May 27 - Guard Your Heart

 Read today’s texts first: Proverbs 4-6; Romans 8

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY
Knowing that our eyes are the windows to the soul,
there are times we need to pull the shades. 

We often try to modify behaviour from the outside in. Within correctional facilities, rehab centres, even our own homes, we reward good behaviour and punish bad. But trying to bring about conformation from the outside can harden the heart, creating attitudes of legalism and judgmentalism. Instead, Romans calls for a transformation that can only happen from the inside out (Rom. 12:2). That’s the only way we can daily “walk in the Spirit” the way Paul describes in our NT reading today.

To respond to the gentle nudgings of the Holy Spirit, we must keep our hearts soft. Signs of a soft heart are humility, dependence on God, and a readiness to repent. Ironically, Solomon, who once had such a soft heart, hardened his through compromise. Again, he should have heeded his wise words: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil (4:23-27). 

Solomon correctly described the best way, the only lasting way, to modify behaviour - from the inside out, from heart to mouth to eyes to feet. If you keep your heart pure, your words will reflect that purity. Knowing that our eyes are the windows to the soul, there are times we need to pull the shades. We can’t allow our heart to be contaminated by the outside world. If we maintain our internal compass we won’t stray from the center of the straight and narrow. No dead ends, no detours, no soft shoulders, no sudden drop-offs!

“Lord, I need to guard my heart every day to keep it soft and open to You. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me, Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.”

May 26 - Word to the Wise

 Read today’s texts first: Proverbs 1-3; Romans 7

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY
 Sometimes what God asks us to do makes no sense
to our human logic or emotional impulses. 

Solomon was definitely wise, but he wasn’t always smart. The book of Proverbs he wrote, by the inspiration of the Spirit, is filled with memorable words to live by, but he didn’t always listen to his own advice. 

The verses that stood out to me have been meaningful to me my entire life, but never more so than my first day working as a chaplain at Buchanan. The words I read that morning were the words I needed to hear in that moment: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (3:5,6).

An hour later, as I stepped through the doors of this wonderful ministry, I was conflicted. The work I was beginning was very different from anything I’d done in my previous 40 years of pastoral ministry. And yet, after spending a day with God before making this decision, I was certain He was asking me to do it. In that moment of contradictory emotions, these verses came flooding back to me. Instantly, my spirit was filled with God’s incredible, inexplicable peace, the kind of peace that transcends human understanding (Phil. 4:7).

Sometimes what God asks us to do does not make sense according to human logic or emotional impulses. Solomon faced that same quandary, knowing what God wanted of his life, but torn by trying to make too many women happy. Though not a proverb, the saying, “happy wife, happy life” is very true. Unless, of course, you are Solomon, with 700 wives and 300 concubines! Before I got married, I envied his life; now I pity him. Trying to appease all those women, and their foreign gods, pulled Solomon away from simple trust in and obedience to the one true God. Solomon illustrated what our NT reading talks about, the war between flesh and Spirit, human and godly desires.

“Lord, Your ways and Your words are trustworthy, far more than my own. I acknowledge You as the one who led me into this new and exciting ministry, and I look forward to the straight path ahead!”

May 25 - Garnishing Our Wages

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Kings 10,11; 2 Chronicles 9; Romans 6

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY
 The selfless, unconditional love of Jesus dying in our place
distinguishes Him as the one, true God. 

I am not ashamed to admit I was a nerd growing up (I may still be). I loved school, experienced trauma when I got less than an “A” grade, and then regained my self-esteem by serving as president of the junior high chess club. But the activity that sealed my nerd status as a teenager was joining a Bible quiz team. We were national champions two years running, for the gospel of John and Paul’s letter to the Romans. The competition for Romans was so fierce I had to memorize most of the book in order to jump up early, finish the question, and then answer it.

One of the chapters I can still quote by heart is today’s reading, Romans 6. The quoting of this powerful chapter on dying to sin and living for righteousness helped me through numerous times of temptation during my teen years. As if speaking these Spirit-inspired words was not enough to break sin’s power, just the recall required to remember 23 verses would help me forget what the temptation was in the first place.

Listen to these powerful words: Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?.... For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (6:16,23).

Solomon’s story, especially the end of his life, vividly illustrates the truth about the wages of sin. When he stayed loyal to the one true God, obeying His commands, Solomon was so blessed that dignitaries from other nations, who worshipped false gods, had to come and see for themselves. The Queen of Sheba was so impressed, she recognized God’s part in Solomon’s wisdom and prosperity (10:7-9). But ironically Solomon turned from his God, the source of all his blessings, to pursue the pointless worship of foreign gods (11:1-8). It reminded me of those who travel to India today, where cows are sacred and people are starving, to discover “true spirituality” (eg. Eat, Pray, Love).  Solomon’s dalliance with false gods earned him some deadly wages, including new enemy uprisings and the division of Israel (11:9-40).

“Jesus, the wages for my sin should be my death, but You garnished my wages and took upon Yourself my death. That selfless act of unconditional love distinguishes You as the one, true God. Thank You for loving a nerd like me and for offering me Your free gift of eternal life!” (6:23).

May 24 - Steadfast Love

Read today’s texts first: 1 Kings 9; 2 Chronicles 8; Psalms 136; Romans 5

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY
God’s love is active, not reactive.
We could hate Him, or worse yet, ignore Him,
but He will never, ever stop loving us. 

I was happy when my son named his painting business “Steadfast Painting” - the word “steadfast” is often associated with God. Greg chose it because he is steady and fast when it comes to painting, but it applies to God because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). He is our rock, our foundation, solid, immovable, unshakable - exactly what we need to weather the storms of life (Matt. 7:24-27).

Our psalm today reminds us of God’s “steadfast love” a lot - 26 times actually, every second line. This must have been a soul gospel song, sung double time, backed up with a Hammond B3. I can picture Andre Crouch, with sister Sandra on the tambourine, ripping this song at Jesus Fest (sorry, dating myself again!). But the love of God is reason to celebrate! When everything in our world seems to be changing, most of the time for the worst, it’s reassuring to know we can always rely on God’s love.

Human love is fleeting. Our grand kids genuinely and generally love their Nana and Papa. But that love comes and goes, depending on how they feel in the moment. One day, I apparently hurt Kaitlyn’s feelings when I asked her to stop being a diva at the dinner table. She went to her room and wrote me a note. It said, with excellent hand writing I might add, “Papa, I hate you, love Kaitlyn”. Human love can indeed be fleeting, and confusing!

But God’s love is neither. In fact, our NT reading reminds us that His love is unconditional: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (5:8). We didn’t have to do anything to deserve His love, we didn’t have to clean up our act before He would help us. God’s love is active, not reactive. We could hate Him, or worse yet, ignore Him, but He will never, ever stop loving us. We talked yesterday about forgiveness being part of God’s nature; well, love is too. The truth is, God is love (1 John 4:8,16).

“Lord, my prayer today is with the psalmist: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever! (136:1-4). It’s so good, it bears repeating, Your steadfast love endures forever!”

May 23 - When We Sin

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Chronicles 6,7; Psalms 134,135; Romans 4

MAXIMize YOUR DAY
 When you sow sin, you get something worse than crop failure - you reap a crop of failures, one after the other!

Solomon was indeed wise. During his incredible prayer of dedication, he mentioned over and over the inevitability of Israel’s sin, knowing there is no one who does not sin (6:36). He also correctly linked calamities of all kinds (eg. war, famine, pestilence, sickness, captivity) as possible consequences of sin. Solomon had learned from Israel’s history, and through his own experience, you reap what you sow. When you sow sin, you get something worse than crop failure - you reap a crop of failures, one after the other!

That’s not to say that all difficult circumstances are the result of sin. Bad things also happen to good people (eg. Job, Joseph, Paul, Jesus, to name a few). But when we choose to live outside of God’s will for our lives, things do tend to spiral out of control, and not always just because of God’s discipline. More often it’s just the natural consequences of bad choices. I can still hear my mom in my head: “if you play with fire... if you run with scissors... if you don’t eat your vegetables...!”

Solomon’s repeated prayer is like this: “when we sin and then turn from that sin, please hear our prayers and forgive us.” That’s a great prayer because God will always answer it. It’s in His nature. And He does answer Solomon with this memorable response: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (7:14). Repentance requires turning. Saying “I’m sorry” is meaningless if there is no change in behaviour (I learned that from my wife!). Fortunately the same power that was available to resist the temptation in the first place is also there when we repent.

I love the scene from the movie “Fireproof” when Caleb is being tempted by a seductive girl on his computer screen, saying “click here to see more.” He paces around the house crying out, “why is this so hard?” Then you see the change in his face from anguish to resolve, as the Spirit of God rises up in him with holy indignation. The next thing you see is Caleb dragging the computer out of the house and pummeling it with a baseball bat. When his wife returns home from work she sees the computer in the garbage can and a vase of beautiful roses sitting where the computer used to be. On the flowers is a note that simply says “I love you more!”

“Lord, that’s what it comes down to. I love You more than anything the enemy of my soul tries to offer me. But when I sin, move my heart to repent and turn back to You. I thank You in advance that it is in today’s promise and Your nature to forgive me!”

May 22 - Glory in the House

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Kings 8: 2 Chronicles 5; Psalms 99; Romans 3

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY
God’s  presence is so all-consuming that if you invite Him in, eventually there won’t be much left of you.
And that’s a good thing! (John 3:30) 

I’ve heard it so often in church altar calls and in one-on-one conversations, when believers are introducing Jesus to their friends: “why don’t you add Jesus to your life, just try Him, what have you got to lose?” Well, let me tell you – everything! Our readings today give us just a glimpse into the glory of God, and His presence is so all-consuming that if you invite Him in, eventually there won’t be much left of you. You can’t add Him to the mix; He will take over! You can’t just try Him; there’s no turning back! If you think you have nothing to lose, you haven’t got a clue what real discipleship is all about!

Today we read about the “shekinah glory” that filled the House of God:  Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God….When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it (2 Chron. 5:13,14; 7:1,2).

This was not just a warm and fuzzy moment, a soft, sentimental stirring of the heart that brings a wistful tear to the eye. This was a visible, tangible, awe-inspiring encounter with the glory of the God who spoke the universe into existence. It was like Moses and his fear-filled, face-glowing meeting with God on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 24:15-18). It was like the transfiguration of Jesus that so terrified Peter, James and John they did a face plant into the side of the mountain (Matt. 17:6). It was just a glimpse into a heaven that radiates light without a sun or moon - the glory of The Son shines into every corner of our future home (Rev. 21:22,23). No wonder the psalm today reads: The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake (99:1)!

“Lord, I was reminded of the consequences of my sin today and how I have fallen short of the glory of God, but I was also ecstatic to read how I’ve been justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (3:23,24). Your awe-inspiring glory is now resident in my body, Your Temple, because of what Jesus did for me. May I never take Your grace or Your glory for granted!”

May 21 - Sing a New Song

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4; Psalms 98; Romans 2

MAXIMize YOUR DAY
The furnishings of the Temple are illustrations of
worshipping God with all five of our senses.

As I’ve been reading through the psalms and many other poetic sections of the Bible, I keep remembering songs I wrote while I was in my teens and young adult years. In the 70s, there was a worship music movement that revived the importance of putting God’s Word to music. Because I loved music and loved to memorize the Bible (I was on several Bible quiz teams in my late teens), I often wrote my own music for certain scripture passages.

The psalm I read today was going to be the opening number for a musical I wrote, featuring various international genres. I had psalms written for Mexican mariachi, Jamaican reggae, Russian dance, French cancan, and Indian Bollywood style (before it became cool). No one heard these songs but me, and God. In all probability, no one else would have liked them, but I enjoyed singing them and I believed that God enjoyed hearing them. The point of the global theme was to celebrate with all the nations God’s gift of salvation.

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (98:1-3).

This psalm helps us remember the big picture when we read about the intricate details of the temple in the OT and the reasons for the law in the NT. All of these things point to the promise of a coming Messiah, the Lamb of God who would fulfill the law and restore our intimate relationship with the Creator. For example, I like to think of the furnishings of the Temple as illustrations of worshipping God with our five senses: the laver represents touch, the incense smell, the lamp sight, the showbread taste, leading to the Ark of His presence where we get to hear directly from God.

“Lord, thank You for Your Word and the gift of music that helps me express my appreciation for it.” He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music (98:3,4).