From Gutter to Glory

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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Praise the Lord!  Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.  Praise the name of the Lord!  Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever.  Everywhere—from east to west—praise the name of the Lord.  For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens.  Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high?  He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth.  He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.  He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people!  He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother.  Praise the Lord!  Psalm 113:1-9(NLT)

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A woman in a worship service was standing with eyes closed, hands raised in prayer and praise. 

A three year old, standing in the pew in front of her turned around, saw the upraised palms and gave her a high-five!^[2]   Worship should be enthusiastic.

On the other hand, have you ever encountered the time when you just plain don’t feel like you have it in you to get up anything approaching worshipful praise? 

A minister shared this:  Five or six years ago I visited a church in Connecticut.  In the middle of the Eucharistic liturgy, when the whole congregation was kneeling and singing the “Alleluia,” I saw a woman near

me with her hands lifted in praise. 

The thing was, those hands were terribly twisted and gnarled, and she had a pair of crutches near her.  Dear Christ, I thought, what makes Christians sing “Alleluia”?  Clearly there was something besides self-interest welling up from that woman in the act of praise.^[3]

Another example involves Margaret Sangster Phippen who wrote this:

…in the mid-1950s [my] father, British minister W. E. Sangster, began to notice some uneasiness in his throat and a dragging in his leg. When he went to the doctor, he found that he had an incurable disease that caused progressive muscular atrophy. His muscles would gradually waste away, his voice would fail, his throat would soon become unable to swallow.

Sangster threw himself into his work in British home missions, figuring he could still write and he would have even more time for prayer. “Let me stay in the struggle Lord,” he pleaded. “I don’t mind if I can no longer be a general, but give me just a regiment to lead.” He wrote articles and books, and helped organize prayer cells throughout England. “I’m only in the kindergarten of suffering,” he told people who pitied him.

Gradually Sangster’s legs became useless. His voice went completely. But he could still hold a pen, shakily. On Easter morning, just a few weeks before he died, he wrote a letter to his daughter. In it, he said, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice to shout, ‘He is risen!’—but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.”^[4]

There is a common thread which runs through stories like these, and, in fact all the human testimony of people who give praise and maintain incredible faith and joy in the worst of circumstances:  He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.  Psalms 113:7^(NLT)

It’s hard to not read Psalm 113 as a command – it is book-ended by the imperative to “Praise the LORD!”  But in reality it’s less command, and more invitation.  By unfolding a magnificent picture of the character of God, the Psalmist is inviting us to be like Him.  God is great, the creator and sustainer of all life; He even has to look down to observe the highest of the heavens.  By contrast God’s compassion is so great He lifts the lowliest person to sit by Him. 

Do you recall the hymn, There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy?^[5]  This is it!  From glory in heaven to the gutter of hell (and vice-versa), God’s love invites everyone to come close and be cleansed, healed and forgiven.  That’s a WIDE gap for mercy to cover, and God is inviting us to live like that; to be like that!

For You Today

No matter how big you’ve sinned, that wideness of God’s mercy can cover the gap. 

Can you say Praise the Lord?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Jenifer Smith, Fort Gratiot, Michigan, Christian Reader, “Kids of the Kingdom”

[3] James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited ©1988.

[4] Vernon Grounds, Denver, Colorado. Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 1

[5] United Methodist Hymnal, 121, WORDS:  Frederick W. Faber, MUSIC:  Lizzie S. Tourjee.,

The Voice of God

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Monday, February 12, 2018

So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him.  And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”  So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you.  Then they will always trust you.”  Exodus 19:7-9^(NLT)

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.  For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.  So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?  And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.  Hebrews 2:1-4^(NLT)

Every weekday morning Elizabeth and I listen to the raspy-voiced guy who delivers our devotion via the internet.  Over that first cup of coffee we discuss the Scripture we heard and how it impacts us, and what we should do about what we’ve heard.  That guy can be annoying!  The discussion last Thursday (after Mr. Gravel-in-the-throat spoke about the prophet hearing from God) was all about whether we can actually hear the voice of God.  We decided it’s entirely possible; it’s just improbable in the noise of our culture these days.  A church sign I saw recently says:  In order to hear God’s voice you have to turn this world’s volume down.

That is most likely the most theologically and sociologically-accurate statement I’ve ever heard, with the possible exceptions of these two:

·       Every person is a sinner

·       God never knew a someone who was too big a sinner to save

If you noticed in the account of Moses coming down from the mountain to tell the people what he’d heard from the LORD, the people agreed to terms…they would do everything God required.  If you back up a chapter or two and read the lead-up to this point you find there’s a lot of preparation required if you’re going to meet with God on His terms (and hear His voice). 

Now, that’s a whole lot different than what we generally do to prepare for our meetings, isn’t it?  Usually our preparation is limited to putting-on clothes and showing up at the church-house, expecting the preacher to deliver the Word in a 15 minute package, so we can get out a little early to meet Mary and Jim down at Golden Corral.   Instead of reading our Bible lesson for Sunday School, we expect the teacher to give us all of it in 30 minutes and leave plenty of time to talk about last night’s ball game before we have to get quiet in the sanctuary.  Frankly, I’ve always wondered what that conversation was all about under that shade tree in the parking lot in-between Sunday School and worship…were those guys discussing when they were going to meet to bring a meal to those homeless folks, or was it something more spiritual?

Paul said we have to be really careful to pay attention – both to listen and do what we have heard in God’s Word to us.  We have a tendency to drift…to wander from the truth and what it demands of our attention, stewardship, and witness. 

God’s Word – His voice – whether spoken audibly, or printed and shared, is much too important for our souls to be treated casually, haphazardly, or with lifeless lack of enthusiasm.  When you undertake to serve God, you should do it with every bit of excellence you possess, employing every gift the Holy Spirit of God placed in your life.

Those are the terms of this great salvation Paul was preaching.

For You Today

Was your service to God last week enthusiastic – your best?  What will it be like this week?  Will you hear the voice from the mountain?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

Watch the Devotion VIDEO

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Ready to Serve

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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.   Galatians 6:9^(NLT)

My bride and I were privileged to attend the 1983 Billy Graham crusade as attendees of the Pastor’s School Dr. Graham offers.  It was an inspiring time for a young pastor and it created an enthusiasm for evangelism that I still sense today.

One of the highlights was listening to Cliff Barrows, who has been the song leader for the Billy Graham crusades since the beginning of his ministry.  In speaking of how they prepare for a crusade I wrote down what he said about the kind of “ready” that he and Mr. Graham will not compromise:

Unless we go with the enthusiasm as if it were the first crusade and the urgency as if it were the last, we might as well not go at all.[2]

I believe enthusiasm for the kingdom of God, and the sense that there is nothing else more urgent may be the two outstanding characteristics that you see in the apostle Paul.  No one, perhaps, in the entire canon of Scripture endured more hardship, opposition and obstacles than Paul.  Yet he persevered with an urgency to help build Christ’s kingdom, as well as undimmed enthusiasm, two traits which are the best example any worker in the kingdom could emulate.

I have observed people throughout my lifetime, particularly in light of these two characteristics.  Some applied them to selfish pursuits, looking to gain a foothold on grabbing the brass ring.  Some were altruistic, working diligently to serve others.  Most all of them were successful.

So the principle Cliff Barrows laid out about preparing and going about your mission in life is true.  Rephrased for today it would be go large, or go home.  But it all comes down to whose kingdom you have decided you will invest your life, yours or His.

For You Today

Got your enthusiasm plugged in?  There’s a kingdom to serve, and it’s urgent!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image: By Escapedtowisconsin (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

[2] Cliff Barrows, Orlando, April 15, 1983