Wednesday Morning Devotional

You shall set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land;  — Ezekiel 45:1

I remember as a kid that there were specific times and specific places I had to be.  Nearly all of these involved television sets.  For instance, on Friday nights, I had to be at my Granny’s in front of the television by 8:00 because the Dukes of Hazzard would be on.  Every day after school, I would haul it to the house from the bus because I could catch He-Man and the Masters of the Universe just as it was coming on.  I hated those days where I missed my shows.

Kids today with their fancy DVR’s will just never know. 

Five years after becoming a Christian, I finally decided to carve out a time and place and actually read the Bible for myself.  So often, I would find myself excited to go to my place to find out what happened next in God’s story.  Fifteen months later, I had read through the entire Bible.  To this day, I don’t think there has been a period of time where God has changed me so much.  I couldn’t help but wish that I had done it sooner.

For the longest time after my fifteen months, I was very random.  After I moved out on my own, I just made no new consistent place where I met God; therefore I was very sporadic in my attempts to do so.  Most of the time, I would give Him a bit of time before I went to bed, which would often end up with me falling asleep about 30 seconds into a prayer.

I never really grew again as a Christian until I designated places in my home as Holy unto the Lord.  I am writing this today because my place is about to change.  In the spring and summer months, I meet with God on a couch in what we call our “computer room.”  As soon as the weather gets cool enough, I meet with Him in a rocking chair in front of our gas logs.  This is always in the morning before anyone else in my family is awake. 

Sometimes though, distractions just abound.  Sometimes I just cannot quiet my spirit and concentrate on Him to save my life.  At times like this, I like to take a walk around what I call “the loop.”  It is basically a two mile walk that if you catch while the sun is rising or setting is pretty glorious.  Because of my scattered mind, I may listen to praise and worship music and/or one of my favorite preachers that constantly pour into my mind and soul.

If for some reason I can’t walk, I take a drive.  Some of the most Holy Spirit filled times in my life have occurred right there in the driver’s seat of my automobile.  Some moments have been so intense; I will absolutely never forget them.

So why am I writing this?  Other than to remind myself where my Holy sections of land are, it is to get you to think about the time and place where you meet God.  

When and where do you go to have focused time with Him?  If you don’t have a time and place, now would be the perfect time to designate one.

Later

Adam

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord:  Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.  – Luke 19:8

Zack received the invitation to follow Jesus from Jesus Himself.  “I must abide at thy house,” Jesus told him.  The church could learn quite a bit from Jesus right there.  The invitation I received was, “ask Jesus into your heart.”  I did that, but nothing changed at my house.  I kept all of my pet sins and the biggest idols in my heart remained.

Unlike me, Zack understood that if Jesus was coming to his house, the main idol of his heart had to go.  Zack’s main idol was money.  He loved it.  He loved it so much he became a tax collector.  Romans loved to turn Israelites into tax collectors.  Some of the Israelites didn’t mind being hated by their fellow countrymen if it meant they could have a lavish lifestyle.  Up until this moment in his life, Zack was one of these that didn’t mind.

The crowd was disgusted with Jesus for going to Zack’s house.  “He has gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner,” they said, as if they avoided that status somehow.  Today’s crowd of church people still seem to forget that “sinner” is everybody’s default setting.  Here is a man letting Jesus into his house, and the crowd can only say negative things about the whole situation.

Here is the part I want to point out that sure blessed me today.  Zack did not make a plea to those people saying bad things against him.  He appealed directly to Jesus.  “You are now the Lord of my life!  Money has been dethroned!  I give half of my money away right now!  I will find the ones I have cheated and pay them back four times what I took!  My heart is changed because of You, Jesus!”  Zack appeals to nobody but the King Himself.  I like that.

A similar thing happened to me after salvation.  I told a guy of my fairly new faith in Jesus.  He did as the crowd did to Zack and pointed out my sins.  Unfortunately, unlike Zack, I wasn’t willing to make the hard changes in my life that would cost me the lifestyle that I loved.  I did not argue with my friend.  I couldn’t, he was right.  However, I did as Zack did and made my appeal to Jesus, “Lord, help me follow you for real.  Change my heart.  Help me dethrone these sinful things that I love.”

One by one, little by little, He did and is still doing just what I asked Him to do 20 years ago.  Sometimes I still worry what people think of me.  I’m going to let Zack teach me today exactly what I should do when I start listening to murmurs in the crowd.  I will make my appeal directly to God.  I will make an honest assessment, and if what they are saying is true, I will ask God to change me.  If what they are saying is untrue, I will do as Zack did and say, “Look how you’ve changed my heart Lord!” 

Ah, there is no one like you, Lord.

Later

Adam

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” — Luke 5:8

Last week, I talked about Peter reluctantly obeying God. Through that obedience, Jesus opened up the floodgates of heaven and blessed him. Some would say that He blessed Peter with a boatload of fish, which He did, but it was more than that. Most of today’s Christians would be content to have these types of material blessings. However, Peter did not merely receive presents . . . he received presence.

Here is the thing: Nowhere in this story does Jesus call Peter a sinner. Yet, Peter calls himself a sinful man. Nowhere in the story does Jesus say, “Peter, I am pure and holy, you are defiled and full of iniquity . . . you must accept me as your Lord and Savior or be separated from me.” Peter just knew. In a single moment . . . he knew.

Here’s the other thing: Everybody around him saw the exact same thing, but did not have the exact same reaction. I remember sitting in church as a new follower of Christ. Most of the people there were bored out of their minds, or at least seemed like it to me. But, I remember looking around and seeing tears flowing from some of the men’s eyes. They were experiencing something on a completely different level than the majority of us. I immediately said what was probably my first ever non-material prayer, “God, I want to experience what these men are experiencing.”

It didn’t take long. Within the next few weeks I was listening to Christian radio and “The Best Thing” by Big Tent Revival came on the radio. I had heard the song before, but this time it ignited something in my spirit. God filled my 1991 Ford Ranger up with His Presence. I began to weep. It lasted for probably 10 seconds and I still remember the words that I said, “Turn it off, Lord . . . I can’t take it.”

Now, I had no idea that Luke 5:8 was in the Bible. Nor did I know about Isaiah’s experience in chapter 6 of his book of the Bible. All I knew was that God was holy on a massive scale and I wasn’t anywhere near the spectrum. All I knew was that God was big . . . REALLY big, and I was small . . . crazy small. It was an experience that I will never forget. It is an experience that God still gives me quite often and I seem to be able to handle it for longer and longer durations. I don’t have these experiences as often as I’d like, but I always seem to have them in just the right places at just the right times.

Ask God to show you that difficult thing that He wants you to do . . . or not do. You probably already know what it is. If you are in a position to where you are willing to obey, even though it may be a reluctant obedience, pray this prayer: “Lord, I want to experience the holiness of your presence.”

There is absolutely nothing like it in the world.

Later

Adam

But Simon answered and said to him, “Master we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”  — Luke 5:5

Why do you obey God?  Really think about that question and try to formulate an answer before you read on.  I recently listened to a sermon that reminded me of one of those “Hell, fire and brimstone” sermons.  I’m certainly not against these, but they must be done well.  This one was not done so well.  Basically, the gist was that we must obey God or suffer the consequences.  We must forsake the wicked ways of this world because the punishment for not doing so is inevitable.  This, of course, is true, but also incomplete.

As hard as I tried as a young, beginning Christian, I could not do right.  There was part of my problem; I looked at it as “doing right” instead of “being obedient.”  Anyway, I honestly believed God would send me to Hell for a lot of the stuff I was doing and would find myself doing it anyway.  I would ask for forgiveness and hope that my life wasn’t about to end like the rich man’s in Luke 16.  My primary motivation to do right was fear.  Despite my fear, I had a major problem; I still loved the sinful things that I was doing.  I can only imagine how silly I looked promising God, “I’ll never do it again,” when He and I both knew that I would.

Too often, God is presented as bad medicine.  He is good for you, but He tastes horrible.  I feel like Peter thinks of Jesus this way at this precise moment.  “We’ve toiled all night” is his way of saying “I don’t want to.”  “And caught nothing,” is his way of saying “I don’t think it will do any good.”  “Nevertheless, at thy word,” is reluctant obedience.  But, it is obedience nonetheless.

There was a series of things that I reluctantly obeyed that changed everything for me.  The place called Hell ceased to be the primary motivating factor and I obeyed simply because Jesus said to in the Bible.  It is very important to note that I did not want to do any of them, but I did them anyway.

“Nevertheless, at thy word, I will obey.”

Which of Christ’s commands do you have the hardest time obeying?    What makes you hesitate and not want to obey?

Maybe He is asking you to end a toxic relationship.

Maybe He is asking you to carve out time each day for just you and Him.

Maybe He is asking you go to work or school today with a great attitude.

Maybe He is asking you to take on or be a part of a ministry.

Think long and hard.  What are the nets in your life He is asking you to let down that you just don’t want to let down?

Would you let them down anyway, just because Jesus asks you to?

Peter did, and man did he receive a blessing . . . and it wasn’t just fish.

Later

Adam

Because of my integrity you uphold me, and you set me in your presence forever. –Psalm 41:12

I remember signing an academic honesty statement at Clemson University. It basically said that I would not cheat in any way whatsoever in any of my classes. The idea is that if a student has academic integrity, the grades they receive are the grades they actually earned. In 2007, thirty thousand students were anonymously questioned about cheating. 60.8% of the respondents admitted that they have cheated. In every poll I’ve ever seen, the number is always between 50% and 75%.

Most students lack integrity.

The word integrity evolved from the Latin word integer. As a math teacher, I have used the word integer quite frequently. Integers are defined as positive and negative whole numbers. Fractional values and decimal values are incomplete and therefore don’t get to be called integers.

In my main verse for this WMD, David says God holds him up and allows him to experience His presence because of his integrity. There is no partiality with David. In God, he is whole. He is complete.

In the Christian life, a follower of Jesus must have integrity. Every man and woman who calls himself or herself a Christian must have no disconnect between their words and their actions. What they say they believe and the way they actually live must match up or they lack integrity.

Integrity for me is an ever-increasing thing. I had too many years as a teenager and young adult where I had no integrity. I called myself a Christian, but I acted just like the world. I would actually tell people I was a Christian, then turn around and say and do sinful things; things I knew in my heart went directly against God and His commands. Consequently, I never felt like God was really with me.

There was a specific moment in time where integrity started to mean something to me. God was allowing me to sink in life. I had no integrity; therefore He had neither reason nor obligation to hold me up. I knew men who experienced His Presence and I wanted what they had. The only difference in our lives was the fact that they actually seemed to live out their faith in God; I only talked about it. Therefore, I knelt beside my bed asked God to help me start actually doing Christianity.

Life has never been the same. He has never failed to hold me up. In addition, He sends me a very real sense of His presence at just the right times. His eyes are constantly circling the globe looking for hearts fully committed to Him.

Is your heart completely committed to Him? Are your words and your actions integrated?

Examine yourself today. Does what you say you believe and how you actually live match up? Do you feel like God is holding you up? Are you experiencing His Presence?

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, my Rock, and my Redeemer. Amen.

Later

Adam

Before the Service Begins

I was glad when they said unto me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” – Psalm 122:1

Psalms 122-134 are called the Psalms of Ascent.  I like to call them the songs of preparation.  They were actually the songs the Israelites would meditate upon and sing on the way to church.  For many, this was quite a lengthy trip and they purposefully made great use of their time.  By the time they got to the Temple, their hearts and minds were prepared to be in the presence of God Almighty.

This makes me wonder:  How much do today’s Christians prepare before entering what they believe is the House of God?

As bad as I hate to admit this, I do much better now that I am the preacher than I did as an attender.  My “ascent” often begins with a one or two mile walk around my neighborhood.  I just pray and really make sure that I’m in tune with the Holy Spirit.  I empty myself as much as possible to be clean before Him.  Then, I get the family up and going at a time where we will not be rushed to get ready.  We have a “no electronics for entertainment” rule until after the service.  On the way to church, we generally have conversations about life and honoring God.  We prepare to go to the house of the Lord.

I have found that when I prepare, I feel the presence of God in some way regardless of what happens in the service.  I also find that I am super sensitive to others who have made the proper preparations.  If the song leader and preacher, along with most of the congregation have prepared properly, then get prepared to feel the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  There is nothing else on planet Earth like it.  Could you imagine what it felt like in the Temple if all of the attenders from all directions really had these songs in their heart, sang them, meditated on them, and were enjoying God even before they arrived?

If I am honest, when I was simply a church attender with no responsibilities, I never even thought about preparing my heart.  I wasn’t glad when it was time to go.  I got ready in pretty much the same manner I went to work.  I was only glad if the band played a song or two that I really liked.  I was only glad if the youth group was doing something cool.  I was only glad if a preacher that I really liked gave a really great message.  I was completely dependent on the preparation of others. Consequently, my church experiences would be hit or miss.  Usually, if it was a hit, it was only because someone else had made the proper preparations, not because I had made mine.

How do you “ascend” to the House of God?  How do you prepare yourself and your family for the worship service?  How do you build anticipation?  Do you get to go to the house of the Lord?  Or, do you have to go to the house of the Lord?   How should the hours leading up to the start of the service look?

If the service starts at specific time, arrive before that time.  As much as possible, make sure you never feel rushed.  Every moment should feel peaceful and enjoyable as you prepare to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.  When you do arrive, be purposeful in your talk.  Football, TV shows, movies and Facebook are nice to talk about, but not right before you offer up praise to Almighty God.  Make it all about Him!

We have an amazing opportunity every week to prepare to meet God and experience Him; let’s not waste any of them.

Later

Adam

Whoever abides in Him does not sin.  Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.  – 1 John 3:6

I like hiking, but I do not love it.  Scott McGaha, the same one who happens to write the occasional WMD, loves it.  When I go, I totally trust him to lead me somewhere really great.  I do love hanging out with him, burning a boatload of calories, and seeing the payoff of the unbelievably beautiful waterfalls in our area.  The sound, the sight, and the feeling of accomplishment are more than worth it.

But, here’s the thing; I’m not willing to figure out how to get to these places.  I’m not willing to explore, and I’m not willing to take a chance.  I will only go if Scott has already done it, knows exactly where it is, and tells me that I will see a cool waterfall.  Not to mention, he carries all of the real necessities in a pack that weighs about five times the rinky-dink thing I carry.

I’m just not that serious.

When I read verses like 1 John 3:6, or all of 1 John for that manner, I think, “John is serious about this stuff!”  I look around at all of the people who call themselves Christian, including myself, and wonder if they take it serious.  How little would it take for them to sin?  John plainly says, “If you sin, you don’t know Him.”

Of course, in walks the American response:  “But, but, but, everybody sins . . . nobody is perfect!”

John is obviously talking about false converters.  People who say, “I know Him,” yet do not keep the most obvious of commandments, are liars (1 John 2:4).  I had to come to a point, about five years after “conversion”, where I had to admit that I just wasn’t that serious about Christianity.  One of my college friends, who made no claim to Christianity, flat out told me that even though I called myself a Christian, I cussed like him, drank alcohol, even though I wasn’t old enough, like him, and was sexually immoral, just like him.

What was I going to say?  I had been put in my place with no response.  But, my conscience was seriously ignited.  When I thought about it, the only times I didn’t sin was when I had no access to my favorite sins.  Soon after that, I became a committed Christian.  Soon after that, God became real, like for-real real.

Our American version of Christianity stinks.  We have come up with this “say a prayer” Christianity that is offered nowhere in Scripture.  When you go all-in, it will cost you.  God will come after the worldly things and sinful behaviors that you love.  You will descend straight into the valley of testing that, to you, will be the valley of the shadow of death.  There, if you hold firm to your faith, you will learn that He is with you.  God Himself is with you!  When you really grab a hold of that, you are ruined to sin.  You have finally learned the greatest lesson in life:  The Presence of God is ten thousand times better than any sin or pleasure that this world offers.  You no longer have to keep His commands . . . you want to.  This is precisely why John says, “If you sin; you don’t know Him.”

If have called yourself a Christian for years and years, and His love hasn’t changed you, you are no more a Christian than I am a hiker.

Later

Adam

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. – Psalm 51:11

I go through spells of not hearing from God. Sometimes I go immediately to war and wrestle with Him as Jacob did. I just will not let Him go until He blesses me. Other times, I just go mind numb, at least that’s what I call it. Days, sometimes weeks go by and it’s like there is a wall between Him and me. It is a wall that only works one way. I know He hears me . . . I just can’t, or maybe I just won’t, hear Him.

During these times I find myself doing things out of the ordinary. I have rotten attitudes towards certain people. I think things and sometimes even say things I immediately regret. I flip through TV channels and watch things I just do not watch. When these things are happening in my life, I find that time seems to zip right on by and I’ve not really had joy and peace in my heart.

I then start to ponder which is the real me. Is it the one who communes with God regularly and tries with every fiber of his being to obey Him? Or, is it the one who can turn to useless things so quickly when the presence of God seems far away?

Every time this happens, my mind relives a conversation I had with Him about 20 years ago. In fact, I just woke up from a dream where I lived it once more. I knew back then He was calling me to a devotional lifestyle. After 5 years of calling myself a saved Christian, He wanted me to study His Word; drop friends who cared nothing about Him or His ways, and begin to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit He had placed inside my heart. For whatever reason, I repeatedly refused. I had counted the cost and just didn’t think I could pay. “Adam,” He said, “If you do not obey my call, you will hear my voice no more.”

I didn’t know it then, but I was at the greatest crossroads of my entire life. For days, I thought about what it would really be like to not have God whispering and pointing me in the right direction, regardless of the fact that, up until then, I had pretty much done the complete opposite of what He said. I decided that I wanted Him above anything and everything else this world offered. I told Him He could have my life and I would live in devotion to Him.

It was my first prayer from the Bible that I didn’t even know existed at the time:

“Please God, take not your Holy Spirit from me.”

I know now which one is the real me. It is the one who goes mind numb and begins that slow drift of behaving just like the world. The only reason there is any good in me is because God placed His Holy Spirit in me and has not taken it from me. If He never let me go through these spells, I know I would become prideful and arrogant, which is every bit as bad as being sinful and disobedient.

When is the last time you spoke to Him, felt Him, or heard His unmistakable voice?

If it has been a while, this prayer has sure been a help to me . . .

“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Amen

Adam

Scott McGaha wrote this devotioanal.
It’s funny to me how God can speak to us. I think that’s the one thing I never quite understood or had explained to me, how to listen to God. Once I started to understand, and trust me I’m no expert, I started to see Him in almost anything and everything. From hot dogs to waterfalls, sunsets to school musicals, He has touched my heart and soul so many times in the last few years that sometimes I feel a deep sadness as I wonder how much I must have missed in all the years before I learned to listen. Today, it was through some coins.

I’ve never been very good at saving money, but one thing I do like to do is save coins in old jars and bottles. Some might say it’s because I’m a hoarder, but don’t listen to them. Several years ago someone told me there was an error in the minting of the Connecticut state quarter and that the front and back were backwards. So, everytime I get a Connecticut state quarter, I keep hoping when I flip it over that oak tree will be upside down. Sadly, it never has, and until today I’d never even thought any more about it. But today the thought hit me: “I wonder how much one is worth?” After looking, I’m not sure that’s the actual error on the quarter. However, it did open up a window for God to speak and that’s what I want to share with you.

As I was looking at the various minting errors on coins through the years, what amazed me was the value of some of them. Something I’ve never been able to understand is why people are willing to spend so much money on something that’s actually an error? Why would you pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a mistake? Did you know that in 2011, a 1975 Roosevelt dime that did not have the “S” mint mark for San Francisco sold for $349,600? A dime. The monetary equivalent of 2 nickels or 10 pennies. And just because there’s an “S” not stamped on the dime, someone believed so strongly in it and wanted it so much that they were willing to pay $349,600 for it. Be honest, does that sound as crazy to you as it does to me?

But, it gave God the opportunity to speak and say this: I thought so highly of you and valued you so much that I was willing to pay the greatest price.

“For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life.” -John 3:16 (GNT)

But wait, there’s more: you are not a mistake. You and I, we make plenty of them, but God is perfect and He does not.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” -Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV)

The older I get, the more things that hurt on my body and the more things that either break on or fall off of my body. In many ways, I’m like an old car. I even squeak like one sometimes. On my very best days I never feel like I’m worth $349,600. Barely $3.49. But you know what? The same Creator who carefully positioned the sun and moon in their place, who crafted those beautiful rings around Saturn, who flung stars across the heavens as far as any telescope can see, says I am worth so much that He would give His only Son to die for me. I may not always feel like it, especially when I’ve messed up and disappointed Him, but the value He sees in me never diminishes. And when I think about that, I am overcome with gratitude and the tears begin to flow. And, I smile. And you know what? He feels the exact same way about you. Trust me, you’re worth it.

God bless,

Scott