He Sets Me On High

Psalm 91:14 says this in part, “I will protect those who trust in My name.”
The King James Version says it like this, “I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.”

It is the protection of God promised to those who know His name.
Those who know Him not just by reputation, but by close familiarity.  Those who know Him by the power of His mighty name.

Take a look at the phrase, “I will set Him on high.”

It might be easy to think that this means God will set us in a place where we will never experience pain.  He had just said it in a few verses earlier, “They (angels) will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.”  (verse 12)
Notice there is no promise that your feet will never ENCOUNTER a stone.
Only that you will not get hurt when they do.

So here, “I will set him on high” cannot mean that there won’t be danger… but that He will most certainly use the danger to advance us - to better us.  He would not have said, “I will deliver thee” had there been nothing to be delivered from!

Think through this.  The story of Peter in the boat with the other disciples being called out on the water by Jesus.

• Peter in the boat.
• Storm coming in.
• Jesus calls him on the water.
• Peter is deathly afraid.
• Peter hesitantly obeys - but goes out on the water.
• Peter begins to drown.
• But suddenly God thrusts him up out of the water and allows him to walk where Jesus is.
  

Ahh.. the water that was once a threat now becomes the very thing that “bears up under him” to actually support him and keep him alive!

It’s ALL about perspective of circumstances!

Now in light of this year… pandemic, riots, racial tension, heated election process… it’s been our storm, friends.

But it could be that He is using the very storm in our life to help to advance us.  Mature us.  Grow us.  Strengthen us.  Use us for Kingdom purposes this side of eternity!

How will we allow Him to “set us on high” where even the very storm we thought was designed to destroy us, is actually the storm that will develop us???

Be blessed today my friends!

You are stronger than you think!

You Will Sing Again!

 

Some days… more days than not… God absolutely blows my mind with something I see in scripture.
Some days I am brought to tears by the revelation of His words.
This day was no different.

Psalm 137.
A Psalm of Asaph.
And one that could be read with sad weeping if we didn’t choose to take a closer look.

In response to the pain of being exiled, the Psalmist weeps as he remembers Jerusalem.
In response to the aching he feels within his soul, Asaph sits beside the rivers of Babylon, weeping at the thought of his beloved city.
Better days they had left behind.
A former sense of glory in God’s country.

What once upon a time were songs of praise, now became tears that seemed to mirror the waters they now sat next to… as though they were also mourning the loss they felt.

Scripture tells us that they, “put away” their harps, “hanging them on poplar trees.”  (verse 2)
And when their captors demanded a song, maybe out of cruel mockery, or perhaps in honest interest, they communicate despondently, “how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?”

And truth be told, those feelings echo my own heart’s cry - from time to time.

Because this here… is not my home.
It’s not my permanent place of residence.

And some times living in a foreign land is hard.

When I first moved over 2 hours away from my hometown with my family just over a year ago, it was hard.  It still is in many ways.
And most days I feel as though I am, indeed, living, “in a foreign land.”

My heart sank when I read a little further.  
“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp.”  (verse 5)

It was the condition the Psalmist was placing upon his own memory.
In other words, “You are my forever home… the place I long for, yearn for… the place in which my soul belongs… and if I forget you, may my songs forever be silenced.”

But take a look back at verse 2:
“We put our harps away, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.”
So good.
Such hope.
Why?
Because it doesn’t tell us that Asaph sold his harp, nor does it say he destroyed his device altogether.  
He simply, “put it away” for a bit, “hanging it in branches of a tree.”

 

I don’t know what season of loneliness you’re going through at the moment.
In a crazy year filled with political upheaval, pandemic panic, and loads of uncertainty, it’s easy to see why there’s so much anxiety, fear, and concern.
But it’s equally as understandable as to why it’s heightened for the Jesus people.

Because this is not our home.
This is not the place our soul belongs.
And so as long as we are living here - in a foreign land - we will always feel a bit unsettled.
It’s normal.
It’s perfectly normal.

You may have, too, hung your harp up temporarily, but there’s music still to make!
There’s a joyful noise still waiting to be fashioned from your now idle instrument.
Why?
Because the best is still to come for those who know Christ, and have Him for themselves.

May our vision forever be set upon heaven - our ultimate destination.
I am only a visitor passing through.

You will play again - and the music will be beautiful!

As For Me

 

It’s a phrase that has been ringing in my ear for years now.
I remember the first time I saw it, or better yet the first time I recall “paying attention” to it.
It was on a card mailed to me by someone I love very much.
And the words written in it were this, “As for me, I will not behave that way toward you ever again.”

Those words, at that time, meant more to me than anything else that could have been spoken.
Because the pain had been great.
And the frustration had been intensifying.

And God, in His kindness, has not allowed me to escape those words in all these years.

As for me.

Because the truth is, so often we are so concerned about what “the other guy” is doing.
“Well - he started it!”
“I’m only doing to him what he did to me.”

And it’s just not the best way to think.  Or the safest way to live.
Ahh, yes, it really is about training our minds to believe differently so that our mouths behave differently.

And in a season of debate it’s challenging.
In a year of media blasts and social unrest and disfiguring violence, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain composure, let alone Christlikeness.

But what is it I just read… “See then that ye walk circumspectly (wisely, strictly, accurately, watchful, well-considered), not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  (Eph 5:15-16, KJV)

Redeeming the time.
And could it be that we can?
Redeem the time?
Redeem the year?

Redeem means this - to counter-balance some fault or defect, to compensate for deficiencies in quality.

And so can we… redeem the time?

It may not be a question.
It may be a command.

Because in this… the “days of evil” we must.

Because it’s the single most repeated thought that keeps me up at night…. “I have ones who are watching on and are learning the most about Jesus by close examination of my life.”

Jesus, too, had watchers.
Always looking to trap, trick, and ambush.
“Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men.  They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported… so he would be arrested.”  (Lk 20:20)

And if they did to him.. they will do to us.  

And so maybe it matters more than we could ever know.

Because what they see in us is what they should be able to know of Jesus.
And I fear, with everything in me, that I owe an apology for every definition of Him that has been misrepresented in the earth.

It might be time for the ones following Jesus to redefine Him to a world who has missed out on the real Savior.

It really, really, really matters.

And so I will continue to ask myself the questions necessary.
And I will fail again to get it right, I’m sure.
But I will keep trying.
Because the hurt in the watchers is too painful to ignore.

“Will what I’m getting ready to do or say bring any amount of discredit on my faith or any amount of dishonor on my Jesus?”

And the filter when communicating, “Is it necessary?  Will it benefit?  Will it add value?  Will it glorify Jesus?  OR Will it only add to the increasing noise?”

The questions… they matter.
Because how we are able to answer holds the largest amount of weight this side of eternity.

As for me… AS FOR ME… I will pray for the strength to live through this filter every day.

More Boldness, God!

 

Acts 4.
Peter and John standing trial before the council.
They can’t decide what to do with them, other than tell them that due to their teaching they have created quite an upheaval among the people, and they are to, “never again speak or teach in the name of Jesus.” (4:18)

And of course we know that the disciples… now apostles… cannot agree to that.
Their words in response are this, “We cannot stop telling about every we have seen and heard.” (4:20)

The council threatens them, but they release them due to the fact that there would soon be a riot if they continued restraining them any longer.

When the students… now teachers… are reunited with the believers, they told what they had experienced and in response the believers raised their voices in one accord.

It’s a beautiful image of unity and oneness in the Spirit.

And you can see the part of the prayer that displays a definitive shift. The words from the body of bold believers that changes the game.

Verse 29 tells us that these were the words, as a prayerful petition, from once-weary hearts turned brave, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us, Your servants, great boldness in preaching Your word.”

I stopped in my tracks when I read them.

Because I wonder if I could say the same.

Peter and John relay precisely what we need to imitate, yet it’s more difficult than we’d like to admit. “Now, God, hear what they have been saying to us and about it. Look at the way they’ve been mocking us, and threatening us because of our unwavering commitment to our mission. And in hearing them, will You make us more bold in our preaching?”

They didn’t ask for comfort.
They didn’t beg for the removal of danger.
They didn’t inquire to be discharged from their duty.

They asked for more boldness to continue the work.

Their prayer included grace to advance steadily in their responsibility regardless of apparent setback, rejection, or fear of man.

And in doing so, God gives them a greater degree of His Spirit.
Oh how we would miss the mighty increase of God’s strengthening power if we never surrendered to the need of His courage in the face of impossible challenges!

We receive in increase only that which we are bold enough to sincerely petition for.

It’s as though the brothers here are saying, “Give us more, God. We will go in the strength You provide along the way.”



It’s bold.
It’s brave.
It’s behaving like Jesus who endured a wooden torture device for you… and for me.

Peter and John were not only encouraged by the body of believers that surrounded them upon their high council discharge, they were enabled by the Spirit to do even GREATER works moving forward.

The word enabled means this = “set up; empowered; prepared; fitted; commissioned; qualified; conditioned; equipped for a specified extended or premium use! “

Wow!

Let’s not miss the chance to be enabled by the Spirit to do even more for Him.
Regardless of the cost.
Regardless of the pain.
Regardless of the difficulty.

Make us BOLD in our witness for You, God! It is my prayer with every breath.

Redefine

 

In my prayer binder, I wrote this. Something that came to me in the early morning hours this past Thursday.

 

It started out as a thought - and then became a prayer.

I heard the word - REDEFINE.

 

And I wrote it down on a sticky note:

“God help us to REDEFINE You in the land of the living.”

 

Redefine is an interesting word.

 

To “Define” means this = “to explain or identify in nature or essential qualities; to fix or lay down clearly; to make clear the outlines or forms of; to fix with precision.”

 

And the truth is that we are need of redefining of Jesus in the world.

 

Because for a long time now He has been falsely represented in the world.

 

Because we haven’t done our job of promoting Him in the best light possible.

 

And so I challenge myself to begin praying that God would help me to REDEFINE who He is to the world around me.

 

The one that is hurting without Him.

The one that deserves to witness the glory and the power of Jesus Christ.

 

God - help us to redefine you to the world. To explain You best, to identify Your nature and your character by displaying it in our own lives, to make clear with precision Your goodness and grace.

The Goodness of God

I was a bit sad yesterday afternoon as I drove home from the store.

It was an overcast day.
And I was missing my girl.

Sunday’s in our house for most of her life, were family days.
Church.
Lunch.
Maybe a nap.
A drive to the lake.
Prepping for a new week.

And just like seasons come… they go.
And in the blink of an eye we’re faced with a different season.
The rolling in of another change.
And they all seem to be coming faster and faster the older we get.

And I image we’re all feeling it this year.
Of all years.
We’re all experiencing, to some degree, an unsettling; an unrest.
A shift in the atmosphere.

And sometimes the remembering of better days, simpler times, is difficult.
But sometimes it brings life to our weary souls.

And it did for me on a Sunday night in late October.

We would sit down to watch our girl lead worship in a new place, in a new city, in this… her new season… and with tears streaming down both of our eyes, we would remember His goodness.

ALL. the. days. of. our. life.

ALL of them.
Not just the ones that feel good.
Not just the ones where things were going our way.
Not just the joy-filled, problem-free days.
ALL of them.

He has been abundantly faithful.
Good.
Merciful.
Relentlessly our Pursuer.
And He has given us more in this life than we could have ever dreamed up or imaged for ourselves.

And so, it is with confidence, that we sing alongside our girl 1,919 miles away, “All my life You have been faithful, all my life You have been so, so good!  With every breath that I am able… I will sing of the goodness of God.”

I would repeat the words I had repeated to a friend just days before, and now to my own heart, “Don’t cry because it’s over (whatever you find yourself grieving a loss for today in 2020), smile because it happened.”

I will worship Him for His glorious goodness… all. of. my. days.

The Company You Keep

 

Acts, chapter 4, is a great chapter.
It’s the story of two of Jesus’ disciples - Peter and John - who were standing trial before the council.
In the middle of their preaching, they were stopped, questioned, and subsequently arrested.

The leaders wanted to know how it was that these men had the power they had.  They asked them in verse 7, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

Peter, filled with Holy Spirit, responds to them by first saying this, “Are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for crippled man?”  (vs 9)
He goes on to say this in verse 10, “he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.”  

Oh and how you have to love verse 13 that says that the response of the members was pure astonishment, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.  They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Isn’t that the goal?
For all of us who love Jesus and follow after Him?
That we would be recognized as “having been with Jesus!”??

But even in their amazement, they still remained confused as to what to do with them.

After all, they spoke with such profound boldness and certainty.
And power.

They go on to warn the men - commanded them actually - to, “never again speak or teach in the name of Jesus.”  (vs 18)

They continued threatening the men, but finally had to let them go because they were clueless as to how to punish them without starting a riot.  Because the scriptures tell us that, “everyone was praising God.” (vs 21)

So they released the men.

Acts 4:23 tells us this, “As soon we they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.  And when the believers heard this report, they, “lifted their voices together in prayer to God.”  (vs 24)

Notice the words in verse 23, “As soon as they were freed… they returned to the other believers.”

The work forward - preaching the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus - was waiting… and the work was a necessity of their assignment… but so was the returning to the assembly of believers.  Like-minded soldiers.

They knew that in order to return to their posts of service, they had to retreat momentarily to their people of strength.  They were in need of prayer, encouragement, and perhaps even a confirmation of commission.

Oh how it matters the company you keep!

They returned to the ones they knew would lift them up to heaven and pray on their behalf.

My commentary says this, “In the Sanhedrin the air was dense with suspicion and malice, but here it was love, purity, and the peace of heaven.”

The Sanhedrin was the Supreme Court of Ancient Israel.
Ahh… but it’s also, in modern day, 109 million acres of wilderness in the state of California.
The Sanhedrin wasn’t adequate conditions for the servants of Christ - even though persecution was promised as part of the task (see Mark 10:30).

They had a great need to be in the body of bold believers who would not only usher them back on the road of duty, but would also usher them to the throne room of God - in where their help came from.

My commentary goes on to say this, “Courage is of the right kind when it seeks to sustain itself by breathing an atmosphere like this.”

And they were in need of being sustained.
Because the road is long.
The journey is exhausting.
The way seems all uphill.

And it matters the company you keep!

It may be time to return to the ones who can fuel you with love, purity, and peace… it may be the to breathe in the atmosphere of heaven…so you can resume your kingdom business.

I Carry The Name!

 

1 Samuel 17:45.

In this text, David says these words to Goliath (the one he would go up against despite the challenge of difficulty). “David replied, ‘You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies - the God of the armies of Israel, whose you have defiled.”

David is saying - “Look, you can come at me with whatever you have. Power, strength, an army, might, height… whatever… but what I come to you with is better than that - I come with the NAME of my Father God!”

In modern day terms that don’t include physical combat, but are important none-the-less, “Look, you come at me with what you have. Harsh words, anger, retaliation, fear-mongering, judgement, shaming, gossip, lies… whatever… but what I comets you with is better than that - I come with the NAME of my Father God!”

Now take a look at another verse I was just studying the other day that I connected to this one.

It’s found in Acts 3:6. It is the story of a lame man who was begging for alms outside of the Temple gate. When he saw Peter and John walk by he asked them for some money. And Peter’s response is this, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

Peter is saying - “Look, I don’t have what you have come looking for, but actually what you need that you might not even realize yet, is Jesus. I don’t have a lot - but what I DO have and am coming to you with is better than that - I come with the NAME of Jesus Christ. I carry Him into the environment and today I give Him to you. Get up and walk!”

In modern day terms that might be, “Look, I might not have what you think you’re looking for. I don’t have lots of money, a fancy title behind my name, or strategic power that could benefit you at all, but what I do have is Jesus Christ - and I can show you, too, how to know this Messiah who saves.”

Isn’t this good??


In both narratives there was a want and a divine solution.
One was the want of a good fight, and the other was the want of tangible provisions.
Both wants weren’t necessarily wrong, they just weren’t the “greater” or the “better” desire.

And in both scenarios, the NAME the individual carried superseded everything else.
The name of God!

And so I ask myself the question - Am I carrying Him Well into every environment I enter?
Am I offering Him to every person I encounter?

Sword, Spear, and Javelin I need not use…
Gold and silver I have not…
But what I will use and what I do have is the name above all names!!!
And that… is enough!

His Grace Is Enough

 

The truth is that they didn’t deserve the feet washing they received.
But they got it anyway.
Why?
Because they were His chosen men.
Because they were His friends.
The ones He chose to commune with.
Teach.
Pour into.

He was entrusting them with His Spirit to do the work of a global Gospel outreach.
And they were needing to be cleaned.
By Him.
For His service.

John 13 gives us the exchange.
“So He (Jesus) got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water out into a basin.  Then He began to wash the disciples feet…”  (verses 4-5)

But when He came to Simon Peter, Peter said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  (verse 6)

Peter was appalled when Jesus answered in verse 7, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

“‘No,’ Peter protested, ‘you will never ever wash my feet!’”  (verse 8)

Peter didn’t get it.
He didn’t understand.
He thought he was honoring the Son of God, but he still didn’t have clarity on this Savior and why He had come.

The washing of the feet of these disciples was a necessary work for Jesus to do.
In order to prepare them for all that was in store for these students of Christ, they desperately needed this ceremonial foot washing from their teacher.

The qualifications for obtaining Jesus for themselves was being washed by Him.

And the same is true for you and for me.

And if this be true, then this means that the qualification is not one based on worthiness or merit on our part, but one of mercy on His part.  

We don’t earn His cleansing, we graciously receive His cleansing… His grace!

And so maybe today we can stop striving harder to earn, and stop shaming ourselves for all we lack, and simply accept His love and receive His free gift today!

His grace… is enough!

The Day I Almost Quit

It was the day I almost quit.

Gave up.
Surrendered.

Because in that season I was carrying around more loneliness than anyone knew.
Because in that season I was experiencing more heartbreak than most realized.

And I had almost forgotten.

The paper nearly popped to the surface among the others on a cold fall morning in late October.  The paper that had well documented - the day I almost quit.

The date was November 13, 2013.

And I had found myself frustrated with God.
Questioning His plan.
Contemplating my purpose.
Doubting my effectiveness.
Challenging my call.

I remember the day it happened.
Moreover I remember the night before.
It was a bible study I was leading at the time.
And everything about that night made me feel like a failure.
Low attendance.
Grumbling voices.
Unwilling participants.
Blank faces.
And one heartbreaking personal attack.

And I remember returning home in a tearful demeanor.
Riddled with weariness, sadness, resentment, and discouragement I was throwing in the towel.

I’d say it when my head hit the pillow, “Tomorrow… I quit.”

Because sometimes the assignment is too difficult.  And the burden seems unworthy of effort.

And then the morning came.
Ahh, yes, always the morning.

I’d find myself making bread for my family.
And in an attempt to remedy by soul fatigue, I’d listen to a podcast while working.

It seemed random at first.
But now I see that nothing is random in the Kingdom of God.
The message was being given by a young pastor.  Younger than me.  And much wiser.
The story was Joshua.  The warrior leader who was given charge over Israelite management, and would see to it that victory was achieved.

The story was familiar.
The walls of Jericho and the takeover of an entire city.

But the commission was odd.
Joshua was to lead his men around the walls once a day for 6 days.
Walking around the wall.  Just… walking.
No swords.  No shields.  No fighting.  Just… walking.
Then on the 7th day, seven times.
And victory of takeover was promised.

It was strange request for militant men.
But Joshua obeyed.

And you could imagine these men and their doubt.
“Are you SURE you heard the Lord correctly Joshua?”
“This doesn’t seem legit!”
“We’re soldiers, you know that, right?”

And when day 6 was closing up you can assume their frustration set in.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“This is crazy!”
“Tomorrow… I quit!”

But it wasn’t to be.
Because God - had a better plan.
He always does.
And that plan requires our obedience to be fulfilled.

And we know what happens.
Day 7 comes.  And victory is the outcome.

But it might not have happened if they had stopped on 6.
The promise missed if they hadn’t obeyed, “Don’t stop on 6.”

But wait…

I would hear the words on the November day 7 years ago and run immediately to the workbook I had been working through with my bible study class.  In almost a franticness I would look to recall the chapter of that study we were in.  YEP!  Just as I thought.  Week 6!  

And it would have been week 7 that I would announced my retirement.
I might have stopped on 6.
But God - had a better plan.
He always does.
But that plan required my obedience to be fulfilled.

I can’t stop now!!!

I’d almost scream it with excitement in an empty house on a Friday morning.
“I can’t stop now!”

So I ask you the same questions I wrestled with God to the ground about then,
“Will you do God’s will even when it’s not working?  Even when it’s hard?”

Because the truth is that we’ve gotta take the lap… make the turn… even when nothing moves.  Even when the promise looks unfulfilled… even if.  Even IF.  EVEN if.  Because He IS good and His plan IS better than anything I could imagine for myself.

God is telling you the same thing.
Before you quit!
Remember… Recall… Repeat.
Keep walking.
Even when it’s hard.
Even when it’s lonely.
Even when it doesn’t make sense.
Even when it doesn’t feel good.
Even when it’s not popular.
Even when it’s all uphill.
Even when other’s don’t go with you.

Don’t stop short of the promise of God in YOUR life.
Don’t quit now!
There’s so much better ahead for obedient, faithful, God-fearing people.

The best… is yet to come!!!