Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

"Seeing Jesus"

Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. Mark 9:7-8
   

“Come on, Ken, let’s get that old radio out to the garbage.” Dad was referring to an antique radio that had been cluttering up the basement since before I was born. Almost five feet tall, the massive 1930s radio featured turned wooden legs and sliding doors—quite a work of cabinetry.

Nevertheless, powered by tubes and unable to get FM, the radio served no function other than taking up space. I know those who keep everything will shudder to hear that Dad and I carried the radio out to the curb for garbage collection, but that never happened. Within 10 minutes, a truck pulled up and two men loaded the radio and disappeared. They knew the value of that tower of tubes—our trash had become their treasure.

When you look at Jesus, what do you see? When Jesus walked the dusty paths of Palestine, there were those who saw Him as some kind of prophet. Are you among those who would limit Jesus in this way? Some still do, you know. They see Jesus merely as a religious leader, a philosopher like Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, or Zarathustra. To them, His words are only spiritual suggestions.

Some see Him as a spare tire they keep in the trunk of their life. He should always be there, ready for an emergency. Some authors see Jesus’ name as an expletive undeleted, a way of shocking folks with delicate sensibilities. Some public servants see the Savior as an unpaid volunteer in their campaign as they talk about Christian values. Comedians think of Jesus as the ideal target for foolish and unfunny jokes. Some collegians see Him as “Mr. Goody Two-shoes,” the poster boy for all that’s prudish, narrow-minded, bigoted, and old-fashioned.

If that is the way you see Jesus, you are making Him far less than He is. He, who should be your greatest treasure, is being reduced to something little better than trash. The fact is you were destined for the curb and the trash truck of eternity. But Jesus knew the value of your soul, and out of love He went the way of the cross to redeem you and make you His treasure in eternity.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Prowlers"

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:8b-9
   

When Peter wrote those words of warning to the early church, he wasn’t thinking of Vietnam veteran Dale Rippy. Even so, Rippy probably understands Peter’s words better than any other person living in central Florida. You see, last week, a bobcat attacked Rippy, who was on his porch minding his own business. That’s right, a bobcat attacked him. Granted, a 25-pound bobcat is a pretty small cat compared to Peter’s lion, but when the bobcat has rabies, it’s still a pretty intimidating little beast.

The Associated Press story said Rippy kept his head as the animal clawed, slashed, and bit him. Rippy, whose hands and arms were torn up pretty badly, commented, “If that cat had attacked a child, it would’ve been really bad. It wouldn’t have quit.” That’s why Rippy waited until the cat clawed itself into a position where he was able to grab hold on its throat. It was a hold Rippy kept until the cat was dead. Now, if you think killing a bobcat is a terrible thing to do, even if it does have rabies, you should know the County Animal Control Manager confessed, “We give this guy a lot of credit for what he did … If he let the cat go, we could have had more victims.”

When Peter wrote to his fellow Christians, he wanted them to realize Satan was alive, well, and dangerous. Yes, it’s true, Christ’s cross and His empty tomb give God’s guarantee to His people that they have been saved. But, it is a mistake to think that Satan has been defanged, declawed, and put into a cage for safe keeping until the Day of Judgment. Peter wanted the redeemed to remember Satan is still out there, wandering around like a rabid bobcat, looking for some unsuspecting prey upon whom he can pounce.

Think for just a moment. Do you know someone, possibly a friend or family member, who is being sized up for slaughter by Satan? Are you thinking, like Rippy did, “If the devil gets his teeth and fangs into that person, it’s going to be really bad?” If so, please consider the possibility that God has placed you into a unique and special position where you may have to stand between that individual and the devil. If that appears to be the situation that is shaping up, the Lord tells you how to get prepared. He says, “be sober-minded, be watchful and with a firm faith resist him.” For your brothers and sisters, by the power of the Spirit, do what you can, so Satan doesn’t bring down his prey.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Can God be Fenced Out?"

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8:35
   

Many things separate us from God's love. Nothing can separate the love of God from us. A puppy can be fenced in with a bit of chicken wire a foot or two high. From his viewpoint the "wall" is insurmountable. His master, without effort, steps over the fence to bring food, water, and release. Who is separated from whom?

Saint Paul lists a number of walls that look monstrous to humankind -- persecution, famine, want, danger, death itself. What walls they are! The hand of God must surely be restrained by them! Then with an easy stride God steps over them into the midst of humanity's need and helps and assures of His continuous presence. If we still doubt, He leads us to Calvary, where His Son hangs on the cross to take away the sin of the world. Faith assures us of His daily power to save from bodily danger and the power of sin. "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20), says Jesus, to heal and to save.

God never leaves us, but we can leave God. On a church sign appeared the words: "If God seems farther away today than yesterday, WE have moved."

God will never leave us. He will not be fenced out. He tells us, "I will never leave you."

[Soldier4Christ]

"Portrait of an Accessible Savior"

As He went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. Luke 19:36
   

Sometimes presidents or heads of government mingle with the crowds, shaking hands with as many as they can reach. These are symbolic acts to show their accessibility to the people. There are other ways in which those who are in high office can keep in touch with the citizens.

Centuries before, our Lord declared His accessibility to the world by riding a colt into the capital city of Jerusalem. The slow-moving colt, the thronging crowd, the closeness of Christ to the people and they to Him -- all this proclaimed constant accessibility to all people. He was accessible right after His transfiguration, ministering to an ailing woman who had touched His garment.

The Lord's accessibility is a reality also in our time. The Scripture urgently invites us, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). He cared enough to come as our Savior. He is close enough that we can "throw" our problems and concerns on Him. Christ's promise, "Surely I am with you always," is an unfailing guarantee of His immediate accessibility. Even before we reach out to clutch Him, His hand is extended.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Turn Burdens into Blessings"

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your Word. Psalm 119:67
   

How can a good God, who loves us so much that He gave His Son for our salvation, be so rough on us? Many are asking that question. God doesn't mind that we ask the question, but He wants us to believe His answer. Our answers are often wrong; His are always right.

God allows affliction to purify the gold of our faith, to deepen our confidence and trust in the Savior who suffered to win our pardon. This much we know for sure: whatever draws us closer to God, however painful or hard to bear, is a hidden blessing for which we will be eternally thankful. This is God's explanation: "The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast" (1 Peter 5:10).

God had one Son without sin. But He has had no son or daughter without suffering. It may be the cross now, but it will be the crown hereafter. Our gracious Lord has promised us that He will make all things work together for our good. The best and happiest way is to live as Jesus did: in everything trust our heavenly Father for guidance, strength, and eventual deliverance.

[Soldier4Christ]

"God's Insomnia"

He who watches over you will not slumber. Psalm 121:3
   

God has the whole world, including you and me, in His hands. He who watches over us never sleeps. As it were, God is given to a divine insomnia. He has promised to be our keeper because He loves us with an everlasting love, and He will not fall asleep. But His insomnia is not the sleeplessness of worry, as ours often is, but the insomnia of faithfulness.

In the steady march of the years, some of us who were young and are now older "have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). We have seen the morning break each day for many decades, and every dawn was new with God's mercies. Then why not share the benefit of our experience with those of younger years and let our lips be filled with praise? God has supplied every need according to the riches of His mercy in Christ Jesus.

Best of all, our mighty Maker, Provider, and Protector is also our Forgiver. God does not overlook or sleep through our sin; He suffers through it, according to His mercy in Christ Jesus. In Him God reconciled us. And now the outstretched hands of Jesus offer us the full supply of our most desperate need: forgiveness.

[Soldier4Christ]

"God's Night"

The day is Yours, and Yours also the night; You established the sun and moon. Psalm 74:16
   

We measure our life by active days. Though we spend one third of our life in sleep, such time does not seem to count. Many try to reduce that time in order to make life more worthwhile, more profitable. Manufacturers consider investment wasted if machinery stands idle for hours. Swing and night shifts are the accepted thing.

The night in which God gives His beloved sleep is still the Lord's. He who made the night never slumbers nor sleeps. He who prepared light and the sun in order to arouse life and make it active uses the night for the purposes of His creation, too. While we sleep, God's processes are active. We lie down worn and weak; we awaken refreshed and strengthened. Spend a sleepless night tossing on your bed, or foolishly in dissipating life, and you know you have missed the supply of strength.

Let us thank God for the night. When we lay ourselves down to sleep, He is alert to guard and to put in order what the day has spoiled. He is the God, who by His death and resurrection, has assured us that the night of death is likewise His. Trusting in Him, we face it without fear. We know that He will be there to rebuild and to reawaken to the great morning of heaven.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Your Strength"

Isaiah 30:15 "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15
   

A widow in our parish reads this verse from the inspired prophet Isaiah every day. That's a good way to begin every new day and a good way to begin a new week.

"In quietness" -- the quietness of personal and private meditation! We need to escape from the clatter and clamor of this hurry-scurry, work-and-worry world. We need to meditate on the green and refreshing pastures of God's inspired Word. We need to gather with our fellow brothers and sisters in the sanctuary of our church for quiet worship.

God's Word, the good news of the Gospel, can give us confidence, courage, and calmness. We need the comfort and companionship Christ brings to us. His death on the cross assures us of pardon for every distressing and destructive sin. Then comes strength -- the strength and support that Christ's healing Gospel gives to our hurts, heartaches, and heartbreaks. So often we feel trapped by life -- trapped by our job or by our bills or by our ill health. Let Jesus snap the trap by coming to Him for help and healing. He will give peace and rest to our souls.

[Soldier4Christ]

"God Chastens His Own"

The Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Hebrews 12:6
   

When Martin Luther quoted this verse to console a friend who was ill, the friend countered: "Well, if that's the case, I wish He wouldn't love me so much."

Sometimes we feel that way. The love that lets us come down with crippling arthritis, virulent cancer, or painful angina seems a dubious love. But God assured us that He will make it all work out for good in the end. His love is at work.

Samuel Rutherford saw it this way: "When we come to the other side of the water, we will say, 'If God had done otherwise with me, I would never have come to this crown of glory.'"

These five biblical truths we must ever keep in mind: (1) God's chastenings are as much a part of His faithfulness as His blessings. (2) In God's plan cross-bearing and crown-wearing go together. (3) The love that chose us is also the love that chastens us. (4) Christ's love that purchased us purifies us. (5) The love that delivers us from death also disciplines us for life. Everything that God allows in the lives of His beloved and believing children is in keeping with His love for them.

[Soldier4Christ]

"In the Meantime..."

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
   

How's your faith?

It's sometimes difficult to be faith-full people, isn't it? That's because faith, by its very nature, cannot be proved. It's the conviction of things that cannot be seen. If we could prove what we believe, we would not need faith. The day will come when faith will give way to knowledge and experience, but that day will not come until we stand before the throne of God in eternity.

In the meantime ... we live by faith. And sometimes it is difficult. Things happen in our lives that cause us to cry out to our God, and we are confronted by His seeming silence. We wonder, "Are you there, God?" Sometimes we are overwhelmed by guilt, inadequacy, and our own sinfulness. We wonder, "Do You really love me, God?"

When our faith is put to the test, we can stand beneath Christ's cross and view the visible proof of God's forgiveness and our redemption. Then our hearts proclaim, "You are here with me, God. You do love me." And we receive His power to live by faith in the meantime.

[Soldier4Christ]

"When the Lamp Burns Low"

"A smoldering wick He will not snuff out." Isaiah 42:3
   

Recently a man who was guilty of a sinful habit and was terribly tortured by a guilty conscience wrote for help: "I don't want to stop doing it," he said "but I want to want to!"

Perhaps we should read that last sentence again. Behind it may lie the smoldering wick of which Isaiah speaks above. The picture is that of a sputtering oil wick. It is burning so low and uncertainly that we expect it to go out any moment. But no says our gracious God. "I will stand by it. I will nurse it. I will enable it to shine more brightly."

Event the smallest faith is a gift of God's Holy Spirit, and even the weakest faith can lay hold on His greatest promises. We are not saved by the greatness of our faith; we are saved by despairing of our personal worthiness and by leaning wholly on Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Even a flickering faith is a saving faith. Sometimes even "wanting to want to" is evidence of a moving of the Spirit. Each of us has days when the lamp of faith burns low. Thank God that we have a Savior who will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp, but who will stand by us and nurse our wavering faith to health.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Feed on His Faithfulness"

Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3
   

Some of life's most profitable lessons come from unlikely sources. Nancy, a poor woman with no financial security other than what she could earn by infrequent odd jobs, had a remarkable asset. She was a joyful Christian.

One of her occasional employers was disturbed, however, that Nancy whistled and sang as she worked.

"Nancy," said the employer one day, "it is well for you to be happy now, but I should think that thoughts of your future would sober you a bit. Suppose you should have a spell of sickness and be unable to work; suppose we wouldn't need you any more and you could find nothing else to do; suppose ...

"Stop!" Nancy cried, "I never suppose. The Lord is my shepherd, and I know I shall not want. Honey, it's all your 'supposes' that make you miserable."

The psalmist offers one thing that takes all the "supposes" out of a believer's life. "Trust in the LORD." Saint Paul states this formula well: "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all -- how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry about how it will cross rivers. So it is with Christians.

[Soldier4Christ]

"My Peace"

"Do not let your hearts be troubled." John 14:1
   

Our Lord's disciples, that last night together, were distressed and tense. They sensed that something was about to happen, but what it was they did not know. They were aware that the hatred of Jesus' enemies was hot against Him; yet they knew also that He was mightier than they. Still He had said that He was about to leave them, and He had said also that they could not follow where He was going. Therefore they faced something unknown and were filled with dread.

So we are sometimes fearful. We, too, are surrounded by the unknown. We, too, do not know from day to day what lies before us. Often we are afraid because we know that some things we particularly dread may happen. Like the disciples, we fear that it will be more than we can bear. We cannot even conceive what we should do if certain disasters were to occur. We are worried.

Life can, indeed, sometimes bring misfortunes. It did for those disciples in the sorrow-filled days to come. Yet just as our Lord told them, He tells us: "My peace I give you ... Do not let your hearts be troubled" (John 14:27). "Trust in God; trust also in Me" (John 14:1). No matter what happens, we cannot perish but are sure of our salvation through the cross.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Overwhelmed"

Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Matthew 8:24-25
   

We feel overwhelmed at times. A storm at sea, a blinding blizzard, a tornado, an earthquake -- any of these can make us feel weak and helpless. But often it's other things that overwhelm us.

We get tired running around. We want to stop and catch our breath but can't. Some things looked so simple at first and so much fun: getting married, raising children, starting a new job. Then suddenly there we are -- overwhelmed. We never dreamed it would be like this. When you add grief, pain, loneliness, frustration, and anger, the things that overwhelm us seem legion.

"Jesus was sleeping." We think: If the Lord had been alert, it would not have happened. Unless we see Him standing there and doing something, we tremble. The winds and waves are too much for us. We cannot bear to have Jesus silent.

As a matter of fact, the Lord is often silent. Rare indeed are the times when He moves right in like a conquering hero. Why? Because whatever towers above us or threatens within us cannot hurt us. It will not overwhelm us. He is with and in us, and we in Him. The very grave could not contain Him. When this truth begins to overwhelm us, other things cannot.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Every Day a Grace Day"

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Ephesians 5:8
   

We can resolve to make these choices:

Instead of being discouraged by what the world has come to, I will be encouraged by the grace and truth that has come into the world through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Instead of being fearful because I do not know what the future holds, I will be joyful because I do know who holds the future; God continues to care for me.

Instead of being perplexed for all the sin, I will be glad for all the grace of God for the sake of Christ.

Instead of being dejected by the bad outlook, I will be delighted by the good up-look.

Instead of being gloomy for all that is wrong, I will be cheerful for all that is right and good and true.

We have a choice. We may "taste and see that the Lord is good," or we may eat the ashes of despair.

Saint Paul proclaimed, "Where sin increased, grace increased all the more ... to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20-21).