05292020 Planned and Performed

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our unstoppable God. The world has stopped. We have stopped in many ways. The work and plans of God have not stopped - and cannot be stopped.

Remember His use of Cyrus, and His purpose of declaring Himself and His unique power to the world? God continues that theme throughout the book of Isaiah. We find it again in chapter 46.

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11).

God's focus in these verses is His plans. The plans of people sure have been interrupted. We have seen like never before how man cannot make his own plans happen. Man can't keep his plans for international travel, for services and activities, and even for trips to the store! So many plans have been disrupted: conferences, weddings, vacations, gatherings, graduations, sporting events, etc.

Do you realize that not one plan of God has ever been stopped? Not one! In these verses God reveals something truly amazing about that. The plans that are most likely to happen are ones that we make very close in time to when they are supposed to occur. This allows less possibility that something will be able to stop them. But God! God can make plans from the beginning of time, before the world even existed, and even after thousands of years, nothing can stop His plans from being fulfilled!

We don't know what will happen next month, next week, or even tomorrow - about the most basic things in life. Will we be able to have church? Will we be able to visit that person? Will we be able to purchase the things we need? Will we be able to take that trip?

But God! God knows with absolute certainty every detail and every event. He knows all about the things that have not yet happened. He knows the end of everything before we even know the beginning!

This is more than just omniscience. It is also omnipotence. God knows the end of all things, because He is making those ends happen. His counsels will stand. He will do all His pleasure. He will cause people to perform His bidding. What He has spoken will come to pass, and what He has purposed, He will do.

God has infinitely more power and control over things than we do. So when we feel helpless, God is not restricted. When we feel unable to control, God has perfect control. When we feel powerless, God has all power. God knows everything that will happen. God knows His designs, and nothing can stop Him. What a comfort to rest in the One who always does everything that He determines to do, regardless of the obstacles.

"I don't know about tomorrow;/ I just live from day to day./ I don't borrow from its sunshine,/ For its skies may turn to grey./ I don't worry o'er the future,/ For I know what Jesus said;/ And today I'll walk beside Him,/ For He knows what is ahead.

Every step is getting brighter/ As the golden stairs I climb;/ Every burden's getting lighter,/ Every cloud is silver-lined./ There the sun is always shining,/ There no tear will dim the eye;/ At the ending of the rainbow/ Where the mountains touch the sky.

I don't know about tomorrow,/ It may bring me poverty./ But the One who feeds the sparrow/ Is the One who stands by me./ And the path that is my portion/ May be through the flame or flood;/ But His presence goes before me,/ And I'm covered with His blood.

Many things about tomorrow/ I don't seem to understand;/ But I know Who holds tomorrow,/ And I know who holds my hand." (Ira Stanphill)

May you walk at peace this week, trusting the One who will accomplish all His plans.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

05232020 Mighty Cyrus

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who is in complete control. In these past weeks and months, it has seemed like no one has been able to achieve control, even though everyone has been trying to put himself in that position! What times these are, that show man's weakness and his inability to master the world around him.

God is in control even of the ones who think they are in control. In Isaiah 45, He declared this truth to the mighty King Cyrus.

How did Cyrus come to power? (v. 1) God chose him. God held his hand. God subdued nations before him. God weakened other kings. God opened the gates.

How did Cyrus remain in power? (v. 2) God went before him. God facilitated his path. God broke the restraints.

How did Cyrus govern effectively? (v. 3) God gave him treasure and provision, probably including wisdom and guidance.

Why did God do this for Cyrus? First, "That thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel" (v. 3). Cyrus himself was to come to know the true God and His remarkable power.

Second, "For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect" (v. 4). Through the actions of Cyrus, God was going to take care of His people and fulfill His promises to them.

Third, "That they [men] may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me" (v. 6). God's work on behalf of His people through the hand of Cyrus was to declare to all who were around that God is the only God, completely unmatched.

Might not God be fulfilling the same purposes in our day? Directing the hearts of rulers to Himself. Providing for His people. Declaring Himself to the world.

What is really amazing about this whole passage is that Cyrus was greatly blessed and greatly used by God even before he knew God. God named Cyrus, established him in power, and strengthened him "though thou hast not known me" (vs. 4&5). God can influence, direct, and use earthly rulers for His purposes even when those rulers are completely unaware of who God is or that they are being established and directed by Him.

This can give us confidence that in spite of all the craziness, God really is in control. While He may for a time allow rulers to pursue their own agendas, those agendas might not be as thoroughly self-designed as the rulers think they are. Furthermore, when God decides to make a change, He can direct the heart of the king and can cause leaders to make changes and implement new policies.

Just yesterday, President Trump announced that churches are essential and should be allowed to open immediately and that he will oppose any governor who continues restricting free worship. Why did Trump declare this? Did he think this up on his own? I don't think so. I believe God guided him to say "Enough is enough. People need to worship God, and you can't stop them anymore." Our governor, one of the strictest in the nation, who has repeatedly reacted vindictively toward every attempt by other state politicians to reopen our state, yesterday made some surprising concessions by starting to back away from his over-restrictive guidelines. Why? Because he decided to on his own? I don't think so. There is no king, president, governor, or any other leader that can resist the hand of God or who can stop God's work.

Why is it so important that God have such power? God Himself states it repeatedly in this passage. He wants us to be clear about what is happening. "That thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel" (v. 3). "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me" (v. 5). "That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else" (v. 6). "I the LORD do all these things" (v. 7). "I the LORD have created it" (v. 8).

It is all about God declaring His glory, His power, His uniqueness. Has any leader been able to come up with an effective solution? Has any doctor been able to make fool-proof recommendations, completely effective precautions, or reasonably implementable plans? Has any researcher been able to develop a vaccine or effective treatment? Far from offering protection, these leaders have actually created untold additional damage to their people through economic ruin, mental illness, violent protests, and even danger of starvation. If there is one thing we should have learned, it is man's inadequacy. God is not limited. He can control and corral this at any time, and meanwhile, He will use it to accomplish His purposes. I am reminded of Job 41, where God spends an entire chapter describing one animal that He created, for the purpose of highlighting His great power and man's complete inability, in spite of diligent effort, to control what God made uncontrollable. The point is the same: if God can create a beast that no man can capture, how great must God be!

We can be thankful for His might and wisdom. We can be thankful for His control over all forces of nature and over all world leaders. When I first started thinking of this devotional, it had nothing to do with coronavirus, which didn't even exist at the time. Instead, I was thinking of the restrictions and complications for missionary activity around the world, of leaders and countries that oppose God or curtail the efforts to declare Him. Just like with Cyrus, God can direct them for His purposes - to declare Himself to the peoples - even when those leaders do not know or recognize Him.

May God accomplish His plans this week! May He declare Himself! And may He use us to be His messengers!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

05162020 More Love

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our loving God! I am confident that He is caring for you, guiding you, and encouraging you each day. "We love him, because he first loved us." Regarding our love for God, I was recently thinking on this hymn.

"More love to Thee, O Christ,/ More love to Thee!/ Hear Thou the prayer I make/ On bended knee;/ This is my earnest plea:/ More love, O Christ, to Thee,/ More love to Thee,/ More love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved,/ Sought peace and rest;/ Now Thee alone I seek,/ Give what is best;/ This all my prayer shall be:/ More love, O Christ, to Thee,/ More love to Thee,/ More love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath/ Whisper Thy praise;/ This be the parting cry/ My heart shall raise:/ This still its prayer shall be:/ More love, O Christ, to Thee,/ More love to Thee,/ More love to Thee!"

The words of this hymn are challenging and reflect earnest aspiration. To sincerely desire to grow in love for God. To seek God above all pleasures and in any life circumstance. To seek to grow in loving Him as long as we live. May this hymn and its teaching truly reflect our hearts.

As I considered the hymn, I asked myself why love for Christ is so important. Obviously, it makes sense after all that He has done for us. It is the proper response toward a loving God who has rescued us and who treats us infinitely better than we deserve.

My thoughts also went to II Corinthians 5:14. "For the love of Christ constraineth us." Paul went on to say that the love of Christ deeply affected his personal philosophy and the way he lived. Because of Christ's love for him and his subsequent love for Christ, Paul was dedicated to serving God. Paul was a new creature with a new mission. "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (v. 18). So Paul became an ambassador of this reconciliation, trying to restore others to God.

If not for the fact that God loved us first, we would not be capable of loving Him nor anyone else. But because He does love us, we can love. As we grow in understanding His love for us, and as we grow in loving Him, we are more motivated to love others, the main reflection of which is to seek to bring them to reconciliation with God.

That is your mission! And it is possible and greatly enhanced by your growing love for God. So may this song be your prayer, echoing what I know is already in your heart - "More love to Thee, O Christ!"

May God encourage and strengthen you as you serve Him this week, and may He give you increasing opportunities for the gospel.

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

05092020 Secondhand Comfort

Dear Missionary Lady,

"Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (II Corinthians 1:2). As I prepared to share with you from the later verses in this passage, verse 2 seemed a very appropriate verse with which to greet you. How much we need grace and peace! And it is provided to us by our great God. I pray that you are seeing this in your life and ministry.

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (II Corinthians 1:3-4).

I have found these verses to be true during this time of chaos and trouble, and perhaps increasingly so this week. All of us have needed comfort. This is not easy for anyone. Praise God, we have the best source of comfort! God is faithful to provide comfort to us in the midst of all our tribulations.

I initially had some really difficult weeks through this ordeal, being cut off from the people who are important to me and from the regular fellowship with my church family. But God helped me. He gave me comfort as I sought to immerse myself in Him. He breathed encouragement and hope and strength, and I was doing okay. And then I can't explain why, but things got harder again this week. But do you know what I noticed? That in the return of harder days, the comfort of God was that much more precious. Maybe that is due to spiritual growth and renewal over the past weeks, as God has made my heart more in tune with Him and more dependent on Him. But it was so precious this week, in the midst of struggle, to find His Word and hymns taken from the truths of His Word, to be so especially meaningful and so deeply comforting.

God's giving comfort to us is only the first step, because God has a purpose in His comfort. That comfort is not for us alone, but it is to be shared with others who are also hurting. When we are hurting, it is not easy to minister to others. (Actually, we long for someone else to minister to us.) But it is true that those who suffer most are also able to comfort most, if they will pass on the comfort that God has given them.

God's comfort is not generally a nebulous, mystical sensation that mysteriously descends and permeates. No, His comfort primarily comes from His Word. So receiving comfort from God requires us to seek Him and to look for His answers. When we are hurting and receive God's help and comfort through His Word, we have a richer capacity to minister to others. It is only in the depths of suffering and sorrow that we deeply comprehend the comfort of God.

I'm not trying to commend myself, but I can offer my testimony as an evidence of the truth of God's Word. I have often had people tell me that I have a gift for encouraging others. (And I believe that is God's spiritual gift through me.) But that isn't because of myself or because I have independently or purposefully accrued a wealth of comforting truths or an expertise in sharing them. No, this gift is possible only because God has taken me through adversities and has given me His comfort through them. I can help others not because I am so talented, but precisely because I am so needy. Sometimes I have wished that God would not make it so "easy" for me to encourage others by constantly putting me in situations where I desperately have to seek His comfort.

But then none of us choose how we get to serve God, do we? We serve at His desire, His plan, and His guidance. Whatever your particular gift and ministry, have not these difficult days equipped you better to help hurting people? "For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ" (II Corinthians 1:5). His consolation has abounded and has increased to meet the depth of our need. Now we can share out of the abundance of God's comfort in order to help others.

As things very gradually begin to open up around the world, may God give you opportunities to share His love and comfort with those who are hurting. May He enable you to share from the new depths of comfort that you have acquired, so that you can increase in your compassion and in your capacity to minister. God truly does use all things, even hardship, to mold us and mature us so that we can better serve and reflect Him. What you do today matters for eternity - more than ever, and God has equipped you more than ever before for that ministry. Take heart as you move forward in His work.

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

05202020 Sure Promises

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our reliable God. Isn't it wonderful how He keeps taking care of us even when life is a little crazy!

After God reminded Jeremiah that nothing was too hard for Him, and that He could do great and mighty things of which Jeremiah had no idea, God then talked about His faithfulness to keep His promises.

"Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne" (Jeremiah 33:20-21).

How sure was God's promise? As certain as night and day. Neither Jeremiah nor any other person can ever break the routine of night and day. It has existed ever since God created the earth. There are dark and dreary days, but they are still days. There are brightly moonlit nights, but they are still nights. The length of days and nights varies based on the time of year, but even those variations are inviolable and entirely predictable. That consistency, demonstrated over thousands of years, is what God presents as the challenge for man. He says, "If you can interrupt that cycle, then you can also void My promises." Nope. Not going to happen.

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19).

"The faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9).

"There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (Joshua 21:45).

"Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof" (Joshua 23:14).

"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent" (I Samuel 15:29).

"According to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise" (I Kings 8:56).

"What he had promised, he was able also to perform" (Romans 4:21).

"Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thessalonians 5:24).

"Impossible for God to lie" (Hebrews 6:18).

"He is faithful that promised" (Hebrews 10:23).

God will keep all His promises to you, regardless of the external circumstances. You can absolutely depend on Him to continue His work in and through you.

"Standing on the promises that cannot fail,/ When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,/ By the living Word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,/ Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord,/ Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,/ Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,/ Listening every moment to the Spirit's call,/ Resting in my Savior as my all in all,/ Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,/ Standing on the promises of God my Savior;/ Standing, standing,/ I'm standing on the promises of God."

May God give you grace to trust Him and serve Him through another week.

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com