Paula L.

Stansbury

The deadline had passed to turn in writing this devotional. With one day late already, I cleared my calendar and mapped out an entire afternoon to finish it.

Then a close friend of mine called. Her voice cracked on the phone as she said, “I really need help.”

I sympathized with her, as I knew she had spent years taking care of her husband who had suffered several strokes. As you might imagine, I had a tough choice to make because of my writing commitment; plus I was exhausted from other personal trials.

Thankfully, several days prior, I heard Rich Cook’s 1987 song “It Brings Me Strength.” His words of praising the Lord in hard times blessed that morning’s quiet time. And in this situation, they resurfaced. I knew that I needed an attitude of praise to the Father. It would get me through and give me strength to carry out God’s will. My plans for the day needed to redirect. So I told my friend, “Yes, I’ll be right over.”

It made me think of Jesus’ conversation with Peter.

In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus told him, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

With bravado, Peter declared, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you” (Luke 22:33).  His heart and mind were set on following Jesus no matter what.

Jesus then responded, “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me” (Luke 22:34).

Despite his bold assertion, Peter did deny the Lord three times;. In his humanness, the trauma of the events was too great, and Peter was not able to carry out his plans. He needed more than his own convictions. He needed God’s power, faith, and focus.

On a much less intense scale than Peter’s, my plans had not turned out like I thought. But I knew God had a greater purpose for me that day. And like Peter, I needed God’s strength to help my friend in need. As I worshiped Him that afternoon, His strength helped me become the support she needed.

Since you are reading this, you can see that helping my friend that day didn’t eliminate this devotional from the publishing plan. Nor did Peter’s denial of even knowing the Lord that night prevent him from receiving Jesus’ love, forgiveness, and restoration.

May we recognize that our true strength comes from relying on God’s divine power instead of ourselves.

~

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.  

Today is Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. It is considered the holiest day of the Jewish calendar—a time to be cleansed and receive forgiveness for the previous year’s sins.

Leviticus 16 describes Aaron’s work as the High Priest on Yom Kippur. God tells Aaron to enter the Holy of Holies. Once inside, he is commanded to offer sacrifices of bulls, rams, and goats. This atonement not only covered his sin, but all of Israel’s. Every year the High Priest would repeat this custom so the Israelites could remain in right standing with God—and in doing so find peace.

Yom Kippur was God’s way of making peace with His people year after year. In Christ, that peace is lasting—and one morning, as I sat in my chair before the morning light came through the window, I heard Him speak it to me deep in my spirit,

“Be at peace.”

In Hebrew, Shalom is translated as “peace.”

“Be at shalom.”

This was not counsel that I thought would improve an ongoing conflict with a close relationship. However, when I chose to be at peace, that relationship changed for the better!

Shalom’s state of wholeness, completeness, and well-being pervades every part of us—spirit, soul, and body. On the other hand, the lack of peace affects our health, souls, and relationships.

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. (Ephesians 4:3 NLT)

The peace that came to me and to that relationship is what God’s people, the Israelites were offered on Yom Kippur. They were commanded to honor that day as a complete day of rest and reconciliation with Him. This permanent law made them right with the Lord once each year.

Aaron and the Israelites sought this shalom through sacrificing animals to God every year on Yom Kippur. But the author of Hebrews tells us, it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). The High Priest had to enter the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies) year after year to offer sacrifice for atonement—but even this was not enough for each day’s guilt from sin.

But there is good news! The author of Hebrews goes on to tell us:

Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. … With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. (Hebrews 9:11-12)

Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus the Prince of Peace. We could also say he is the Prince of Shalom. He is the bond of peace inside of me, for my spirit, soul, and body. He is the perfect sacrifice who atoned for my sins, once and for all. He is also the bond that connects me to other believers.

True peace is a gift from Jesus. Years ago, the moment when I cried out “Amen!” to His sacrifice on the cross, His peace flooded my being.

Yom Kippur is a solemn day of repentance and reflection, yet also a joyous day because the promise of forgiveness and freedom from guilt brings a deep sense of peace, hope, and joy! This is exactly what Jesus offers us—not just on Yom Kippur—but every day.

Have you met Jesus as your Prince of Peace, the Great High Priest? He can be the peace that pours over you as you seek Him every day.

Thanks to His perfect sacrifice, we can be at peace with God and those around us—our only task is to rest in Him.

~

Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

It was clear that instead of reflecting on past events, God wanted me to focus on the present. I had recently been struggling to find my way spiritually, leaving my beloved Bible mostly unopened. But the words of Nehemiah encouraged me.

While preparing this devotional, I initially planned to write about a memorable experience from my past using verses from Nehemiah chapter 10. When I realized I had actually been assigned chapters 7 – 9, I knew I would have to brainstorm again. I immediately thought of Proverbs 16:9 (NIV):

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

In chapter 8, the people of Jerusalem urged Ezra to read aloud from the Book of the Law of Moses. He did so while standing on a high wooden platform that was built for that occasion. When Ezra opened the book, the people stood. Ezra and the people then praised and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites told the people not to mourn or weep as they looked back on the years when they had put aside the public reading of Scripture and turned away from the Lord. Although their neglect and sins led to judgement, suffering, and deportment to Babylon, they were later cleansed by the Word that was spoken.

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

Instead of focusing on my past sins, failures, or even successes, God shifted my perspective from looking back to looking forward. With the rather ironic twist of my assignment, I realized that the Lord was pulling me out of my discouragement and into a place of renewal.

While writing this devotional article, I received a text from my daughter with this encouraging promise from Isaiah 43:19:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

When I look at my Bible today, which I keep on a tall armoire behind my reading chair, I imagine Ezra reading from a high platform to God’s people. Like them, I am hungry again for His Word and hopeful for what is to come.

You might be young in the faith, have many years of walking on the path, or perhaps you have yet to begin the journey.

If you’ve noticed that your desire for the Word is cool, cold or lukewarm—for a day or even for a season, the Spirit of God is asking you to acknowledge this and take steps as the people did in Nehemiah. He will help you regain the hunger and thirst for the Word to be confident in your daily walk.

~

Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

“Polly Prius” was the first car I ever purchased brand-spanking new. I vowed to read the 636-page operating manual that arrived with Polly from her trans-Pacific Ocean trip from Japan.

It wasn’t until a few years later, when the dashboard lights flashed a maintenance issue, that I scrambled and looked up the engine icon in the diagnostic section of the manual. 

I have yet to read any more of that manual. 

When a crisis happens, I tend to hurriedly flip through the Bible for answers. But Scripture teaches us that preventive maintenance and optimal performance for our lives can be found in sound doctrine.

Doctrine is mentioned quite often in the books of Timothy. It is derived from the Latin word meaning to teach, and in the Scripture below, it refers to instructions given. 

Although doctrine, like the 636-page vehicle manual, has never been my favorite topic, 1 Timothy 6:3-4 (NKJV) gives me a new perspective: If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing.

Timothy’s words of instruction are very practical. They include the roles and behaviors of men and women and the qualifications of church overseers and deacons. Other instructions address food, exercise, attitudes toward older men, younger men and women, caring for widows, providing for your relatives, and how the rich ought to live so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). 

Keeping sound doctrine requires a change in my attitudes and interactions, which is why my flesh resists. First Timothy 4:16 tells us, Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 

Second Timothy 4:3-4 says, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. 

My flesh does not always want to receive sound doctrine, but my spirit does because I want to honor God, watch my local church thrive, and have good relationships with the brethren. So, I have been much more attentive and accepting of how the Lord has set things up with wholesome, sound, and good doctrine. 

Now I watch more carefully how I live my life by staying nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6). Practicing sound doctrine is like preventive maintenance for my life and my relationship with others, and brings honor to the church. 

These days, I am digging more eagerly into instructions, doctrines, and car manuals! Will you join me in a deliberate move toward the wholeness God offers us by engaging with the vast instructions of His Scripture?

~

Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What comes to mind when you hear the word stump? It’s likely you do not think that a tree stump has a future—much less a promising one. But I believe that the Lord saw something entirely different when He pruned the nation of Israel.

In Isaiah 6:13 (NKJV), God is referring to Israel when He says, “As a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”

While living in northern California, I worked and resided on a ministry property affectionately called “The Land”—a 170-foot bluff overlooking a seemingly infinite view of the Pacific Ocean. One morning, as I took a walk along this majestic stretch of land, the Holy Spirit brought the above verse to mind. When I arrived back at my house and looked the verse up, the words initially drew a picture of desolation. What would become of this beloved property that had been part of a longstanding history as a ministry since the Jesus Movement?

It was a perplexing time on The Land, and this word from the Lord seemed to point to an unforeseeable future. Thousands had been drawn here, many met the Lord, and followed in the footsteps of fruitful discipleship. But after living on this ministry property years after its heyday, I noticed the numbers began shrinking, and the property was like peeling paint. With this verse etched in my mind, The Land’s fate seemed irreversible. 

In whose hands would this special piece of real estate end up? The million-dollar view from this bluff, which stretched from north to south across the ocean, seemed limitless. The property held an almost sacred appeal for so many, including the Native Americans next door. 

The strong and mighty terebinth tree, which is related to the oak tree, is mentioned throughout the Old Testament. It has a deep, extensive root system and remains green in times of drought. It is large and often lives more than 1,000 years. Over time, terebinth trees became natural landmarks, memorials, and places of rest because of these qualities.

Even when a terebinth is cut down, a new tree often grows from the stump. The terebinth is often known as a symbol of endurance and resilience in Scripture, like when the Lord met with Abraham. Genesis 18:1 says, Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. At this meeting, God gave Abraham the promise of a son.

The verse in Isaiah that says “the stump will be a holy seed” struck me the most. At The Land, the Word had been planted in the hearts of the people who had walked, talked, and been taught from it. Like Israel’s remnant, generations would flourish and produce a harvest in the coming years.

Job 14:7-9 reminds us, For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again … . Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.

Though a stump may seem lifeless, the seed of God’s Word, which is watered by the Holy Spirit, is alive and will not fail. How much more hope is there for you, me, and others than a terebinth stump?

~

Scripture is quoted from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The colorful stamps immediately caught my eye. I eagerly pulled out a hand-addressed envelope from the mailbox—surely it held the invitation to my cousin’s wedding! What a welcome change from the holiday sales ads, requests for donations, and season’s greetings newsletters, I thought. 

But to my chagrin, inside was a letter urging me to trade in my five-year-old Prius for the new model.

This offered a timely moment of introspection. Considering how Christmas is a season of loss, sorrow, and disappointment for so many people, I wondered: Does the content of my life letter have what others are craving—love, acceptance, and spiritual balm to heal injured souls? 

Does my life recommend the love of God because of what I say or by what I do? Or do I merely portray “pretty stamps” on the outside? Deep down, I simply wanted the wisdom and grace to become a better letter. 

The cure to a life of dry content is the admonition to love with actions and to love in truth. As a result, not only will those around me be truly loved, but I in turn receive a greater blessing. The Bible says in 1 John 3:18-19 (NIV), Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

And 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 says, You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Be encouraged to personalize the Lord to those around you. He came in person to show us the way, and daily He strengthens our souls to love His way. This Christmas season, listen to someone without distraction, invite a solitary heart into your home, or call that estranged friend or relative. Make it personal. Be the letter you want to be.

Copyright © 2017 Paula L. Stansbury.