“Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them. Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the Lord had commanded through Moses” (Joshua 14:1-2).

What follows this passage and continuing through chapter 21 is some of the most boring Scripture in the Bible. It is a detailed land survey. Check it out. Trust me, you will only need to read a few verses to get the drift, if you can stay awake. That is, unless this is your inheritance! If you were being given land as had been promised to you by covenant or will or testament, you would be intensely interested in the details. And you would appreciate the care and deliberateness and intentionality taken by the giver in his description. Right? If you have ever purchased property, you probably walked the boundary line and wanted to be sure where yours ended and your neighbors started, if only so that you would be cutting your own grass, etc.

But, when you read this passage from the standpoint of the Israelites who have been enslaved for 430 years, then wandering for another forty in the wilderness, you realize how joyous they must be to be able to say, “This is mine!” How thankful you would be to realize that God has kept the promise He made to Abraham and to Moses about bringing His people into their Promised Land. This is not just property; it is their inheritance. “So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:43-45).

Eight chapters. Doesn’t that seem like a lot to devote to this one period? There is a reason for every passage in the Bible. This tangible evidence of God keeping his promises in very personal detail is extremely important. It sets the stage for an even greater fulfillment.

Jeremiah prophesies “’The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’^’ declares the Lord. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

It may be more challenging to accept this inheritance because it seems to be more intangible than land. But make no mistake, when God promises us eternity in the New Heaven and New Earth, this is even better and more tangible than the land. We should be even more delighted to receive this promise, and even more willing to believe God’s promise.

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15).

In Christ,

Judy

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2).

This scripture indicates an intention—to set. It also indicates a direction—above, not earthly. And this intentional direction is a mindset. I like this quote from RightNow Media: “A mindset is a specific way of thinking that is set before we act, which can directly impact the outcome of our actions. Stay intentional by aligning your mindset and actions in your day-to-day.”

Many seek the “spiritual” aspect of faith, desiring a spiritual “high,” and think that they are missing out when they do not “feel” the spirit. I used to be that way. I loved music that would really put me in the “spirit.” But what is that really? I am not trying to discredit it, but I want to put it into its proper place, because walking with Jesus is more about The Pilgrim’s Progress than flying above the clouds. Hear me well, that does not mean that we should live a life absent the Holy Spirit. In fact, quite the opposite—we cannot live a Christian life without the Holy Spirit.

We cannot live a life without being grounded daily in the Holy Spirit. So, when you are struggling to care, to love, to be other-focused, to be joyful, then know that you are where you should be. It is just a perspective that is off. Yes, the struggle is real, and that is how you know that you are in the spiritual battle and that you need the Holy Spirit to survive, thrive, and succeed. It is really a matter of perspective.

Daniel is a good example. Daniel was of the Jewish nobility, deported as a teenager to Babylon, which was a pagan empire ruled by a ruthless king, Nebuchadnezzar. But Daniel was taken to the king’s court and offered all kinds of royal resources with the intention of converting him to the King’s service. Daniel would have it made. He could have easily allowed himself to assimilate into the Babylonian culture, to go with the flow. But Daniel did not. He resolved, or “set his mind.” How was he able to take this stand, to defy the easy way out?

1. Inclination/Desire: We first must have an inclination or desire in our heart to do the right thing. I give some credit to Daniel’s upbringing, because he could not have been prepared for the temptations of court life unless he had been brought up in a Godly home. I believe his parents must have been faithful to the Law. “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Those of us who grew up in Christian families are the most privileged. Those of you who raise your own families in a Christian household are to be praised. But if you did not have that benefit, and even if you did, all of us can cultivate Godly desire by staying in the Word—reading our Bible, sitting under good preaching, and praying to God to strengthen this Godly desire of our heart.
2. Intention, resolve. “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself…” (Daniel 1:8). Paul said, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). These men were intentional. They woke up knowing what their objectives were. They went to bed knowing what their objectives were for the next day, week, month, lifetime.
3. Knowledge/Direction. It is important to have a godly desire and to be intentional, but we must be heading in the right direction. Steven Covey says, “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.” How do we ensure we are heading in the right direction? James gives us the source of all wisdom: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).
4. Step by step. How do we move forward once we have the desire, intention, and direction? Step by step. I just watched the Summer Olympics. Gymnastics is so dramatic; swimming or running lap after lap—not so dramatic. But equally important. How can you get more power and speed per stroke or stride? After observing Katie Ledecky in the Olympics, I read where it is not unusual for competitive swimmers to swim fifty miles a week. That computes to an average of 115 laps per day! Even when too tired to practice, too sore to compete, too discouraged to keep on, they keep on swimming.
5. Courage. Assuming we have developed godly convictions through the steps above, when troubles come our way, we must stand firm. We have the same power in us that raised Jesus from the dead. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” {Romans 8:11). The root word of courage is heart. So, when Jesus tells us to take heart, he is telling us to be courageous. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! (Be courageous!) I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend; the difficulty will not me offend. For I perceive the way to life lies here. Come, pluck up, heart; let’s neither faint nor fear. Better, though difficult, the right way to go, than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.” (The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan)

In Christ,

Judy

^“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:7).

I sincerely hope you will read this devotional in the context of the preceding four devotionals on temptations, trials, and testing. It makes sense regardless, but the message is so much more powerful in context.

The Greek word for stumbling block is “skándalon” which literally means the trigger of a trap or a means of causing one to stumble.

As believers, we never want to be the cause of someone else’s sin or falling away. I mostly teach adults now, but way back I taught children and young teens. I was very diligent as a teacher of these youngsters, taking to heart the following admonition: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

The little ones referred to in the above verse are not necessarily young in years; it really refers to baby Christians. As staff at Nashville Rescue Mission, immature Christians surround us; and we should understand the great responsibility we have as believers to model, mentor, and teach those we also serve.

But even when living in relationship with more mature Christians, we must be discerning about our conversation. Even when we mean well, we may very well be offering comfort when we should be challenging, challenging when we should be offering comfort, or advising something that sounds scriptural when it is not. In fact, Jesus used this word “stumbling block” when speaking to Peter because Peter objected to the suffering that Jesus told his disciples that he would soon experience. “Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23).

Obviously, Peter meant well; but what he was saying was not biblical. A good example is what we like to say to someone who is going through a crisis: “God will never give you more than you can manage.” The problem is that this is obviously not true because we’ve all experienced overwhelming burdens. God never promised us that the Christian life would be free of suffering; in fact, He promised quite the opposite. The more accurate word of comfort is that “God will never give you more than He can manage.” And that subtle but meaningful change forces the believer to call on the Holy Spirit and to abide in Him, which is right where we all need to be. We must take extreme pains to avoid being a stumbling block or to stumbling ourselves. It is human nature to hear what we want to hear and say what we think others want to hear. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” as Paul warned us in 2 Timothy 4:3.

If you take this seriously, you will be concerned, perhaps even terrified, as I am about getting it wrong. However, we can be comforted by these verses:

• “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (1 John 13:34-35).
• “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

God knows our hearts. We must make every effort to study God’s Word and pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, as well as to obey the two great commandments to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and then to love your neighbor as yourself. Then we can “know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

“Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble:” (1 John 2:10).

Judy

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat” (Luke 22:31).

We can draw some conclusions from our past three devotionals about temptations, trials, and testing.

About temptation: Temptation is inevitable. It is not a sin to be tempted. From the time that man believed Satan’s first lie, sin entered the world. Satan became ruler of this world and is at war with God and man, using temptation as his weapon. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

But we have hope. Take to heart these words of Jesus: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John16:33).

Although it is not a sin to be tempted, it is a sin when we succumb to temptation. The Good News is that we have the promise of forgiveness for our sins when we confess. Jesus has already paid the penalty for our sin with his life; he has redeemed us from the grave. He is our Savior! Jude gives us this benediction (one of my favorite passages): “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25).

We can think about testing and trials a little differently. The simplest way is to think about the learning process, which includes absorbing the instruction, practicing or studying, and then having to pass a proficiency test. Some tests are designed to determine what you still need to learn; others may be to communicate an overall proficiency for the test group. Either way, testing is part of the learning process. We can see that it is an overall part of our discipleship process, the process of growing in sanctification, which occurs from the time of initial salvation until our final glorification.

Consider Peter. Can you imagine what Peter must have thought when Jesus told him: “’Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ But he replied, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.’” (Luke 22:31-24).

Jesus could have prevented Satan from this sifting. Instead, Jesus warned Peter about it and then promised that he would pray for him and restore him to a position of leadership. In other words, there was a divine purpose in allowing Peter to undergo this test. We know that Peter initially failed the test, because when put on the spot during Jesus’ trial, Peter lied about even knowing Jesus. However, Peter repented, and Jesus did restore him. Because of this testing, failure, repentance, and restoration, Peter was more fully equipped to become the man of God, Apostle of Jesus Christ, and leader of the Church.

As we see in the opening passage, Peter was not singled out. Satan has asked to sift all of us. He is after us. When God allows us to be sifted, he is using the sifting, which could take the form of temptation, as part of his divine plan to equip us for His divine purposes. When we view our lives in expectation of sifting, then we are more likely to see adversity as part of God’s plan rather than just feeling like we are being dumped on. When we see our life as a test, then we are ready to use these trials as opportunities to continually prepare ourselves, and to meet these tests and trials as challenges to be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4).

Judy

Chaplain’s Corner – Temptation vs. Testing

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…” (James 1:13).

The objective of temptation is to lead us to break God’s commandments, and therefore, to sin. Temptation can come from Satan (Ephesians 6:11, James 4:7), it can come from our own human nature (Romans 7:18, Galatians 5:19-21, James 1:14-15), and it can come from the world (2 Peter 1:4, Galatians 1:4, 1 John 2:15). While God uses trials and testing to help us to grow, temptation is quite different. God will never tempt us; he will never try to cause us to sin (James 1:13).

In all cases, the primary tool used by Satan in temptation is deception. For example, while in the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve into a misunderstanding of God’s character and intention (“You will not certainly die.”) Satan deceived Eve, then she deceived Adam. We also say Adam should have known better, but he allowed himself to be deceived, either forgetting or choosing not to remember God’s instructions. It would seem like a small thing, but allowing deception is never a small thing. It is the first step into a potential fatal downhill slide.

King David gave into temptation when he seduced Bathsheba and then had her husband killed. This was not a test or trial; God would have not condoned either action. David had given in to the deception that as King he was above God’s law when it came to adultery and murder. When he was confronted by Nathan, he realized what he had done, and he admitted: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 20:13). Again, in Psalm 51:4, he cries out “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” It is worth noting that although David had to suffer the consequences of his sin, God forgave him and did not take away his throne.

Jesus is our best example of how to overcome temptation. Just as the objective of temptation is to deceive us into breaking God’s commandments; overcoming temptation is possible when we know and obey God’s Word. Just like we discussed in last week’s devotion, the Scriptures are our lens, or filter, for determining right and wrong. We must know the Scriptures. Then we will see deception for what it is. Not only that, with God’s Word comes the power to overcome, the way out of temptation. We can say, with Jesus: “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:10; Deuteronomy 6:13).

The Apostle Paul himself had committed acts of violence including murder against Christians before his conversion. He knew the Scriptures as well as anyone, but he had allowed Satan to distort the message and to use him for his own evil purposes to stop the progress of Christianity. But God is more powerful than our sin. He rescued Saul (a/k/a Paul), and Paul, through the power of the Holy Spirit, began his ministry to spread the gospel to Gentiles throughout the known world. Paul acknowledged his struggles with sin, and he endured temptations, trials, and testing throughout his ministry. He encouraged us with his example, and his teaching, as in the following verses of which his life was his testimony.

We are all tempted. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But praise God our story does not have to stop there. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

We will be tempted. We should learn to expect it; anticipate it. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). These barbs, slings and arrows are the tools of Satan.

We will be tempted, and we should learn to prepare for it. We prepare by absorbing the Word of God. And when we fail, which as humans we certainly will do, then we confess our sins. “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).

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). God is so good!!!

Judy

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6).

I will be honest: if you come to me with a crisis you are going through, the verse above is not what will come out of my mouth in an effort to provide comfort (although it should be, because it is biblical). In this passage, Peter is not explaining the reason behind the trials, nor is he giving them advice about how to escape. Instead, he is helping them to be ready for the inevitable. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being soberminded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).

Let us go back to the Exodus. As Israel celebrated on the far shore of the Red Sea after their miraculous crossing, it seemed that everything was going their way. Yet no more than three days in, they found themselves with no drinking water, and it got worse from there. The frustrating thing is that they knew that their God, who had miraculously rescued them from the Egyptians, could have made their entire journey a smooth ride. “Why would the Lord do this to us?” they grumbled (Ex. 15:24). We can hardly criticize them because we ask the same question.

The better question to ask when trials, tests, and temptations come our way is: “Lord, what do you want me to learn from this?”  The Israelites learned about their lack of faith in God and their bent toward grumbling rather than gratitude. Testing trains us to see and be grateful for the Lord’s provision without taking Him for granted. It is one thing to say we are trusting God for our daily bread; it is quite another to testify that he provided all our needs while we wandered in the wilderness*.

In the next few devotionals, we will discuss more examples of trials, temptations, and testing found in the Scriptures and how we can learn to be more dependent on God and the power of His strength.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Judy

*from “Israel’s Testing in the Wilderness,” TABLETALK Magazine, August 2023.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

I have struggled recently with a new pair of glasses. They are too big and keep slipping down my nose, which means that the invisible transition in the lens from far to near vision has shifted from where I need it to be. My vision, especially reading, is blurry from being out of focus.

We can also be out of focus in other areas, but as in the case of vision, the blurriness is still a faulty lens. A literary example is the idea of seeing through rose-colored glasses as optimism, but the primary objective is not to falsify what we see, and rather to ensure that our lens is true and clear so that we are seeing with truth and clarity. How do we do that?

In John 17:17, Jesus says “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  We should study the Bible to understand the truth, and the truth in the Bible will then be the lens through which we discern what is true. The Bible informs us about basic doctrines, such as who God is, what sin is, what it means to be redeemed, and who we are in Christ. These are all areas for potential blurriness and confusion—for being out of focus.

Here are some examples:

Who God is. Believers often refer to God as our Heavenly Father. After all, that is what Jesus called Him. However, not all of us had a good earthly father, and the earthly example we know becomes our lens for knowing our Heavenly Father.

How do we remedy that? We read about our Heavenly Father in the Bible to get a more accurate lens. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). And love is defined for us in 1 Corinthians 13.

What sin is. In our culture, sin is relativized. We compare ourselves to others; and certainly, we are not that bad, right? Some people think you can balance out the sin with the good that we do. So, what is the problem? A faulty lens!

When we read the Bible, we understand through a biblical lens that sin is any transgression, any missing of the mark of perfect obedience. And we learn that God cannot abide sin. Now that’s not good news, but it is what we desperately need to understand. In the Old Testament, we read “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah 64:6). And in the Old Testament, Paul confirms that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

What it means to be redeemed. There are so many misunderstandings about death, so many blurry lenses. Some believe there is no afterlife. Some believe that everyone is going to heaven unless they commit some atrocity. Some just do not have a sense of urgency because we think we always have time to get serious about our eventual destiny.

However, the Bible is very clear about the afterlife, particularly what happens to those who do not choose to believe in Jesus before their death; the urgency of being ready. Reading the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus gives us an idea of the reality and the misery of Hell, the physical torment and the psychological torment of being unable to approach God.  A full understanding of Hell should drive us all to seek salvation from it for ourselves and everyone we know. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Who we are in Christ. A faulty lens leads us to think we can be content once we have achieved our life goals, when we have the material things we desire, when we get to do all the things we enjoy. While these things are not bad, they are not the ultimate.

A biblical lens informs us that when we are in God’s will, we become a member of His family, brothers and sisters in Christ. We then have the joy of knowing our true identity, the joy and security of knowing that although earthly things can rust and deteriorate, the Kingdom of God lasts forever. We can rest in this knowledge both now and for all eternity. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Check your focus; get a new lens. Let us stop peering through distorted lenses and instead seek the truth through God’s Word. Meet Him face to face.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Judy

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely” (Psalm 119:1-4).

God knows each and every one of us intimately. He knows our thoughts, our deeds, every word we speak. The word for this is “omniscience,” which means all-knowing. Yes, he knows all the scientific facts, all the information in every encyclopedia, the truth behind every mystery. But He also knows all the mundane information about our daily lives, as well. That should be comforting for us, because there is no need to try to hide from Him. And because even though he knows everything about me, it does not and will never change anything. That is because He has saved me; I am His because of who He is and what He has done, not because of anything I have done or have failed to do. And the same goes for all believers.

One thing we should delight in is that even if no one else notices, God sees our every victory. When you battle with temptation of any kind and win, God sees it, and He smiles. When you bite your tongue or curb your attitude, God sees your struggle and victory and he rejoices. When you overcome your fears to reach out to someone with the gospel or any encouragement, God smiles on you. When you reach out to anyone with love and compassion, he receives it as if were for Himself. Of course, he also sees the missed opportunities, but when we belong to him, He does not condemn us for them (even though we may be beating ourselves up). He is still loving, encouraging, and understanding. In fact, if you can even imagine it, God is singing over us as he rejoices in all our daily victories, no matter how seemingly insignificant. There is no other God like our God. God loves you; he delights in you. He sings over you.

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

In Christ,

Judy

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” (Hebrews 12:1).

My pastor preached on this passage this past Sunday. In this passage, the author has just finished extolling the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 (the Hall of Fame of Faith). He goes on to say, “therefore,” which looks back at chapter 11, and then offers the rationale “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses” with the thought being that all those who have gone before are in heaven cheering us on and encouraging us. He follows with the directive that we should throw off everything that hinders us in the race that has been marked out for us.

My older son hiked the Appalachian Trail many years ago. He started out with all the gear that he thought he would need, but it did not take long until he followed the lead of those who had gone before on this trail and began to shuck anything he didn’t absolutely need to lighten his load to be sure he could finish. As he evaluated his walk every day, he determined what was unnecessarily weighing him down, and he ditched it..

This is a good analogy. Paul used the analogy of a race. My son completed a long trek. Both are significant endeavors that require intention, planning, fitness, and continuous assessment and adjustment to be able to finish well.

I have realized that I tend to go on “autopilot” and do not even realize when some of my habits and activities get in my way, even those that anyone would consider to be good things. By examination we can determine if those things are the best ways to live our lives both for ourselves and for those who are watching us. For example, I like to play all the various word games on my phone. I rationalize that they are good for brain health. However, when they become an obsession that takes time away from other better things, then I need to stop and reassess.

Using the passage from Hebrews 12:1, my pastor called our congregation to a 21-day period of fasting and prayer. Fasting can be a temporary cessation of anything, not just food. Prayer with fasting then enables us to examine and understand what God’s better plan is for us and to exercise the fruit of the spirit of self-control in the healthiest way. As a disciple of Christ, while not running a footrace or attempting a trek, I am on the move. I am headed to my destination, and as I travel, I want to keep my eyes fixed on the prize and shed anything that hinders my ability to finish well. “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

 “…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

In Christ,

Judy

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

This devotion will unpack the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand, as told in all four gospels; we learn these facts and teachings that we can apply to our situation at Nashville Rescue Mission.

1. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34).

We are experiencing larger than average numbers of guests, especially among our women and children. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when Jesus sees our guests, he is filled with compassion for them for the same reasons—they are like sheep without a shepherd. Let us pray to have the mind of Christ, so that we will experience this same compassion.

• “Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat” (Mark 6:26).

The disciples observed the large crowd, and knowing their own financial situation, especially being in a remote area, decided on a very logical course of action. The people were hungry and needed to go somewhere else for food. We may feel the same way—seeing that our capacity is finite, and our numbers are exceeding all expectations, it seems logical to tell our guests that they should go somewhere else to find a place to stay.

• “But he answered, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37).

In this case, Jesus disagreed with his disciples about sending the people away. Jesus knew that he was the source, not only of earthly food, but also spiritual food. That is the danger of sending anyone away from a place of spiritual refuge when they are hungry, needy, and unprepared.

• “… he gave thanks and broke the loaves.” (Mark 6:41b).

After making an inventory of available resources and finding only the lunch packed by one young boy, Jesus gave thanks. He then distributed the food among the people. He gave thanks. He did not bemoan their lack of foresight, lack of generosity, or lack of anything. He simply gave thanks. We are to do likewise. The scriptures speak often about giving thanks. We are not to be anxious about anything but instead give thanks. We are to give thanks in all situations. Giving thanks should be the continuous word on our lips.

• “Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.” (Mark 6:41b).

God used the meager gift from the boy, which of course was not meager to the boy. It was his entire lunch, yet he gave it willingly. And Jesus used the disciples in the distribution. What an honor! God does not need our gifts. He does not need our hands and feet. But we need to be used by Him. Let us be thankful that God has called us to this place of ministry to be his hands and feet.

• “They all ate and were satisfied…” (Mark 6:42).

Not only was everyone satisfied, but there were also leftovers! With God all things are possible! We know this, so let us live it out. Let us be thankful for the facilities that we have, the staff that we have, the generosity that is exhibited by staff, donors, and volunteers. Let praises always be on our lips, even as we lift our petitions and supplications. Let us be faithful to our calling, and faithful to our own growth in sanctification. Jesus will bless our faithfulness.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

In Christ,

Judy