Author: The Redeker Respite

Psalm 23:1 What’s a shepherd?

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OK family. It’s been a long while since I’ve done these. But you know what’s been going on in our family over the last six months. I’m “caught up,” so to speak, in my new assignment. And I should’ve started this a lot sooner. I’m doing it for yous guys, and family should take priority.

Psalm 23 is a favorite Psalm for many people. And it’s one of my favorites too-especially in the King James Version. Often times this Psalm is read and associated with those who have passed away because this Psalm is read a lot of times at funerals. I guess it’s because v. 4 talks about the valley of the shadow of death. I’ll address the valley later on.

“Shepherd” comes from the Hebrew verb rāʿâ . It means “to graze.” Shepherd in this Psalm is a participle of this verb. Do you remember what a participle is? A participle is a verbal noun. That means that there’s action associated with the noun. For example, “runner” is a verbal noun–a runner runs. That’s what he does. A “swimmer” swims because that’s what he does. And here, the Shepherd shepherds. That’s what the LORD does; He shepherds.

So, what does the shepherd do for his flock? Well, the first thing is that he’s not the hired shepherd, or hireling. The shepherd has a vested interest in his flock. He wants to protect them,. He loves them. He knows them by name and they know his voice and the flock listens to him (Click here to see a cool example of how the sheep know their shepherd’s voice).

Why do the sheep follow the shepherd? Well, he does a lot for them. That’s why. For instance, the shepherd travels with the flock. He goes before them to lead him to the pastures that he knows will be good for the flock. That implies that the shepherd also knows where the good pastures are located. He must be very familiar with the paths and routes. The shepherd must also be timely in leading the flock so that he can get them to the good watering places in a timely manner. If he doesn’t, then they will get thirsty and die.

The shepherd must get his flock back to their pens in time before nightfall. If he can’t, then the shepherd will stay awake all night in order to keep watch over the flock by night, watching out for thieves and dangerous animals.

This is a lot of stuff that the shepherd does for his sheep. And  there’s plenty more. Can you see how this translates over to Jesus who is THE Good Shepherd? He loves His flock; He loves you! He has a vested interest in His flock; He has a vested interest in you. Jesus went to the cross to defend us from our greatest enemies; our sin, death, and Satan himself. The Good Shepherd is victorious over all of these since He laid down His life for His sheep, only to take it up again on Easter morning. The Good Shepherd knows where the good pastures are, and He knows where and when to lead us there. The Good Shepherd also keeps watch over us 24/7. He never sleeps, and Jesus never goes off duty.

With Jesus as your shepherd, you lack nothing. He supplies all you need. What are some things you “need?” Are you confusing needs with wants? How do some of the duties of shepherds help you in understanding Jesus? And, how does this help you in your daily walk with Him?

I love you guys!

Dad

So, Are You A Saint? Why or Why Not?

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 Saint John Baptist Stained Glass Saint Severin Church Paris

Hello Family!

Do you remember what November 1st is? Yup. All Saints’ Day. So here’s the question: What in the world is a saint anyway? What’s your answer? Well—-? And can you name any saints–other than the New Orleans Saints? If so, how many can you name?

Most people will say that a saint is a person who lived a holy life. Maybe it’s a person who did a lot of good things in this world and for other people before they died. The requirement for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church is that the person had to live a good life worthy of imitation, or someone who converted and left immorality behind. This same person has to have at least two “postmortem” miracles attributed to them. Do you know what postmortem means? It means “after death.” Yup. Two miracles have to be attributed to the person after he or she has died. And the other requirement is—-the person has gotta be dead.

But, as good Lutheran Christians, we go to the Bible to find our answers. And what can we learn from the Bible about saints? Well, take a look at 1 Corinthians 1:2 as an example. What does it say there? Paul calls them saints. This is from the Greek word hagios, which means ‘holy one’.

But, what do you know about the congregation in Corinth. If Paul wrote this letter to them and began by calling them saints, then that means they must have been pretty good people with not a lot of issues going on. Right? Wrong! When you read this letter, the Corinthian Christians were living in ways that was anything but holy and moral. They were suing one another–Christians suing other Christians, the rich Christians were looking down their noses at the poorer Christians, some were coming to church drunk, and a stepson, who was a Christian, was sleeping with his stepmother and no one in the congregation seemed to have a problem with that. This was because they formerly were pagans and some of these practices were perfectly acceptable according to their former way of living. They were anything but ‘saints’, as many people would define that word.

However, Paul reminded them of who they were in Christ Jesus. That’s what Paul ALWAYS does in his letters. He never leaves his hearers and readers in doubt. And the Corinthians were holy saints because of their faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not by the way they were living. They received Jesus’ holiness when they were baptized. So, God saw Jesus in them and counted them as holy. He did NOT approve of their way of living, however. That’s why Paul called them to repentance-or to change their ways.

Have you ever considered yourself a saint? If not, how come? Is it because of things you’ve done in the past, or language you use, or how you might treat other people? What about your thoughts, words, and actions; are they fitting of a saint? If you don’t consider yourself a saint, then I want you to begin RIGHT NOW! When you look in the mirror as you brush your teeth, shave, do your hair or whatever you’re doing in front of the mirror, I want you to see Saint fill in your name. You are holy because of your baptism. You are holy because of your faith in Jesus. You are holy because the Holy Spirit dwells in you. That’s GOD’s HOLY SPIRIT! You can’t have anything holier that God living in you!! He turns sinners into saints–hagios holy people. Now we are to reflect God’s holiness to others in this world–but God knows that we will not do this perfectly.

So, what do you think about that? How does this change your perception of yourself? How should this change the way you treat others; the language you use; how you see other people? Sanctification means ‘holy living’. That does mean that we are going to do this perfectly. But it also doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t change try to change our ways either. Sanctification means that we are to repent–or turn away from–our old ways and bad habits. And this takes time and work.

What changes will you begin to make? What will try to work on? Remember, YOU ARE A SAINT! And that’s a great gift and good news from God.

I love you my holy ones! Dad

 

Looking Homeward (Deuteronomy 34:1-5)

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Hello Family!

So, today is November 1st (well, now it’s November 2nd, but it’s still the 1st in my world). Do you know what November 1st is? It’s All Saints’ Day, which follows right on the heels of Halloween (celebration of evil spirits, ghosts, goblins, etc.). Today begins the Time of the Church calendar year called The Church Triumphant. This part of the calendar is the end of the Church year, which begins November 1st and goes until the first Sunday in Advent (the beginning of the new Church calendar year).

It’s no accident that the Church Triumphant follows on the heels of the Church Militant theme of the Church calendar. The Church Militant focuses on the struggles, temptations, and spiritual warfare that faces the Christian Church and Christians on this side of heaven. Now the focus changes toward the Final Triumph for Christians as we wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to return visibly and take His people home.

Home. What is home? Home is where family is. Home is where there is safety and security for family members. Home is where there is comfort and security. Home is where love is found. Home is home. It’s not the same for a person when someone is away from home and that person desires to be there. Memories are there. Joy is there. People want to be home for the holidays–Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s not fun to be separated from a place and people that one wants to be with. Mom’s new favorite commercial is the Pizza Hut commercial where the cute little homesick alien is looking at a round pizza pie and he says, “Round. Round like home.” He wants to get back home in the worst way. (Click here for the 30 second version of the commercial.)

Today’s reading includes Deuteronomy 34:1-5. This is the end of Moses’ journey and work for the LORD. God sent him into Egypt to free God’s people from bondage and slavery, and Moses was chosen by God to lead His people into the Promised Land, their new home. This true story is known as the Exodus (‘ex’ means ‘out of’ in Greek), which began in Egypt under slavery and bondage. The people were led to the end of their journey as they were delivered home to the Promised Land. However, Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land (Read Numbers 20:1-10 to find out what sin Moses committed against God so that he was not allowed into the Promised Land. God forgives sin. Yet sin still brings consequences). He was almost home. But he wasn’t quite there. However, God allowed Moses to see it from afar with his own eyes. Nevertheless, Moses trusted in God’s promises that he would make it to the ultimate Promised Land–Heaven–because of his faith in God.

Sin separated us from God and heaven–the Promised Land. If it weren’t for Jesus, we would be standing from afar only looking at it, but never having the chance to enter into it and enjoy it. Try to imagine what that would be like. It’s torment (Jesus told a parable about The Rich Man & Lazarus as He describes what this is like).

Heaven is God’s home. Heaven is governed by God. Therefore, God sets the rules and requirements for who He allows into His home. And the requirement is perfection and 100% holiness. That’s a real bummer for us because we cannot attain that on our own. In fact, there’s nothing we can do to earn or work our way into Heaven. However, Jesus took care of that for us on the cross. There is where He paid for our sins completely 100%. He met the requirements for us. Now, because of your faith in Jesus alone, God says, “You are a part of My family. You will be with Me as we live together at Home.”

That’s our certain hope as Christians. We are still on the journey here on earth until Jesus visibly returns to take us Home. But we are not alone. Jesus is with you everyday. Jesus comes to us when we hear His promises in Church, when we read His promises in the Bible, and when we receive Christ’s Body & Blood in Holy Communion as He brings a part of the Promised Land to us.

  1. What do you think was going through Moses’ mind as he stood on the top of Mt. Nebo looking at the Promised Land that he could not enter?
  2. What might he had been thinking about the sin he committed against God, which kept him from entering?
  3. Even though he couldn’t enter the Promised Land at that time, what promises from God did Moses cling on to?
  4. How are we like Moses?
  5. What is the promise Jesus makes to us in Matthew 28:20b?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am sorry for my disobedience and sins against You. I do not deserve to be a part of Your family, nor do I deserve to enter into the eternal Promised Land of Heaven Your home. Yet, You are loving and forgiving. You sent Your Son to suffer and die on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. Thank you for Your love toward me. Thank You for giving me faith in Jesus Christ my Savior. And thank You Jesus for walking with me everyday as You lead me to the Promised Land. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Is there chaos in your life? Check out God! (Psalm 46)

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Hi Family!

So, I had to get this one out today. Today is October 31. And what day is this? Most people will answer, “It’s Halloween, of course. Have you been living in a cave?” But, it’s also Reformation Day!! This was the day 499 years ago that Dr. Martin Luther (not Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-he came about 400 years later than the first Dr. Luther) nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg. He simply wanted to make a statement that the Church of his day was in error concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins and the free gift that God gives to any and all who have faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Dr. Luther wrote the great hymn of the Church, A Mighty Fortress, based on this Psalm. Mom & I taught you this hymn when you were little, and it’s good to re memorize and recite it regularly. This is a great hymn of comfort and assurance in any time of our life.

I’m pressed for time to get this done. But read Psalm 46. It’s a Psalm of trust. It’s a Psalm of faith. It’s a Psalm that reminds God’s people that on this side of heaven there is chaos and problems. We need assurance. We need refreshment. We need peace in our lives, especially when everything else seems to be going in the opposite direction.

However, God gives us a River–the River of Life and the River of Peace in Jesus Christ. He comes to us directly from Heaven. God is not a god who remains distant from His people. He comes to us and never leaves us. You’ve been baptized into Jesus. His River of Peace has claimed you has His own. And God has now made you a citizen and a member of His City-The City of God.

Are there times when your life seems in chaos and out of control? Are there times when you are anxious, insecure and worry? Hand everything over to Jesus. He’s the River of Peace that has come in your midst. He’s claimed you as His own–lock, stock and barrel. As the Psalm says, and reminds us to do as well, ‘check Him out’. Give Jesus a try, and then be still and know that He is God.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for sending Dr. Martin Luther to Your Church and using Him to restore the true Gospel to Your people. The glory goes to You alone. Thank You for Your truth and comfort found in the Scriptures alone. And thank You for my faith in Jesus Chirst alone. Help us in times of trouble when our lives seems to be tottering and falling down. You promise to be with us, and You are. And then help us to be still and to know that You truly are God and in control. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Devotional Notes:

Ps. 46:1 nimtza’ means ‘to let oneself be found’. God wants Himself to be sought out and found when they are in trouble. God wants all people to seek Him out and be found. He doesn’t hide Himself, and He doesn’t play tricks or hide-and-seek.

The “times of trouble,” in which God offers protection, are times when chaos attempts to reassert its primacy over order, both in the natural world and in the world of nations and human affairs. The affirmation of God’s presence in a protective capacity is the basis for the confidence in the community’s words: “we shall not fear . . .” (v 3) (WBC Vol 19, 345).

Ps. 46:2-3 King David gives a picture of the undoing of Creation. This imagery gives an eschatological perspective, or last days/Last Day sort of picture and imagery. Remember, however, that even though Creation is pictured as coming apart, God is the One who created all things in the first place. He is NEVER far away at all. And He is ALWAYS in control. And we have God’s Gospel in the next verse.

Ps. 46:4-5 What comes next in this picture of chaos and destruction? Is it fear? Is it uncertainty? No! It’s a river–a peaceful river that appears in this prayer out of nowhere. To understand more about the river, read Revelation 22:1-2. Notice that the source of the river, and the beginning of the river is the throne of God as St. John, in his revelation, shows us a picture of heaven. Now notice that in Psalm 46 that a river flows to the City of God in order to refresh and bring peace and calm to the chaos going on. The City of God is the Christian Church here on earth. The Christian Church is a part of the picture of heaven found in Revelation 22. God is in the middle of the City of God in Revelation, and God comes to His Church and remains in the midst of the Church while we journey here on earth.

How is God in the midst of His City here on earth? Well, He is here with us in the person of Jesus Christ. Remember, Jesus is also called the River of Life in John 4 and 7. Though creation is in chaos, melting away and toppling into the sea, the City of God will not be moved! It will survive.

Ps. 46:7 The translation in English is ‘the LORD of hosts’. In Hebrew it is YHWH Sebaoth. YHWH is God’s personal name that He gives to His people to use. We are on a first name basis with God. Remember, He wants to be found. Sebaoth is a military term. YHWH Sebaoth is a special name for God. He’s the Leader of His angels and His military. This term implies divine rule as well.

Ps. 48:8 This verse is an invitation to ‘check out God’, give Him a try. This is a great reminder for us Christians that we don’t have to beat people over the head with a Bible to have them check out God. We are simply to share the Gospel of story of Jesus and what God has done–and continues to do–in Jesus Christ. We simply invite people.

Ps. 46:10 There’s that word ‘be still’ again. I covered that a couple of weeks ago in Psalms 37 & 62. God simply wants His people to relax and trust Him. We are to cast all our worries, insecurities, and anxieties on Jesus and let Him handle it. God wants His people to live lives with inward peace.

Fears, Worries & Insecurities? ‘Nevertheless’ (Psalm 62:1-10)

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Man balancing on the rope concept of risk taking and challenge Stock Photo - 46627370

Hi Family,

What kinds frustrations are you dealing with today? Is there anything you feel insecure about or are afraid of? Are you anxious and worried about something in your life? God shows us in His Word today (Psalm 62:1-10) how to handle these sorts of things as His people. He wants us to have a ‘nevertheless’ kind of faith and trust in Him.

Do you know what nevertheless means? It means that despite what a person knows or feels to be true, he or she will do it anyway. For instance, “although I’m a little afraid, nevertheless I’d like to try it anyway.” We do contrary, or opposite, of what we know or feel to be true at that time.

The reality is that we, and all people, go through times of frustration, insecurity, fears and anxiousness. These are all real and they are a part of the world that we live in. However, or nevertheless, God wants us to trust Him. And that’s what this Psalm is about.

There’s a little tiny Hebrew word ‘ak. It means ‘nevertheless’. It’s used six times in this Psalm, but it’s not translated in the English. It’s used more like a marker of sorts that God’s people who prayed this Psalm in Hebrew would know and understand. ‘ak begins each verse in Psalm 62:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 [in Hebrew vv 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10}. So the Psalm should be read:

  1. (62:1) Nevertheless for God alone my soul waits in silence
  2. (62:2) Nevertheless He is alone is my rock and my salvation
  3. (62:4) Nevertheless they [the enemies] plan to thrust Him {God} down from His high position
  4. (62:5) Nerveless for God alone my soul waits in silence
  5. (62:6) Nevertheless He only is my rock and salvation
  6. (62:9) Nevertheless those of low estate are but a breath

King David was going through some problems or issues that made him have some fears or worries. We don’t know what the issues were, but he was going through something that challenged his faith. He looked to God with trust knowing that, whatever he was fearing and worrying about, nevertheless, God was there for him.

Each of you is a baptized child of God. You are very important and precious to Him because of your faith in Jesus. Remember, Jesus died on the cross and rose on Easter morning for you! You already possess the best gift anyone can have, namely a place in heaven with Jesus Christ. You are one of God’s precious people. Nevertheless, on this side of heaven in this world we will have fears, insecurities, anxieties and worries, and frustrations. So, Jesus wants us to put our faith into action by putting our hope and trust in Him. Jesus gives us the peace of God that passes all understanding in this world (Philippians 4:7). His Holy Spirit gives us a sense of peace and stillness as we yield everything over to Him to deal with.

So, what kinds of frustrations are you dealing with today? Is there anything you feel insecure about? Are you anxious and worried about something in your life? Is there something that you’re unsure about and makes you afraid? Whatever it is, that’s OK. Nevertheless … look to Jesus and trust in Him. He will help you and keep you.

I love you guys! Dad

 

Newsflash: Buried Treasure Found!

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buried treasure photo: Treasure treasure.png

Hello Family!

What is your favorite jewel or gem? Is it rubies, sapphires, diamonds or emeralds–or all of the above? What is your favorite precious metal; gold or silver? And why are these your favorite? Read Matthew 13:44, The Parable of the Hidden Treasure. Yup. It’s only one verse, but Jesus packs A LOT into this little parable.

When you read this parable, what are some things that stand out for you? Is there something in particular that doesn’t seem right? Does it seem like the man in the parable is acting dishonestly because he discovered the treasure only to cover it up again, then buy the field so that he can have the treasure for himself? If so, then why would Jesus want to teach about how to be dishonest?

I love Jesus’ parables. He used them as teaching tools using everyday examples–everyday examples from 2,000 years ago. Knowing the context of the parables is important to interpreting them and then applying them to our own lives and time. This is called a ‘Kingdom Parable’. When Jesus begins a parable with “the kingdom of God/heaven is like” then Jesus wants the hearer or reader to learn what God is like in His actions toward and relationships with His people. Jesus uses these Kingdom parables to show people how He is God in the flesh, and that God has come to live among them–He is the Messiah; their Savior and ours too! So, He’s not going to teach about how to be dishonest.

So how do we interpret this parable? Well, each person or thing in the parable usually relates to someone or something in real life. You want to look at what’s happening in the parable. In this parable we have a man who discovers treasure in a field. He covers it up, then he goes out to buy the entire field so that he can have the treasure for himself.

Most sermons and Bible studies will interpret this where we are the ‘man’, Jesus is ‘the treasure’, and as Christians we should want to go out and find Jesus as our treasure. True enough, we want Jesus. However, this might not be the best interpretation for this parable because then we have to do something in order to get Jesus. And that means that we are doing something in order to please God. Jesus wouldn’t teach this kind of thing since Jesus is the One who does it all for us.

So how can we interpret the parable? Well, Jesus gives us the ‘code’ in Matthew 13:36-43 to decode the parable. When Jesus begins a parable with “the kingdom of heaven is like,” or “the kingdom of God is like,” then the parable is going to teach something us something about Jesus.

Decoding the Parable

a man = Jesus

the field = the world

the treasure = believe it or not, us!

buying the field = Jesus purchasing the whole world through His death on the cross

The other thing is that ‘the man’ was not being dishonest in this parable. There was a law back then that if someone discovered something on a piece of property like a treasure, and he dug it out, then he would have to report that to the owner of the property. The treasure would belong to the owner. However, and here’s the key to this parable, if a man discovered a treasure on the property, but did NOT dig it up then he was NOT required to report the treasure before buying the property.

Now, hopefully, this parable makes sense. The field is the world. Jesus saw that there was treasure in the world, namely people who loved God and wanted to follow Him. To obtain the treasure, Jesus needed to buy the whole field–or the world. To do that, He needed to sell all that He had, which means that He had to give up His life on the cross. That’s how He purchased the world. And in doing so, He also purchased the treasure–you and me and all who are baptized and believe.

So, how does this interpretation help you in your walk with Jesus? What’s it like that you are the treasure? Have you ever thought of yourself and your life as something so precious, rare and valuable? Yup. You are one of those precious jewels. You are more precious than gold, silver, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds. There’s only one of you, and God created you for Himself. You are so special to God that He sent Jesus into the world in order to buy you back from the world, Satan, and worldly ways. He claimed you in your baptism. And God takes us with all our sin, scars from life, warts and all. There’s nothing we do since Jesus did it all for us.

No matter what you’re going through today–good or bad–remember that YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD! YOU ARE A PART OF HIS PRICELESS TREASURE!

Buried Pirates Treasure Chest royalty-free stock photo

Prayer: Heavenly Father, many times I don’t behave and act like I should. Sometimes I have a hard time accepting that I’m precious. Forgive me, Lord. Thank you for washing off all the dirt of my sin and mistakes. I am precious in Your sight only because of Jesus. Help me to live the life you want me to live so that I can shine as Your treasure to others so that they too might know Your love for them. In Jesus Name. Amen.

 

I love you guys! Dad

Silence Is Golden! (Psalm 37:7-8)

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Sunset over water

Silence! Patience! I know some of you in the family are more patient than others. And, as you will attest, I’m not always the most patient in the family–though I have made great strides over the last couple of months. But silence in this family? Ha! That’s a good one! The Redekers are great talkers and we love to be with people. So, silence is a foreign concept in our household.

Finishing up with Psalm 37:7-8 and dealing with fretting, God calls His people to be silent. That means ‘to keep quiet.’ Everything that causes us to be anxious, to worry and to be angry–we are to hand it over to God. Once we do that then we are to be silent. God puts His finger over our lips and says, “Shhhhhh. Don’t worry about it anymore. I will take care of everything. Be patient. Be still. And trust Me.”

Lips

Patience can be hard for anyone to practice, regardless if the person is 100 years old or 2 years old. But as the saying goes patience is a virtue. When we hand our problems, troubles, frets, anger and worries over to God to handle, then what should we do as we patiently and silently wait? Pray! Pray through the problem or the concern. It doesn’t have to be a fancy prayer. And it doesn’t have to be a long prayer. When we get impatient, we can simply pray, “Lord, I know You’re in control.”

Verse 8 reminds us about anger. This might be anger toward God, and it might be anger toward another person. We are to refrain from anger. Anger, like fretting and needless worrying, doesn’t do us any good at all. In fact, it eats away at our insides and it makes us feel like we simply want to explode. But what good does that do us? No good at all! And it doesn’t make the situation any better. Does it? It only makes the person who is angry more miserable.

anger: Anger, rage, shout.

What does God want us to do? Refrain from it!! That means abandon anger, desert it, leave it in the lurch by releasing it. Don’t hang on to it, but again, let God deal with it. Trust God and pray for His guidance. When we hand everything over to God and let go of things, then a sense of peace comes upon us. We know that even though we are not in control, God is in control. We are then freed up to lead a life with God’s peace and security.

So, what did we learn from Psalm 37:3-10?

TRUST God. He replaces our insecurities with His faithfulness and security. Everything begins with trust: We should revere, love and trust in God above all things.

DELIGHT in the Lord. Wrap yourself up in Jesus. He softens the bumpy road and smooths out the rough spots in life so that it’s not so bumpy.

COMMIT to the Lord. Let Jesus roll your problems over to God. After all, the stone was rolled over the tomb where Jesus lay. But then 3 days later on Easter, He rolled the stone away.

BE STILL. Silence is golden before the Lord. Jesus was silent and patient with us as He hung on the cross on Good Friday.

REFRAIN. Abandon all our problems and worries over to Jesus. Release them and let Him handle them for us.

Prayer: Dear Lord; sometimes life can get real tough and hard to handle. Sometimes I get angry and it brews and festers inside of me. Forgive me for trying to handle everything on my own. You care for me and You want the best for me, including living a life free from anger worry, anxiousness and fretting. Help me to trust You more and hand everything over to Jesus to take of things for me. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

I love you guys! Dad

Roll With the Changes (Psalm 37:5-6)

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Vintage Photo of People Pushing Old Car

Fretting, anxiousness, and unnecessary worrying is very easy to do. We might have some good reasons for this. Nevertheless, God doesn’t want His people to fret. And He gives the antidote to fretting. That’s why I’m continuing on with Psalm 37 for a couple of days because there’s SO MUCH great stuff in here to help us, as God’s people, to commit everything over to God and let Him handle our problems so that  we can continue to live life the way He wants His people to live it.

Have you ever rolled a heavy object? For instance, have you ever had to push a car that died? I know I have. When I was young, my friends and I didn’t have money for new cars. We had beaters (and they were a lot of fun)! But they also died out once in a while. That would mean we would have to get out and push them. Now, back then cars were really cars–they were made out of heavy metal and steel. It was really hard and difficult to begin to push the car and get it moving. But once there was momentum, the car would move much more easily. The hard part was the initial pushing to get it moving.

Psalm 37:5-6 builds on what we read the last two days about how to deal with fretting and worrying. God wants us to ‘commit’ our way/life and all our problems over to Him, and then ‘trust’ Him. There’s that word ‘trust’ again (see October 17 for ‘trust’). The word ‘commit’ means ‘to roll or turn,’ like a huge heavy boulder to close up a well or a cave. Fretting and worrying can become heavy burdens. And the more we try handling things on our own, the heavier that stone can become. Roll it over to God to handle. Hand it over to Jesus because we can’t roll that stone on our own. Turn that stone over to Him and trust Him, because He’s the One who has already sealed our cave and deep well of sin.

What are some problems or worries you might be facing today? Are you trying to handle them yourself? Do you think you can do a better job than Jesus can at solving your problems or worries? What might be holding you back from committing them/turning and rolling them over to Jesus?

Prayer: Heavenly Father; it would be so wonderful if everything in life were easy and care-free. But it’s not. And if life were that way, then we might find ourselves not needing You and walking away from you. Whatever problems and worries we may have today, we turn them over to you. We trust you Lord. Help us in our lack of trust. We roll everything over to you in Jesus name. Amen.

I love you! Dad

Do You Want A Bumpy Ride?

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Psalm 37:3-4 What Kind of Ride Do You Want in Life?

I love roller coasters. The thrill of slowly going up the first incline builds anticipation of what’s to come. Though no one can see over the hill, everyone knows what to expect. YES—the free fall of the roller coaster as it quickly descends into turns, twists and spirals and anything else that’s ahead. My favorite was the American Eagle at Marriott’s Great America. I say was because, even though I enjoyed immensely, that particular roller coaster has become very shaky and bumpy. So much so that the bumps and shakiness gives me a headache and makes me sick. So why should I go on that ride anymore? I don’t because I would rather enjoy the other rides that are available.

Life can be that way. Fretting, worrying and anxiousness takes the enjoyment out of the ride of life. Scripture gives us an answer to fretting throughout this whole Psalm, which is 40 verses long. In Psalm 37:3 the first response to God is starting point—TRUST. This is in what’s called the imperative. An imperative is a command—it’s not an option. It’s like when there’s danger ahead that a person doesn’t see and another person yells out STOP! If the person doesn’t stop, then he will get hurt or even killed. There are other imperatives as well, such as GO, or DO THIS, or DON’T DO THAT. That’s an imperative.
In this Psalm the major problem is fretting and worrying. In other words, don’t let fretting dominate your life. It produces insecurity. TRUST in God—TRUST is an imperative. This is a position of SECURITY. We can’t handle things on our own, nor should we, nor does God want us to do that. We don’t know the future. But God does! TRUST Him. Feel secure in Him. Will it always be a smooth ride in life? Absolutely not. As Bette Davis said in All About Eve “this is going to be a bumpy ride.” Yet, we TRUST God even during the bumpy times in life.

The next thing God wants Christians to do is to DELIGHT in Him. Again, ‘delight’ is an imperative. ‘Delighting’ is a natural outgrowth that comes from trusting God and commending—handing over everything—to Him. Let God handle our problems. The Hebrew word has the meaning ‘enjoy’ God. In another place it means ‘to soften’. I like this understanding of the word because there is so much in life that can harden us, which in turn can harden our relationship with God. Fretting, unnecessary worrying and anger/hatred toward others creates hardening and burning inside. Handing everything over to God means that we let go of it so that we can enjoy our relationship with Him. He softens us. He calms our fears. This frees us up to delight in the Lord. We can grow in our relationship with God and begin once again to look at life differently—more delightfully and see the world with a smile, calmness and peace. This is the way God wants His people to live.

The second part of verse 4 says that God will give you the desires of your heart. This doesn’t mean that people are to delight in God so that they can get stuff, or try to manipulate God. That’s just simply not going to happen. However, the ‘desires of your heart’ means that we are to go to God in prayer. Yes, we can, and should, make requests to God regularly and daily. We delight in God and are confident that He hears our prayers. Jesus even instructed His disciples to do this as well: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to you (read the rest of it in Matthew 7:7-11).

The desire of every Christian’s heart—including the Redeker Christians—is to ask for His guidance in all we do. This helps take away the worrying, fretting, and anxiousness that can harden a person and replace the hardening with a softer spirit. In this way, God smooths out the rough spots and potholes in life that can make it ‘a bumpy ride’.

What are some ways that you can delight in the Lord? Are there some areas in your life today that need some softening so that you can delight more in Jesus? What are some of the desires of your heart? God to Jesus in prayer and ask. He helps make life a smooth and delightful ride.

Have a great day! I love you guys!
Dad

Don’t Worry. Be Happy. (Psalm 37:1-3)

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Hello Family!

Don’t worry. Be happy. Yes, this is soooo Jamaican mahn. Today’s devotional thought is on Psalm 37:1-3 (click the hyperlink to read the verse).

Today I was reading Psalm 37:1-10 for my devotion. And boy, did it ever hit home. It’s about ‘fretting’. Do you know what it means to ‘fret’ about something? It means ‘to worry unnecessarily or excessively’, ‘to be agitated or irritated’. The Hebrew for ‘fret’ is chrh, which means ‘to burn’.

Is there something that you are worried about? Maybe it’s how to make ends meet financially. Or, maybe you’re worried about the future and how your life will turn out. Or, maybe you’re angry with how somebody is acting toward you or treating you–so much so that you feel like you ‘hate’ that person (though as Christians, we are not to hate anyone; Jesus says that’s just like murder–so you can strongly dislike someone).

There are valid things that we can be concerned about. And yes, there are valid reasons to be angry with someone. But think about this–what does that excessive worry do to you? How does it make you feel? And really, how does fixating upon that issue help? Or what about anger; how does that make you feel inside? It gets us excited and revved up in the wrong way. It causes unneeded stress, and it eats away at our insides-it burns us up. I know! I’ve done enough fretting and worrying. You, as my family, have can attest to this! And quite frankly, it doesn’t do any good anyway. The problem remains, or the person we are angry with continues his or her life apparently without even knowing that it’s bugging us.

Psalm 37:3 says that we are to ‘trust’ in God. That means that we are to ‘feel secure’ and ‘be unconcerned’. This security and calmness isn’t something we feel only once in a while. It’s something that God wants us to do and feel over and over and over again. He wants us as Christians to trust Him. It becomes a way of life and daily living. I know that this can be difficult at times, especially when it seems like life keeps squeezing us. However, remember that you are a baptized child of God. Remember that Jesus knows everything that worries us, or causes us to get so frustrated that we don’t know where to go or what to do. Jesus felt that stress when He was on the cross. Jesus felt the results of the peoples’ hatred toward Him with every pounding of the nails into His hands and feet, and when the Roman soldiers pressed the crown of hatred into His head. And then Jesus felt the wrath of God’s anger burn against Him as He suffered and eventually died on the cross. Yes. Jesus knows our every worry, concern and feeling. He rose again on Easter and now lives on the ‘other side’ of that anger, worry and concern.

We are called to trust Him and feel secure in Him. God wants His people, including the Redekers, to live anxious-free lives. 1 Peter 5:6-7 reminds us what God wants us to do–cast (fling and let go of them) all your anxieties and problems to Jesus, because He really does care about you. Don’t be concerned with tomorrow. Focus on today, and take one day at a time–take it with Jesus. Go to Him in prayer and lay your concerns and feelings on Him. Give it to Him trusting that He is there to help you and walk with you through anything that concerns or bugs you. You’ll be amazed at how calming it is to cast your worries and problems on Jesus because then that frees you up to live your life in a more joyful way.

I love you guys!

Dad