CamDevo

“Rejoice always,”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

One of my favorite things to do as a child at Christmas time was watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on TV. I still really enjoy it even though I’ve likely seen it once a year since I was born. (It first aired that same year.)

My favorite part is when the Whos down in Who-ville start singing. It always brings tears to my eyes. I think it’s a beautiful melody, and the idea that all those people, children included, weren’t at all sidetracked by tragedy is so inspiring. All their homes were burgled and ransacked, but they are rejoicing because God is still God. Christmas still came. Every scrap of food and every carefully selected and wrapped gift was stolen, and yet they sing for joy because Jesus was born and nothing can change that.

I always wonder if I would react the same way.

If I’m honest, I have to say no. I have experienced many a tragedy, and I don’t recall reacting with joyful thanksgiving over the good news that God is with me even in the midst of pain and loss.

But it is great news. No matter what bad news pervades my life, the good news of the gospel is always worth rejoicing over. Today’s verse reminds me with the simple, “Rejoice always.” One of the shortest verses in the Bible. It’s not complicated. God’s goodness is always what I should have at the top of my mind, and so I should rejoice always.

Dear God,

Thank you for your salvation. Thank you that you are always good, always God, never distant, never asleep, never distracted, never on vacation, and never too busy. Remind me to rejoice in you no matter what is happening in my life or what my mood is.

“In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬

This morning I was just thinking how wonderful it is that God is a good God.

Imagine if God, the all-powerful creator and of the universe, was hate-filled instead of good. What if He were mean-spirited and enjoyed pain and suffering? What if chaos made Him chuckle, and He hated beauty? How awful this world and my existence in it would be.

Fortunately, that is not God. Our Creator is love. He loves good. He loves His children to be good, to do good, to be kind and generous with each other. He loves beauty and delights in the creativity and discovery of His children. I can see all these marvelous things just by observing His creation. The sun rises and sets predictably, not on some treacherously random timetable. Flowers bloom with delightful aromas. Birds sing cheerful tunes for the sheer joy of singing, it seems.

But even with a loving God, not everything is sunshine and roses here. Because of our rejection of God’s goodness, a mean-spirited evil has laid claim to much in our world bringing with it disease and poverty, selfishness and fear, pain, death, and loss.

Until Jesus comes again to make all things right, we have to live in the midst of this brokenness. But God has not abandoned us to it. He has given us many remedies. Today’s verse talks about one very important remedy for the ills of society.

We are to help each other.

Because of the brokenness of the world, there is drastic inequality among its people. Some are able to work and make a living while some are less able. Those who are able are told to share with those who are not. It’s as simple as that.

Sure, because there is mean-spirited, selfish evil in the world, there are some who are able but refuse to work, preferring to steal from others. But when God tells me to share, I should err on the side of being too generous than being too stingy. I should be more afraid of someone going hungry than of someone taking advantage of me. After all, God promises to reward my generosity and provide for my needs, whether someone takes advantage of my generosity or it is well-used. Do I trust Him?

Dear God,

Thank you that I have been able to work and earn a living wage my whole life. Thank you for allowing me to be born in a country that provided education and opportunities to thrive. Thank you for health that has been sufficient for a livelihood as well. These are all gifts. Forgive me when I have wrongly taken credit for these blessings and been stingy with the benefits of my ability to earn. Remind me to be generous with those who have not been so blessed with a stable society, with education, with health, with opportunities to earn and save.

“Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭36‬ ‭CSB‬‬

“Pay it forward” is apparently an ancient concept. And here I thought it was a movement that started in 1999 with a book and a movie. But no, it’s much older than that. In fact, today’s verse is a version of the ‘pay it forward’ idea.

To pay it forward, when someone does something kind for me, instead of returning the favor to that person, I do something kind for someone else I encounter later.

In today’s verse, God has done something very kind for me. And in return, I am to be equally kind to those I meet.

But kind is too small a word in this case. God didn’t just buy me a coffee or open a door for me. He sent His son to die in my place, when I absolutely deserved to die. He forgave me fully, completely, and eternally before I even had a chance to be grateful.

Am I supposed to pay that forward? Well, chances are slim that I will ever be in the position to die in someone else’s place, but yeah, to truly pay God’s mercy forward, I should be willing. And I should definitely keep that in mind when I’m deciding how to treat other people.

It kind of puts being cut off in traffic into perspective. Do I react with anger and retaliation or do I forgive them, give them extra space in the lane, and wish them a safe and speedy journey with a smile.

Forgiveness is the key. Especially when it is undeserved, un-asked-for, and even unnoticed forgiveness. Mercy came to me when I did not deserve it, and mercy should be the only thing coming from me.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for your mercy. I am so grateful and glad to receive it. Teach me how to pay your love forward as I move through my days. Forgive me for treating others the way they treat me instead of the way you treated me.

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

These verses are very familiar to me. I had them printed and taped to my bathroom mirror for many years. And I have memorized them in the form of a song I learned as a child.

Although I memorized the words of the verses, I didn’t memorize the location in the Bible. I rarely am able to recall book, chapter, and verse for any Bible quote, and, despite their familiarity, these are no exception.

So I was a little surprised to see that these extremely hopeful and praise-filled verses come from the book of Lamentations. Lamentations is exactly what it sounds like — a book of woe, sorrow, and lament.

In fact all the verses in this chapter leading up to today’s verse are full of shame and regret. They claim God has rightfully turned His face from the author because of his willful sin and rebellion. Verse after verse talk about how God has “ground my teeth with gravel” and “walled me in with blocks of stone” and “forced me to walk in darkness instead of light.”

Poetic. But oh so grim.

And then comes today’s two verses.

The whole chapter takes a dramatic turn from desperate despair to confident hope, as if the author has just seen a flickering light in the distance and remembered the way out of a deep tunnel. He remembered God. He remembered who God IS.

I’ve been in some dark places in my life. Desperate places of despair. Most people encounter these dark realms at some point in their lives because this is a fallen world full of pain and loss and chaos. In those dark tunnels is exactly where the devil wants us to stay, full of shame and fear and regret.

It is exactly in those dark tunnels that today’s verses are so important, so desperately needed. When all is black, I remember who God IS. God is faithful, merciful, and full of love. Always. No blackness can prevent the new morning from bringing His light to shine on me again.

Dear God,

Thank you so much that no matter what I do, no matter what happens to me or because of me, you remain the same. Your light of love and faithfulness can never be extinguished by my sin. Forgive me for stumbling around in the dark, wallowing in self-pity, instead of sitting patiently and confidently in the hope of your salvation and rescue.

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today’s verse should be the subtitle of a course called “Relationships 101.”

When my husband and I argue, inevitably someone ends up having to say, “Let me finish.” In the heat of an argument, it feels increasingly important to make myself heard and understood. This comes at the cost of hearing and understanding my husband. I assume I already know what he’s going to say and try to skip forward to what I want to say. And this, obviously, is a recipe for disaster, communication-wise.

God has a better way. The right way. As they say, God gave us two ears but only one mouth for a reason.

Being eager to listen and patient about adding my two cents is valuable advice when it comes to any relationship, any time a conflict is waiting in the wings.

If I get in a fender bender and come flying out of my car spouting invective and self-righteous indignation, conflict is certain to ensue. The more heated I begin, the more contentious the conflict and the more damaging the consequences will be, and not just to my car.

If I hop out of my car eager to listen to the other person instead, and keep my adrenaline-fueled emotions to myself, I may learn that the person driving the other car is having a medical emergency. Or perhaps they explain that I had my turn signal on but failed to turn. Oops. Or I turned the wrong way onto a one-way street. Oops. Or maybe they simply made a mistake and are apologetic and eager to exchange car insurance information. Or maybe they are none of those things and come at me with their own invective.

No matter what, by listening first, I have done my best to avoid letting evil have its way in that situation. The devil wants conflict and escalation and anger and retaliation. God doesn’t. And neither do I.

Dear God,

Thank you for your love and for the reminder to approach conflict and potential conflict with a loving ear, not a selfish mouth. Guide me toward better listening. Forgive me for prioritizing being heard over hearing others. Shut my mouth for me when necessary.

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I remember the first time I drank alcohol and felt buzzed. I was in high school and a couple friends of mine had gotten a bottle of wine. I knew it was illegal for me to drink it. I’d been told it was sinful to be drunk. And I didn’t like being bad.

But I was so curious. So I had some. I remember not liking the taste but really enjoying the effects.

Later I was wracked with guilt. I confessed to my mom the next day. I was so surprised by her reaction. I was expecting horrified disgust. Instead, she told me a story of when she had drunk too much wine one time. Knowing my mom had gotten inebriated kind of rocked my world.

I reevaluated drinking in particular, sin in general, and forgiveness. I contemplated the difference between mistakes and rebellion. I also wondered about those “sins” that aren’t explicitly in the Bible. Are they really sin? Do they just often lead to sin?

Today’s verse talks a bit about things like that. God told the Israelites in the Old Testament that they should only eat meat from certain animals, cooked in certain ways. Eating the “unclean” animals was a sin.

The Gentiles that begin following Jesus in the New Testament don’t know anything about that law — or any of the other 600+ laws for that matter.

So how can these two groups of Christians share a meal together? What is right and what is wrong?

His answer is one of love. First loving God and then living your neighbor. (I think love is always the right answer.)

Let’s say I want to paint my barn blue. I think God will love blue and I am joyfully planning to beautify my barnyard in praise to God. Now let’s say my neighbors come by, and I mention my plans. They seem horrified. When I ask why, they explain that in their culture blue is the color of evil and death. My barn is apparently front and center in their view of the surrounding landscape and they would be afraid every time they glanced out their window.

Should I not paint my barn blue?

Paul says I should not. Because love should be my guiding principle. Although I don’t see any sin or shame in painting my barn blue, it would offend and lessen the quality of my neighbors’ lives. That would not be loving them. And if I’m not loving my neighbor, I’m not loving God.

So, whether I eat shrimp, drink vodka, go to certain websites, wear certain clothes, (insert your thing here), or paint barns blue, even though the act of it may not be sinful for me, to glorify God I must also consider how my actions affect other people.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me the golden standard of love to know right from wrong. The law was too complicated for the Israelites and is also too complicated for me to fully obey. Thank you for sending Jesus so that I only need to focus on love. Please remind of to always seek to love you and my neighbor in everything I do or don’t do.

“And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Malachi is an ancient prophet. And sometimes prophecy is impossible to fully understand until it has been fulfilled. Thankfully, a part of his prophecy has already been fulfilled.

In this chapter, Malachi is prophesying about the “great and terrible day of the Lord.” We may think of this as judgment day or something like that. We don’t know when that will happen or exactly what that will be like, but it’s clear that it will be great for some people and terrible for others.

But Malachi also prophesied about something else that would happen before that day. He said that God would send the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day. The prophet Elijah was long gone when Malachi wrote this so what did he mean?

Jesus explained in Matthew 11:14 that John the Baptist was this prophesied Elijah. This is the portion of Malachi’s prophecy that has already been fulfilled.

In today’s verse, the “he” that Malachi is referring to is John the Baptist. John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah. He also preached repentance and reconciliation. This was part of the preparation.

Relationships are very important to God. The father-son relationship is an example of a relationship that should be very strong and yet is often fraught.

Part of being on the great side and not the terrible side of the day of the Lord is doing everything in my power to heal my relationships. To accept Jesus’s forgiveness, I must also forgive others and humbly ask others for their forgiveness.

It’s important to note that the verse doesn’t say those relationships must be healed and perfect to avoid the coming curse. Just that I need to try. I need to “turn my heart” toward them. I need to humbly examine my part in the brokenness. I need to generously and genuinely offer my love. I need to listen with openness and generosity. And make a change.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all the relationships in my life that you have generously gifted me with. Forgive me for the damage I have done to them. Guide me today in steps that I can take to “turn my heart” to those I have hurt or been hurt by. Give me wisdom, courage, and humility in this endeavor so that I can joyfully and eagerly anticipate the great part of your great and terrible day.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Immediately before today’s verse, Paul discusses how slaves ought to behave as followers of Christ. He said they should “submit to their masters in everything”, “be well-pleasing”, “not talking back”…

This is certainly unpalatable in today’s world. I don’t think anyone should ever be enslaved.

However, in Paul’s world, slavery was common and acceptable. In other books, the Bible discusses an Israelite’s option to become a slave voluntarily. If they are destitute with no place to live or are under a the weight of a huge debt, for instance. But those were mutual agreements that had time limits. I don’t know. I still think it ends up horribly whenever one person controls another.

In today’s verse, Paul concludes by saying, “…in the present age.” I am to live sensibly for my era, for my society, for my world. For the people of Paul’s age, living sensibly included being an obedient slave. And it included older women encouraging young women to love and submit to their husbands. It included a few more things that don’t seem that sensible today.

I love that Paul used the word sensible. I am not supposed to turn off my brain when I meditate on God’s word. God’s grace instructs me in how to live righteously, in a godly way, and sensibly in the world I live in.

Dear God,

Thank you for the reminder that my good sense counts for something. Your Spirit lives in me and speaks to me about your intentions when I read and contemplate your word. Teach me to listen carefully. Teach me how to interpret your will correctly and sensibly for this day and age.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭36‬:‭26‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I’m sick today. I have acute bronchitis, also known as a chest cold. It’s pretty awful.

So when I read today’s verse my first thought was, “Yes, please God! Replace my heart. And don’t stop there. Give me new lungs and sinuses while you’re at it!” One can always hope.

God is talking to His people in today’s verse — the people called by His name. They have been terribly sick. Sick with sin. He punished them for it with exile from their homes and homeland.

But now He’s planning on restoring them and their land to health. His reason has nothing to do with their improved behavior though. They didn’t earn their way to this blessing. They still have stone hearts after all.

So why? Why did God decide to restore His people?

The verses before today’s verse explain that He is tired of these cold-hearted people using His name. They are giving Him a bad reputation!

God is a good God. A loving God. A patient God, but a perfectly holy God. But the other nations would never know that by observing the people who call themselves by His name. He’s decided it’s time to give His people another chance. (Thirtieth? Fortieth? We’re way beyond second.)

I call myself a follower of Jesus. I use His name. Anyone who calls themselves a Christian uses His name. Are Christians giving God a bad reputation? The answer is a resounding yes.

So does God plan a period of exile for us until one day He decides it’s time to heal our stony hearts?

Dear God,

Oh God, I’m sorry for my stony heart. My hard heart. Please accept my humble repentance and teach me how to love with your healthy heart. I’m grateful to be allowed to use your name. I’m sorry for misrepresenting you to the people I encounter. Please forgive me. Heal my heart (and lungs and sinuses) now. Thank you!

“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Everything in the heavens and on earth — everything that exists — belongs to God.

That reminds me of a joke I heard once that I quite like. I’m terrible at telling jokes, but I’ll do my best to get the basics across.

“Some scientists were feeling very proud of their accomplishments and were bragging about their ability to create life, just like God did. Well, God decided to challenge them to a ‘life-creating contest’ where they would each create a new life form. The scientists confidently accepted the challenge. So, God grabbed a handful of dirt to begin. Then the scientists likewise grabbed a handful of dirt. At this point God stopped the proceedings and said, ‘Oh no you don’t. You go get your own dirt.’”

I like that joke because it’s amusing but also makes me think. It reminds me how amazing God really is. He made everything.

He could destroy it all and build it all again, either exactly the same or completely different. He created all the raw materials from nothing. With a word. There is nothing that exists that He can’t take credit for.

I can claim to be a genius or the world’s foremost expert on any subject, but my knowledge and expertise will always pale in comparison to what God knows. I can paint a scene or write a story or devise a poem or compose a song that awes the world, but compared to the magnificence found throughout of the universe, God’s works far surpass my own. Besides, God created me so anything I created is really because of Him.

He created me to be creative and curious and full of wonder. He created me in His image. God is also creative and curious and full of wonder. I think He created our world out of the sheer joy of creating. And what a wonder it is.

Dear God,

Thank you for the world you created. Thank you for creating your people to also be creative like you. Forgive me for forgetting that everything I have came from you and belongs to you. Everything I see and hear and know, everything I will ever see or hear or know, is also yours and came from you. You are great indeed!