Finding a Father’s Love
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Day: January 13, 2013
This Little Light of Mine
“You are the light of the world.… Let your light shine before men” Matthew 5:14-16
I have a lot of favorite stories, but this one has to rank near the top. My friend Paul Eshleman is the founder of the Jesus Film Project, which arguably has been the most important evangelistic outreach of the last 50 years—perhaps in the history of the church.
When Paul was strategizing how to market the film globally, he got an audience with the marketing group of a major Hollywood media conglomerate to get their advice.
The meeting provided the impetus for the international launch of the film. In fact, as of today the Jesus Film has been translated into over a thousand different languages and millions have come to know Christ as their Savior. But as significant as the extraordinary outcomes have been, God had an additional plan for that meeting in Hollywood. The marketing executive who chaired the meeting pulled Paul aside afterward and asked, “Could I talk to you for a minute?”
They went into his office and the executive began his story. “My wife and I had a child that was deathly ill. One day as I was walking down the hall, I noticed through the crack in my maid’s door that my maid was on her knees. Later I asked her, ‘Are you okay?’”
“‘I’m fine,’ she said, ‘Why do you ask?’”
“‘Well, I saw you on your knees in your room.’”
“‘Oh, I was praying,’ she replied. ‘Every day since your baby took ill I have been praying that God will heal your child. In fact, when I came here to work I started praying every day that when you and your wife leave and go out to work that you would be successful and that God will prosper you.’”
The executive explained to Paul, “After that we brought her down to the front door every morning to pronounce a benediction on us when we left. And more importantly, thanks to our maid’s prayers, our baby recovered.”
“And then,” he continued, “not long after that my wife was diagnosed with what looked like incurable cancer. One night, as she lay in the hospital, I was deeply troubled and decided to walk down the street to our synagogue hoping to talk to my rabbi. But it was bingo night so I kept walking. A couple blocks later I noticed a church with the front doors open.”
“When I walked in, the pastor said, ‘Can I help you?’ and I poured out my heart to him. He put his arms around me and prayed for me.”
“The next day I went to the hospital and my doctor said, ‘I thought you were Jewish.’”
“I am Jewish!”
“‘Well if you’re Jewish, then what was that pastor doing here all night sitting next to your wife’s bedside ministering to her?’”
The executive concluded the conversation by saying: “Paul, last week our maid died and I have nobody to get me to God. Can you help me?” And before Paul left, that executive was on his knees asking Christ into his heart.
Don’t miss the heroes of the story—three people who lit up Hollywood with far brighter lights than those on the silver screen: a praying maid, a compassionate pastor, and my friend Paul who had the privilege of turning on the light of Jesus in a Jewish executive’s heart.
And don’t miss the point of the story—you and I, regardless of our station in life, can be lights for Jesus by taking every opportunity to faithfully bring the love of Jesus to those who need it most!
YOUR JOURNEY…
- Who are some of the “lights” God used to draw you to Him? How did they impact your life?
- Take a few minutes to do an honest self-check on how bright your light for Christ is. What steps can you take to brighten the witness of your actions in the week ahead? Be specific. Check up on yourself!
- List out some of the people who need to see the light of Christ in your life. Pray for specific opportunities to encourage, bless, and serve them today.
Have You Ever Been Alone with God? (2)
When He was alone . . . the twelve asked Him about the parable —Mark 4:10
As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul. The sorrows and difficulties in the lives of others will be absolutely confusing to you. We think we understand another person’s struggle until God reveals the same shortcomings in our lives. There are vast areas of stubbornness and ignorance the Holy Spirit has to reveal in each of us, but it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now? Or are we more concerned with our own ideas, friendships, and cares for our bodies? Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him.
What a Wonderful World
“How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”—Psalm 104:24
For children, the world is a magical place. Everything is new and exciting. They marvel at the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky. They relish the opportunity to watch something as simple as a ladybug crawling across a leaf or a butterfly fluttering from one flower to another. They see the world with fresh eyes, and through their eyes, everything is amazing!
By the time we have been on the planet for a decade or two, much of the magic has been lost. We take it for granted that we live in a beautiful world that is both mysterious and wondrous. We hardly notice the magnificent sky above or the lush grass on the ground. As we walk around our planet, we aren’t even cognizant of the fact that we are on a sphere that is spinning around in outer space and yet everything around us remains completely still!
It’s so easy to spend a lifetime on this planet and miss out on the beauty of God’s creation. In the Jewish tradition, we set aside a special time each month to step back, look around, and say, “Wow! This place is amazing, God!” Every month when the moon is new, just a sliver in the sky, we celebrate it and all of nature. One of the things we do is read Psalm 104.
In Psalm 104, King David reflects on the wonders of our world. He speaks about how the waters once covered the entire world, but then God separated the waters and placed them in oceans and rivers so that people would have land to live upon (vv. 6–9). David delights in the fact that God created a world complete with delicious fruit and vegetation that can sustain both man and animal. But not only that – God also created things such as oil and wine – items that are not necessary, but are gifts that bring joy and relaxation to people (v.15). David marvels at the day and night cycles that form a working rhythm in the world. The most dangerous beasts hunt at night when people are home, and return to their habitats in the day when people are out (vv. 20–23).
The flawless harmony in the natural world leads David to exclaim, “How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Indeed, God created an amazing and diverse world for us to live in that reveals intelligence beyond our comprehension.
Today, let us look at God’s world and appreciate it with new eyes. Every wonderful thing that you will discover is a manifestation of His love for us and a testimony to His glory.
http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/what-a-wonderful-world
David’s Kindness To Jonathan’s Son
When David asked, “Is any one left of the family of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan‘s sake?” And there was a servant of Saul named Ziba. When they called him before David, he said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “Your servant.” David said, “Is there any one else belonging to the family of Saul to whom I may show kindness like that which God shows to us?” Ziba answered, “A son of Jonathan is still living, but he is lame in his feet.” David inquired, “Where is he?” Ziba replied, “He is in the house of Machir in Lodebar.”
Then David sent and brought him from the house of Machir; and when Meribaal the son of Jonathan came to David, he bowed down to the ground before him. David said, “Meribaal!” He answered, “Here is your servant!” David said to him, “Fear not, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will give back to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall always eat at my table.” Meribaal bowed down and said, “What is your servant that you should look favorably upon one as unworthy as I?”
Then David called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belongs to Saul and to his family. You with your sons and servants shall cultivate the land for him and harvest the fruits, that your master’s son may have food to eat; but Meribaal, your master’s son, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants; and he said to David, “Your servant will do all that my lord commands.”
So Meribaal ate at David’s table like one of his own sons. Meribaal also had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were Meribaal’s servants. So Meribaal lived in Jerusalem, and though he was lame in both feet, he always ate at David’s table.
http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/Davids-Kindness-To-Jonathans-Son.shtml
God Has Chosen Me
“I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isa. 48:10).
Does not the Word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yes, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat has no power? Let the affliction come–God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door; but God is in the house already, and He has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude; but I have a balsam ready–God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me.
Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials, His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. “Fear not, for I am with thee,” is His sure word of promise to His chosen ones in “the furnace of affliction.” —C. H. Spurgeon
Pain’s furnace heat within me quivers, God’s breath upon the flame doth blow; And all my heart in anguish shivers And trembles at the fiery glow; And yet I whisper, “As God will!” And in the hottest fire hold still.
He comes and lays my heart, all heated, On the hard anvil, minded so Into His own fair shape to beat it With His great hammer, blow on blow; And yet I whisper, “As God will!” And at His heaviest blows hold still.
He takes my softened heart and beats it; The sparks fly off at every blow; He turns it o’er and o’er and heats it, And lets it cool, and makes it glow; And yet I whisper, “As God will!” And in His mighty hand hold still.
Why should I murmur? for the sorrow Thus only longer-lived would be; The end may come, and will tomorrow, When God has done His work in me; So I say trusting, “As God will!” And, trusting to the end, hold still. —Julius Sturm
The burden of suffering seems a tombstone hung about our necks, while in reality it is only the weight which is necessary to keep down the diver while he is hunting for pearls. –Richter
http://devotionals.ochristian.com/mrs-charles-cowman-streams-in-the-desert-devotional.shtml
The Lord Is My Shepherd by Mark D. Roberts
The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
One of the most common criticisms of contemporary Christianity in America is its excessive individualism. Indeed, in many churches these days, you can sing songs of intimate love for God that communicate only in the first person singular: “I love you. I praise you. Etc.” There is a tendency to neglect completely the profoundly communal dimension of biblical faith, to overlook the fact that God is creating a community of people for himself and his purposes.
But, sometimes the critics of hyper-individualistic Christianity swing too far on their reactive pendulum. They put so much emphasis on the corporate dimensions of faith that they neglect the individual. They can be so focused on building a church and making a difference in the world that they forget the extent to which our faith is deeply personal as well as essentially communal.
If we allow Scripture to shape our experience of God and the way we talk about that experience, then we’ll avoid the extremes of individualism and communalism. Take the Psalms, for example. In some psalms, God is envisioned as the shepherd of the Israelite people: “Please listen, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock” (80:1, also 28:9). Yet, Psalm 23 focuses on God’s care for the individual: “The LORD is my shepherd, I have all that I need” (23:1). That which is true of God’s people corporately is also true for each one of us individually.
Because Psalm 23 is so familiar, we can easily take for granted its extraordinary good news. Yet, if we pause for a while to reflect, we will marvel over the fact that God is not just our shepherd, but also your shepherd and my shepherd. This means God knows you intimately and cares for you in a deeply personal way. When you wander away from him, God seeks you (Luke 15:4-7). He welcomes you in his house, both now and forever (23:6).
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Take several moments to consider the fact that God is your shepherd. How do you feel? What do you think? How might you live differently today if you were to be guided by your shepherd?
PRAYER: O God, my shepherd, how good it is to be a member of your flock. And how amazing that you should care, not just for the flock as a whole, but for me personally. Thank you for being my good shepherd. Thank you for knowing me, loving me, refreshing me. Thank you for teaching me, correcting me, and guiding me. Thank you for pursuing me when I have wandered away from you. Thank you for welcoming me into your home, both now and forever. Amen.
Already Settled
I love watching soccer, and I am a fan of the Liverpool Football Club in England’s Premier League. When the Reds are playing, it is an anxiety-filled experience for me. Because one goal or one misplay can change the game’s outcome, I feel a constant tension as I watch. That is part of what makes the games enjoyable. Recently, though, I saw a tape-delayed replay of one of Liverpool’s games. I was surprised how much calmer I felt seeing the replay. Why? Because I already knew the outcome, and as a result I was able to relax and enjoy the action.
Life is often like observing live sporting events. There are shocks and surprises, frustrations and fears, because we are unsure of the outcome. Followers of Christ can draw comfort, however, from the fact that though many of life’s situations are uncertain, our eternal outcome is settled by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
The apostle John wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Life may present us with surprises along the way, but because of Christ’s work we can have peace. He has already settled our eternal outcome.
Faith looks beyond this transient life With hope for all eternity— Not with some vague and wistful hope, But with firm trust and certainty. —D. DeHaan
Peace rules the day when Christ rules the heart.
Tozer Devotional-Ennobled in Christ
Ennobled in Christ
One of the heaviest thoughts that can visit the human heart is the insignificance of the average man. Seen against the long procession of the ages and the countless multitudes of people who have inhabited the earth, we are each one no more than a grain of sand on the wide seashore.
It takes some reflection to make this appear to our minds as it really is. The human ego may be counted upon to accent our individual worth and to give a false permanence to what is anything but permanent. A man in his pride may feel himself to be so important that it is hard for him to visualize the world as continuing to endure after he is removed from the scene; but all we need to do is to wait. Time will grind him to dust and toss him to the winds; his friends will disappear one by one from their old familiar haunts, and there will be no one left to remember him. The passing generations will sift over him layer upon layer of forgetfulness, and he will no longer have any earthly meaning. He will cease to be a name and will become merely a statistic.
This consideration, if no other, should dispose us to embrace the message of Christ. That message is so full and so comprehensive that it is never possible to state in one paragraph or one page or one volume all that it is. It is doubtful, in fact, whether all the world could contain the books if the whole wonder of the gospel were to be written. But not the least among the benefits of the Cross is its dignification of the individual.
HE STILL SPEAKS! 