“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

One definition of power is “the ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing … to supply with electricity or other means of power.”

It’s difficult, maybe impossible, to get much done without power. In the olden days we operated using horsepower; now we use electrical power, battery power, nuclear power, gas power, etc. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think I am completely out of gas. Then something comes along that is a crisis, or maybe it’s something fun like seeing my grandchildren, and I find an inner reservoir of power that keeps me going.

And we admire powerful people, probably because of their ability to get things done. I once heard a highly respected person in the Nashville community speak on power (Nelson Andrews, now deceased). He said that a person could have wealth, position, intelligence, physical ability, talents or skills; however, unless that person spent those resources, they did not exhibit power.

As humans, we need power to keep us moving, and we also need power to keep us on course. Likewise, Jesus, in his humanity, needed power to keep him perfectly obedient. Did you ever wonder how He did it? How was he able to be perfectly obedient? After all, he was challenged, he was tempted just like we are. Many biblical scholars would say that it was impossible for Jesus to sin because of his God nature. I can’t argue with that; however, I believe that the Holy Spirit played a major role in Jesus’ perfect obedience. We know from Scripture that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus during his entire life on earth. Here are some verses that point this out:

• At His conception:  “And the angel answered (Mary) and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35).
• At His baptism: “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22).
• During his time in the wilderness: “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1).
• As He worked: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed . . . Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18,21).
• As he performed miracles: “But, if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28).
• To raise him from the dead: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

The Message puts it like this in Romans 8:9-11:

“But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!”

The song, Same Power, by Jeremy Camp plays over and over in my mind, reminding me that I have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in me. And you have the power of the Holy Spirit residing in you. It’s up to us to call on this power residing in us, to use it to obey more perfectly, to grow in our Christlikeness, and to empower our ministry here on earth in Jesus name and for His glory.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise father, son, and holy ghost.

I have written two Chaplain’s Corners for today, but all the while the above refrain keeps playing in my head. Rather than publish either of those other devotions, I just want to praise God for his goodness and mercy. I am so thankful today.

I am thankful that our leadership team had the foresight way back in the early days of what would become a pandemic to insist that we have additional shelter capacity in the city for those in quarantine as well as to accommodate social distancing.

I am thankful for our leadership team who have made the hard decisions in a timely way all during these past eight months.

I am thankful for all our fantastic staff who have carried out the decisions and made “in the moment” calls when needed.

I am thankful that we have the relationship with the Health Department to help manage the medical side of this pandemic, and I am thankful for the testing capacity.

I am thankful we made it so long without an “outbreak.”

I am thankful for the staff at the Women’s Campus who have courageously covered while so thinly staffed. (And the Men’s Campus have had their share of this as well.)

I am thankful that most of our women’s staff who tested positive are getting better, and some have already returned to work.

I am so thankful that we have been able to transport the remaining women guests to the overflow shelter where they will be cared for while giving our staff a much-needed break.

I am thankful that the number of positives at the Men’s Campus has been mercifully low.

I pray that our staff who are out on leave will recover to full health and be back at work as soon as possible.

I pray that those awaiting test results will get negatives.

I pray for our program participants and guests who are quarantined will be restored to good health.

I pray that we will be able to use these next two weeks to get back to full strength in every way.

I pray that we will all have grateful hearts, and that God will use us in a mighty way to testify to His glory and love.

I pray all this in Jesus name,

Amen

“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 The Message).

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The Bible is clear that God loves justice and He hates wrongdoing (Isaiah 61:8). Unfortunately, justice is not something that just happens. Because of our sinful natures, we naturally skew toward injustice and wrongdoing rather than justice and righteousness. At best, most of us just avoid making matters worse, or do we? It takes being proactive to bring about justice.

The concept of justice implies more than one party (and I’m not talking politics). Just as we can’t exercise justice in a vacuum, we can’t live in harmony with others without engaging and interacting with each other in healthy ways. (Like notes on a scale, without interaction and connection there is no harmony, just independent melodies.) If we are not engaging and interacting, then we are co-existing, but falling short of harmony.

The passage above advises us twice to speak up. That means to take action, to be bold, to advocate. I see that quality in heaps in our staff. That is the work of a Rescue Mission, and you do it so well.

This passage also tells us to judge fairly. Judging implies that we make decisions on behalf of others. We do this all the time, unconsciously as well as consciously. In all our dealings with others we are coming to conclusions about them that determine how and what we say and do. We are instructed to do this fairly. We must not jump to conclusions or be hasty in our decisions, although we should be aware when time is truly of the essence. To be fair, we must listen well, we must assume good intentions in the other person, and we must always make an effort to educate ourselves about the entire situation. To be fair, we must have all the facts possible about the individual and about the culture and environment.

I applaud the work that you do, and I want to encourage you to continue because God demands it. Our God is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy, and nowhere do these two traits merge more than in our interactions with the poor and needy. When Jesus returns and sits on this throne to separate the sheep (his followers) from the goats (those who are not followers), he places his sheep on the right, bound for heaven and the goats on the left, bound for hell). This passage in which Jesus is executing judgment indicates that the mercy we show toward others determines the mercy he will show toward us. (Read Matthew 25:31-46.)

We should not infer from this that it is our works of mercy and justice that will save us. The Scriptures are very clear that it is only by the grace of God that we are saved. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Works of mercy and justice will not save us, but through them we can glorify God, which should be the chief goal of every part of our lives. “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).

Can you just imagine how beautiful the harmonies are that are raised to God when we live in harmony with one another?

In Christ,

Judy

In our Bible study on the Women’s Campus, we have finished a study on Esther, and we are now studying the book of Ezra. What are some things these two books have in common?  For starters, they are people’s names, both start with “E”, they are both in the Old Testament. Also, both Esther and Ezra are Jewish, but both have been removed from their homeland and are living in exile, at least when the story begins. Exile is a theme used throughout the Old Testament. Adam and Eve, Cain, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, the children of Israel, Naomi and her family, Ruth, Esther, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel immediately come to mind. The books of Exodus, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel are based on the theme of exile and return, as are several of the prophetical books. Exile is not stated per se in the New Testament, but because the people of Palestine were living under foreign (Roman) rule, it could be said that they also lived in exile.

According to Webster, the definition of exile is a: the state or a period of forced absence from one’s country or home, or b: the state or a period of voluntary absence from one’s country or home. 

So, a key factor in determining a period of exile is determining where one’s true home is. And then, if we are not at home, we are in exile. If one temporarily relocates to another state or country, say for a job, it could be said that he or she is in exile. When we become believers in Christ, we become citizens of Heaven. However, we can’t actually go to Heaven until after our physical death, so it could be said that as believers and citizens of Heaven, we are living in exile from our true home until that time.  What are some do’s and don’ts of living in exile that we can learn from biblical examples?

1. Do submit to and obey our local rulers with respect. Joseph, Daniel, Esther all showed respect to their earthly rulers. “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer… “Pay to all what is owed to them; taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:4,7). “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” “1 Peter 2:13-14”.
2. Do what is good. Joseph, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel and were able to obtain positions of authority and respect and influence for good as a result.  Ruth found a godly husband.
3. Do educate ourselves, seek truth, and vote for candidates who we believe will make an effort to support truth. This is a very challenging mandate in these times. There are no perfect candidates, but here is what Billy Graham had to say on the subject: https://billygraham.org/answer/im-sick-of-politicians-and-political-campaigns-and-ive-decided-im-not-going-to-vote-this-year/. The bottom line is that we must educate ourselves on the issues and the candidates.
4. Do pray. When Daniel found himself in exile and needing God’s intervention, he prayed: “ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.” (Daniel 3-5).  Follow the “40 Days of Prayer” guidelines published in Workplace, and I believe God will give us the guidance we need.
5. Don’t give in to politics of anxiety and fear. “But our world does not end if the candidates for whom we vote do not win the day. Our Father in heaven is sovereign and wise and is in control. Our ultimate hope is not in any election. Our hope is in our Father in heaven.” (Dr. Keith A. Mathison, writing for Tabletalk Magazine, June, 2016.)

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

In Christ,

Judy

Sow righteousness for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
    for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

Hosea 10:12

The Chaplain’s Corner devotional last week on conditioning used a couple of analogies to describe the process of growing in discipleship, focusing on Bible study and prayer. The analogies were working out (exercise), and farming. Today I will take up the analogy of farming to add another discipline, that of confession and repentance.

Have you ever seen a plant try to grow in a parched piece of ground? Back in 2005 I went on a mission trip to Tecate, Mexico. Our group built a house for a family on a slab of rock. They had been living in a shanty made of corrugated metal and cardboard and cloth, and I recall that they had a single tomato plant that was struggling in the hot sun. It was limp, didn’t have any blooms, and I’m surprised it grew at all. They would water it from time to time, and some water got in through a crack, but most of it just ran off. It looked something like this:

Our hearts are in the same condition as this parched ground until we break them up, plow them into a condition that is receptive to instruction and God’s leadership. Our human reaction to teaching is often negative: resentment, bitterness, anger, argumentative, refusal. Who are “they” to tell me anything?  The life-giving water just runs off, wasted on us. The problem is that our resistance to the truth also makes us unable to absorb it. The truth is unrecognizable to us. We need it, but we can’t receive it, much like this poor plant in the picture.

The solution is as follows, with diligent, daily practice:

1. Pray to God to soften our hearts, to make us receptive to the Word of God so that when we hear it, it can work on us. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). When we pray, we also ask for wisdom and discernment so that we don’t get confused by teaching that might sound good but is in reality not biblical.  Otherwise, we might just find ourselves going in circles and not making any real progress. “Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together” (Deuteronomy 22:10).

• When we are receptive and God’s Word can begin working on us, we can then confess our sins. “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.” (Proverbs 28:13-14).  ^“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”1 John 1:9).

• And with confession add repentance, resolving to turn away from sin. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21).

When we dedicate ourselves to being obedient and walking in truth, then we can be confident that we are in line with the one true God. As Micah prophesied in Micah 2:12-13 to both Israel and Judah regarding God’s promise of deliverance, once we allow our hearts to be plowed, broken up and softened, He will lead us into the abundant life we have been destined for:

“I will surely gather all of you, Jacob;
    I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture;
    the place will throng with people.
The One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
    they will break through the gate and go out.
Their King will pass through before them,
    the Lord at their head.”

Let us resolve to seek life in Christ through diligent prayer, confession, and repentance, opening our hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

In Christ,

Judy

Note: Many of the scripture references and analogies have been shamelessly taken from Pastor Spencer Barnard’s sermon series on Farm Facts.

“I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

I’ve recently pondered the term “conditioning,” as in (per Webster) the process of training to become physically fit by a regimen of exercise, diet, and rest. One fitness center described sports conditioning as “an all-year round commitment for athletes that usually includes pre-season, in-season, post-season, and off-season. … Once the athlete is in the right fitness state, they can start doing advanced exercises to help improve performance in their specific sport.” Okay, that’s a bit intense and over my head, but I think I get the general concept.

The reason this term has interested me is because I believe it to be a key to strengthening my relationship with Jesus. I’m sure that is what Paul had in mind when he wrote the verse above as part of a letter to the Corinthians.

In the Parable of the Sower, Luke 8 (which we just studied in the Thursday Bible Study), Jesus explains that the key to understanding this teaching is that the seed is the Word of God, and the key to its effectiveness is the condition of the soil for the seed and the condition of our hearts for the Word of God.

I am a gardener, and I very regularly work in my garden, conditioning it to keep it as productive as possible.  I keep the soil worked up, fertilized, watered, and mulched so that it can produce strong roots and plants. I remove the weeds as they make their appearance so that they don’t steal precious nutrients from my vegetables and choke them out. I am on the lookout for critters – hornworms, squash beetles, birds, deer, and squirrels – that want to devour my plants and vegetables. As a gardener, I love Jesus’ use of agricultural metaphors to explain his biblical principles. I can really relate. I know that if I don’t constantly work on my garden, and my heart, it will quickly revert to its natural state. It might look okay, but it will not be productive.

The same concept is true of physical fitness. I ran a marathon twenty years ago. I had been a runner, but it was a big jump to go from 3 miles a day to 26.2 miles. In fact, it took me nine months in a consistent conditioning regimen including running and cross-training to prepare. I was faithful to my training plan, and I met my marathon goals. However, I haven’t run much since, and I imagine it would take more work and time to prepare again than before because I haven’t kept up. Conditioning implies a concerted effort to gain strength, stamina, and/or knowledge. One of my sons played football. A commentator attributed their team’s success (they won the state championship for his high school division) to their conditioning and strength training. My son lifted weights, but he didn’t start with the heaviest weight; he had to build up to it. We can’t do it all at once, or even on a schedule that is convenient to our own whims. We can’t pick and choose activities because we like them more than others; we must choose activities that are designed to help us grow in our intended areas.

We know it takes appropriate and consistent conditioning to stay in shape and to improve our performance. We know it takes constant awareness to keep enemies at bay, whether it be crows or the opposing football team.  Our spiritual health is no different. We need to commit to a plan that is designed to help us meet our objectives of a deeper relationship with Christ. Here are some conditioning tips:

1. Start with the basics: reading and meditating on the Scriptures and prayer. David said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Paul included the Bible as part of our offensive and defensive strategy when describing the armor of God: “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). We must read and medicate on the Scriptures. Jesus prayed regularly.  ^“Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.“ (Mark 1:35). “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18). There are additional spiritual disciplines; however, the Bible and prayer are foundational. Let’s start here.
2. Set aside a place and time to devote to your spiritual exercises. I have dedicated garden space. I have a gym membership and a schedule for doing workouts. And I have a space at home that I use for my Bible study and prayer time. It’s easier for me to get my mind and body prepared when I am in my space and on my schedule. I try not to be “religious” about it, but I do try to be faithful. I find that my phone is my biggest enemy, so I try to leave it in another room.
3. Start small and manageable. If you are planting a garden, start small and increase your space a little every year. Likewise, start at your current fitness level and gradually increase your time, distance, and weight. If you try to read your Bible and pray for an hour a day, you may get discouraged and off track. Start with five minutes and add five minutes every couple of weeks. As you are increasing your “stamina” you are also solidifying a habit. People who work out and run regularly can really feel it if they miss a day. It’s the same with prayer and Bible reading.
4. Look for ways to engage others and share the harvest. The Parable of the Sower leads into the Section called A Lamp On A Stand which is the passage in the Bible that tells us not to hide our lamp under the bed. This passage tells us to consider how we listen; that if we share what we hear, our spiritual blessings will increase, but if we keep it to ourselves, our spiritual blessings will decrease. “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”
5. Lastly, be obedient to what you learn from your prayer and Bible study. For anything to be long-lasting, we must be changed, transformed. When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were waiting for him, “He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Luke 8:21). When Jesus raised people from the dead, they got up and walked.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

In Christ,

Judy