Category Devotionals

Does God Like Us?

Todd R 1 Comment

Loving someone and liking someone are not the same thing.  Christians think and talk often about the love of God and how He loves His people.  Love is about sacrificing our own interests for the best interest of another, and the incarnation and the cross show what love is in a way nothing else can.  When we think of God’s attributes, love is often near the top of the list.  God loves His people.

But does God like His people?

If I like someone it means I enjoy being with them.  Their presence and fellowship make me feel good.  I think they’re a worthwhile person and it’s easy to give them my time and attention.  I don’t get tired of them easily and need some time away.  Christians don’t talk about whether God likes them as much as they talk about God’s love.  Sometimes we may instead feel that He just puts up with us.  He doesn’t actually like us, even if His love for us is infinite.  Maybe we even feel He wants to keep us at a distance because He resents all the times we’ve failed Him.  But this isn’t how we should feel.

Consider Psalm 149:4, which says:

“For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
            he adorns the humble with salvation.”

This verse says that God “takes pleasure” in us.  He wants to be with us, and He wants to see us succeed.  He gets pleasure from our praise and our enjoyment of Him.  It also says He gives His people “salvation.”  Salvation means many things, but it includes the restoration of the saved person’s relationship with God.  The restoration of a relationship He wants to have and was willing to die for!  If He didn’t want us around – if He didn’t like us – He wouldn’t offer us salvation.

Consider also Zephaniah 3:17, which continues the idea:

“The LORD your God is in your midst,
            a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
            he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”

In context, this verse seems to be pointing to either: the condition of God’s people post-exile, after the coming of Jesus, or in eternity in heaven.  My interpretation is that Zephaniah was talking about something that will be partially realized after Jesus’ first coming and fully realized after His second.  It’s one of those “now, not yet” ideas.  So, what is he saying?  He is saying that God is with us and that He will save us, but there’s more.  The second half of the verse sounds like God is celebrating the people that He has saved.  He “will rejoice” and He “will exult” with “loud singing.”  Have you ever pictured God as singing because He has so much joy?  That seems to be what Zephaniah is describing!  When God saves His people, they bring Him so much joy that He sings!

One last verse to consider is Ephesians 2:10, which says:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

I quote this verse a lot, but today’s focus is on the word “workmanship.”  This word is a translation of the Greek “poiema” from which we derive our English word poem.  In sanctifying us – steadily in this world, and perfectly in the next – God is making something out of us.  He is not making something useless or ugly, but something poetic, and He is pouring all He is into it, like an artist would into a piece of art.  We aren’t a dispassionate work, but a passionate one.  One He cares deeply about.  One that He wants to get right.  To get perfect.  God is not indiscriminately cranking out widgets that are indistinguishable from one another.  Each creation of His is a poem, a work of art!  As Veggie Tales used to say: “God made you special, and He loves you very much.”  We are each an individual “poiema” that He takes pleasure in having created and in continuing to create.

So, not only does God love us, but He also likes us!  He doesn’t just tolerate us until we become perfect, and He doesn’t wait to fully love us until we think we deserve it.  Instead, He wants to be by our side every step of the way from our current, imperfect selves until the day He completes His work in us.  And He enjoys it!  He “takes pleasure in His people,” now and forever.

Do you believe this?  Do you feel not only loved, but liked, by God?  If not, consider again these verses and ask God to comfort you in the fact that He wants to be with you, at all times and no matter what.  He will “rejoice over you with gladness” and “exult over you with loud singing.”  We are His beloved work of art.  His “poiema.”

Amen!

Praying Without Ceasing

Todd R 1 Comment

Sometimes the Bible asks us to do things that are hard to take literally.  For example, in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul writes that we should “pray without ceasing.”  Other translations say “pray continually,” the same basic message.  But what does it mean?  We can’t kneel, fold our hands, and repeat the Lord’s Prayer all day every day.  Paul wasn’t asking us to do the impossible, but how does one actually do this?

The life of Nehemiah, partially recorded in the Old Testament book bearing his name, may provide a good example for us.  Around 445 B.C., Nehemiah was part of the third group of exiles in Babylon to return to Jerusalem.  About 90 years after the first group returned, he heard Jerusalem’s walls and gates were still in ruins.  He returned to lead the rebuilding of the walls, meeting opposition along the way from those who moved into the area during the exile as well as some of the Jews themselves.

Scattered throughout the book are several brief prayers, what Warren Wiersbe called “telegraph prayers,” [1] in 1992, but we might call them Twitter prayers now.  These very short appeals to God are often made quickly and quietly, and you might say “continually.”  I’ll put them in 3 categories:

The first group of these prayers are prayers for strength.  Early in the story, Nehemiah was serving as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes and had to work up the nerve to ask the king to let him return to Jerusalem and take on the work of rebuilding the walls.  Nehemiah 2:4 says: “Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.”  We don’t know what exactly he prayed, but he must have done it silently and quickly during his conversation with the king, otherwise the king might have been offended.  Prayers can be dropped right into any conversation![2]

Second are prayers for justice, which are similar to the “imprecatory,” or cursing, Psalms, such as Psalm 58.  In these prayers and Psalms the writers curse the enemies of the writer and of God.  Instead of taking time away from the work on the wall, or vowing to take vengeance themselves, Nehemiah trusted God to righteously judge all evil.  In Nehemiah 6:14, he prays this about his opposition: “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.”  Nehemiah is honest with God about his frustrations but turns them over to God to take care of them.[3]  We too can pray for God to handle any scores we feel we need to settle during the day!

The third category are prayers of dedication, reminders that the work is being done for God and asking that He bless the outcome, as well as the workers, including Nehemiah personally.  In Nehemiah 13:14, after the walls were rebuilt and he oversaw the collection of the tithe, he prayed: “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.”[4]  God does not forget any service given to Him, but we can pray to remind ourselves who we serve and trust that He will remember!

Nehemiah’s constant life of worship was made up of more than just short prayers made in the moment.  Longer prayers (all of chapter 9) and fasting are recorded, and along with these short prayers are a clue as to what it means to “pray without ceasing.”  It means to always keep the lines of communication open, to consider that God is there, willing to listen, and lovingly able to bless His people any time.  Even a split second in the middle of something is a good time to pray because His love for us is steadfast.  We always need Him, and He is always able to meet our need!

Therefore, we can repeat the prayer of Psalm 66:20, which says:

“Blessed be God,
            because he has not rejected my prayer
            or removed his steadfast love from me!”

Coda

Steven Curtis Chapman’s 1996 song “Let Us Pray” captures this idea of “pray without ceasing” beautifully.  In it he sings that we should pray “every moment of the day,” because “the Father above, He is listening with love and He wants to answer us”

You can read the song’s lyrics at this link.  Or listen to the full song at this link.

[1] Wiersbe, Warren.  Be Determined (Nehemiah) (1992).  P. 34.
[2] Nehemiah 6:9 is another example.
[3] Nehemiah 4:4-5 and 13:29 are similar prayers.
[4] Nehemiah 5:19, 13:22, and 13:30-31 are similar.

Only God Has Tamed the Tongue

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In many Psalms, the authors complain about the evils in the world and compare them with God and His perfect attributes.  Psalm 12 is one of these, and begins with David lamenting the ungodliness he sees in the world in the first verse:

“Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;
            for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.”

What is David so upset about?  James 3:7-8 tells us: “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”  David is upset by people’s inability to “tame the tongue,” which he describes in verses 2 through 4:

“Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
            with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
            the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail,
            our lips are with us; who is master over us?’”

David says the words of the unfaithful are lies, flattering, duplicitous, boasting, proud, and rebellious.  These adjectives also describe much of what we see and hear today, and if we’re honest, much of what we say.  How often do we say things just because they came to mind?  And if they are bad things, but we get away with it or get something we want from it, are we emboldened to continue?  After all, “no human being can tame the tongue.”

There is One, however, who has tamed the tongue.  David contrasts His words with ours in verses 6 and 7:

“The words of the LORD are pure words,
            like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
            purified seven times.
You, O LORD, will keep them;
            you will guard us from this generation forever.”

These words are pure, refined, purified, kept, and preserved.  The number seven in the Bible is often used to indicate perfection, so if His words are “purified seven times”, they are perfectly considered and constructed before they are delivered to us.  God keeps all His promises, and His word never expires.

Even when the world is full of people who speak ungodly words, the Lord’s words are pure and can be trusted. Because of this we know He will “guard us from this generation forever.”  Someday our words will be like His words.

Amen

The Value of Work: A Quint of Quotes

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Dear fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection on the theme of work:

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

Photo by Taya Kucherova on Unsplash

“God is more concerned about His workers than He is about their work, for if the workers are what they ought to be, the work will be what it ought to be.” – Warren Wiersbe

“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship” – Martin Luther

“A holy life will produce the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.” – D. L. Moody

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24

The Queen of Sheba’s Example

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King Solomon, son of Israel’s greatest king David, was also a famous and renowned king.  God asked Solomon what he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the people. In addition, the Lord also gave him “riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”[1]  His rule was likely the high point of Israel’s kingdom in terms of wealth.  Surely Solomon was bound to draw the attention of other nations and their rulers.

One such ruler is the Queen of Sheba, and we learn about her visit to Solomon in 1 Kings 10.  Sheba was apparently “Sabea,” far away from Jerusalem in southwestern Arabia.  Visiting Solomon was a long and difficult trip for her, especially since she brought many people and gifts along.  Why did she bother?  She came because of reports she had heard of Solomon’s wealth, but also of his wisdom.  1 Kings 10:1 says “she came to test him with hard questions” to see if he was as wise as the reports said.  Solomon answered all of her questions, and she responded that “Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.”[2]

Like the Queen of Sheba, we also hear reports of a King of Israel who surpasses all in wisdom: God Himself.  But like the Queen, do we put as much effort into learning about this King?  She traveled for days, maybe weeks, in order to meet Solomon in person.  Do we set aside enough time to really get to know our King?  Do we engage Him in tough conversations about our lives, testing Him with the hard questions we have?  Or do we keep Him at a distance because we’re not sure how He is relevant for our lives?

Solomon’s father, King David, wrote in Psalm 34:8 –

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
            Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

David’s words don’t tell us to sit back and passively learn about God; they tell us to “taste” of God to see that He is “good.”  God does not shower us with blessing upon blessing trying to convince us that He is good while we selfishly go about our lives.   We must learn that He is good by trusting Him and learning to walk with Him.  We turn to Him by learning that repentance is a good thing.  That He is a God worthy of our attention.

When the Queen of Sheba became convinced that Solomon was a good and wise king, in 1 Kings 10:9 she proclaimed:

“Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

Think of how much more blessed we are to have a King who is infinitely wiser and greater than Solomon!  Learning more of Solomon caused the Queen to burst forth in praise for God, who loved Israel enough to give them a king that will “execute justice and righteousness.”  God still loves His people and has given them a King, our Lord Jesus, who will “execute justice and righteousness” perfectly and for eternity. James 4:8 tells us to “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” 

Even if it requires taking a long, difficult trip, like the Queen of Sheba’s.  He is worth the effort.

[1] 1 Kings 3:13
[2] 1 Kings 10:7