It was good to have Pastor Jim Walters speak to our men’s group today at Timberline Church. Jim shared about his career as a pilot and made some applications to our spiritual life. Jim is the former lead pastor of Bear Valley Church in Lakewood. I always enjoyed attending the services at his church while I served in the State House. His book, “When Faith Takes Flight” is available on Amazon.com

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive…. But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”…Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live.“ Jeremiah 38:17,19-20 HCSB

Zedekiah was the last King of Judah from David’s lineage. His end was tragic. He and his leaders were fleeing the city under assault, he was captured along with his sons. He watch as his sons were killed and then his eyes were blinded and he was chained and taken captive to Babylon.

Zedekiah like many was caught between wanting God’s word and will and fear of what would happen. On three occasions Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah to ask him to pray for him and city and to inquire about God’s Word. The Lord’s word was “don’t trust in your human understanding and your resources. Surrender and submit to my plan and it will go well for you and city will not be burned down.”

The consequences for disobedience was the opposite. There would be tragedy for Zedekiah and his leaders and the city would be burned down. These words of Jeremiah made him a “traitor” in the eyes of the nobles. He was accused of destroying the morale of the people and the army that remained. Jeremiah was thrown in prison and then into an empty cistern to silence his words.

But on the last and final warning we see Zedekiah fearing to obey the Lord’s word for what “he” thought would then happen. Jeremiah tried to reassure him, “if you obey the Lord, the Lord will take care of you.” But in the end Zedekiah gave into his fear of his advisors and the unknown and failed to trust in the Lord’s word and will and we see the consequences.

The circumstances are different, but the concepts are the same with people through the ages. “If I commit fully to obey the Lord, what will happen? What will people think? What will happen?”As a result individuals “lean on their own understanding” instead of trusting the Lord and placing their faith in Him and the consequences can be devastating. Pastor Jim Walter challenged our men’s group this morning about this in speaking to the issue of fear and how it can create a hesitation in pursuing God’s call and the desires He places in our hearts.

This issue can be seen in surrendering your life to Christ as well as fully pursuing God’s dreams and direction. God’s Word assures us, “Trust in the Lord with all your hearts….in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your steps.” (Proverbs 3:5,6) We also read in the Psalms, “No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced…” (Psalms 25:3 NLT) There is safety and security in obeying and following the Lord, even when our own minds battle with reservations. That is called faith. God honors our faith in Him. He will never disappoint. Learn from Zedekiah.

Prayer for today… “Lord, help me to be bold in following You. Enable me to recognize and resist my human fears and instead place my faith fully in You. Allow me to trust in Your love and Your provision as I obey and follow You.”

I finished my third day of IV drug therapy. It has gone fairly well. I have only experienced some low grade headaches which is one of the side effects. I’m looking forward to our men’s breakfast tomorrow with my friend Pastor Jim Walters.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”—the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 HCSB

Jeremiah is filled with warnings and judgment from the Lord. But it also contains glorious promises of restoration and the future that Lord had for His people. Essentially we see the Lord is in the process of a “reset” or creating a new beginning for His people.

We read these words of the prophet, “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” (Jeremiah 23:7-8 HCSB)

We see this described in Psalm 126. This is one of the Psalms that was recited annually during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem during the three annual feasts.

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter,our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:1,2 HCSB)

God’s people were going into a long captivity, but what they were about to experience was not going to be their ultimate future. God was using this time to reset their hearts and to show that He is constantly at work to fulfill His purposes, even when God’s people stray and get off track and lose their bearings.

When we look at the history of mankind, we see the Lord did a “reset” when He choose Noah and destroyed the earth with a flood. We see  God calling Abraham and through the years, after a journey that went through Egypt, God brought them to the land He had promised. In the midst of it, God in His anger was prepared to start over with Moses. But Moses interceded and that is why the Children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

Now the Lord was going to place His people in the “womb” of Babylon for seventy years. He would restore them to the land and to Jerusalem. There would be a new Temple and they would be a people with a “new” heart. The Lord promised them a glorious future and was promising them a new “covenant.”

The words of Jeremiah find their ultimate fulfillment when Jesus with his disciples at the “last” supper told them, “I am making a new covenant with you…” The provision of Calvary would allow God’s laws and ways to be in the hearts of people by faith and the grace of God would fulfill and do what the law of God could not.

When I consider God’s ways in accomplishing His work in the lives of His people, it allows me to be confident that He is still at work on our world today, bringing to pass all that He has planned for those who love Him and place their faith in Him. That is something that we can observe in individual lives and as well as in our world.

Prayer for today…  “Lord, thank you for the assurance that You are still working out Your divine plan and purpose in the world and in our lives as Your people. Allow us to be patient, keeping our eyes on You, knowing that what You have promised You will fulfill in Your time and in Your ways.”

I finished day two of three of my IV drug therapy. The treatment will continue once a month for the next six months. It is intended to bolster my immune system and hopefully have some residual effects to giving my great strength. Thanks for those who have continued to keep me in your prayers.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “The Lord’s burning anger will not turn back until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart. In time to come you will understand it.“ Jeremiah 30:24 HCSB

We don’t know the outcome of the trials and troubles of life when they are happening. The Lord was doing something to and in His people that they could not understand or comprehend. He was using the oppressive power of Babylon and seventy years of captivity to “reset” their hearts.

They were to “settle down, seek the good of the land where they were being taken captive” with the assurance of the Lord’s promise, “…I know the plans I have for you….plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 HCSB)

Even during prophecies about judgment, the Lord spoke of the future plans for His people, “I will certainly restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and show compassion on his dwellings. Every city will be rebuilt on its mound; every citadel will stand on its proper site. Thanksgiving will come out of them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not decrease; I will honor them, and they will not be insignificant.” (Jeremiah 30:18,19 HCSB)

The future was promising, but the present was dismal and hard. But the path to a new future, was through a “valley of weeping” a time of trial and testing. However, in the hardship, the Lord would be with His people just as much as He was in the “good” times. They were not a people that were forsaken.

God was going to fulfill His purpose for His people and God’s people would, in the proper time, understand the purpose of God that was being fulfilled.

When we look at Job, we see the suffering that the Lord allowed enabled Job to come to understand God in a way that he had not known and to see his own life in a way that he had not experienced. Through it all God proved Himself faithful and we see that hardships do come to righteous people, but the suffering is not in vain.

I think of the disciples of Jesus. Jesus told them about His crucifixion and resurrection. But they did not understand until the darkest of nights would be experienced. They still had to take the path through the valley of suffering, confusion and anxiety to understand God’s purpose at the proper time.

When I look at my life over the last three years, I see how the Lord was preparing to “reset” my heart and focus. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now, I can now see how God has worked to do in me and through me what I could not have planned on my own.

When I look at the current world of politics, I have to conclude that “God is up to something.” I don’t know what it is, but have confidence that we will understand it at the proper time.

An old hymn contains the words, “We’ll understand it in the by and by….” Those words refer to the perspective that comes with an eternity in God’s presence, but what we need to be confident that God is fulfilling His purpose in the lives of those who love Him and trust in Him and in the world at large. We don’t know those purposes before or during the time of testing or confusion, but we can confident that “In time to come you will understand it.”

Prayer for today… “Lord thank you that my experiences in life, my trials and suffering are not in vain. You use them, You redeem them to accomplish Your purposes. Grant the patience that is needed to wait for the understanding to come, that allows me to see Your hand and purposes being fulfilled in my life.”

Today, I was sitting in the infusion center at McKee Hospital receiving some IV drug therapy when I notice the email announcement of the passing of Bill Armstrong, President of Colorado Christian University and former U.S. Senator. This is a great loss for his family, CCU and the State of Colorado. It is in reflection of his life and legacy that I share these thoughts and observations.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  2 Timothy 4:6,7 HCSB

When we read these well known verses of Paul to Timothy we often focus on “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” However, “fighting the fight” “finishing the race” and “keeping the faith”, is directly related to living our life as an “offering to God.”

In the Old Testament a “drink offering” of a portion of wine, was mingled with sacrifices on the altar. Some have concluded that this is a picture of recognition that, “all blessings comes from God.” The picture I think of is when David’s three mighty men risked their lives to enter into enemy territory in Bethlehem. David was fleeing from Saul and longed for a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem. When the men returned with the water, David poured it on the ground as a sacrifice. (2 Samuel 23:16) This was an act of surrender. He recognized the bravery of his men, over the thirst and desire of his own life.

Paul’s life had been lived as the “living sacrifice” that he called the Romans to be. (Romans 12:1,2) Paul’s life had already been “spent” not in selfish pursuits, but in surrender to the work of Christ. When you live a “poured out life” fighting the fight, running the race and keeping the faith will become a natural consequence of that commitment.

That commitment is one to which God responds. God responds in giving grace for the Journey and strength for each challenge. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Tell God you are ready to be poured out as an offering, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be.”

God responds by the assurance of an eternal reward and a grand entrance into His glory. Paul with confidence declares, “There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8 HCSB)

When all that we are given, is given to all that God calls us to be, it results in receiving all that God has provided for those who love and obey and serve Him. In this life and for all eternity that is to come.

I write this in honor of Former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong, President of Colorado Christian University. He passed into the ranks of heaven on July 5, 2016. He was certainly a, “man among men” and a “leader among leaders.” I can’t say that I knew him well, but was counted as a friend and one he supported not only during my legislative years but as one who was “all in” during  my health crisis.

He was generous in his support and loyal in his prayers. He mentioned on a number of occasions how he would give updates and have his executive leadership pray for me. I was viewing a video tribute to President Armstrong and his board members shared how he would have communion at all the board meetings and they would end the meeting kneeling in prayer at their chairs. It is no wonder that the Lord blessed the University with academic achievement and spiritual vitality during his ten years of leadership.

I recall having a breakfast with President Armstrong on one occasion.  He told me that he really wasn’t planning on taking on any more significant tasks in his life when offered the position of President at CCU. He did so because he felt that was God’s calling. As he took on the task, he did so as a “drink offering” before the Lord. He gave himself completely to the task in a sacrificial manner.

When I heard that his cancer was active and threatening his life, I made plans to drop off a copy of my book at his office. He had read the manuscript, expressed how much he enjoyed the read and wrote a nice endorsement. I was surprised that he was in his office and even more surprised that he took time for conversation, concluding with a time of prayer.

Bill Armstrong was a leader, he was a true man of God and an example for others to follow. His impact on lives is “deep and long.” I count myself privileged to be among those who knew him a little, but admired him much. He has inspired me to live a “poured out life” to continue to fight a good fight, run the race and keep to keep the faith!

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…  “For the grace of God has appeared with 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, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Titus 2:11-13 HCSB

Paul’s letter to Titus, like his letter to Timothy, was written from a Roman prison. As a result, we see some similar instructions to these leaders about their duty in appointing leaders in the church and warnings about the environment in which they lived.

At the end of chapter one we read,  “To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work.” (Titus 1:15-16 HCSB)

Titus is then instructed what to teach older men, women, younger men and slaves. Each had their own challenges to face and responsible conduct to uphold. Our verses above get to the “why” of all these warnings and instructions.

While God’s grace that brings salvation is available to all, it calls us to responsible conduct, so that God’s grace is not in vain. God’s grace not only gives us favor from God, it provides and motivation and incentive to lead the type of lives that will bring honor to Christ.

God’s grace motivates us to keep our “eyes on the prize.” Our focus is not to be this world and any pleasures that would allure and distract, but our focus is to be on the coming of Christ. The fact that Christ’s return is the “blessed hope” for those who follow Christ is to be more than a “doctrinal” belief. It is to impact character of our lives. We are a “people of hope.”

Prayer for today…  “Lord thank Your for Your grace that not only saves us but empowers us and motivates us in the life we are to live. Thank You that as we reflect Your character, we do so in anticipation of a future in Your presence, eagerly looking to Your return and our heavenly home.”

I think the activities of the last weekend caught up with me. I found myself more fatigued than what I expected, but I am learning that seems to be a “new normal” for me. This afternoon, I traveled to Denver to visit my mother in Englewood and then to the studios of KNUS. I appreciate Krista Kafer allowing me to join her to talk about my book, “The Longest Campaign” and my journey toward full recovery from West Nile Virus.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will keep My eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them…” Jeremiah 24:5,6 HCSB

In Jerusalem it was the beginning of the end or more toward the end of the end. King Jeconiah has just been taken captive to Babylon with some of the craftsmen from the Temple. The Lord shows Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs, before the Temple. One basket the figs are very good. The other baskets has figs in them that are so bad they are inedible.

When the Lord gives the meaning of the vision, He says the “good” figs are those who surrender and go to Babylon. The “bad” figs are the people who remain in Jerusalem or those who try to escape to Egypt. What?! How could it be God’s will to “give in” to “surrender to the enemy” to not stay or escape from the hand of the oppressive power of Nebuchadnezzar?

God’s people then and God’s people today, struggle when “God’s ways” don’t make sense. They struggle when God’s direction and those God uses are contrary to what makes sense. But in the midst of their perplexity of God’s will, here is God’s promise, “I will keep My eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them.  I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am Yahweh. They will be My people, and I will be their God because they will return to Me with all their heart.” (Jeremiah 24:6,7 HCSB)

Those who sought to seek their “own way out” of this judgment and from the purposes God was wanting to accomplish are told,  “I will make them an object of horror and disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing, wherever I have banished them. I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.” (Jeremiah 24:9,10 HCSB)

As I have been reading the Book of Job, it has become more clear that the struggle for Job and his “friends” was not being able to understand that “bad could happen to good people.” Since Job was under a “curse” he had to be bad. But Job knew the life he had lived so he concluded, that God was being “unjust.”

We often say that “hindsight is 20/20 vision.” But “jumping to conclusions” about what God is “up to” is being blind to the fact that God does at times (often many times) do things that don’t make sense to us. The temptation then is to make the wrong judgment about the situation, ourselves or God. It is always better to choose God’s will than to take situations into our “own hands.”

On this July 4th as I look at a presidential election, I have to have assurance that “God know what He is doing” even if it doesn’t make sense to me. Otherwise, there is only cynicism and despair. I’m not making any final declarations one whom God is going to use, or what is going to happen, other than, “I’m keeping my eyes on the Lord and confident that God’s will is going to prevail.” What all that means, we will see as time unfolds. We can be confident that God’s desire is for people to “return to Him with all their heart.”

Prayer for Today…. “Lord, we live in challenging and perplexing times. Help us to keep our eyes on You and keep our trust in You. Let us not jump to conclusions or attempt take matters into our own hands, when things don’t make sense. Thank you the most important thing is to cooperate with Your will for our lives and our world.”

Today was the final day of the Western Conservative Summit. Three years ago I was in a hospital ICU instead of attending this event. This year, I was in front of hundreds of people as they viewed “My Story” video and I shared about my book and introduced Pastor John MacArthur as one of the keynote speaker. As I was leaving today, I had the opportunity to see the infamous, “Scheffel” siblings. Tom Scheffel is the attorney for CCU, sister Debora is on the State Board of Education and brother Mark is the Majority Leader of the State Senate. Their mother Marolyn and their father can be proud of the impact being made on Colorado by their children.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.…“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.“ Jeremiah 17:5,7 HCSB

You can count on it. Where an individual places their trust will depend on their quality of life, their resilience in times of testings and their confidence for the future. This morning, I did a short interview with State Representative Gordon Klingenschmitt aka “Dr. Chaps” (former Navy Chaplain) for his internet program “Pray in Jesus Name.” One of the foundational questions was, “what was your source of trust during your health crisis? How did you find the strength to endure?”

Jeremiah is writing to God’s people who were in the throws of God’s judgment for their persistent idolatry. The idolatry that God’s people were to stamp out when entered the promised land, has now become the pervasive cancer in their midst. Their trust in God had been replaced by trust in themselves and the creation of their own hands.

Trusting in man, opposed to trusting in God is reflected in a person’s life. Jeremiah says the one who trusts in man and departs from the Lord, “…shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.” (Jeremiah 17:6 HCSB)

Barrenness, hardship and desolation is the lot for those who trust in themselves. It is a hopeless and fruitless existence. A “salt land” is the most vivid description of a lifeless existence. I found with interest some oil and gas experts observation that it is easier to clean up oil from the land, than it is salt.

In contrast, the man who trusts in the Lord, “…shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:8 HCSB)

Fruitfulness and life is the lot of those who trust in the Lord. The words, describe stability, strength and longevity. I think of a recent conversation when a person was describing the rapid growth that takes place in Florida with plants and trees. He said, “the grass can growth an inch and a half in three days.” This is a good metaphor for the life that comes the one who trusts in the Lord. Even when drought comes, fear is not overwhelming, because provision is still present.

How do we know if we are trusting in the Lord or trusting in ourselves? It can be evidenced by what we are experiencing, the “fruit of our lives.” But it also requires a willingness to ask the Lord “what He thinks.” We need to have our hearts open to the Lord in those areas and in those times when we are not trusting Him fully. Why is that? Because, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9,10 HCSB)

Prayer for Today… “Lord, I pray for grace to trust you more. Allow me to realize that I need Your strength and provision for all that I do and each day that I live. Reveal to me those areas where I am leaning to “my own understanding.” Thank You that trusting in You, provides “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”

I have been at a table in the exhibit area, making my book available. It has been great to connect with several friends to be able to share my book with those who have been familiar with my story. My table is close to Tom Scheffel’s. He is the attorney for Colorado Christian University and someone I have known for a number of years and person I count as a dear friend.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold.”  Job 23:10 HCSB

This verse articulates the second “confidence” of Job. He was confidence in the Lord as his living redeemer and a future resurrection and revelation of “God in the flesh.” Job also expresses confidence in his own standing before the Lord.

Job knew that all is known by the Lord. The psalmist declared, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.“ (Psalm 139:2 NIV) All that could be known about Job, the Lord knew and Job was confident and comfortable with that reality.

Job was also confident that he would “pass the test.” In all of the questions of “why me?” “why this” “why now?” In all of the cursing the day he was born and all the accusations from his three friends, Job knew that end the he would emerge from the fire of testing as “pure gold.”

Here is the basis of Job’s confidence, “My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food.” (Job 23:11,12 HCSB)

Job had been faithful to the Lord and he had confidence that the Lord would be faithful to him. There is no hint of “I haven’t done enough.” There was no indication of any “hidden sin.” Yet Job was not arrogant but humble before the Lord.

“But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like these in mind. Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him.” (Job 23:13-15 HCSB)

I believe Job demonstrates the Biblical idea of the “fear of the Lord.” He was confidence of his own standing before the Lord, but realized that the Lord’s ways and actions are of His doing and beyond human understanding.

We can thankful that our standing before the Lord is not based on our “perfection” before Him. But when there is a commitment of faithfulness to the Lord to the best of our ability we can have assurance of God’s purpose being fulfilled in our life as we emerge from the tests and trials of life.

Peter declared, “…you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 1:6,7 NKJV)

That is something that I have learned in my own life and from my experiences. It makes one more grateful for the love and mercy of our Lord.

Prayer for today….  “Lord thank You that You make it possible for us to emerge from times of trials and testing as “pure gold.” That may mean the “burning away” of all impurities. As difficult as that may be, allow me to realize that You always desire that which is best for me.”