Meditations In the Word

Psalms 1:1-6

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

When I read verse 3 of this passage, I was reminded of dedication and commitment, both excellent character traits. But have you ever noticed how some folks confuse tenacity with plain old stubbornness – an inflexible refusal to change?

To demonstrate, I recently read a short history of the typewriter and how the keys came to be arranged in the order they are. It was in the 1860’s when the first practical typewriter was built. A decade later the Remington Company (gun manufacturer) introduced a widely sold model. For the most part, the early typewriters had the keys arranged in a somewhat alphabetical order, but because people learned to type on them so fast, they often jammed up the keys. To slow down typing speeds, Christopher Sholes developed a very difficult key pattern which is still in use today. Even with the strange arrangement, some typists can churn out over 150 words per minute (that’s really moving).

That is a quick story of how we got our modern keyboard layout, but did you know that more recently another layout has been invented that would increase typing speed and accuracy while reducing finger movement (fatigue) by over 10 times?

The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard is a keyboard layout patented in 1936 by August Dvorak, an educational psychologist and professor of education at the University of Washington in Seattle. Although his version is more practical, it has failed to catch on and be used widely.

Why?

I don’t know for sure. Like most people, I really like to do a task easier if there is a better method, but I still use a QWERTY keyboard and probably always will. At my age, I don’t want to re-learn how to type all over again.

This is just a fun example to show you how difficult it is to change old habits or try something new. While it is good to be steady, reliable, and dependable, it is also good to be flexible enough to try the new. When it comes to the Word of God there are many things that should never change. We should stand for the fundamental doctrines of the Bible inclusing salvation by grace through faith and evangelizing the world. There are, however, many practices that can be updated or even re-invented that will make it easier and more practical to carry out the mission of the church. The wisdom is to know the difference.

So, in your life, as you come across new and different ways to do something, don’t be afraid to try it. Who knows, maybe the new way will turn out to be better!

I hope that this meditation encourages you in a special way today. May God richly bless you!

Psalms 51:12
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems you woke up in a fog and it never subsides? As you try to go about your routine, you find it difficult to concentrate, losing your focus with the smallest of distractions. When I find myself in this state, I always wish there was a magic light switch I could use to “turn my lights on.”

The same is true when I find myself in a spiritual fog because of sin and separation from fellowship of God. The difference is, in this case, I can clear the fog and let the Son-rays flow through by simply getting into God’s Word and praying. Before long everything is back to as it should be and I discover my relationship with God has been gracefully restored.

Now if I could only find that silly light switch to get the rest of my act together…

Ephesians 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives , even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

The love between a wife and her husband is a sacred love. In a time when it seems its more popular to be (or act) single than married, we’ve seen this “special” relationship diminish and be replaced with live-ins, casual dating, and affairs. God never intended for people to live their lives this way. Even in the rush to experiment or live the free life, one must not overlook the true  joy of matrimony that God ordained.

Recently newspapers and magazines have been filled with allegations of marital infidelity surfacing in the marriage of Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin of five years. The drama started to unfold November 27 around 2:30am when the golf superstar crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and then into a tree outside the couple’s Windermere, Florida home. Over the next few days a number of young women have come forward claiming to have had an affair with Woods. At the time of this writing the number has risen to six. It seems with each new revelation that the media is becoming more critical; migrating from impartial news reporting to a very personal attack on Woods, and even acting as his judge and jury.

My first response to the whole situation is rather simplistic: What does it matter if Tiger was unfaithful once with another woman or many times with several different women? If the allegations prove to be correct, then the final analysis is the same whether a one-time or habitual offender – he is an adulterer. There is no gray area where this is concerned. He has either been true to his wedding vows or broken them, plain and simple.

It is beyond the scope of what I’m writing here today to answer the questions of, “Why,” or try to look for some kind of rationale, even justification. No matter the attempt, we will immediately arrive back at the adultery. If he is indeed guilty, he has violated that special relationship and bond that he shared with his wife and two young children.

Mark 4:37-41

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still . And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

How many times in our lives do storms just “stir up” out of nowhere? In the midst of these storms many times it seems there is no deliverance, only doom. Being an Oklahoma native, I have witnessed the power of some of nature’s fury first-hand and I can tell you that staring at an approaching tornado is an awesome and frightful experience. When these wicked storms come into our lives it is then that we need to draw close to the Master of land and sea, the Lord Jesus Christ.

WIND OF DEMISE

Sunlight is drawn away
As darkness takes the sky.
Birds are singing in the trees
With strange and eerie cry.

Danger gathers in the distance,
But not too far away.
Scent of doom on heavy air
Prevails to steal the day.

Banging noise o’erflows my ears,
As nature’s fury birth.
Gentle rain begins to fall
Upon the hardened earth.

A distinct cool is all around.
Raindrops increase their speed.
Darkness now pours in my soul.
Harsh wind now takes the lead.

The rain is moving sideways
All I can see is but a blur.
The wind continues howling
Spinning wildly to a stir.

A crack, a shake, unbridled screams
Wind pounding in frenzied haste.
Flying objects hurled round me moan
Pile high as mangled waste.

And just a quickly as ‘twas hid
The sunlight breaks its chains.
All rain and noise they roll away
Like briskly moving trains.

The birds return to treetop height
Their joyous songs release.
In the aftermath of wind’s demise
The world’s at perfect peace.

(C) 2001 R.K. Richardson. All rights reserved.
July 9, 2001

Many thanks to my good friend, Carl Hill,  in Oklahoma City for this simple outline and powerful message!

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TEXT: James 5:13-18

13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

The people of God pray for many reasons, usually out of a particular need or urgency. James is telling us in this passage that we are to pray for those in the church who are sick or afflicted, and not only pray for them but pray with the faith and power of the prophet Elijah. As the example shows, he was a regular person, just like you and me. Yet his prayers had the power to shut up heaven for 3 1/2 years and call down fire from God as he contested the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (see 1 Kings 18:21-39). The point is that our prayers can possess the same power as we demonstrate our faith in Jesus Christ. Pray for one another, pray often, and pray believing.

WHY DO WE PRAY?

(1) We Pray to Adore and Praise Our Great God

Psalms 150

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

This is vital to a full and rewarding prayer life. The simple act of recognizing our great God as the supreme creator and ruler places us in an attitude of worship and reveals to God our desire to commune with Him. He is the One we need. He is the only One who can meet our needs. We should begin praying by focusing on how great and powerful He is and understand our place before Him as loved, forgiven, and redeemed through of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

(2) We Pray to Admit Sin and Our Need of Forgiveness

Psalms 86:5

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

The admission of sin is an agreement with God that we have violated His holiness. We are all born sinners and are forgiven when we ask Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and save us. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that we stop sinning. In fact, we live in a world surrounded by sin and we still have our “old sin nature” within us. We need to confess sin. We need to be reminded just how much we need God every day. As the verse states, when we confess our sins, God is ready to forgive and restore our fellowship with Him. The same idea is conveyed in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

(3) We Pray to Acknowledge His Goodness In Our Lives

1 Thessalonians 5:18

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

How marvelous are the works of our great and loving God in our lives everyday. We should take time, in prayer, to say, “thank you, Lord,” and share with Him how meaningful His provision, protection and care are. As we closely examine our lives, God’s hand will become more and more evident and we’ll soon be thanking Him for things we never truly considered before. This is an important step towards maturing in Christ. Our lives will become a “living testimony” to the goodness of God. Our faith will increase and every day will be a day of thanksgiving in our hearts.

(4) We Pray to Ask For Our Wants and Needs

Matthew 7:7

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Why do we often feel like we’re imposing on God when we ask Him for something? He loves us, much greater than an earthly father or mother could. He wants us to be happy more than we want to be happy. He wants us to succeed more than we want to succeed. He delights in giving His children the desires of their hearts. So don’t be timid, don’t be afraid. Ask God for the things your heart desires.

CONCLUSION:

Adore, admit, acknowledge, and ask – these are important keys to an intimate commune with Holy God. Open your heart and don’t be afraid to be yourself. Leave out the flowery, church-speak and just talk to Him. He loves each of us so much and desires fellowship (a sit-down and talk) time with us every day.

I hope that this meditation encourages you in a special way today. May God richly bless you!

Genesis 1:27-31

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Steward –

the dictionary defines it as “a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.” In our text here, God is granting the stewardship of His creation to the man [Adam] and the woman [Eve]. They are charged with the responsibility of managing everything from the fish to the smallest of plants. This is very clear, I would even go so far as to say its not even open for debate. God expected mankind to care for and protect “every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

So what has happened in the last few thousand years? When was it that the people of God decided to stop being good stewards of His world? Here we are in the twenty-first century, and it seems that many Christians are oblivious to this simple mandate. As we sit by and watch silently, the beautiful home that God created for all of us is being slowly poisoned and destroyed by those who are either ignorant or driven by greed and fortune. The trail of destruction left behind is unthinkable. As one water pollution victim said recently, “How can we begin to explain ourselves and what we’ve done to our children and grandchildren?”

I am a Christian – a follower of God and Jesus Christ. I believe in salvation and redemption, grace and mercy, and God’s unconditional love towards mankind. I believe this is the greatest message to be given mankind, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature…” (Mark 16:15), but not at the expense of discrediting the other commands of God and ignoring our basic responsibilities as children of God and inhabitants of His creation.

I am dismayed about our attitudes toward stewardship for two reasons:

(1) In my experience, I have witnessed the “its a sin-filled world” excuse. Over and over good-meaning teachers and preachers tell us that all of this global mess is due to the fall of man and sin being in the world. This is true but herein lies the problem; We can sit back and identify the cause but we’re do nothing to cause change to take place. No where in the Bible have I found that we are to surrender to sin, in any shape or form. The opposite is true. We are to fight sin with everything we have, beginning on our knees in prayer. Do you honestly believe that God is apathetic about how we are abusing His miraculous creation? This observation about sin is only a lame excuse, a lazy justification for not getting off of our backsides and doing something, anything to be the stewards of planet earth that God commissioned us to be.

(2) I really struggle with the fact that it is the secular community that is sounding the alarm and raising awareness of this whole issue. God instructed His followers to to be the leaders where stewardship is concerned. This is God’s world! Why are we not in the forefront of the fight to preserve and protect it from self-annihilation? We have God’s Word, we know God’s plan. I believe the answer once again is apathy. Just like with our politicians, it is easier for us to point fingers and assign blame than it is to turn off unused lights, throw our soda cans in the recycle, and pick up the trash alongside the highway. Shame, shame, shame on us. Luke 12:48 says, “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required : and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more…” God has bestowed this amazing, majestic, beautiful world to us and He expects us to care for it accordingly.

I say it’s time for Christians or anyone who calls them self a follower of God to stop blaming sin and others or ignoring the issues and do the right thing. Being green is RIGHT! Taking care of this most precious gift from God is not only the right thing to do, its our job. So get busy and be a leader. Don’t wait for some ungodly, humanistic organization to do our job for us. Take the responsibility serious and protect and preserve God’s earth for Him until He comes again. May He find His stewards faithful!

I hope that this meditation encourages you in a special way today. May God richly bless you!

I grow weary many times of Hollywood writers, actors, and others who, either intentionally or unintentionally, portray Jesus Christ as some sort of weakling faith healer who stumbles around ancient Judea trying to make a name for Himself. How revolting to even consider that the King of kings had any sort of weakness or fear. On the contrary, being completely God and man, He demonstrated amazing resilience, bravery, and strength of character when faced with obstacles you and I would crumble from. The reality is that Jesus is the one who showed us how to overcome adversity, pain, and suffering through His determination to fulfill God’s will.

Let’s look closely at His life here on earth;

FROM THE BEGINNING

• He was born into poverty
• He was raised in a country under foreign occupation
• He was self-restrained, not fully performing His Godhood
• He may have lost His father early in adulthood

IN MINISTRY

• He was not accepted in His homeland by His own people
• He chose 12 followers who often didn’t understand or truly believe what His mission was
• He was hounded by critics everywhere He went
• He spent countless hours, even days healing and ministering to ungrateful, stubborn people, often to the point of physical exaustion
• His adversary the devil was always looking for human frailty to use as an opportunity to destroy Him
• He was constantly discredited by the religious and political leaders of His country
• He was betrayed by one of His inner circle

DURING HIS PASSION

• He wept over the unbelief of Jerusalem, even after all they had witnessed of Him
• He agonized to the point of sweating blood in the garden
• He submitted to a politically-driven mock trial
• He allowed mankind to scourge Him and inflict great pain
• He was humiliated, mocked, spit on, and rejected by those He came to save
• He laid down on a wooden cross and willingly permitted those He loved to drive nails in His hand and feet
• He set aside His deity and died for the sins of His own creation

In all of these experiences that Jesus suffered in the flesh; pain, rejection, suffering, doubt, loneliness, shame, and much more, He never gave in to anger, never let the devil gain opportunity against Him, never gave up. Even more, there is no suffering that we could face that Jesus hasn’t already experienced right here on earth. So when considering these occurrences, I hope you understand why those who would belittle Him for what He did for all of us makes me want to stand up and fight. He is not weak, not in any way. He is not fearful, not in any way. Jesus Christ is strength and He is my example for living in the world, fighting my battles, and enduring adversity. I hope that He is your “shield and buckler” too. What an amazing and wonderful Lord we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord!

I hope that this meditation encourages you in a special way today. May God richly bless you!

Amos 3:3

3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Acts 2:14
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words…

When I read this passage I think to myself how exciting it would’ve been to be standing in the crowd listening to Peter on that day. What a miraculous event, all the thousands gathered could hear the words of the speakers in their own languages. What a sight to see as the Holy Spirit empower the infant church and inspiring the disciples to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” And not to be overlooked, the coming-of-age of Peter. If you have followed his story through the gospels, you no doubt are aware of his many faults and mistakes. In fact, early observers surely expected his potential as a leader of the new faith to be ineffective at best, considering his quick temper and emotional reactions in disagreeable situations. We have come through the ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ now to the Day of Pentecost, a most holy Jewish religious holiday. There are thousands of pilgrims in the streets of Jerusalem when Peter begins preaching. Being Spirit led, he retraces the purpose of redemption and the grace available through Jesus Christ. Who could have predicted this bold and sincere sermon? I suppose it demonstrates to everyone how God takes the unlikely and the unlovely and, through His power, uses them to accomplish mighty works for the kingdom of God. Take this example to heart and turn your life over to Jesus no matter how inadequate you may feel, and let God do His great work in and through you. Like the old song says, “Little is much when God is in it…” Just be willing to let God have all of your “little” so He can make much of it for His honor and glory.