The Christian Life

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, and from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3: 14-21

A city workman once discovered water flooding through a culvert where water did not ordinarily run. He was curious as to its source and started an investigation.  To his surprise, he found that a large water main had burst, shutting off water from hundreds of homes in one section of the city. He hurried to a telephone and tried to call the water company repeatedly, but all the lines were busy. All the lines were being taken up by exasperated homeowners berating the water company.  Meanwhile, the only person who knew the source of the trouble was barred from using the telephone.

Do we keep the lines between God and us so busy with complaints and requests that we cannot hear His voice? Our lives need to be purposeful through constant contact with His will for us. Let’s not let our busyness, preoccupation with our own lives or our selfishness keep us from constant contact with God or keep us from listening to Him when he speaks to us.

Prayer: Our Father, we do not pray for easy lives, but that we may be strong to “bear the strain of toil and fret of care.”  We do not pray for tasks equal to our powers, but for power equal to the tasks that are ours. Thus, each day shall new power and richness of life come to us, and we shall “more perfectly love Thee and magnify Thy holy name.” Amen

Gerry Draney (reprinted from the 2008 Eastridge Daily Devotion book)

Shaped By the Potter’s Hand

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ Jeremiah 18:1-11     

I love the hymn, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” written by Adelaide Pollard. Here is the story of that hymn.

Adelaide was discouraged. Living in Chicago she taught at several girls' schools. She was also recognized in the city for her admirable ability as an itinerant Bible teacher. Yet, she knew her real calling was to go to Africa as a missionary. A seemingly impossible task for she was unable to raise the money to fund the expedition.

One night, while walking the streets in contemplation, she stopped in on a prayer meeting. She listened to the very simple prayer of an elderly woman, whose words expressed the discontent in Pollard's own heart. The lady prayed, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord - just have your own way with our lives."

Returning home, Pollard kept thinking about the lady's simple prayer. This led her to study the story parable of the potter in the book of Jeremiah. She began reading, "Then I went down to the potter's house…" Before retiring for the evening, Pollard wrote the popular hymn, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord." Pollard did not make it to Africa in that year of 1902, but God continued to mold her into an outstanding teacher and evangelist for a ministry in Chicago.

This story of the hymn is personal from my ministry. A member’s daughter (Margi) was married to a pastor (Marvin) serving the Fort Madison Presbyterian Church, Fort Madison, Iowa. They were visiting First Presbyterian Church, Prairie City, Illinois, where I was pastor. We were going to sing this very hymn and Margi asks to speak about this hymn. By Margi’s account, Fort Madison was the hometown where Adelaide lived before she was in Chicago. Margi told the same story that I have shared. Now a strange twist in this is the last name of the Pastor - Rev. Marvin and his Wife, Margi Potter!

Just take a look at the 1^st verse: 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter, I am the clay:

Mould me and make me After Thy will,

While I am waiting, Yielded and still.

It concludes that what the Potter’s hand would form in us and mold in us is expressed by the concluding words that people would see “Christ only living in me.” 

Prayer: Lord God, Master Potter, may Your Hand graciously mold us and make us to Your will that we may be yielded and still. It is a life’s work that seemingly never ends. But may the result be that people will see “Christ only living in me.”  Amen

Rev. Dr. John J. Duling

Following Instructions

When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore, God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God. 2 Samuel: 6 -7

After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.” 1 Chronicles 15: 1-2

Recently I read Charles Swindoll’s book “David, A Man of Passion & Destiny.” When David moved the ark the first time, he didn’t think about what he was doing and just moved the ark. This resulted in the death of Uzzah. David learned from his previous mistake. When David moved the ark the next time, he followed God’s instructions.  

This made me reflect on a cabinet I bought to put together several years ago. I am sometimes not very good at spending the time reading the instructions contained in a box. This was one of those times. When I was all done with the cabinet, I had discovered that one of the shelves was upside down. It was a very noticeable mistake, but it was still a usable cabinet. If I had taken the time to follow all the instructions, the cabinet would have had all the shelves going in the same direction.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being my guide. Help me to follow as you direct my path. In your name I pray. Amen

Dee Ann Dilley (reprinted from the 2008 Daily Devotional book)

Psalm 23

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk

    through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

    for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff,

    they comfort me.

 

You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

    my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever. Psalm 23

A Servant's Heart

Would any of you say to your servant, who had just come in from the field after plowing or tending sheep, “Come!  Sit down for dinner?” Wouldn’t you say instead, “Fix my dinner. Put on the clothes of a table servant and wait on me while I eat and drink. After that, you can eat and drink”? You won’t thank the servant because the servant did what you asked, will you? In the same way, when you have done everything required of you, you should say, “We servants deserve no special praise. We have only done our duty.” Luke 17:7-10

It is easy to be focused in our daily activities on relishing the sense of a great job well done. We also, perhaps, have come to expect to be rewarded, recognized or, at least, thanked in some way for performing so admirably amongst our peers. In our culture—one that emphasizes individual achievement, supply and demand, expectations for fair compensation—Jesus’s message here may at first seem counterintuitive, if not downright disrespectful. Yet, Jesus invites us into an opportunity for grace—serving without clinging to expectations about what we should receive in return. His servants’ rewards do not depend upon recognition or praise, but in the act of serving itself. As slaves or servants do not expect accolades for fulfilling their responsibilities, Jesus’s followers, likewise, should expect no special praise for obeying His teachings, even if they are hard or humbling. 

Prayer: Heavenly Creator, thank you for your teachings and for opportunities to serve you and those around us. Help us to focus on acting as faithful followers without expecting accolades or personal benefits. We ask for your forgiveness when we become distracted by our own desires for tributes and flattery. Amen 

Barry and Alinda Stelk (reprinted from 2017)

GBR (Go Big Red) - Fall is Approaching

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22 

The last days of summer are upon us. School has started, and the weather swings between hot and rainy. In the Bible, God often speaks about the changing of seasons, a reminder that change is inevitable, though it can be challenging for many of us. We each have a favorite season, cherished for different reasons.

I used to love summer because it meant my kids were out of school, giving us endless days at the pool, long trips to Broken Bow, and late nights together. But now, summer is my busiest time of year for work, and I don’t get to enjoy those moments with my little ones as they are young adults now. Just as the seasons change, our feelings toward them can change too, and that’s okay.

I have a friend who dreads winter because it triggers her depression, while another friend struggles with the holidays because she is alone. The seasons of life shift, and with them, our experiences and emotions, but God is present in every season, guiding us through each change.

Becky Rankin (reprinted from fall 2024)

Words from Psalm 59

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 59:16