“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”  1 Samuel 17:26

I grew up hearing the story of David and Goliath. I read about it in little Golden Books, and Sunday school teachers retold the drama using flannel boards.  I can almost picture the shepherd boy David standing his ground in front of the giant Goliath with only a slingshot, while the entire Israelite army quaked in fear.  Woosh, woosh, woosh, around his head the slingshot swung.  With a strong arm, David let the stone fly and bam!  The giant fell, and David was victorious.  What a great story!  But is it a story to be left in the history books, or are we to learn anything from David’s example?  As I read the passage in 1 Samuel, chapter 17, a few things jumped out at me.  First, David wasn’t planning to get in a fight that day.  He was just an errand boy sent to deliver food to his brothers.  So truly, he was just a bystander to the fight.  But as David neared the front lines, he quickly realized what was happening.  He heard the taunts of Goliath, and got drawn into the situation.  Something within David’s heart started to stir. David tried to get someone to answer his questions about this bully.  He wanted to know what was going to be done.  David finally asked in exasperation:  “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David’s anger wasn’t for the threat given to himself, nor his brothers.  His anger burned because someone dared to threaten and defy those chosen by his God. 

When the trained professionals wouldn’t step forward, David – confident of his God’s power and protection – put five stones in his shepherd’s bag and approached the bully.  Calmly, David said to Goliath, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). 

We could write off the courage of David as a legend to be enjoyed, but not applied to our lives today.  Except for two biblical truths: 1) David was a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22) and 2) God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6).   Although Jesus calls us to a life of forgiveness and compassion, even He didn’t tolerate those who dishonored God’s holy temple.  With righteous indignation, Jesus turned over tables, and drove out money changers and those who were selling doves within the walls of the temple, accusing them of turning His father’s house into “a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17). 

The Bible records many stories of men and women with moral courage.  These individuals knew what was right, and were willing to take a stand in spite of their own fear.  They weren’t perfect, but the heroes of our faith saw injustice as more than a personal offense, they saw it as an offense against God.  As it becomes easier to settle into a life of ambiguity, our children are finding it harder to summon moral outrage. Today a challenge is set before us as parents to raise, and to be, men and women who will stand for what is right.  We live in a world that needs the touch of God through the hand of His people.  We can’t be bystanders and make a difference.   As parents we can instill moral courage into our children by stepping out in faith to help someone else, in spite of inherent risks.  You see, we can’t learn moral courage from a book.  We can only learn it by being brave once.  Then doing it again   

Dear Lord, there’s a part of my heart that stirs when I read of the brave heroes in the Bible.  I know there is so much to do in the world. But you know my fear. Help me to trust You more, so that I can stand up for what is right in spite of the danger.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.'”  Genesis 22:14

Have you ever been in a situation so desperate that it looked hopeless?  Have you ever sat at the kitchen table wondering how you were going to pay the electric bill?  Have you ever stood at a door that’s been slammed in your face by an angry teenager and despaired at ever having a relationship with him again?  Have you ever had your heart broken so deeply that you wondered if you would ever feel whole again? 

Sadly, we live in a broken world where desperate situations happen every day.  I know someone reading this devotion is wondering how she will make it through the day because her situation looks hopeless.  If that is you, I encourage you to keep reading.  I believe God has a message of hope for you today.  That message is found in the Bible, in the story of a man who was dealing with his own desperate situation.  His name was Abraham and he faced the greatest testing of his life.  After longing for a son for many years, God finally gave Abraham a boy, whom he named Isaac.  Abraham never imagined God would test his faith by asking him to sacrifice his son.  But it happened.  It had to have been the darkest day of Abraham’s life as he trudged up the mountain, with firewood strapped to his son’s back.  Every step took Abraham closer to what he believed to be the sad ending of a hopeless situation – the death of his son.  Yet in spite of his sorrow, Abraham trusted God. His heart wasn’t soaring with joy.  He wasn’t dancing up the mountain.  But he put one foot in front of the other.  Walking through the darkness of the situation; obeying His God’s commands.  Unbeknownst to Abraham, something else was walking up that mountain.  Quietly.  Out of sight.  On the other side of the mountain.  Something else was putting one foot in front of the other.  Only Abraham couldn’t see it.  For every step Abraham took, a ram on the other side of the mountain took a step.  All Abraham saw that day was his solitary journey of pain.  As he got closer to the top of the mountain, his dread must have increased.  I wonder if he asked himself any questions.  I would have.  I would have wondered why hadn’t God intervened?  Why hadn’t God stopped this testing?  Couldn’t God see that Abraham was a man of faith? Why test him in this way?  But there was no answer.  There was no voice from heaven.  And so Abraham kept obeying his God’s command.  He put Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice his one and only son.  And just at that very moment, at the very last second, when it looked like the end had come, God spoke, stopping the sacrifice.  Abraham looked up and there caught in the thicket was a ram.  Abraham took his son off the altar, replaced him with the ram, and offered the sacrifice to God.  Abraham named that place “Yahweh-Yireh” or “The Lord Will Provide.”  And the story was written down for generations of God-followers to read.  It was written so that you and I today would read it as we face our own hopeless situations.  It was captured in print so that you and I would know that God is already planning for our provision.  We don’t see it.  We don’t hear it.  But we can trust that our God is at work.  On your behalf, and on mine. 

 I choose to trust God today.  A ram is on the way.

Dear Lord, You know how desperate I am today. You know that my faith has wavered.  Although I want to trust You, I’m having trouble doing so.  I ask for Your intervention in my situation, and for an increase of my faith while I wait.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Is any thing too hard for the Lord?  Genesis 18:14

While I was reading Acts 12:1-19, the passage about Peter’s imprisonment and his rescue by an angel, God drew my attention to two details: the believers who pray for Peter and their reaction to God’s response to their prayers.  I read in verse 5 that the church was praying constantly for Peter. We aren’t told the content of their prayers, but the believers no doubt asked God to deliver Peter. When Peter came to their door and Rhoda informed the believers, their response was disbelief. When Rhoda insisted that Peter was alive and outside the door, his friends thought that Peter’s angel was visiting them. When they finally saw Peter for themselves, they were amazed.

Some elements of this passage are almost comical: the maid forgetting to open the door, Peter waiting stranded on the doorstep. The scripture also reveals something about human nature. Jesus tells us, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). How many times do we pray for something without believing that God is capable of doing what we ask? But the Bible tells us, “With God, all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

Dear God, strengthen our faith so that we pray with confidence, and open our eyes to see how you answer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul wrote, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”   Philippians 3:13-14

One of my favorite Bible stories recounts Jacob wrestling with God. I like it because it reminds me of life’s dark moments when my dreams crumble around me and I am down in the dirt, wrestling with God. At times like these I have asked myself, What good can possibly come from this? Jacob’s story answers that question. Jacob came away from his battle with a new name, Israel, because he had struggled with God and with humans and had overcome. (See Gen. 32:28.) When we wrestle with God, we too become strengthened to overcome the trials ahead.  Like Jacob, we may come away with a limp or a scar. But often our scars can remind us to reach out to those who need the good news of hope in the midst of their own struggles.  The “sun rose upon [Jacob]” (Gen. 32:31) as he moved on to deal with old struggles in a new way. Whatever our struggles may be, God helps us to leave yesterday’s trials behind and to press on in hope toward tomorrow.

The world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.  1 John 2:17

In the early hours of the morning, I began to think about these words from John’s epistle. What did John mean by them? Reflecting on this question, I realized that God desires us to focus attention on everlasting values. In today’s text, the world’s passing values are contrasted with God’s eternal values. This world with its variety of desires is destined to perish, but those who do the will of God live forever.

How are things with me today? Am I eagerly looking to do God’s will, following the example of Christ, who said, “I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30)? Am I living according to God’s will? This is a key question for the Christian life.

Only Christ can save us from this world corrupted by sin and give us a new life here, as well as eternal life to come. The Holy Spirit provides us with the power to understand and to live according to God’s will. As Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.   Genesis 3:6-7

There may be something in your life right now that seems pleasing and desirable, yet is forbidden. What is your forbidden fruit? Is it the temptation to lie in an attempt to save yourself? Is it the temptation to get in on a juicy piece of gossip? Is it the adrenaline rush from giving full vent to your anger? Is it a relationship with a person other than your spouse? 

No matter who you are or what you do, we all experience those forbidden fruit temptations. Giving in could bring a feeling of fulfillment, enjoyment or great satisfaction. But it won’t last. The problem with sin is that it overpromises and under-delivers each and every time.  But God designed a way for you and me to find lasting fulfillment. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us that he came so we could enjoy a full life. God’s plan is designed to fill us. And we can find that true satisfaction by turning away from our forbidden fruit and embracing the Bread of Life, God’s Word. 

Lord, I confess my forbidden fruit to you right now. I know that the things of this world can never fulfill me as much as you can. Sin has left me empty and caused me to be far away from you. Today, I embrace your plan for my life and invite you to fill my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.  Colossians 3:23

After working with a title of “minister” for many years, I now because of my disability, work outside the church as a counselor. Even so, I don’t feel any less a minister; my approach to this is that of a Christian serving the Lord. Each person I see is a child of God. When I work with that in mind, my work becomes my ministry. Whatever job we have, whether a church job or a job in a secular field, we have opportunities to share the love of God.  In my current place, I see many people who would never enter a church. Because of this my ministry is more far-reaching than before. One day a friend asked me how I could talk with one of her clients, who at times are belligerent, with such patience and kindness. I answered, “Because I’m doing it for God.”  Each of us can look for opportunities to work for God in the way we do daily tasks.

God of opportunities, open our eyes to those around us who need to experience your love. Make our behavior a witness of your love and grace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”   Genesis 2:15-17

Rules, by nature, are restrictive. But that can be a good thing in the right circumstances. Restrictions are the pathway to freedom. It may sound paradoxical, but if we look in the context of Scripture, we will see that it makes perfect sense.  God set Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and told them they were free, but they could not eat from one particular tree. God’s rules are designed to protect and empower us, and in that, we find our freedom to choose the best that God has for us. 

The New Testament describes God’s rules as “the perfect law that gives freedom” (James 1:25). And in Adam and Eve’s case, the rule forbidding them to eat from the tree gave them freedom to choose a relationship with God. 

God gives us the power to choose. We can either choose to enjoy the freedom of a relationship with him, or we can choose a life bound to the destructive ways of this world. The choice is yours—are you truly free?

Lord, thank you for giving us your Word to protect us from falling prey to the evil one. There is no true freedom outside of your perfect law. Help me to commit to your law so I can enjoy the true freedom that only you can give. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”?  Isaiah 29:16

I have to admit that I have trouble with the concept of being clay and not having a voice in my development. It’s not that I’m rebellious and want my own way; it’s just that I want some say in what happens to me. Okay, I admit it. I’m afraid that God’s plan for me won’t suit me. What if I would make a great ceramic bowl to be displayed and admired, but instead I get molded into an ashtray? All right, maybe being a display bowl is too pretentious. But what if I would make a great serving dish that could be useful in many ways, but I get molded into a chamber pot? (In that case, I think I’d rather be an ashtray.)  In my mind, I know that God wants not only what is good for me but also what is best for me. Still, I have trouble feeling that truth in my heart and living it in my life, especially when people around me treat me like I am an ashtray or worse.  I’ve learned that when I do what God wants me to do, I am being who God wants me to be. I won’t have to worry about how that might look to me or to anyone else.

Father, help us be who you want us to be, wherever we are. Help us to joyfully participate in what you are doing. We pray this through Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.  Nehemia 8:10

Some years ago a church member, Jackie, was hospitalized because she had sustained a very serious fracture. The prognosis was not good. In all probability she would never walk again.  I went with the youth group to visit her in the hospital. We began to talk to her, but instead of our group offering words of hope and encouragement to her, she shared a vision of faith and words of strength with us. When I returned home, I recalled the words that had affected me the most: “The joy of the Lord is our strength. We must remain faithful to God at all times.”  Jackie has died, but time has not erased the memory of her faithful witness and her trust in God under difficult circumstances. Now, I don’t dwell on how big my problems are; rather, I remember how great my God is.

Faithful God, in the midst of our problems, help us to see your power. As Jesus taught us, we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”* Amen.