Author: The Pastor

Saturday devotions ~ Psalm 48

/ The Pastor

The greatness of a building, city, or nation is not due to its beauty, size, strength or any other physical characteristic. In Mark 13, the disciples make note of this very thing with Jesus, “And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” To which Jesus responds, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” He did not say that the temple and the buildings were not beautiful, rather, he was emphasizing that they are only buildings. Greatness belongs to God.

1 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,
2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 
3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress. 

Across this country of ours, and even in Europe, you will find large beautiful church buildings. The stained glass windows are a sight to behold. The steeples and bell towers are great. The artwork outside and in are beautiful. The sanctuaries are large and acoustically pleasing. But, there is very little life in them. Back in the day, these buildings were teaming with people but now they struggle to stay open with the handful of members left.

It is sad to see these buildings largely inactive and struggling today, but what happened? Though I do not know details in each particular case, one thing that often happens is that too many resources are invested in the structure and not the ministry. The beauty of the building is emphasized over the greatness of God. Council meetings focusing on the budget and how to “make money” instead of ministry and how to spend money.

Jerusalem was a great city, but it was not great because of its size and walls and gates and beautiful stones. Jerusalem was great because of the greatness of God. When the people forgot about that, Jerusalem fell, eventually being burned to the ground. And likewise, the Church is great because of its head, Jesus Christ, who died and rose to redeem his bride, the Church. May we be able to, “Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that THIS IS GOD (emphasis mine), our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.”

LET US PRAY: Holy God, you are great and mighty. You are awesome in power and beautiful. You have saved us through Jesus. You are our King and You reign on high. May Your majesty be made known throughout the whole world. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Friday devotions ~ Psalm 47

/ The Pastor

When you have a bunch of someones striking their hands together you have a loud sound. When those someones are doing that in unison (somewhat) for a unified reason, then you have an applause. And what is an applause other than a bunch of people, in unison, showing how much they appreciate what someone(s) has done. Hmmm, strange how much this sounds like worship. After reading this, you may never look at an applause in the same way again. Sorry, well, not really actually, because it is what it is. When we applaud someone we are giving them our attention and showing them how much we value what they just did, and that is what the psalmist is doing here.

“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” (vs 1)

And what is the reason for applause”
~ He is a great King over all the earth.
~ He has subdued peoples and nations.
~ He chose our heritage for us.
~ He reigns over the nations.
~ He sits on His holy throne.
~ The shields of earth belong to God.
~ He is highly exalted.

And when I think about all that God has done, maybe we should be applauding more often, in worship perhaps. Can you imagine hearing the Word of God read and then people bursting into applause and cheering, not because the person did such a great job but rather because it is the Word of God? How about after the sermon? Yes, I know, applauding in worship would be weird and it would look like we were praising people and not God. But maybe we need to applaud God more. The next time you notice an amazing God moment, stop and acknowledge God, and if you are so moved, applaud. I can see it now. You are driving home some evening and you see a beautiful sunset. You pull over to the side of the road. You get out and applaud. Yup, I can see it, because, well, God is worthy.

1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

LET US PRAY: Holy and awesome God, I applaud You. I clap my hands and sing. I raise my voice and glorify You, for You are indeed a great God, worthy of all praise. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Thursday Devotions ~ Psalm 46

/ The Pastor

I remember the day very well – Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was in seminary at the time. I had just returned to my dorm room after studying in the library early that morning. After I logged into my computer and pulled up my news source, I was horrified by what I saw. Being in disbelief, I immediately turned on the TV where my fears were vividly verified. I stood in the middle of my room stunned. Soon others who had walked by my open door joined me in silence. Not a word was said. Soon we heard the bell calling us to the chapel. In unison we left my room. I do not even remember turning the TV off or locking my door. We simply made our way across campus to the chapel. Tuesdays typically were not a highly attended chapel day, but that day was different. It was packed. We needed a refuge. We needed a Word. The Dean of Students opened the service with Psalm 46. I do not remember much else, but that opening moment I do remember, because verse 1 was what I needed. I think we all needed it.

“God is our refuge and strength, 
   a very present help in trouble.”

When someone is in trouble, there are two needs that often bubble to the surface. The first is a safe place. Sometimes the person feels embarrassed and wants to hide. They might feel attacked and thus the need to be shielded. They might feel they are on shaky ground and thus want something firm that they can trust. The second need that bubbles up is the need for strength. When in trouble the person might feel powerless about their situation. They might feel like they have no defense or no way to fight back. These needs are ingrained. It is the fight or flight response. In that moment I had no fight in me, only flight.

And that is where we were on 9/11 and thus when our Dean read this Psalm, we re-discovered the fact that God is our mighty and impenetrable fortress. We were reminded of the fact that God is sovereign and thus He is in control since He has all power. In that moment, we found our comfort in the promises of God. Though it appeared everything was crumbling down around us, we were being held in God’s loving arms. Though it appeared the enemy had struck a crippling blow, we heard victory proclaimed in the name of Jesus.

Whatever your trouble, run to God. He will never turn you away. He will never lock you out. Run to God and find your refuge and strength in Him. God will fight for you, and when you need to hide, He will shield you.

“God is our refuge and strength, 
   a very present help in trouble.”

Amen to that!

LET US PRAY: Father God, when trouble finds me or when I find trouble, I praise You that You are my refuge and strength. You are my comfort. You are my shield and buckler. You are my home. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Wednesday devotions ~ Psalm 45

/ The Pastor

“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.”
(Psalm 45:1)

As a person who likes to write, I just love the beauty of this verse. It speaks to why I write on a daily basis. People have asked how I can do this, but believe me, it is not because of some talent I have (far from it). It is ALL Holy Spirit. It is ALL about God. It is a natural outflow of what GOD has done, the “pleasing theme” in my heart. And therefore, I have updated the description line on my blog (www.heartofapastor.blog) and my blog’s Facebook site with this verse to communicate that fact. And so, as a “ready scribe”, allow me to continue and address my king because of the pleasing theme He has put in my heart.

And the “pleasing theme” that flows out of my heart today is this:

Faithfulness

That is the word that came to mind as I wrote the closing line of the opening paragraph. God’s faithfulness is what is ringing in my heart, giving me notes for the new song that He has placed there. And what a pleasing theme it is. It is pleasing because God does not have to be patient with this sinner, but He is. God does not have to promise anything to me other than condemnation, but He has promised me Life through Jesus. God does not have to sustain me with His Holy Spirit, but He does. God does not have to give me daily bread, but He provides. God’s faithfulness and steadfast love endures forever. It is no wonder that the psalmist echos that phrase over and over in the Psalms,

“for His steadfast love endures forever” (read Psalm 136)

It is a song in his heart that is sung in this sinful heart. It is a pleasing theme that is flowing, running around the twists and turns, and over the rocky rapids of this life. It is a pleasing theme that puts a smile on my face but more importantly, joy in my heart. It is a pleasing theme that I know will never end. And thus I praise and worship God.

What is your “pleasing theme” today?

LET US PRAY: Father God, thank you for the song that You have placed in my heart. May my worship bring You glory, for you are deserving of more than I can possibly think of giving. Thank you for this “pleasing theme”. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

As I Go

/ The Pastor

As I go through my day,
Please show me Your way.
May I not turn aside,
For You are my guide.

As I go through my day,
Please hold me, I pray.
May I not seek to sin,
For my heart’s not akin.

As I go through my day,
I will be okay.
May I never forget:
Jesus paid my debt.

Tuesday Devotions ~ Psalm 44

/ The Pastor

“O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old”

I saw a social media meme recently that caught my attention:

“Many folks are praying for God to heal our land, but I think he’s still waiting for people to humble themselves, repent and turn from their wicked ways.”

I see a lot of truth in that statement. There are people crying out for healing but yet, not willing to turn to God; to repent; to leave behind their sinful ways. They have heard the stories from their parents and remember, but they want their cake and eat it too. As in verses 9 – 16, I hear people lamenting and wondering why God has turned His back on this nation. And then in verse 17, people claim they are being faithful, and have not forgotten God. But is that true?

And finally, in verse 23, the psalmist, on behalf of the people, is calling God to wake up and remember them. But I can’t help but wonder if people today need to wake up and remember God; to wake up and remember what they have heard with their ears from their fathers, to wake and remember who they are and whose they are.

So maybe the prayer is not for God to heal this nation, in the sense of taking away conflict and hate. Maybe the prayer needs to be for renewed hearts, hearts of stone being replaced with hearts of flesh. Maybe the prayer is that people would humble themselves and thus cry out in faith, “Rise up, come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” A steadfast love that God has shown through Jesus Christ.

Yes, let us pray that prayer.

LET US PRAY: Father God, this world is messed up. We want a good life, one free of conflict, disease, hate, fighting and division. We want peace and harmony, but often we are not willing to humble ourselves and admit that we are the problem. So instead of looking inside, we look outside and point our fingers at others. Father God, send Your Holy Spirit to convict hearts and turn Your children back to You. Renew hearts to see You for who You are and to know Your love, grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Bring healing to this nation but God, would You please begin with me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Monday devotions ~ Psalm 43

/ The Pastor

Have you ever been driving during a dark, moonless night on a lonely highway and shut off your headlights for a moment? Of course not, that would be silly and extremely dangerous. Now imagine doing that on a curvy mountain road with no guard rail – once again, dangerous and stupid. When it is dark, we need light. No one can possibly think it is wise to drive at night without light. In the same way, we need light to make our way through this life…

3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 

The psalmist here knows the dangers of maneuvering in the dark without light. And no, he is not talking about driving in the dark in northern Iowa. The psalmist is talking about reaching his desired destination through a dark world. And what is his destination? His destination is “your holy hill” (vs 3). This is a clear reference to Jerusalem, but more specifically the temple, the dwelling place of God. The psalmist asks for guidance “because of the opposition of the enemy.” (vs 2), the source of his mourning. The psalmist knows that the only way through this life is by the light of God’s Word. And of course, that brings to mind a great song.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
When I feel afraid
Think I’ve lost my way
Still you’re there right beside me
And nothing will I fear
As long as you are near
Please be near me to the end

Our destination is not literally the temple in Jerusalem, but we are heading to the dwelling place of God. And, like the psalmist, we have opposition, which is often a source of mourning for many. And again like the psalmist, we cry out, “Send out your light and truth; let them lead me” You see, you will never get to God on your own. You need His light to show the Way. The world will never lead you to God, only God can do that, and He has done that through His Son, Jesus, the Light of the Word and, the Way and the TRUTH and the life. Jesus was sent as the light and the truth to save sinners, YOU, and bring them/you back to God. And once there…

4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Yes, we will praise our God, forever.

LET US PRAY: Father God, You have shown me the way to You through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. Light my path and grant me the faith to faithfully follow that light, and not seek the darkness. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Sunday Morning Devotions ~ August 20, 2023

/ The Pastor

SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 13:1-9 and Isaiah 55

LET US PRAY:
For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to You, oh God, without watering the earth, making it bring forth and spout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall Your Word be that goes forth from Your mouth.
It shall not return to You empty.
It shall not return to You void.
It shall not return to You having failed.
Your Word, mighty God, is powerful and therefore it shall accomplish that which You purpose.
Your Word, my awesome God, shall succeed in whatever You send it to do.
Your Word, Creator God, is the only word that can breathe life into dry bones.
As for me, because of Jesus Your Son and my Lord, my bones have life and thus I shall go out in joy and peace.
May the mountains and hills break forth in singing.
May Your people bow down in worship.
May Your works be made known to all people.
May Your servant be faithful with Your seed.
For Your Word has rained down and has given me living and daily bread, and thus seed for this sower. Therefore,
May the words of my mouth sing Your praises.
May the words of my mouth spew Good Seed.
May the words of my mouth be carried and blessed by the Spirit to create New Life; beautiful fruit from rich soil, growth that can only come from You.
Oh God, You are a faithful God and thus all glory belongs to You. In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.