Devotions Idea: Warming Up

Having devotions is like exercising, in a sense.  It’s what you need to stay health, and it’s good to have a plan.  When I go for a run, I don’t jump straight to the running, I take the first quarter mile or so to walk and get the blood flowing.  I use it as a warm-up.

It’s good to do this with devotions as well.  It’s hard for me to jump straight to the meat of my devotions without a warm-up process.  It helps me to shake off whatever cobwebs I have from the waking up process, and I don’t feel like I have to accomplish anything with it.  I just use it to warm up to Jesus by walking into the pool from the kiddie end.

My warm-up right now is “Our Father Cares”, a compiled daily devotional from the writings of Ellen White.  It’s nice.

I’m using this because I haven’t read through an Ellen White devotional before, and I think that would be neat to do.  Also, the readings are short.  They make a nice point, and then I can move on to a longer prayer time or what I’m reading/studying that morning.

You don’t have to use a devotional book, although they’re structured and that helps.  Find something that’s short, spiritual, Biblically connected, and that you enjoy.  Something that you can look forward to.  It could even be singing a song or two if that’s your thing.

I hope this tip helps you to enjoy your daily spiritual exercise.

Where to Look for Counsel

A friend shared this with me recently. I needed a reminder on who to look to for counsel. I’ve had people seemingly fail at giving me guidance recently, and it’s hard when I’m trusting someone to look out for me. But God is good, and he will lead and guide me, and us, if we ask Him to.

But we are not to place the responsibility of our duty upon others, and wait for them to tell us what to do. We cannot depend for counsel upon humanity. The Lord will teach us our duty just as willingly as He will teach somebody else. If we come to Him in faith, He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Our hearts will often burn within us as One draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue. And they will receive not only wisdom, but strength. Power for obedience, for service, will be imparted to them, as Christ has promised. – DA 668.4

Origin of “Once to Every Man and Nation”

The hymn “Once to Every Man and Nation” is actually taken from a much longer poem.

James R. Lowell wrote the poem to protest the war against Mexico over Texas, and the potential that it raised for expanding the footprint of slavery.

The poetry really is stirring.  He has a strong Biblical worldview and cares a lot about the subject.  I really like the robust poetry.

128. The Present Crisis

WHEN a deed is done for Freedom, through the broad earth’s aching breast
Runs a thrill of joy prophetic, trembling on from east to west,
And the slave, where’er he cowers, feels the soul within him climb
To the awful verge of manhood, as the energy sublime
Of a century bursts full-blossomed on the thorny stem of Time.	5
Through the walls of hut and palace shoots the instantaneous throe,
When the travail of the Ages wrings earth’s systems to and fro;
At the birth of each new Era, with a recognizing start,
Nation wildly looks at nation, standing with mute lips apart,
And glad Truth’s yet mightier man-child leaps beneath the Future’s heart.	10
So the Evil’s triumph sendeth, with a terror and a chill,
Under continent to continent, the sense of coming ill,
And the slave, where’er he cowers, feels his sympathies with God
In hot tear-drops ebbing earthward, to be drunk up by the sod,
Till a corpse crawls round unburied, delving in the nobler clod.	15
For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct bears along,
Round the earth’s electric circle, the swift flash of right or wrong;
Whether conscious or unconscious, yet Humanity’s vast frame
Through its ocean-sundered fibres feels the gush of joy or shame;—
In the gain or loss of one race all the rest have equal claim.	20
Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.	25
Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party thou shalt stand,
Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against our land?
Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet ‘t is Truth alone is strong,
And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng
Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong.	30
Backward look across the ages and the beacon-moments see,
That, like peaks of some sunk continent, jut through Oblivion’s sea;
Not an ear in court or market for the low, foreboding cry
Of those Crises, God’s stern winnowers, from whose feet earth’s chaff must fly;
Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed by.	35
Careless seems the great Avenger; history’s pages but record
One death-grapple in the darkness ‘twixt old systems and the Word;
Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,—
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.	40
We see dimly in the Present what is small and what is great,
Slow of faith how weak an arm may turn the iron helm of fate,
But the soul is still oracular; amid the market’s din,
List the ominous stern whisper from the Delphic cave within,—
“They enslave their children’s children who make compromise with sin.”	45
Slavery, the earth-born Cyclops, fellest of the giant brood,
Sons of brutish Force and Darkness, who have drenched the earth with blood,
Famished in his self-made desert, blinded by our purer day,
Gropes in yet unblasted regions for his miserable prey;—
Shall we guide his gory fingers where our helpless children play?	50
Then to side with Truth is noble when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ‘t is prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside,
Doubting in his abject spirit, till his Lord is crucified,
And the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.	55
Count me o’er earth’s chosen heroes,—they were souls that stood alone,
While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone,
Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline
To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine,
By one man’s plain truth to manhood and to God’s supreme design.	60
By the light of burning heretics Christ’s bleeding feet I track,
Toiling up new Calvaries ever with the cross that turns not back,
And these mounts of anguish number how each generation learned
One new word of that grand Credo which in prophet-hearts hath burned
Since the first man stood God-conquered with his face to heaven upturned.	65
For Humanity sweeps onward: where to-day the martyr stands,
On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in his hands;
Far in front the cross stands ready and the crackling fagots burn,
While the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe return
To glean up the scattered ashes into History’s golden urn.	70
‘T is as easy to be heroes as to sit the idle slaves
Of a legendary virtue carved upon our fathers’ graves,
Worshippers of light ancestral make the present light a crime;—
Was the Mayflower launched by cowards, steered by men behind their time?
Turn those tracks toward Past or Future, that made Plymouth Rock sublime?	75
They were men of present valor, stalwart old iconoclasts,
Unconvinced by axe or gibbet that all virtue was the Past’s;
But we make their truth our falsehood, thinking that hath made us free,
Hoarding it in mouldy parchments, while our tender spirits flee
The rude grasp of that great Impulse which drove them across the sea.	80
They have rights who dare maintain them; we are traitors to our sires,
Smothering in their holy ashes Freedom’s new-lit altar-fires;
Shall we make their creed our jailer? Shall we, in our haste to slay,
From the tombs of the old prophets steal the funeral lamps away
To light up the martyr-fagots round the prophets of to-day?	85
New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth;
Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires! we ourselves must Pilgrims be,
Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the desperate winter sea,
Nor attempt the Future’s portal with the Past’s blood-rusted key.	90

No Chance of Failing

Reblogged from Empty Vessel:

“Some folks look with dread upon the thought of having to wage a continual warfare with self and worldly lusts. That is because they do not as yet know anything about the joy of victory; they have experienced only defeat. But it isn’t so doleful a thing to battle constantly, when there is continual victory. The old veteran of a hundred battles, who has been victorious in every fight, longs to be at the scene of conflict. Alexander’s soldiers, who under his command never knew defeat, were always impatient …

Two Ways the Devil Gets Us

Saul (soon to be Paul) had just been knocked off of his high horse.  He encountered Jesus, and changed the course of his life.  Because he was a man that put 100% into whatever he did, his destructive life became constructive.

Acts 9:20 – Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. (21) Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” (22) But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

However, after he encountered Jesus, he also encountered the devil.  The devil is generally quite happy with us when we agree with him, but when we start messing with his influence he starts to plan ways to put us back under control or to get rid of us.

Acts 9:23 – Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. (24) But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. (25) Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.

The first way that the devil gets us is by the “back to normal” plot.  The devil hopes that apathy or a lack of diligence will set in on a religious experience, and that we will soon regress back to our previous unholy lifestyle.  Maybe the devil is waiting for you to get over spiritual commitments that you made at a camp meeting, youth conference, or church service.  You can see this in v 23 where the Jews let Saul’s experience settle out over “many days” to see if he had really changed or not.  Well, he had, and that was definitely a problem.

The second way that the devil gets us is by throwing all the troubles that he can at us to knock us off course.  In Saul’s case they cut right to the chase and tried to kill him.  In my life I know that when I’ve been real close to God life gets busy, accidents happen, my schedule gets crazy, and my planned time with God, the connection that sustains me, gets eroded.  I need to know that the cares of this life are going to spring up and try to keep me from bearing fruit, and I need to fight the temptations and perplexities of life.

Let’s resist the devil in these two attacks.  Let’s hold on tight and maintain our connection with God, and not get tired or apathetic and let it slip away.  We should also be prepared to fight the onslaught when it comes.  Whether that means fighting for priorities on our schedule, drawing boundaries, committing to the principle of longsuffering, cutting off destructive relationships, or even running for our lives if it is appropriate to do that.  Let us fight the good fight and hang onto Jesus as the most important thing in our life.

1 Timothy 6:12 – Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Devotions are Worth Your Time

Devotions are worth your time. How can we live a spiritual life without eating spiritual food? I know that Christ is so much closer to me when I’m consistent in devotions and studying the Bible. Make time!

Christians should … cultivate a love for meditation, and cherish a spirit of devotion. Many seem to begrudge moments spent in meditation, and the searching of the Scriptures, and prayer, as though the time thus occupied was lost. I wish you could all view these things in the light God would have you; for you would then make the kingdom of Heaven of the first importance. To keep your heart in Heaven, will give vigor to all your graces, and put life into all your duties. To discipline the mind to dwell upon heavenly things, will put life and earnestness into all our endeavors. – {OFC 23.2}

All Alone… Kinda

Have you ever felt all alone?  Whether you feel you were abandoned by friends, hurt by enemies, forgotten, you prefer it that way, or through circumstances?  It can be a depressing place to be.

Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the present situation or to see things from another perspective.  “I can’t believe he/she/they…” or “I can’t believe things ended up like…” or even “Man, I can’t believe I…”  I’ve felt alone a lot of times for definitely all of those reasons.

It can be so easy to focus on the situation that we becomes blind to other things.  Like the fact that we aren’t really alone.

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

And,

Mathew 28:20 – Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Who are we looking to for acceptance or approval anyway?  We should look to God for these things rather than to people, in person or on Facebook.  We can find the fulfillment there that we desire.  We can find a completeness that we need.  We can also find our own brokenness that we hadn’t expected to find, as God refines us.

Take your eyes off of yourself and realize you are not alone.  Look to God for the completeness that we need.  It is there.

Colossians 2:10 – And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Making Scripture Memorizing Personal

Here’s a post by my brother on how to stick Scripture into long-term memory.

Devotions Idea: Take It With You

Sometimes it’s hard to keep a connection with God throughout the day. It can be hard to remember what you learned in the time you spent in devotions this morning. How do we combat this spiritual disconnect?

One solution is to “take it with you”.

When you are reading or studying your Bible write down the highlight on a notecard. That way you can carry it with you through the day. Maybe you have one or two verses that succinctly illustrate your study that morning, or perhaps you found a great quote in another book that gave you strength for the day. Perhaps there was a verse that inspired you. Write it down and take it with you.

In the picture above are two verses that I carried with me on Tuesday. I was studying through Matthew 5, and came across the concept of dying to the normal human desires that have not been renewed in Christ. I wrote down the original verse, and another verse I found that I thought developed the idea nicely.

Remember, this is supposed to help you, not to make you feel proud/guilty because you did/didn’t do it.

Don’t write down so much that the process intimidates you. Write down a little and look at it often.

And take it with you.

Jesus Christ: Epic

Mark 10 is a chapter of epic shocks to human nature. Whoa, no divorce except for adultery? Become as a little child? If that rich guy who has *everything* can’t make it to heaven, then how can I? What do you mean you’re going to die Jesus? Did James and John seriously just ask for the top two spots in heaven? Did he really just heal a blind guy that was basically calling him king?

Hidden in there is an even greater shock to the natural human senses. Jesus gives a mini-lecture on what leadership really means, and He says something incredible.

Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The fundamental purpose of Christ’s life was not to gather fame, wealth, or power, but to serve. To give. To live for beings besides himself. He came to pour out His life as a way for us to be reconciled to God.

Totally unexpected from the most powerful being in the Universe.

It’s like the president realizing that there’s a poverty-stricken, war-torn village in Afghanistan where only he can make a difference to save the lives of the villagers. He knows that it will be hard for people to understand His motives and to trust him. He knows that there will be people that will hate him and what he stands for and try to kill him. He knows that he will leave the support structure that usually keeps him safe in hostile situations.

But he’s the one that can save them.

And even more than this, he knows that if his enemies do kill him as he helps the villagers, it will draw publicity to the situation and help the villagers even more, and that in the end his mission of love to the village will open hearts in the territory to the system that he represents and bring peace to a treacherous region. Epic.

Jesus made a much more epic transition from power to humility than the president ever could. He did it because He loves us. He loves me. He would and did make such a sacrifice to be able to take us to where He is now. He deserves our respect, our worship, and our attention.

Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.