming today, I am remembering that I may be a builder of fires but it is the Lord who brings the flame. Sometimes that happens when least expected and I have nothing to do with it at all. Because this is not about me but all about him, I want it like that.
Prayer Father, as I do my thing today, send the fire. My confidence is not in my own preparations but in your gift of the match to make it all burn. Ignite us Lord when we least expect you to. Amen.
Scripture And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Mark 8:32-33
Observation
It is one thing to acknowledge Jesus is Lord, and it is another to let him be the Lord. Peter was first to see that Jesus is the Christ, the one longed for by the human race as the meaning of life and the one loved of God as his greatest gift to us. But Peter wanted Jesus to behave as he expected a Messiah to act. In Pete’s mind it was about power and victory; but Jesus spoke of suffering as the way to authority.
There is always a tendency to chop God down to our size. We’re quite happy for him to be God, just so long as he works within the playbook that we’ve devised. But God will be God. Jesus is Christ only if I let him be Lord of my life.
Application
Friendship with Christ does not mean that I am to become familiar with his office and authority. Peter was close enough to Jesus to be considered his friend, yet he had to learn to respect the call that God had upon his own Son. This is true in my relationship with Jesus. I call him Lord and allow him to Lord it over me. It also applies to every human relationship. Each human being holds some kind of God-given responsibility in life. I must respect the role God has given them as much as I want them to respect my own.
Prayer Father, I take my life today back to the simple confession: I believe that Jesus is the Christ. From that let life bubble out of me today. Let life come in me and through me. Amen.
The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him.” Numbers 27:18-20
Observation
Joshua already had it, or rather Him, in himself to lead the people. The Holy Spirit was at work in his life. Being a carrier of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament was not an everday thing. He came only on a select few to lead the people. Otherwise, the mass of the people groped about for someone to lead them out of their stubborn lethargy.
Before there is ever a human ceremony, there is first the hand of God coming to rest on his person to do the job. Our words and even prayers can do little until God has first touched. We need to have eyes to detect where God is at work touching leaders and raising them up. The Lord will not always extend to us the courtesy of explaining what his future steps entail. Instead, he places his hand on his man; that anointing on a leader is a foreshadowing that the Lord has fresh plans in mind.
When we see the hand of God, then human hands and words can make a difference. Without public commissioning, Joshua would have been either frustrated or a menace. But with every eye watching, his commissioning service released his gift in a life-giving way to the people. The God-anointed yet self-appointed leader is dangerous; but when we bless the person God has touched there is life.
Prayer Father, in just three weeks I will be installed as the pastor of Evergreen Community Church. I offer myself to you for preparation, that I will be a leader open to all that you have to give for the benefit of these people. I have had experience and experiences. Let those inform me but never limit me. This is a new thing in a new way. I choose today to follow. Amen.
Scripture Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. Mark 8:51-52
Observation
Of all the things I need and cannot loose in the journey before me is a listening ear that hears what God is speaking. I know from relationship with my wife that I have selective hearing. I can hear her voice, but my mind, and sometimes my will, is elsewhere. When I later ask a question that was just answered, I get far more than an answer back from her.
If I am doing that to my wife, then how many times have I done the same to my Lord?
An ear that hears is one that has determined from love for Jesus to say yes to him before the question is asked. Because we have chosen to allow our heart to be softened by affection, we should naturally spring to respond yes to him.
I will be delivered my deafness by doing the opposite of what the disciples did that night in the boat. They were sailing away from a miracle and into a sunrise. The night passage could have been used to gaze through the starlight sparkling over the waves to think broad and bold thoughts with God. They could have remembered the events of the past 24 hours and have mulled them over in their spirits. They could have gained insight into the creative power of God to turn a small lunch into a feast for a crowd. The waves, instead of intimidating them, could have been mounted with a courage and anticipation like a surfer in the swell. The journey would have been very different had they only softened their hearts to the meaning of the day.
Application
I need to regularly stop and reflect on the goodness of the Lord at work around me. As I sat in my chair reflecting this morning, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me, “Never, loose your listening ear.” It felt like more than just advice; it seemed like a warning, lest I miss out on the goodness of the Lord.
Prayer Father, do not pass me by because I’m not listening. Open my ears to hear your voice. I want to know you and follow you with an open spirit, softened by affection of you. I can write these words now, but I know my tendency is to get into the flurry of work and miss you speaking. I choose this day to soften, ponder and reflect to hear the goodness of the Lord.
Scripture Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Numbers 17:5
Observation
It isn’t what people say about us; it is what God does through us that confirms our call and place in life. Moses could have dubbed Aaron with his rod that parted the Red Sea and the tailors could have dressed Aaron with impressive regalia, but none of that would have made Aaron a priest.
There was only one sign that Aaron was fit to be the father of many priests to come. That sign was fruitfulness.
When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds! Numbers 17:8
Application
It is not what I do for myself. It is not what others do for me. It is only what God does through me that confirms anything about my abilities. My credentials as a pastor is fruit in the lives of people.
Prayer Father, I lay myself before you for you to confirm about me what you see fit to bless. I am no more than what you have made and blessed me to be. Help me to rest in your presence in that and flourish there. Amen.
PS
Here is a prayer that I have prayed throughout the years of my ministry, since I was first ordained in 1987. It is called “The Prayer of a Minor Prophet” and was written by A.W. Tozer on the night after his ordination to ministry.
This is the prayer of a man called to be a witness to the nations. This is what he said to his Lord on the day of his ordination. After the elders and ministers had prayed and laid their hands on him he withdrew to meet his Savior in the secret place and in the silence, farther in than his well-meaning brethren could take him.
And he said: O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou has called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou art about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, Thou has stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man taketh this honor upon himself save he that is called of God as was Aaron. Thou has ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.
My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. Thou has said, “I knew thee – I ordained thee – I sanctified thee,” and Thou hast also said, “Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord. Thy will, not mine, be done.
Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou will honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.
It is time, O God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.
Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should be come a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet – not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.
And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.
Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.
Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen. 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.
Babies being born all over Evergreen Community Church. Congrats to Pastor Josh & Jamie for Jayden. Also Eric and Deanne for Ian. Lots more. 5 hours ago
My 2009 Favs
These devotions have been most important to my 2009.
