Delightsome Land

Although the Bible doesn’t give a direct command on this issue, examples of fasting appear in both the Old and the New Testaments. One of the most telling passages in which fasting is mentioned is Matthew 6:16, where Jesus is teaching His disciples basic principles of godly living. When speaking on fasting, He begins with, “ When  you fast,” not “ If  you fast.” Jesus’ words imply that fasting will be a regular practice in His followers’ lives. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship , said, “Jesus takes it for granted that His disciples will observe the pious custom of fasting. Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian life. Such customs have only one purpose — to make the disciples more ready and cheerful to accomplish those things which God would have done.” Fasting prepares you for the works God has ordained fo r you to do. Wesley Duewel, a twentieth-century writer, said, “You and I have no more right to omit fasting bec...

Exodus 8:32; Exodus 10:20 We know from James 1:13 that God does not — will not — inject the idea of evil into anyone’s heart. So how is it that we read in the book of Exodus that “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” so Pharaoh wouldn’t let the Israelites go? God is constantly staving off evil, restraining the fury of Satan so that harm and calamity do not overwhelm us. The devil can only do what God allows. Every once in a while, however, God lifts His hand of restraining grace to allow evil people to carry out their wicked plans, but only as it serves God’s higher purposes. Has someone caused you harm? Hurt or maligned you? You can praise God today that He is in control of even that painful situation. If God allowed it, He has a purpose in it. We may not understand His reasons, but we know His intent. It is for our good and His glory. Prayer Holy and righteous Father, I bow before Your infinite wisdom. I certainly can’t trust my limited knowledge or my emotions in situations like t...

Overspending and mindless shopping can be destructive habits, whether we have a little or a lot. In fact, mindless spending might even be a little easier to keep in check when money is very tight, or at least when credit is not readily available. The real problem comes for those of us with a little more to spend, those of us who have fooled ourselves into thinking we are securely middle-class. We buy into the lies and myths, telling ourselves... Sure, shopping can be dangerous if you can’t afford it . But I can afford it, and it is fun. I’ve never missed a payment. I’ve got great credit. Besides, I’ve earned it, and I deserve to have a little fun. It’s my money. Why shouldn’t I be able to buy whatever I want, whenever I want? Why indeed? As a Christian, I decided I had no choice but to look at the way I spend my money in a different light. The world may be full of ideas about when and where and how much we spend, but the Bible also has a whole lot to say about how we use our money....

A fter fasting forty days and forty nights, [Jesus] was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread... Throw yourself down... Bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan!”  — Matthew 4:2-3, Matthew 4:9-10 What a sweet time with the Lord this morning, the sun warming your back as God’s truth warmed your heart — and then came the phone call: “I got a pink slip, honey.” The enemy’s timing can be too perfect. Too horribly perfect. A rich time with Jesus can fade to nothingness when the world crashes in. In Matthew’s gospel, This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.  — Matthew 3:17 is immediately followed by, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  — Matthew 4:1 Soul-wrenching temptation by the too-clever devil crashed in after Jesus’ empowering baptism and forty-day communion with the Father. Yet, despite physical weakness after a forty-...

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 “God’s well of grace must have a bottom to it,” we reason. “A person can request forgiveness only so many times,” contends our common sense. “Cash in too many mercy checks, and sooner or later one is going to bounce!” The devil loves this line of logic. If he can convince us that God’s grace has limited funds, we’ll draw the logical conclusion. The account is empty. God has locked the door to his throne room. Pound all you want; pray all you want. No access to God. “No access to God” unleashes a beehive of concerns. We are orphans, unprotected and exposed. Heaven, if there is such a place, has been removed from the itinerary. Vulnerable in this life and doomed in the next. The fear of disappointing God has teeth… Nothing fosters fear like an ignorance of mercy. May I speak candidly? If you haven’t accepted God’s forgiveness, you are doomed to fear. N...

A Good Way to Start a Day I don’t trust hotel wake-up calls. Whether you will actually receive one when you ask seems to depend on the state of mind of the person entering your request. If he’s just broken up with his girlfriend, for example, and her name happens to be Sheila, I’m either getting a call in the middle of the night or none at all. So I set my own alarm on my phone. I actually set two. The first is when it would be good to get up, and the second is when I’d jolly well better get up. I’m just not a morning person, so I like to ease into a day slowly. I used to crawl out of bed, check that our son was up and in the shower, turn on the television to the morning news, and make myself a cup of coffee. It’s not a bad way to start the day, but I’ve found a much better way. I realized that if the first thing I pay attention to is what’s happening in our world, those images and words impact my view of the rest of the day. But if the Word of God is the first thing I give my h...

Crafting a Cherishing Mindset You can pay $25,000 for a watch that will never disappoint you. It will tell time with mathematical precision. If you look at it fifteen times a day, it will serve you each time — and never get tired doing so. And it will never complain if you look at it a sixteenth time. You can take it off in the evening and put it on in the morning, and that watch won’t whine that it has been ignored all night long, that you are just using it. It won’t ask you for a birthday or anniversary present; it won’t make any demands on you. It will just tell you what you need to know, look attractive on your wrist, and exist solely to meet your specific needs. But who wants to be married to a watch? More people than you might think. Husbands and wives often treat each other according to whatever roles they expect from each other. “Just do what you’re supposed to do and try to look reasonably attractive while you’re doing it, and everything will be fine.” The problem...

Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers GOD, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. — Deuteronomy 15:10 MSG Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.   — Deuteronomy 15:10 NIV * * * Psychology has helped us understand that even a subtle gesture or the tone of someone’s voice can trigger a memory or a reaction. Some memories are good, such as times with a loved one, an especially fun vacation, or a time when God’s presence was very real. Sometimes, though, painful memories or feelings of anger can be triggered. At times those triggers blindside us. Suddenly we’re dealing with intense emotions we didn’t anticipate. Today’s verse [Deuteronomy 15:10] says that God has triggers and gives us a specific example. How we treat people — whether we lead generous...

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” — Hebrews 3:7-8 Thought for the Day: I can’t keep driving through the dangerous intersection of reality and think it won’t ever affect me. My pastor made a statement recently we’ve all heard: Over 50 percent of marriages are ending in divorce today. But then he added a question that really made me think. “If you knew there was an intersection where 50 percent of the people who drove through it were killed, wouldn’t you find a different route home?” I sat back. This question snagged on the edge of my mind and lingered. Yes, certainly it applies to the marriage statistic, but it applies to my food issues as well. Here are the statistics (Source: Dr. Ski Chilton) Current figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put the prevalence of obesity among adults at about 66 percent. Inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, asthma, all...

Many times in my life, I’ve come back to the promise in Jeremiah 29:11: ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ This had been my favorite verse for some time. It helped me when deciding which college to attend, what path to take, which way to turn in so many of life’s decisions. I still have a picture frame with this verse engraved on it from my high school graduation. It’s a verse many of us love, because it is a promise that God is good and wants to be good toward us. But as my life plans were not working out as I had envisioned, I found less and less comfort in these words. Some days, this verse even seemed like a joke. It’s easy to believe that God has a good plan for your life when things are working out well, but it’s a little tougher when the path is difficult. And my path has been difficult. Uprooting my life and moving so many times to start over, to get away from my broken past....

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. ~ C. S. Lewis “I’ve got more than sixty years of evidence that every day looks better with bacon.” My pork-raising dad’s a streak of confidence on the other end of the phone. “And I’m telling you, even the end of the world would seem less like a crisis when you’ve got a good plate of bacon in front of you.” I’m flipping slices of bacon for breakfast. The only way to rise to the beauty of love is to rise and serve. Dad’s talking engines and pistons of forsaken old tractors he’s found in junkyards and how he’s rebuilding a century-old post and beam barn that he moved from a neighboring farm before the farmer let a wrecking ball bring the old testament down to the ground. The bacon sputters and splatters in sunlight. He’s telling me he is about to form up the whole span of tin roof, but I want to ask him what’s pounding through my veins: What if you break open your one h...