Komla, a Lighthouse and Our Deliverer

(2 Co 1:8 - 10) “For, brothers, we would not have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength; so much so that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us...”

Sometimes we find ourselves in desperate situations. We may wonder how we are going to make it through the dark valley. In the passage above, we read how Paul experienced terrible hardships while traveling in Asia – so much so that he feared for his life. He testifies of God’s delivering hand. He delivered. He does deliver, and He will yet deliver. I find that statement extremely comforting.

Most of us can look back at some time in the past when God saw us through something hard. He delivered us. Be assured that whatever you face today, He is also able to bring you through. How wonderful to know that we have His promise for tomorrow as well. He delivered. He does deliver, and He will yet deliver.

I know how tempting it is to only focus on the problem. Just as Peter was distracted by the waves when he stepped out of the boat to come to Jesus, our focus is often more on the problem than on the problem solver. But remember – He will deliver.

This morning I was reading the story of Daniel being thrown to the lions. The king did not want to do it, and scripture says (v.14) “And he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. And he labored until sundown to deliver him.” But, he couldn’t. He had signed the law himself which condemned Daniel to be cat food. What he says to Daniel before he has him thrown in to the pit of lions is (v.16) “Your God, whom you always serve, will deliver you.”  The mighty King Darius of Persia could not save Daniel, but he knew Daniel had a God who could.

Today I say that same thing to you –  “Your God, whom you always serve, will deliver you.” Whatever you are facing today, God is a delivering God. He will make a way for you. It may not be in the way you expect. It may not be at the time you expect. But God is a delivering God, and He is working for you.

(Psalm 18:2 KJV)  The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

He delivered. He does deliver, and He will yet deliver.

Immunity

Immunity. Interesting word. In our bodies, we can build up immunity to certain diseases. If you have had chicken pox once, chances are you will never have them again because your body has formed an immunity to the virus.

In some ways, immunity allows us to tolerate things we may not have been able to tolerate before. It can be a good thing, but not always. I have seen people build up an immunity to sin. It is sad that this can happen, but it does. Let’s take television as an example. The first time you watch a certain show, you many be shocked by what you see and hear. You may be saddened that the show is laden with sexual content and bad language. Still, it may be entertaining, and you decide to watch it again. Little by little you find that the bad language doesn’t bother you as much. Little by little you become less shocked by the sexual innuendo and ungodliness you see portrayed. Be careful. You may be building up an immunity to sin.

We would all have to admit that if it were possible to go back in time about 50 years and let someone from that era view the TV programs of today, they would be horrified by the things we often accept without even thinking about it. We have become so tolerant. Is that a good thing?

Just like the frog who sits in a slow-heating pan of water doesn’t even realize he is cooking until it’s too late, we may find ourselves little by little being led to a place we would never thought we would go. Sometimes it catches us off guard. Sometimes we are just curious. But, if we are not careful, our senses can be flooded with influences and images which are far from what God wants for His children. It happens gradually, but it happens. Casting Crowns wrote a song called “Slow Fade” which describes it well.

“It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade”

(I Peter 5:8 AMP) “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.” The enemy wants your purity. The enemy wants to dirty up your mind. He wants to put pictures in your head and thoughts in your heart that will eventually influence your actions.

An athlete knows he has to make good choices with what he puts into himself or he will never win. We must do the same. (2 Peter 3:14 AMP) “....be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
Let’s not become immune to sin. Let’s make choices that please our Lord.

Worship -- What is It?

In the Old Testament we often read of God’s people building altars to Him. Before Jesus came to offer Himself as the final, perfect sacrifice, men offered animals on the altars they built to worship God.

“If you use stones to make my Altar, don't use dressed stones. If you use a chisel on the stones you'll profane the Altar.” (Exodus 20:25 MSG)

I read this verse the other day and have been thinking a lot about it. Why do you suppose it was that God told His people not to build altars of worship with stones they had worked on and shaped? He wanted them to use simple stones found in the field or wherever, and not ones that had been cut and “prettied up” for the occasion.

Maybe He knew that we often try to make something of worship it is not intended to be. Can you just imagine some stone smith coming to the temple, looking at the altar and thinking to himself, “Boy! That looks good! I did a great job choosing those stones and fitting them to build that altar!” No. God wanted none of that. Pure worship has not been touched, arranged and “approved” by man’s hand.

Worship requires our focus be on God. It’s not about the song, or the music or the emotion. It is not about how great our worship team is, or the sound system, or the church decor or the amount of money we spent. It is about how worthy our God is. He is worthy. He, and He alone.

I believe there are many ways to express worship to God. Even volunteering to vacuum the church or scrub the toilets can be worship if it comes from a grateful heart in love with Him. It is in these acts of worship we express our love. Giving our money can be worship. Teaching Sunday School, rocking babies in the nursery, baking cookies for a neighbor or picking up people who don’t have a way to church can all be acts of worship.

The key is in where our heart is. Are we doing what we do because others will notice and approve, or do we only desire to serve out of adoration for our wonderful King? Are we making a show by choosing the best stones for our altar so people will see how gifted or generous we are? God is more interested in our HEART!

“Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalms 29:2 KJVR)

It is the attitude and intent of our hearts that makes our worship beautiful and holy. Are we giving God true worship?

Proper Care for Spiritual Wounds

(Pro 18:14) "A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?"

Infections can be very dangerous. If you cut yourself, you need to wash the area with soap and water.

Want to Come Fishing?

Can you stand a few more photos of Norway? This is our fishing trip. I never thought I was the type who would enjoy bouncing around on the waves of the deep, blue sea in a tiny little rowboat with a putt putt engine, but it was AWESOME! Sometimes we were up on top of a swell, and you could see all over. Then you would dip down, down, down and there was a wall of water all around you. Pretty exciting!

Here is Sven at the rudder. He is our favorite Norwegian, and we were really glad he knew what he was doing!

We couldn't all fit in one boat, so Sven and Clara's three kids were in another boat with Sven's parents.

They caught more fish than we did!

Here is my favorite American sailor of all time!

He caught fish, too! We used these handy devices that had four or five hooks and lures on a string. If you found a school of fish, it was possible to pull up four or five at a time!

We also caught a jellyfish. This is all that's left of him.

The sea was FULL of jellyfish. These kind sting, and it hurts, but they don't kill you.

Errr... Sven, aren't we getting a little close to those rocks?

It was a great day of bobbing around on the sea getting sunburned and enjoying the wild beauty around us. Thankfully it wasn't very rough. We brought the fish back, cleaned them (I say "we" but I had nothing to do with that part!) and ate them. Yep! I did take part in that!   The gulls were more than happy to get rid of the parts of the fish we didn't want.

That is one mean-lookin' dude! Check out the beak! YIKES!

The kids found all this very entertaining. Who's kiddin' who. So did I!

If you aren't tired from seeing all those pictures, here's a devotional for you.

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Being Who We Should Be

William Shakespeare said, "To thine own self be true." Although I have to say I am not so much a Willy fan, I do think this phrase gives us a lot to think about. Too many people these days live frenetic lives with little time for self reflection. We are so busy taking care of kids, working our jobs, and indulging in various forms of entertainment that we can lose track of who we really are.

Self evaluation is important. Can we really grow without it? I guess if your life’s goal is just to be shallow and "have fun" you will reach it without the need to look too closely at your life. Someone once said, "If you shoot for nothing, you can be sure to hit it." Most of us want more than that.

I know when I was young and stupid (not that all young people are stupid, but I was) I didn’t like being alone with nothing to do. I didn’t like myself, and I didn’t want to spend any quality time with me! Mostly, I wasn’t even sure who ME was. I knew that if I looked too close, I might not like what was there, so I tried to stay busy.

Casting Crowns sings a song called Stained Glass Masquerade which mentions "happy plastic people" – people who are working really hard to look perfect on the outside, when inside they are suffering. Another line from the song talks about "building walls around our weakness." It’s not really a very healthy way to live, is it? If, instead of being honest about weaknesses and coming up with a plan to change, we continually deny them by putting up walls, we develop a habit of dishonesty.

When we lose our integrity – our honesty and faith in ourselves to do what is right – we begin to crumble inside. That’s when the enemy of our souls loves to jump on us with both his ugly, dirty feet and whisper in our ear that we will never change. We are BAD, and there is no hope. We look at our lives and we despair. Perhaps the reason many people turn to abusing alcohol or other drugs is because they want that pain to go away.

There is a better way. If we will give God permission to search our hearts, and accept His guidance to change, life can be rich and deep. If we give Him permission to tear down those walls we have built and to deal with our weak areas, we can begin to like ourselves.

"Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about; See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong-- then guide me on the road to eternal life." (Psalms 139:23-24 MSG)

God can help you be who you should be!