devotional - Lift Up My Eyes

Are You “Out of Kilter?”

Growing up in an Appalachian region, I frequently heard the term “out of kilter.” When someone is described as being out of kilter, something is wrong in their life. Kilter is defined as being in the proper state or condition. Thus, if we are out of kilter, something is wrong. As Christians, we are usually comfortable with the Father and Son aspects of the Trinity. It’s when we start talking about the Holy Spirit we become uncertain, even uncomfortable. Maybe to the point of being out of kilter.

We are told in Acts that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. The Holy Spirit is central to the life of the Christian. We sometime overlook the source of our spiritual gifts. Those gifts are bestowed by the HOLY SPIRIT. There is much debate in Christian circles about spiritual gifts. It is not our purpose here to debate them, but to acknowledge their presence in our lives. If you do a Google search, before you even scroll down you’ll see articles stating there are four, seven, or twelve different spiritual gifts. Another sources lists 17 – Administration, Apostle, Discernment, Evangelism, Exhortation, Faith, Giving, Healing, Helps, Hospitality, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Prophecy, Serving, Speaking in tongues, Teaching, and Wisdom. It’s important to note that these are GIFTS. We can’t work to get a gift, we certainly can’t succeed in striving for all the gifts. They are given to help us minister and live out our faith. Each of us is uniquely gifted for a role in God’s Kingdom.

Likewise we overlook the evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives – the fruit of the SPIRIT. The fruit of the SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Note that these fruits are said to grow in our lives. Just like real fruit they take time to grow, they don’t spring up automatically. And they are likely hierarchical starting with love. If I decide to take up cooking, I am not immediately a five-star chef. I start with simple dishes and, hopefully, progress toward becoming a better cook. That’s sort of how the fruit of the spirit works.

We should look for evidence of the fruit in our lives. If things just don’t seem right, we may be out of kilter.

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Useless Prayers

devotional

Prayer. As Christians, it is something we practice, something we believe in, something that has great power. We pray because we know that God hears our prayers and wants to answer them. Prayer unlocks potential. Anyone who knows me, knows that I believe in and practice prayer. When someone asks me to pray for them it is my practice to lift up a prayer immediately. Yet, all too frequently, our prayers become mindless incantations devoid of power and purpose. I submit to you that there are at least four kinds of useless prayers.

The first useless prayer is a prayer for God’s presence. In Hebrews 13:5 we read (NIV) “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Forsake means to renounce or give something up. God has promised He will always be there for us, He will not give up on us. So it is useless to pray for God to be with us – he is already here.

Instead of praying for His presence we should be praying for an awareness of His presence. As someone once said, “If God seems far away, guess who moved.” God is always present. What is needed is an awareness in our lives that He is there. We are human. That means we are not perfect, so there will be times in our lives when God seems distant. But He is always there, always for us.

The second useless prayer is a prayer for mercy. This prayer implies that God may or may not want to give mercy. But He has bestowed abundant mercy on us through Jesus Christ. What greater mercy than the laying down of a life for me?

We should pray, instead for a removal of the barriers that keep us from fully experiencing God’s mercy. Michael W. Smith sings a song “Lord Have Mercy,” which would seem to negate my argument. But as we examine the words, the song is a plea that God remove the barriers to us receiving God’s mercy:

Jesus, I’ve forgotten the words that You have spoken

Promises that burned within my heart have now grown dim

With a doubting heart I follow the paths of earthly wisdom.

Forgive me for my unbelief

Renew the fire again

I have built an altar where I worship things of men

I have taken journeys that have drawn me far from You

Now I am returning to Your mercies ever flowing

Pardon my transgressions

Help me love You again.

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy

Lord have mercy on me.

The third useless prayer is one petitioning God to give us peace. In John 14:27, Jesus is giving the disciples His “farewell” speech. He states (NIV) “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” God has granted us peace. Similar to not feeling God’s presence, we don’t feel His peace when obstacles get in our way of feeling God’s special, perfect peace.

The fourth useless prayer is one that we have the means within us to answer that prayer. Prayer is not only a means of asking God to act, it is also a means of asking God to give us opportunities to act. Prayer is the first step, but it is not the final step. We pray as we move into action. It is somewhat like the parable of the rich young ruler. He came to Jesus seeking eternal life. You might say he was praying about it. Jesus told him what needed to be done. Verse 22 of Matthew 19 is probably one of the saddest verses in the Bible. (NIV) “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” He asked Jesus for eternal life but was unwilling to take the steps necessary to achieve it.

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Would Paul Wear a Mask?

devotional

I wear a mask. I don’t like them, they cause my glasses to fog up, they create issues with my hearing aids, they make it difficult to breathe. Legally I can claim a medical condition to exempt me. I’m not even sure how effective they are. So why do I wear one? In I Corinthians, Paul declared his freedom in Christ, yet said he made himself servant to all. Basically he was declaring a desire that he not be a stumbling block to someone’s path to salvation. “I have become all things to all men.” Not wishy-washy but committed to do what he could to save all.

Obviously, wearing or not wearing a mask is not a condition of Christianity. But, as Christians we say we love our fellow human beings. Wearing a mask can be a step we take to show we care. And it’s not something we should argue about when someone disagrees. You don’t wear a mask, I’m not going to berate you, give you 99 reasons why you should. That’s your choice and even if I disagree with you, I still love you.

I think Paul would wear a mask.

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