Straight Paths

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight"- Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).

Children have trusting hearts and Jesus said that unless we become like children, trust like children, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1-3). He didn't say behave like a child, on the contrary, we are to give up the things of childhood (1 Corinthians 13:11). We are to mature spiritually, being made in Christ's perfect image. Today's verse is on having pure trust: accepting the Word as solid ground, being fearless when God asks you walk on water, tossing anxiety like a set of handcuffs into the deepest sea, and seeking Jesus as a vast treasure....and you've got the Map (Jeremiah 29:13). The paths He will make straight, once you unconditionally trust in Him, is the path into His arms. It is He who leads you down the path of righteousness (Psalm 23:3).

Here I AM

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint"- Isaiah 40:31 (NIV).

People await a personal "calling" from the Lord; many times worrying they may have missed it or regretfully thinking they have no tangible "gifts" to offer. Henry Blackaby and his son, Richard, wrote Experiencing God. Henry said Christians should be alert to see where God is working and then join in with Him; you just need to show up. God supplies the needs: the means, the strength, the power, the wisdom. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses" (Acts 1:8a). The prophet Isaiah overheard the Lord asking, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" (Isaiah 6:8). The question wasn't directed specifically to Isaiah. The question was for all ears and remains today. Will you, like Isaiah, respond saying, "Here I am. Send me!" (v.8)? If so, look around. Where is God at work?  

Be Filled

"Then Jesus declared, "I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty"- John 6:35 (NIV).

"We are never more fulfilled than when our longing for God is met by His presence in our lives" (Billy Graham). Do you want to be filled? Jesus says He is the Bread of life and that those who partake of Him will never go hungry. The prayer He taught us includes, "Give us this day our daily Bread." It is the Spiritual Bread for which our soul hungers. We should daily come to Him on humble knees and ask for daily Bread and for the Living Water, to fill our cup, from the Source that will never run dry. Jesus bids, "Come! Be filled...by My presence." May God's presence be palpable in each moment of your day. 

Emotional Day

"The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs'- John 19:32-33 (NIV).

Truly one of the most emotional days in all creation! God struck His Son, afflicted Jesus with pain and suffering, while we looked on thinking He was being justly punished by God; yet, by His wounds we were healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus took our punishment, He was pierced for our transgressions, and in return...He gave us peace. The Pieta, Michelangelo's Renaissance statue, spawns emotion when you see Mary cradling the lifeless body of her Son, but doesn't it seem ever so tender and loving that God protected even the bones of Jesus after His sacrifice? Not one bone was broken...fulfilling prophetic Scripture in Psalm 34:20. God's emotions triggered earthquakes, dead saints rose from the dead, the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom...a Roman guard uttered the obvious: "Surely He was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54). God loves us so much, He gave His One and only Son for us (John 3:16). Truly one of the most emotional days in all creation!    

Faithfully Fulfilling

"About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?")- Matthew 27:46 (NIV).

Jesus was quoting and fulfilling prophetic Scripture to the very end. Today's Scripture is from Psalm 22:1: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from saving Me, so far from My cries of anguish?" Later, after initially refusing the drink offering of vinegar, gall and myrrh to relieve His suffering, He said, "I am thirsty" (John 19:28) and accepted the drink. This statement fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 69:21: "They put gall in My food and gave Me vinegar for My thirst." Jesus told them that no one could take His life, but that He was laying it down of His own accord, by His own authority (John 10:18). His final words were, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" and then He breathed His last (Luke 23:46). A last prophetic message fulfilled; from Psalm 31:5: "Into Your hands I commit My spirit; deliver Me, Lord, My faithful God." The Scriptures had been fulfilled...and Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30).

Love Debt

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law"- Romans 13:8 (NIV).

Paul told the Corinthians that love was greater than faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith and hope are indeed powerful. Faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20) and hope is the anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:19). Yet love is greater; it is a debt we owe, a law, to love our fellowman. Any time we pay on the love debt we are sharing God, for God is love (1 John 4:8). God loves all and wants all to be saved and understand the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). "All" is the operative word. Jonah didn't think the Ninevites were worthy of salvation and was disobedient at first (Jonah 1:3). Nineveh had over 120,000 people who recanted following Jonah's eventual obedience (4:11), but Jonah was still more angry over the death of a vine than in the souls of those multitudes (v10). We shouldn't judge Jonah. How many times have we thought someone got their just deserves for a transgression? Lord, help us to remember the love debt is to and for "all."