“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:1-12 NIV)
I had just finished my message on pursuing the heart of joy—God’s heart that is full of joy over His creation. I challenged the students with basically the same message as my devotion yesterday. There was energy in the room and I was excited to sing songs of praise with them. The worship band played and they sang with more enthusiasm. I was encouraged.
As the evening came to a close, to have a little fun, the band played “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” To my shock, the room literally came alive. The voices were loud and the bodies animated, more so than at any other time during the night or the semester. Students had their arms around each other and dancing and laughing as they sang. My point during the message was our joy in the Lord should be reflected in how we live and how we worship. Now I was seeing it demonstrated—in singing a song about a fictional reindeer. I hope the students recognized the irony of that.
How is it we can be so animated at a sporting event—cheering, raising our hands in celebration—or so lively singing our favorite songs, but when we are gathered to worship the Lord of the Universe, who is abounding in love and forgives all of our sins, we are often as stiff and lifeless as a memorial statue?
I honestly don’t have a definitive answer. Perhaps it is how we were raised—religion is private and somber, or Baptists and Methodists just don’t do that. Perhaps it’s just more comfortable because everyone gets excited at ballgames. I don’t know, but even on the face of it, I think we must admit that something is amiss. Should not the Lord of Creation, the Savior of our souls, generate more excitement within our hearts than anything else?
Today, join me in meditating on this. Think about what holds you back from expressing the joy of the Lord when you have no problem showing excitement about other things. Let us figure out how, like David, we can praise the Lord with everything we have within us.
© Jim Musser 2012
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (I Timothy 1:15-17 NIV)
Nothing will produce authentic praise and worship like humility. When we realize how undeserving we are, how far short we fall of being truly godly, then the recognition of God’s grace towards us naturally and spontaneously generates praise.
Paul was a notorious persecutor of the Church. Then he became a famous leader of those he used to persecute. Yet Paul never forgot who he really was—a sinner and a former enemy of the Lord. Thus, he could not keep from bursting into praise when he thought of his former life.
For those of us who grew up in a Christian home or became Christians many years ago, it is very easy to forget how lost we really were, and how dependent we are on God’s amazing grace to find ourselves where we are today.
Today, let us remember where we would be without the wonderful grace of the Lord. And as that reality sets in, may praise and thanksgiving pour forth from our hearts!
© Jim Musser 2012
“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV)
“I am so ready for this semester to be over!” “I have so much to do in the next two weeks!” “I’m so stressed!” These comments and others I have heard recently as our campus approaches the end of the semester and final exams. The student populace is generally stressed and worn out.
But for the Christian there is hope. We serve a God who does not grow weary and who gladly gives away His limitless strength to any who ask for it. We do not need to be like all those around us who are dead tired and stressed to the max. Our Lord offers us a different path, if we will only take it.
And that is the challenge. It is much easier to go with the crowd. Everyone at work complains about his or her jobs, so it is easy for us to join in and complain. And when a whole campus is stressed and anxious, it is very easy to get caught up in that. Yet, I think as followers of such a powerful God, we are called to something higher than what is common and predictable.
We have a God who has promised us an abundant life (John 10:10), not a life that is common to all humanity. And He wants us to experience it, but that is dependent on how much we are willing to rely on Him and trust Him. If we truly trust Him, He can lead us away from a life full of complaining, anxiety, and stress.
Life is indeed difficult and challenging, but it need not always wear us down and stress us out. The Lord is there from which we can drink deeply of His strength and endurance.
Today, do just that. Let Him renew you and lift you up so that you can walk, run and soar no matter what you face.
© Jim Musser 2012
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14 NIV)
Grace is often thought of in terms of escaping punishment. “I know I sin, but, whew, thankfully I am covered by God’s grace!” This is indeed a correct view, but there is another side to it. While we are wholly dependent on God’s grace, it doesn’t just come into play when we sin. It also is to lead us into a purer, more godly life. As Paul says, grace is to teach us how to avoid ungodliness and giving into worldly passions.
If we are destined to eternal judgment because of our rebellion against God, then is our only response to Him to be a “Hey God, thanks. Appreciate it.”? God does not show us grace just to let us off the hook. He shows us grace in order to give us the opportunity to draw nearer to Him and to become the man or woman He created us to be. He is not obligated to do it; He does it out of His deep love for us. But He will not be satisfied if His grace is accepted but there is no transformation in our lives.
God’s intent for His grace is two-fold: to bring salvation and, secondly, to bring transformation. They were never intended to be separated.
Today, know that if you have accepted God’s grace and received salvation, that is not the end of the story. He fully expects His grace to bring about a transformation in your life, where you are consistently and eagerly are saying “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions. That is the other side of grace and it cannot be separated from the first.
© Jim Musser 2012
“Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” (Proverbs 11:4 NIV)
News coverage, as it always does, began to build this week as the Powerball jackpot climbed to over 500 million dollars. National and local news reporters stood outside convenience stores interviewing people waiting in line to purchase tickets. Facebook posts were made by supposed ticket holders encouraging readers to “like” their posts, promising to share their winnings if they won with those who responded. And, not surprisingly, these posts were being forwarded throughout the FB universe.
What is it about the prospects of extreme wealth that gets our hearts all a flutter? Most people think a half a billion dollars would go a long way to solving their problems, but studies show that, more often than not, more problems are created than solved.
Wealth has a way of doing that. I recently learned of a man who is willing to disown his daughter in order to protect the wealth he has accumulated during his life. The Apostle Paul says that money is the root of all kinds of evil (I Timothy 6:10). Jesus said that wealth, and the pursuit of it, can enslave us and replace God as the one we serve (Matthew 6:24). And this proverb warns against the ultimate worthlessness of wealth.
At the end of our days on this earth, only one thing will be of any worth: our righteousness—that which we gain through the grace of God through Jesus (II Corinthians 5:21) and that which we live out in our daily lives (I Corinthians 3:11-15). Everything else—our houses, our stock portfolios, all of our stuff—will be of no value in eternity.
So we would be wise to heed this proverb’s warning and put our energies into pursuing things in life that have lasting value. Because at the end of the day, even a 500 million jackpot will be worth nothing.
© Jim Musser 2012
“They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (I Peter 4:4-5 NIV)”
I remember in high school when my girlfriend and I used to sit out on her parent’s front porch and listen to the “holy rollers” in the church across the street. They even played drums in their worship services! I thought it very strange.
I remember after becoming a follower of Jesus hearing others talk about serving the Lord overseas. It was okay for them, but the thought of me ever doing that was very strange. I couldn’t imagine it.
As I was thinking about what to do with my life early in college, it never occurred to me to consider vocational ministry. Me, a pastor or missionary? Too strange.
In reality, none of this was strange. It was just my ignorance coming into play. I didn’t understand the things of God nor His power to shape and transform lives. I didn’t see clearly and, so, made a lot of wrong assumptions.
There are people who come into a church, see people lifting their hands in praise and think it strange. There are people who see the excitement and commitment of a believer and think it a bit too much. There are people who think it strange to give up a summer and pay to go work in some Third World country.
They think it strange because they are ignorant. Ignorance makes the ways of God appear odd and different. The key is to realize the potential of our ignorance to skew reality. We need to understand that our perceptions may be wrong and in need of adjustment.
What do you find strange today? Reading the Bible every day? Having conversations about the Lord apart from church or a small group Bible study? Spending the summer (or two weeks) in a foreign country serving the Lord? Fasting? Giving 10% of your money to the work of the Lord?
Today, may you be open to the fact that your assumptions could be wrong; that, in fact, what you now see as strange is in reality quite normal for citizens of the Kingdom.
© Jim Musser 2012
(Author's Note: With the Thanksgiving Break upon us, I will be taking a break as well. WftW will return on November 26th. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday! Jim)
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. (II Corinthians 9:10-12 NIV)
When President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1863, the country was in the midst of civil war. Much sacrifice had already been made and much more was still to come; yet Lincoln found there was much for which to thank God.
What I find so encouraging is the leader of our nation in a time of war would humbly say, in spite of the circumstances, that he and his fellow countrymen had much for which to be thankful. The entire country was making huge sacrifices, but in the midst of the hardship came thanksgiving.
As I read Paul’s words here, it comes to mind that generosity is, in essence, sacrifice. When we give generously, we are sacrificing, and that generosity/sacrifice leads to thanksgiving. So, in the midst of war and much sacrifice, Lincoln could declare a “Day of Thanksgiving” and people embraced it.
In the midst of 1st Century hardship, the Corinthian Christians gave generously to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, and the result? Many expressions of thanks to God. And when God sacrificed His Son, that generosity has resulted in centuries of thanksgiving to Him.
As we approach our nation’s Day of Thanksgiving, let us remember that thanksgiving results from the sacrifices made on our behalf—those of parents, teachers, soldiers, fellow believers, and, most of all, God. Let us recognize those and let us give generously of ourselves for the sake of others in order to continue the expressions of thanks to God.
© Jim Musser 2012
