Pastor Johnnie's Devotional Archives
March 2004
March 1, 2004
Psalm 1:3 refers to the wonderful results for the person whose love for
the Lord and His Word is so strong that it keeps him/her from the counsel
of the wicked or the influence of those who scoff at righteousness. He
will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit
in season and whose leaf does not wither.
I'm glad the Lord has provided us with as many varieties of trees as He
has. It keeps me from arrogantly thinking that every tree should be as
big and spread out as a full-grown Oak or as colorful as a Maple in Autumn
or as leafy or flowery - or whatever! - as the hundreds of other varieties
with which He has blessed His earth.
The key to a tree's growth seems to be water. Plant close to water, or
faithfully apply water and the root system drinks in needed life. Thus
is the person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will
be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has
no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jeremiah
17:7, 8)
Gracious Father, I don't know what size or kind of tree I am. I only
know that I need water, Your water, if I hope to be strong, yield fruit,
and not shrivel up. May I drink deeply at Your well. Bless me to that
end, I humbly pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
March 3, 2004
Psalm 3:1,2 reminds us of the great spiritual warfare in which we Christians
so often find ourselves: O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up
against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him!"
We have a ruthless enemy who, in battle, is never 'fair'. He sometimes
whispers, often shouts. Some of his attacks can be frontal, with some
sort of anticipation for what he's trying to do, or for what he's going
to do. But most often he blind-sides us or attacks us from the rear, catching
us off guard, unexpecting. Among his tactics are deceit, lying, ego-building,
pride, discouragement, and the famous 'put down' (i.e. 'You gotta be kidding!
You think God is going to get you out of this one? You're more naive than
I thought! God's too busy for you. Anyway, your track record is lousy;
your entire life is characterized by failure! Trust me: this is mortal.
You've gone too far; there's no way out this time! How many times do I
have to tell you!')
But to the Lord I cry out, and he answers me from his holy hill. I don't
lose sleep, because the Lord sustains me. He shields me. He lifts up my
head. I will not fear. From the Lord comes deliverance. (Psalm 3:3-8).
Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God. In You I put my trust. You are
my shield; my defender. May Your blessing be on Your people. Amen.
March 5, 2004
Psalm 5:3 says, In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning
I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
Lack of faith and a small patience quotient are not modern day phenomena.
God's people have been 'afflicted' with these sins for a very long time,
especially when it comes to prayer.
It's wonderful that we have the opportunity to pray before dawn (Psalm
119:147), or in the morning, at noon, or in the evening (Psalm 55:17).
But we must learn to wait in expectation, not push the Lord to rush a
response to meet whatever personal emotional need we feel we may have.
City watchmen wait for the morning (Psalm 130:6). Sure, they're probably
tired and anxious for the morning to come; but they do wait, like good
soldiers. There's no way they can rush the dawning. People would call
them foolish if they tried to rush the arrival of the morning; everyone
knows its appearance is set by divine decree (Genesis 1:3-5). In prayer,
faithful children of God wait MORE that those watchmen do. With expectation,
we rely on the goodness of God's love and count on His great mercy (Psalm
69:16) in any/every time of need.
Father, we wait in expectation - that is, we lean forward, sometimes
straining as we peer into the distance, watching for Your response to
our requests. Forgive any impatience we have with You. Teach us to humbly
wait (Psalm 27:13) on You. For Jesus' sake, Amen.
March 8, 2004
Psalm 8:3 When I (we) consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place......
We go: Hey! What's the big deal? I mean look at the stuff we've made here
on earth! Look at the hyper-threading phenomenon in the computer system
we made. And, have you seen some of the latest movies and noticed how
realistic the scenes are and how increasingly daring the stunts have become
as we push the envelope?! Or, how about the cell phone craze right now
with the wonderful capacity to take and send pictures (of someone's credit
card and steal their number while they're paying their bill at the checkout)?
And, while You're at it, check out all the digital things we're producing
these days; take note of our mission to Mars; don't miss our extreme makeovers
of homes and people. Oh, and, after carbon dating, we've added a few zeros
to our 'creation' date and there are many of our fellow citizens who are
pretty impressed with us! Ad nauseam....
No, when we see all He has set in place in the heavens, we bow in profound
humility before Him, the Creator of it all. We worship His majesty. We
glory in His glory. We confess our utter pride and arrogance. We say,
Lord, who am I that You should even take note that I'm here? Though
I am like one tiny speck of dust on this terrestrial ball, You sought
me out; You drew me to Yourself with cords of love; You adopted me as
Your son. I'm forever grateful.... Amen.
March 12, 2004
Psalm 12:1, 2, 4 (NLT) says: Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and insincere
hearts. They say, 'We will lie to our hearts content. Our lips are our
own - who can stop us?'
Sort of reminds us what Paul told young Timothy about the spiritual climate
of the last days: there will be very difficult times. For people will
love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud,
scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will
consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will
slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no
interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless,
be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will
act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could
make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.
To the authentic child of God, this could sound so discouraging. But take
hope! Through Isaiah, the Lord reminds the righteous, His children: No
one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
For the godly who die will rest in peace. (Isaiah 57:1, 2)
Precious Father, until Jesus comes, may each of us choose to avoid
the ungodliness around us, choosing rather to walk in righteousness and
bring glory to You. And, thanks for letting us in on 'the rest of the
story'! Amen.
March 16, 2004
Psalm 16:11 is filled with faith and hope: You have made known to me the
path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal
pleasures at your right hand.
I just came from the hospital. A Christian woman, with no desire for extraordinary
measures to be taken (DNR) to keep her alive, lay in a bed with a tube
down her throat and wires connected for maintaining careful oversight
of her declining condition. The doctors have said that she is headed for
a massive heart attack which will most likely end her earthly sojourn.
I think it's wonderful for each of us to be able to look back on our path
of life and say, The Lord, in His grace, saved me and has safely brought
me this far. Of course, that retrospective view has significance only
as it is 'compared' with the joy that will follow IN the presence of our
gracious Lord - at His right hand! - as we enjoy the sweet, delightful,
beautiful, lovely, agreeable pleasures He has prepared for us. No wonder
the Psalmist said, when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your
likeness (Psalm 17:15)! I sincerely hope your focus today is eternal,
not temporal (II Corinthians 4:16-18).
Glorious Father, upon whose face one day we will gaze, in whose presence
we will one day be presented without fault, to You the only God and our
Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen.
March 19, 2004
Psalm 19:1-4a The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after
night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their
voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words
to the ends of the world.
Several dynamic truths stand out in this passage: the glory of God, the
creative power of God, the daily faithfulness of God, and God's unending
knowledge. And, wherever missionaries have not yet been sent, He is speaking;
even to the smallest tribe of naked individuals who may still be hiding
in the deepest jungles of 'wherever' with the (futile) intention of halting
the intrusion of civilization. Creation was so designed by God as to be
His perpetual spokesperson, prompting careful reflection in the hearts
of His created beings, thoughts which would lead to the asking of life-changing
questions (Psalm 8:3).
We also are His spokespersons. You see, it is not the dead who praise
the Lord and speak of His greatness. It is we who have been redeemed and
saved, we who have so much to declare and proclaim and pour forth speech
about Him, day after day, night after night (Psalm 115:17,18). May the
sound of our voice - proclaiming Him - go out clearly today and tomorrow
for the glory of God.....until Jesus comes!
Sovereign Lord, prompt each of us to obedience today, that we might
clearly and faithfully declare and proclaim Your glory. Amen.
March 21, 2004
Psalm 21:11 says: Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked
schemes, they cannot succeed.....
To plot and devise implies a 'witty invention', a plan, usually having
to do with lewdness and evil. Let's see.... alternative lifestyle, same
sex marriages, the teaching of principles of pedophilia and homosexuality
to the youngest children in our public schools through explicitly depicted
stories and pictures, lowered age of drinking alcoholic beverages,
removal of the Bible from classrooms, prayer prohibited at schools and/or
sporting events, legalized assisted suicide.....They cannot succeed.
The intent of the wicked is to break and throw off the chains of restraint;
to take a definite stand against God and righteousness, and certainly
against those who stand for biblical standards (Psalm 2:1-4). They cannot
succeed. The wicked are arrogant (Psalm 10:2). They cannot succeed. They
slander, plot, and conspire against the godly (Psalm 31:13). They cannot
succeed. They devise false accusations and charges against the righteous
(Psalm 35:20). They cannot succeed.
O Lord Almighty, You will succeed. You who judge righteously and test
the heart and mind, let us see Your vengeance upon the wicked...for to
You we have committed our cause (Jeremiah 11:20). Amen.
March 23, 2004
Psalm 23:6 starts out with Surely......surely goodness and love will follow
me all the days of my life.....
Isn't it great to be able to be confident about something? The person
who holds the ticket with the winning numbers is very confident that the
money will soon begin to flow in his/her direction. The team holding the
massive, shiny trophy high above their heads is confident that the news
broadcasters will have them making the rounds to expound on the hardships
of the season and the glory of being numero uno.
There are also some biblical certainties in which we Christians place
great confidence, such as today's verse: the sovereign God patiently following
us, pouring out a constant, unceasing flow of goodness, mercy, and love
upon us, with the perpetual promise of there's more to come!
We are also confident that it is unwise to hide sin from Him (Numbers
32:23). We are confident that obedience to Him is best (Deut. 6:17; 14:22).
We are certain that the Foundation upon which our salvation depends is
precious and that we will never be disappointed as we trust in Him (Isaiah
28:16). We are sure that our confidence in Christ is well placed (Hebrews
11:1).
Surely, heavenly Father, You are the great God and our Savior! We
love You! Amen.
March 26, 2004
Psalm 26:1 says: Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
What a wonderful testimony to be able to give: Lord, at this moment, there
is nothing that I'm conscious of in my life which I have not confessed
to you (or others) and for which I have not asked Your forgiveness.
Hezekiah was able to say that (II Chronicles 32:20,21). His 'blamelessness' involved
doing what was good and right and faithful; it meant he was being obedient
to what he knew to be truth; it meant he was continually seeking the Lord
and working wholeheartedly for His glory.
Samuel was also 'blameless' in that sense (I Samuel 12:2-5). For him it
meant consistent honesty and integrity and dealing correctly with people.
Zechariah and Elizabeth were also 'blameless' (Luke 1:6): they were people
of integrity, walking uprightly before the Lord, careful to be obedient
to what they knew to be truth.
And, what about Paul (I Thessalonians 2:10)? His personal holiness and
life of righteousness before God and before people was eye-catching and
heart-challenging.
Dear Father, may an increasing number of Your children be characterized
as 'blameless'. To that end, teach us to trust in You without vacillation
and indecision. For Jesus' sake we pray, Amen.
March 30, 2004
Psalm 30:5, referring to the Lord, says His anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing
comes in the morning.
The word used for 'moment' here refers to the time spent in "the
wink of the eyes". I know it sometimes seems much longer; but from
the divine point of view, when the Lord is disciplining us, it's only
for a very brief 'moment'. The reason, from the divine point of view?
He does not treat us as our sins really deserve (That's mercy! PRAISE
GOD!) Psalm 103:9, 10.
His favor - the realization that our present troubles (a form of gracious
'discipline') are quite small and won't last very long; but are producing
for us an immeasurably great glory - will last forever (II Corinthians
4:17)!
So, I may cry, weep, moan, and travail for 'a night'; but when the smoke
clears, when the night fades, and the early morning mists are burned off
by the sun, I see - and understand! - as I ought to see and understand:
His love for me endures forever! Just like David says, rejoicing does
come in the morning!
Precious Father, I'm so earth-bound and earth-focused. Give me a greater
sense for and understanding of, the 'divine'. It is truly for Jesus' sake
I pray, Amen.
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