SPIRITUAL MATURITY -- Devotional for December 6, from "Good Seeds"

You who are spiritual, restore…. (Galatians 6:1)

Solomon wrote, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). This definition of a “woman of worth” applies directly to anyone who would call himself spiritual. Spiritual people are not ones who LOOK good but rather who ARE good, deep inside, and who DO good on the outside, for the good of others and the glory of God. The Bible tells us that when sin needs to be dealt with, when wrong needs to be made right, when weak souls need to be strengthened, when relationships need to be mended – when the body of Christ needs to be built up in any way – only spiritual people can be depended upon to do the job. What are the characteristics of a man or woman whom God would recognize as truly spiritual? These three would be paramount in God’s list of qualifications:
#1 – TRUE OBEDIENCE. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). It’s no good being a worshiper of Jesus if we are unwilling to be a worker for Jesus. In Luke 10:38-42 these two emphases are personified in Mary and Martha. In this case Mary was obedient in her worship and Martha disobedient in her service, but it could just as easily be the other way around. “Lord, Lord” are the words of prayer and worship, but Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord’ and yet do not do what I say” (Luke 6:46). A man approached Jesus one day and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go, but let me first go bury my father” (Matthew 8:19,21). True obedience makes no room for this “me first” approach to discipleship. True obedience leads us from mere good intentions to…
#2 – GENUINE SERVICE. Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s workmanship, created for good works which God planned from the very beginning for us to do.” Don’t ask a man to do a special job for God who is not already about his Father’s business in the everyday affairs of his life. James says, “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only – for faith without works is dead”(James 1:22;2:26). Don’t ask a man to heal or mend or build in the kingdom of God who is strong in knowledge but weak in follow through. Again James is right on the money: “It is sin to know the right thing to do, and yet not do it” (James 4:17). We dare not ask such an unspiritual man as this to deal with spiritual matters.
#3 – VITAL REPRODUCTION. Christ’s last command must be our first concern: “Go make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). True spirituality is easily measured: by an obedience to Christ that shows itself in the way we put Him first, serve Him, and reproduce His life in others.

THE TRAGEDY OF AN ABORTED LIFE -- Devotional for December 5, from "Good Seeds"

“Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance, and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139:18)

What is the tragedy of abortion? Just this: a human soul is dispatched straight to eternal life without the benefit of an earthly life. In Psalm 139:13-16 we read of God not only creating but communing with the tiny human being, following conception but preceding birth. His ultrasound vision sees our miniature grasping fingers and beating heart, but more than that, His MRI eyes take pictures of the slices of our lives yet to be lived. Scientists call it a fetus, but God knows – and in their heart of hearts men know, too – that this is not just a living organism, but a complete human being. A developing baby lives in its mama’s womb until it is ready to enter the world of earth and air. But when death occurs before the capacity for decision-making has developed (either before or after birth), a human being goes to heaven’s paradise (see II Samuel 12:23). “Well, what’s so bad about that?” you ask. “Such a one is the lucky one, skipping this ugly world and going straight to the perfect world, that beautiful life with God in heaven!” But it IS bad – it spells loss on two levels: 1) Personal loss – Human life is defined as an eternal soul residing in a corporal body: spirit plus body. And our life is not complete, not fulfilled, when these two parts are separated. Indeed the very definition of death is “separation of the soul from the body.” We instinctively know that we’re “not good if detached!” The Bible also indicates that it is God’s plan for us to dwell on earth, for a time, and afterwards in heaven, for eternity, where our temporary body is replaced with a permanent one. So when unborn children are dispatched to the bosom of the Father, skipping life lived out in a corporal body, they miss the life God intended for them to live in the temporal kingdom. It’s a tough life, starting with struggle, but He is not willing that any should perish: He desires salvation for all. But not only does the individual lose out on this significant part of the purpose for which they were created. So does the world around him. Yes abortion is also 2) Humanity’s loss, Every individual created by God has a contribution to make to the family and community he was born into. Although the believing thief on the cross next to Jesus was promised a life in Paradise in exchange for his faith, there was no opportunity for him to live out that faith on earth. It is clearly evident that to die young, even as young as when still in the womb, is a tragedy. Not so obvious is another scenario: to be dead even while alive (spiritually dead in sin, see Ephesians 2:1), or, like the thief, to not come to life until life has come to an end.

THE CASE FOR PRAYER -- Devotional for December 4, from "Good Seeds"

We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work. (Colossians 1:9-10)

In making a case for prayer here are some principles to consider:
#1 Prayer is thanking God for things we know originated with Him.
#2 Prayer is asking God for things no man can provide.
#3 Prayer is telling God things that are for His ears only.
Jesus gave His followers a pattern for prayer in what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” A better name for it would be “The Disciple’s Prayer.” Not that Jesus never prayed for the things in that prayer, but His prayers went far deeper, and the disciple who would follow His Master to the extreme will model his prayer life after those prayers as well. Today’s Scripture records another pattern for prayer we would do well to follow: The Apostle’s Prayer. We ask our Christian brothers to pray for us all the time, but how often do we ask for the things enumerated in Paul’s prayer for his friends at Colossae. I’m sure if he had asked, “How can I pray for you?” he would have received a laundry list of their aches and pains and disappointments, the very things that dominate our prayer times today. So maybe Paul didn’t ask. Maybe he prayed for other things, things they needed more than comfort and healing and provision of perceived needs – things that if benevolently provided by God according to the apostle’s requests, would have more than made up for the people not having their own way with God. Next time you ask for prayer, ask for the Four W’s: The knowledge of God’s WILL; spiritual WISDOM; a worthy WALK; and fruitful WORK. And next time someone asks you to pray for them, go ahead and intercede for the thing they requested, but then, keep going. And if they’re within earshot of your prayer, they will be blessed to know that God is interested in them, and will care for them, way past the body, deep into the soul; way past obvious hurts and expected cures, deep into surprising serendipitous solutions; and way beyond the painful past, out into a glorious future! When we ask God for the Four W’s for our friends, and we hear them praying them for us, we stop treating God like a divine genie, and learn to know Him as the all powerful creator of the universe who can take care of us without losing track of the rest of the world or hurting humanity. When we learn to pray in this deeper way, we begin to recognize God for who He really is, and a fourth principle of prayer begins to dominate our prayer life:
#4 Prayer is the heart of man reaching out to the heart of God.

ALMOST PERSUADED -- Devotional for December 3, from "Good Seeds"

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Almost you have persuaded me to become a Christian.” (Acts 26:28)

I read this quote by Shane Claiborne in my sister’s blog:

To all my non-believing, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians, Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

What Sue said next was just what I was thinking – maybe you, too…

I would hate that to be said of me: that my life was an obstacle to God. The more I think about me, however, the more I realize this can be the case. God doesn't want us over-meditating (or over-medicating!) on our shortcomings. We have them, He knows it – He died for them. Rather, we need to ask Him to fill our gaze with Himself and the cross. Christmas leads to the cross. The season is upon us. May others find Him through our lives and eyes upturned to Him alone. Oswald Chambers wrote, "I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives." Always going back to this "relationship with God" thing. I love that. Not rules, not rituals. We are loved, and drawn to God, by His cross. I need to get my focus right…and let Him take care of the ones who are ready to come into relationship with Him….(from the blog of Sue Donaldson)

To all this I would add...

Ghandi was heard to say that he had no problem with Christ – it was just Christians he couldn’t abide! But along with meditating on our shortcomings – and doing something about them – maybe we need to consider what else it might take to win those still lost ones to Jesus. When the apostle Paul heard these wistful words from King Agrippa, “Almost you have persuaded me to become a Christian,” was he driven to dark introspection to discern the flaw in his character or the inconsistency in his testimony that surely had blocked the way to the king’s conversion to Christ? There’s no mention of that in the record. Yes, we must clean up our act, but how quickly sincere spiritual self-medication turns into subtle self-absorption, and before long it’s all about us, when it should be all about the one who needs us, and THE ONE still willing to use us. What did Paul do when he heard Agrippa’s words? I think I know – and it’s what we should do: He grieved for a moment, but then he got down on his knees to pray for that crusty old soul. Blaming ourselves never got anyone into God’s kingdom; forgiving ourselves doesn’t do the trick either. Forgetting ourselves and concentrating on our Savior is the better way. Do you know anyone at the “almost stage”? Don’t give up on him. Rather just give him – and yourself – up to God!

THE LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS -- Devotional for December 2, from "Good Seeds"

“The people that walked in darkness saw a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).

The lights are coming on all around us. Right after Thanksgiving houses and yards, as well as city streets and businesses, start bursting with the colorful lights of Christmas. Nighttime is never so beautiful as at Christmas time. Our Christmas Eve family tradition is a common one: we get in the car and head for the neighborhoods reputed to have the brightest and prettiest (gaudiest!) lights and decorations. Happily for us, there are plenty of homeowners out there who are glad enough to accommodate us, and feed our need for lack of speed, so we can get a full view and go, “Ooh, Ahh!” Sometimes we say, “Oh look, there’s one that shows the real meaning of Christmas!” Yes, there are still lots of folks, whether Christians or no, we do not know, who are willing enough to put out bright and beautiful versions of that first Christmas scene, of the holy family surrounded by shepherds and animals and Wise Men (which surely wasn't so bright, but dirty, dismal, and dark, even if brightened a bit by the miracle star overhead). Still, as we meander through the neighborhoods we are accosted by the more dominant Santa Claus -– and commercialized -- versions of Christmas. But the common denominator of it all is light, lots of bright, colorful, “huge-electric-bill-but-who-cares-it’s-Christmas” light! Long ago Isaiah prophesied of another light, one not measured in earthly lumens but in heavenly glory – not manifesting in candlepower but in Holy Spirit power. The prophecy spoke of people whose inner darkness had been untouched by the SUN in the sky, who would someday be enlightened within by the SON from on high! And how can we who have experienced the light of Jesus deep in our hearts be satisfied with any of these lesser outward illuminations, for His salvation lights our way throughout our earthly walk, all the way to heaven. Jesus is the light of the world -- but most people still walk in darkness. Let’s go back two thousand years: Jesus had come and gone. The Scrooge of the day was a religious unbeliever named Saul of Tarsus. He followed a dark path in his persecution of Christians. But on his trek through the Damascus neighborhood he came across a Christmas light so bright it blinded him – but saved him, too! Hear the account, in his own words: “And it happened that as I made my journey, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light” (Acts 22:6). Still today there are those who though surrounded by bright holiday lights have only darkness in their souls. They, too, have yet to experience the true light of Christmas. What better time of year to introduce a friend to Jesus, the light of the World!

THE ITALIAN WITCH! -- Devotional for December 1, from "Good Seeds"

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. (Ruth 1:14)

A friend of mine told me of his daughter’s mother-in-law, whom she calls an “Italian Witch.” How sad when in-laws become outlaws, especially when this can be one of the most precious of all human relationships. When my wife and I married, we adopted each other’s mothers as our own, and immediately called them “Mom.” Although this caused a little confusion when both women were in the room at the same time, at least it did not cause any consternation, for both mothers received equal billing. The mother that raised us is obviously the one we’re closest to, but to honor our mother-in-law is a corollary to the law of marriage given in Genesis 2:24: “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife.” Of course we never stop loving and honoring our parents, but a marriage where Mom remains the number one lady in a man’s life is doomed to destruction! But a husband that pours out love upon his mother-in-law demonstrates to both his own mother and his wife that he is truly leaving and cleaving, and an example is set for his wife, who will without doubt follow suit. In the case of Old Testament Ruth, both her husband and father-in-law had died. The same was the case with her sister-in-law, Orpah. Their mother-in-law, also destitute of all her men, was sure she would soon be totally alone, as these girls were young and pretty and surely would go back to their own country and religion, find a nice young man and start a new life. We think of a kiss as a gesture of deep endearment, but in this case the clinging of Ruth was the greater expression of love. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” In this case, shallow was the kiss of a daughter-in-law. It’s possible to cling to your blood mother too much (and some, like the “Italian Witch,” cling to their sons too much), but rare is the case where a mother-in-law is cared for and clung to too much. For Ruth it was more than a social error to leave her own kind, the Moabites, and stick to this foreign culture she’d married into, the Jews. But she had already seen the difference. Even in her deep depression, Naomi came through as a true daughter of heaven, and Ruth wanted in on that: “Where you go I will go,” she told her. “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). It’s one thing for a mother-in-law to re-attach herself to her children, quite another for a daughter-in-law to cling to her adopted mom. And by the way, when a man looking for real love sees this kind of TLC in a woman, he will recognize it for what it is. For Ruth, loving Naomi was a win-win all the way around: No Italian witch for her, but a Israeli saint – and a rich Jewish hunk of a husband thrown in for good measure!

YOU ARE THERE! -- Devotional for November 30, from "Good Seeds"

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up (I Corinthians 14:26). And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30).

I remember a T.V. program I used to watch as a kid (back in the early days of television) that began with Walter Cronkite saying something like this: “The events you are about to see are all true: the places, the people – it all happened just as you witness them now, except…YOU ARE THERE!” What an interesting way to learn about the Landing of the Hindenburg, the Salem Witchcraft Trials, the Gettysburg Address, or the Fall of Troy. History can be either the most boring, or the most fascinating and rewarding subject to study, depending on how it is presented. The challenge to every history teacher – and this would include every Bible teacher – is to portray the people and events of former times in ways that put us right there with them. The French have a proverb, “The only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.” We know that without a clear understanding of the mistakes of the past we are doomed to repeat them. But what does history have to do with today’s Bible reading? Just this: Hymns. The hymnbook, right along with God’s Book, sends us back into history and places us right next to fellow believers of hundreds of years ago. When we sing hymns we are singing with them of the truths that are as dear to our hearts as to theirs, and we are giving glory to the same Lord. This affords us with a powerful and joyful awareness of the universal family of God, spanning all borders of time and geography. If we sing only the songs of today, written by our contemporaries, as much as they may speak to our hearts with today’s vernacular, they don’t afford to us the sense of belonging, or the experience of kinship with believers of yesteryear. As we sing of the “Faith of our Fathers,” we join our ancestors as they sang of theirs, who in turn sang of our mutual holy faith in our ever-living, never-changing Savior. Three hundred years ago they were singing, “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.” Nearly two thousand years ago Christians were singing, “As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be; world without end, Amen!” Are you sometimes disappointed with low church attendance or flagging enthusiasm for the kingdom of God? Open a hymnal and find yourself worshipping with a vast congregation of fellow Christians -- dear friends you’ve yet to meet! But you invite them, even now, into your fellowship when you sing what they sang. And regarding the worship of their God and yours – through hymns…YOU ARE THERE!