Our Refuge

Quoted from my devotional—Thought of the Day.

Surely he will save you 

from the fowler’s snare 

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers, 

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

— Psalm 91:3–4

Who do you run to? We might run to our parents in joy or sorrow. We might run to greet our friend, spouse, children, or parents after being gone for an extended period of time. We might run to a close friend for advice. There is One whom we should always run to.

We often find ourselves in a tough spot. It could be a decision looming ahead of us. It could be bills are due. It could be a relationship in trouble. It could be persecution for our faith. God is always there.

When we are feeling distraught, afraid, persecuted, or depressed, we should always seek God in prayer. Spend time with Him—read His Word. He is always there and will always get us through. Sure, we can seek our family and friends. In fact, God often uses our family and friends to be His hands or His voice. We must remember that God works through people around us.

Seek God to be your shelter, your protector during times of trouble. He will never leave you. Spend time with Him. He will grant you the protection, strength, courage, and peace you need.

Seek the Great Healer

When do you go to the doctor? Do you go for regular checkups? Or, do you only go when you are sick? Are you one of those that won’t go when sick until you have tried every home remedy you know? Do you dislike going to the doctor?

Some of us don’t like going to the doctor. We will avoid the doctor like the plague. We don’t like having someone poke and prod us. Some of us are afraid of what the doctor may tell us. Yet, if we are going to live healthy lives, we need to see a doctor.

Our spiritual lives are much the same. We need to see the Doctor on a regular basis. Thankfully, seeing our spiritual Doctor does not cost us money nor does it require us to have insurance. We can speak with Him at any time. He is always available.

One key difference between our spiritual Doctor and our medical doctor is our spiritual Doctor already knows exactly what we need. He knows the issue we face, our entire history, and has the perfect resolution.

Our spiritual Doctor is calling us to Him. We may not always hear Him. We may be using selective hearing to ignore Him. We may avoid His house at all times. Yet, He continues to call us through the various situations we go through in this life.

Many in this world don’t like to go to church. Yet, the church is the main place we can learn about the Doctor who will heal us. I like what I heard one older church member say a few years back, “The church is an emergency room and is to be open to those who need healing.” That has always been my goal, be an assistant in the emergency room, helping the Doctor attend to those who need it.

Here’s the thing, we all need healing, even those of us who are there to help. It is when we realize this, and see each other as someone being called by Jesus, that we become truly productive in His church.

If you happen to have had a bad experience at a church, don’t let that stop you from seeking healing. Jesus is still calling you. Go to an emergency room that will accept you and treat your wounds. Once you find that place, become an assistant, helping others to be healed. It is through this process that we can heal this world of its ills.

I pray we all answer the call of Jesus. I pray we seek the healing that only He can provide. I pray each one of us will seek a church that provides us with the assistance we need to accept the great Doctor and become an assistant of His. Hear His call. Accept His invitation for healing. Realize you need Him. Seek a church where you are accepted. Become an assistant to the great Healer.

Luke 5:31-32 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Seen Vs Unseen

Where do you put your trust? Do you only trust what you can see? Are you frustrated when you experience trouble? Do you have a short-term focus? Or, do you focus more on the long-term? Does your vision go beyond the here and now into eternity?

Most of us are focused on what is right in front of us. We have things to do and people to see. We have tasks at work, tasks at home, and tasks at church. We desire to do good for those less fortunate, and somehow, we fit that in, too. We juggle many priorities and tasks.

When we face a speed bump or a wall suddenly appears, we get frustrated. After all, we have all these things to get done. Perhaps we’ve lost our job and simply putting food on the table becomes a challenge. It could be we face a breakup of a relationship and we are lonely. We might face a death of a family member and wander how we will get along without them.

All our troubles in this world are temporary. That is easy to say and harder to remember when we experience troubles. Yet, if we can keep our focus on the eternal, remembering the trouble is temporary, we will get through it. How can we maintain our focus?

We need to prepare for troubles. Many of us will think about saving money for the rainy day. That can be a help, but it isn’t the only way to prepare. A significant part of our preparation needs to include building our relationship with God. Practicing relying on Him, even in good times, will help us maintain our focus on Him during bad times.

Think about it for just a minute. If you play on a baseball team, you don’t simply show up for the game. You put in a significant amount of time practicing the skills required to play at a high level. You keep telling yourself, “If we are going to win a championship, we have to keep practicing.” The same is true to face the troubles we see in this world.

Our spiritual practice must include prayer, reading God’s Word, and spending time with other Christians to strengthen our spiritual muscle. We must practice putting our focus on what is unseen in order to maintain that focus when the seen becomes chaotic. As we become stronger in the Spirit, we see more clearly the troubles of this world for what they are—temporary.

I pray we all spend time exercising our spiritual muscle. I pray we take time to pray, read God’s Word, and spend time with other Christians. I pray each one of us will commit to focus on the unseen—eternity with God. Maintain your focus on God. Spend time in prayer. Spend time reading God’s Word. Spend time with other Christians. Build a deeper relationship with God. Be prepared for the troubles that will come. Trust God to get you through this life.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Be in Wonder

Do you contemplate the heavens and the earth? Do you look upon the creation all around you and ponder the Creator of it all? Have you ever thought about the imagination and power it took to create the numerous intricacies you see every day?

I don’t know about you, but I often go through my day not even noticing all the wonderful things around me. I miss the flowers, trees, animals, and even the people. My mind is somewhere else, thinking of other things, and completely missing God’s wonderful creation.

I often have to remind myself to slow down, look around, and take notice of what I’ve been missing. When I do, I see so many things I’ve missed and wonder how I missed them before. Then, I remember, I’ve spent my time thinking about things that probably don’t matter that much.

My guess is we all do this. We miss the wonderful, awe inspiring creation of God. We miss seeing beyond the object and be in awe of what it took for Him to create. Have you ever thought about creating anything brand new then apply that to God creating a multitude of things?

My suggestion all of us, especially including myself, is to appreciate God’s creation. Slow down, meaning slow down your mind, eliminate the rush of thoughts, and simply appreciate what you see. Too often we are distracted by unimportant thoughts or things that we won’t remember in a week or two.

Another suggestion to appreciate His creation is to think about the process of creation. Try to imagine what it would take to create just one thing then multiply by as many of God’s creation you can think of. If you think about it just a short time, you will be utterly amazed.

I pray we all take a little time to appreciate God’s creation. I pray we look around ourselves each day and be amazed. I pray each one of us will slow down our minds, eliminate some of the distractions and think about what God has created. Be amazed. See the wonders. Appreciate God’s creation. Slow down. Eliminate the distractions.

Jeremiah 10:12-13

But God made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom 

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; 

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Celestial Wonders

When was the last time you looked at the stars? Have you followed the different oddities in the positioning of the planets this year? Do you know there are different celestial events going on this year that only happen once in several decades or several centuries?

Here are list of a few of the oddities, in case you missed them. There are four supermoons this year, which happens when the moon is at its closest point to the earth. In March, we saw Mars and Venus both reach their best time for viewing from the earth on the same day. The newly discovered comet Atlas made its closest pass of the earth in May. In June, Mercury reached its best viewpoint from earth. Jupiter was in opposition in July, meaning it was at its closest point to earth. Saturn was in opposition less than a week later. A few days later, Mars was once again at its best viewing point from earth. Neptune was in opposition in early September. And, there have been several meteor showers.

This has been an odd year astronomically speaking. In some cases, it’s not that we wouldn’t normally see the single event happen, it’s that we wouldn’t see two events happening at the same time or just a few days apart. The perseids and geminids meteor showers this year are the best they have been in decades.

Should we not marvel at how the universe functions? The planets rotate around the sun. Meteor showers go on and on yet continue to miss hitting the earth. There are other stars with planets that circulate around them. We see all of this from a great distance, but the distance only enhances the view.

Do we marvel at what God created? Do we stop to think about the power He has? Do we ask ourselves why we wouldn’t trust Him when He has created the amazing universe we live in? I, like most of us, get caught up in my own life, my own worries, my own tasks and need the reminder that God is all powerful. I suggest we all need that. Perhaps we will take time one evening to marvel at His creation.

I pray we all look up and be in awe of God’s creation. I pray we take time to recognize what God has created. I pray each of us will trust God with our worries, knowing He is the Creator of all. See God’s creation. Marvel at the His wonders. Be amazed and praise Him. Trust Him with your worries.

Isaiah 40:25-26

“To whom will you compare me?

Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created all these? 

He who brings out the starry host one by one

and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

Fill The Void

Are you longing to be a part of a group? Are you looking to be an active participant socially? Do you want to be with others who have your best interest at heart, who care for you? Are you willing to make a change in yourself to be part of a wonderful group?

We all long to be part of a group. We want to be seen and heard. We desire to be accepted. We long to be loved and cared for by others. Unfortunately, far too many look in the wrong direction and we often miss experiencing the love right in front of us.

There is no doubt our world needs more love, more care, more acceptance, and more compassion for one another. We can often trace negative behavior to a desire to be seen, to be recognized, an effort to fill the desire for love. Our desire for recognition can cause us to act badly simply to get someone to pay attention to us, even if it is negative attention.

Our world has promoted the idea of being acknowledged by others for years. It has recently evolved into having thousands of friends or likes on Facebook or being a YouTuber with thousands of followers. This type of attention doesn’t fill the void we have any more than the fame of a movie star or sports star fills the void. We still need the individual, one-on-one attention.

There is a place we can get the attention and love we long for—the body of Christ. We are called to be of one Spirit, one mind, and have the same love for one another. When we are an active part of the body of Christ, we experience the love and care we long for.

What does it mean to be an active member? It means to be involved, talk with one another, lay out your joys and your troubles, interact with each other, share each other’s lives. We may shy away from that, thinking we won’t really be cared for. Yet, we turn to medicating ourselves and talking with people we don’t really know to relieve our pain.

Why not share our lives with people who will pray for us? My experience has shown that having people pray for you is a wonderful way to grow into a better person. It simply takes a small commitment on our part to participate with others who will care for us as the body of Christ.

I pray we all decide to participate in the body of Christ. I pray we share in the Spirit of Christ, loving one another. I pray each of us will commit to being of the same mind as Christ and are filled with love. Be of the same spirit as Christ. Be a participant in the body of Christ. Have the same love. Pray for one another.

Philippians 2:1-2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

Determine Your Priority

What are the most important priorities in your life? Are people in your top priorities? Are possessions part of your top priorities? Do you put possessions ahead of people? Have you spent time to truly consider what is most important to you?

We will often say something or someone is important to us. We may change our minds from day-to-day, depending on what each day brings. Often, we haven’t spent time to determine what or who is really important to us. We have simply walked blindly through each day.

Yet, within our subconscious we have determined what is important to us. It will be where we spend our time. It will be who we spend our time with. It will show in how we treat the people we interact with. You see, when something or someone is important to us, we care for them.

Today’s passage is a truth we often ignore but is a core truth we can not deny. It is part of our basic human nature. We spend time with and care for what is important to us. Notice there two key components.

We may spend time with lots of people. In fact, many of us spend more time at our jobs than we do with our family. That may be due to the requirements of our job. Yet, we can put a higher importance on our family. Our job may allow us to provide for our family in ways we wouldn’t otherwise be able.

We may care more for our family than others we interact with. When we do, it shows in our attitudes and our actions. We speak kindly to them. We do many things for them. They see they are important to us and that we love them. It is obvious.

We also see in today’s passage that we are to make our relationship with God our most important priority. When we do, it will show in the same way as our love for our family. People will see God in us. They will see our love for others. They will notice changes in us throughout our lives as we grow in our relationship with God.

What is the alternative? As we see, Jesus clearly states all things on earth will be destroyed. It will rot. It will be dissolved. There will be nothing left. It is temporary. Our relationship with God will continue forever. Heaven will continue forever. What is wiser, making something temporary our top priority or something that will last forever?

I pray we all make our relationship with God our top priority. I pray we seek to grow in God each day. I pray each of us will decide today to put God first. Make your relationship with God a priority. Seek God today. Put God first in all you do. Spend time with God.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Judge Not

Do you like being judged by others? Does it upset you when people determine you did something wrong before knowing all the details? Do you judge others in the same manner? Are you weary of all the judging that happens in our society?

We often judge others based on superficial information. We find that others judge us in much the same manner. We see judgments being cast by people all around us, and almost certainly without knowing the full circumstances and details of the situation.

The court of public opinion has risen to a fever pitch. Many are being led astray by false information. One tidbit of information is obtained and stretched to the point of being unrecognizable. This is not just happening on the national stage, but is also happening in our offices, schools, and even our churches.

There is certainly a need to hold people accountable for their actions. That is the purpose of laws across our country, whether they be federal, state, county, or city ordinances. Yet, we often see people judging others without all the facts.

During our day-to-day interactions with others, we are called to judge no one. We are told that God will judge everyone at the appointed time. Our God cannot lie. So, when God promises to judge at the appointed time, why don’t we trust Him to do as He promised? Is it because we think we are God?

When we judge others, especially without all the facts, we put ourselves in God’s place. Oh, we may say that’s not what we are doing, but it is exactly what we are doing. We are indicating our lack of trust in God. We are taking God’s prerogative from Him and handling it ourselves.

We are called to love, not judge. We are called to care for orphans and widows, not demean them. We are called to feed the hungry, not look down on them. We are called to follow the perfect example of Jesus, not fallen humans.

Folks, if we are to love our neighbor, we cannot continue to condemn them. Who is our neighbor? As Jesus taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan, it is everyone we meet, even those we may not like.

I pray we all decide to stop judging everyone we interact with. I pray we continue to work on removing our judgmental attitudes. I pray each one of us will ask God to change us into a loving and caring people. Stop judging. Stop condemning. Love each other. Care for each other. Provide for each other. Follow your calling from Jesus.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

The Few, The Loving, The Pursuers

Do you have goals you are pursuing? Are you looking a particularly large purchase you are saving for? Do you have your sights set on a promotion at work? Are you looking for that special relationship? Is there some other important goal you have set for yourself?

We often set goals in life. They may be career oriented. They may be family oriented. They may be personal growth or physical health goals. Setting goals is a great way to motivate ourselves toward achievements. They can also be set so high as to be unachievable.

How we react to goals we determine to be unachievable is important. We may simply write them off. We may be deeply depressed. We may decide to lower the goal to something that is achievable. There is one goal we all should set that none of these options apply to.

We should pursue becoming more like Jesus with the ultimate goal of perfection. No, we’ll never achieve it, but we should never give up. The apostle Paul set that goal fully understanding he would not achieve it while living on this earth. Yet he continued to pursue it throughout his life, knowing he would be made perfect at the end of his life by Christ Himself.

We, too, can take comfort in the thought of being made perfect by Christ. However, knowing Christ will make us perfect in the end does not relieve us of the pursuit to continue to become more like Him during our lives. Much as Paul pursued this goal, we are to continue to pursue it each day.

We cannot achieve this goal solely on our own. We need the assistance of the Holy Spirit and Jesus. We also need the assistance of other Christians. We need an attitude of continual learning and yearning to move closer to the goal as we go through this life.

We all have seen the Marine Corps commercials with the slogan, “The Few, The Proud, The Marines.” As Christians, we need a similar slogan, “The Few, The Loving, The Pursuers.” It is unfortunate the first two words are the same on both slogans. The world would be far better off if there were millions more in pursuit of being like Christ.

I pray we all decide to pursue the goal of perfection in Jesus Christ. I pray we set about each day to take another step forward. I pray each of us will grow in our knowledge of Jesus and allow Him to change our lives for the better. Pursue perfection. Pursue Jesus. Grow in your knowledge of Him. Never give up on the goal of perfection. Be perfect in love.

Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Always Working

Do you feel as though your work is never done? Are you consistently looking at a long list of tasks to get done? Do you sometimes think your boss is too demanding? Do you know there is someone at work 24/7/365?

We all go through periods of our life when we feel as though all we do is go to work, eat, and sleep. Our lives seem to have no fun, no enjoyment, and drudgery every day. Yet, those of us who have gone through those times know they will pass and there will be a break one day.

As much as most of us might wish we didn’t have to work, life doesn’t work out that way. We don’t have the luxury of not needing to work. We must work in order to pay for our basic needs and all our wants.

There is another that is always at work as well. It is rare that we see Him at work. Yet He is working each day to execute the master plan of God. He works through us and through others. He works through difficult situations and in rejoicing. He is at work when we wake and when we sleep.

Jesus is at work for us at all times. We may think of Him as being with us, and this is true, but rarely think that He is working for us. He clearly states that He is working, and His word is trustworthy. Isn’t it comforting to know He is working for you?

Not only is Jesus working, but God, the Father, is working too. We may remember, and often quote as a reason to not work, that God rested on the seventh day after creating everything. Yet, Jesus says the Father is always working and He is always working as well. That means both are working 24/7/365.

With God working to execute His plan at all times, we can take comfort knowing He is working on our behalf, as long as we are working within His plan. Yet, things become quite difficult when we are working against God. So, why would we want to work against God?

Working with God doesn’t mean it will always be easy. It does mean God will provide what we need to accomplish His plan. It means we will gain the strength needed to complete the work as He will provide it for us.

I pray we all work with God. I pray we seek to follow His plan. I pray each of us will ask God to use us in His plan each day. Know that Jesus is working at all times. Know the Father is working. Be part of God’s plan. Ask God to show you where you fit in. Decide to work today.

John 5:17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”