Archives: Watchword

A bit of scripture, short meditations and stories, prayers, news and maybe a touch of humor.

Least of These?

WATCHWORD:

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[ 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ Matthew 25:40-45 Continue reading

I Don’t Know That Man!

WATCHWORD:

Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man…Matthew 15:11,15-20

And again he denied it with an oath: I don’t know that man! After a little while those standing there approached and said to Peter, you really are one of them, since even your accent gives you away. Then he started to curse and to swear,  I don’t know that man! And immediately the rooster crowed. Matthew 26:72-74 Continue reading

Help Us to Be Wise…

WATCHWORD:

7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 Continue reading

Tribute to Mac

WATCHWORD:

33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:33-37 Continue reading

Give Us Faith So…

WATCHWORD:

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:8-14 Continue reading

The Prayer

WATCHWORD:

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:10-15 Continue reading

Miracles at Work

WATCHWORD:

You may recall God’s word: Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 Continue reading

What? Exercise?

WATCHWORD:

We are pressed on every side by trouble, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get back up again and keep going. 2nd Corinthians 4:8-9

 

Meditation:

What? Exercise?

I’m a lazy guy. I mean seriously lazy.  I avoid exercise, mainly because I don’t like to expend the effort and the thought of going for a walk was boring, unless I’m in a spectacular place; waterfalls, beautiful sky, mountain peaks topped with snow, and a trail that doesn’t require that I work too hard. Give me those surroundings and, sure, I’ll walk.

Let’s say God intervenes. Doctors find that I have a defective valve in my heart that must be replaced. My life depends upon it. So, of course, I have the surgery. But then this talented doctor of mine prescribes, you guessed it, exercise called Cardiac Rehab, but with accountability, a synonym for drill sergeant!

Yesterday I completed 36 sessions of cardiac rehab. 36 sessions!  When I started, I could only do 6 minutes on the treadmill. During this last session, I did 25 on the treadmill and 25 on a device called a SciFit. I had no chest pain and no trouble breathing. Afterwards, I felt so good that I sang along with Michael W. Smith’s all the way home. I have every reason to praise the Lord.

What does all that have to do with a devotional? Let me tell you there is common ground between physical and spiritual disciplines. With physical discipline it took a crisis and a good number of sessions before I could exert myself and breathe normally. Spiritual discipline often can start with a crisis that cause us to turn to God, where the result is immediate; the doorway to love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control stands wide open as you come to the Lord, and the sense of His presence can cause you to sing!

Spiritual development, like physical development requires discipline. It’s called discipline because it requires intentional activities. Spiritual discipline must be practiced, no laws or rules, just intentional. Spiritual disciplines help us engage with God, so his spirit can work in us. My early morning times with God; reading devotionals, scripture, prayers, or just talking with the Heavenly Father are uplifting, and it opens communication with the Holy Spirit.

Our spiritual journeys often contain struggles which we also encounter when we exercise. The prophet Elijah ran in fear when his life was threatened, he fell exhausted, and cried out ‘I’ve had enough, Lord’. Sometimes that’s us, crying out for help.

Frequently, in these Watchwords the point is made that the way of a Christian is not easy and there are times when we must make tough choices. As we walk with Christ, we realize there is a real cost to discipleship, and the cross of Christ is not lightweight. It takes courage, strength, resolve, and it takes deep, abiding faith, and the rewards are many. Amen

 

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we pray that you will give us courage and strength to overcome the murmurings of Satan that discourage us as we face and struggle through difficulties in our lives. Help us, Lord, to have the immediate thought that you are in charge, that you love us, and that we are holding on to your right hand as we move through those rough spots or even the joys that sometimes detract distract us. We thank you, Lord, for your constant presence. It’s in Jesus name we pray.  Amen.

 

Idol Clarification

WATCHWORD:

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, that made jealous God, punishing their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Exodus 20:4-5

 

Meditation:

Idol Clarification

Back in the days when I was doing value clarification workshops, I had the participants list those things they valued the most. Then I asked them to put a check mark by the items that they do or participated in every day.  Then, through the course of the workshop we did a series of exercises, including more list-making – how we spend our time, what we spend our money on, what do we worry about, and finally, what we prize most highly.

Then I led them through a series of comparisons between the various lists, making connections with some items, while discarding others. In the end, what emerged were items we highly cherish, or valued. The result being the values that we cherish were the ones we spent time on, were the ones we spent money on, were the ones we worried about. These were not necessarily the ones we had placed on the first list of things we valued. Maybe what we have done is simply to reveal our idols. Now, what do you do with them?

Our God is a jealous God. He asks us to worship only him. And yet, do we put Him first? I believe that we have erected idols that we lift up with greater frequency than we pray or worship the Lord. People, possessions, status, pride, these, and many others are popular idols that we erect in our lives today. Do we bow down before these, knowing that such false gods never satisfy? In fact, those idols stir up within us distractions that take us away from the worship of our Lord.

In a recent Jesus Calling devotional, Sarah Young represents the Lord when she writes “When you seek me instead of the world’s idols, you will experience my joy and peace. These intangibles satisfy the thirst of our souls, providing deep satisfaction.”

What the world offers is false and temporary. What our Lord offers is permanent and eternal. The light of God’s presence is brilliant, the walk in His light is a beacon, reflecting through us to others who, in turn, are drawn to Him.

Our walk as believers in Christ always brings us to choice points, where we must choose. Even though the choice seems obvious it is often hard, requiring us to turn our backs on the comfortable and the counterfeit idols we have embraced. We must choose.

 

Prayer of Repentance:

Precious Heavenly Father, help us to recognize the meaninglessness of many things that we seem to cherish in our lives, above our love for You. Instill in our lives Heavenly Father an awareness of Your presence, open us to understanding the direction of your will and lead us away from false worship. Bring us, Lord, into your presence, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts and minds by the inspiration of your Holy Word, and show us the way to the joy of your presence. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

 

Your Promised Land

WATCHWORD:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 Continue reading

The 99

WATCHWORD:

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! Luke 15:3-7 Continue reading

Doing the Impossible

WATCHWORD:

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Revelation 1:17 Continue reading