Count on me!

 When I did a search of images related to 'loyalty' 9 out of 10 pictures were about dogs and people, not people with people. Yep, our dog is often more loyal than our friends!

When person sticks with us through sunshine and rain, through our failure and success, when we are fun and when we are miserable – it’s called loyal love. Loyalty goes beyond fidelity in the marital relationship, causing a spouse not only to honor their vows, but to seek the best for their partner at all times. Loyalty is a statement that the person is more important than the product, of a connection that goes beyond some shared interest.  It is a gift in life that is as precious and rare as a gem.

In a beautiful story in the Bible we come on a pledge of loyalty. Ruth was a Gentile married to a Jewish man who had left Israel because of hardship. He died, as did his father and brother, while they were living in Moab. Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, bereft of support and in grief, decides to return to Israel. She tells her daughters-in-law to remain in their own country, among their own people. Ruth chooses to go with her making this amazing statement - “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17, NIV)  

A Gentile who lived among the Jews did not have an easy time of it. They were outsiders, unable to participate in much of the community life, because what bound the Jewish nation was not just political aims or economic interests. They were the ‘people of God,’ defined by how they served and worshiped Yahweh, the Living God.  Ruth, who apparently converted, was willing to endure living on the fringe of society because of her loyalty to Naomi. 

Do you have loyal friends in your life?

Are you a loyal friend, valuing a relationship for more than its functional value?

Loyalty will make us honest, authentic, open, and trustworthy.  

It does not blind us to the faults of our friend, but it causes us to love them enough to encourage change.

It takes us past superficiality and makes us real, able to know and be known in depth.

It removes the need to keep some parts of ourselves hidden away in fear because we know we are fully accepting and accepted.

Loyalty is more than a few nice words. It says “Lean on me, I’m on your side!”

There are examples of loyal love scattered through the Bible’s stories. 

David and Jonathan knew a loyalty that sustained their relationship through the tempests of Saul’s insane jealousy, causing David to care for Jonathan’s family even after his death in battle. 

Paul knew the loyalty of Dr. Luke (he called him the ‘beloved physician’)  and Timothy as well as the disappointment of some who abandoned him when life was hard. We can hear his heartbreak in the lament “Demas has forsaken me, loving this present world.” (2 Timothy 4.10)   

Jesus experienced the sorrow of disloyalty when the disciples ran off into the night when He was arrested and when Peter, valuing his own safety more than his Friend, swore that “I never even knew the Man.”

If we want to know the best experience of discipleship, the highest kind of Christian life, we will learn to be loyal – sticking with our commitment to others. It is part of that love that the Spirit desires to create in the Church, a commitment to one another that makes us part of one Body, esteeming our connection over our convenience.  

Our loyal love is modeled on God’s love for us which is – LOYAL! He doesn’t abandon us when we tire Him. He seeks our best when we are difficult. He seeks our best though we can add nothing to Him in His self-sufficiency.

Take Ruth’s words with you today.
“Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back.
I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live.
Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
I will die where you die and will be buried there.
May the Lord punish me severely

if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (Ruth 1:16-17, NLT)

Lord, teach us the joy of loyal love. Amen.

__________

Loyal

(sung by Lauren Daigle)

I could never earn Your heart

I could never reach that far

But You have pulled me close

You'll never let me go

I'm safe forever in Your arms

Your promises I cannot break

And I know You will never change

Your love is Your love is

Your love is loyal

Your love is Your love is

Your love is loyal

More faithful than the rising sun

This grace for me I can't outrun

Your love is Your love is

Your love is loyal

You are always there for me

You listen every time I speak

You look into my eyes

See the things I hide

And say that You will never leave

Your promises I cannot break

And I know You will never change

When my world shakes

Your love remains unshaken

So constant so perfect unwavering

When my world falls

Your love remains unfailing

So constant so perfect unwavering

Jason Ingram | Jonas Myrin | Lauren Daigle | Paul Mabury

© 2015 Atlas Mountain Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

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CCLI License # 810055

Who, me?

What part of your life is the most challenging right now? There are situations that make us feel small. Sometimes it is the battle inside our head, attitudes and/or habits that we want to change but we know they will not yield easily. Sometimes it is the call of God! Yes, even when we are living close to His Heart, following His lead can be the cause of self-doubt, even fear. How do we get past that sense of inadequacy? The story of a farmer in ancient Israel teaches us a universal principle.

Gideon was hiding out threshing his wheat in a wine press! Normally the grain was separated from the stalk on an open threshing floor but the enemies of Israel were lurking about, ready to steal. So, this farmer was processing his grain in an odd place, out of sight, hoping to hang onto his family’s grain supply.  A heavenly messenger showed up to tell Gideon he was to become the leader of Israel. “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”

That man’s response is not so hard to understand given the oppression of Israel by her stronger neighbors. Wryly, perhaps even sarcastically, he asks, “Well, if God is with us, why are we in this situation?”  Fair enough. The messenger tells him that he is the one chosen to change things. Read his next words --  “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Who, me?  He is not the first or only person that told God that He chose the wrong person. 

Moses, when called, at first told the Lord- “I’m not a great talker, a nobody.”  

When Samuel approached Saul to become king, he objected that he had no influence, that he was part of an obscure family.

God’s answer to Gideon is one we need to know, too. “The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” (Judges 6:15-16, NIV) The key to confidence is an intimate relationship with the Lord.  Ah, I know that we tend to admire the tallest, the strongest, the one with the charming personality, the person who just looks larger than life. In our celebrity culture, we confuse popularity with wisdom, visibility with influence. God doesn’t!

The strength to live the life He’s designed for us – be it at home, at work, in the Church – rests in Him, not in us. Those first disciples that Jesus chose looked like a lot destined to fail. They weren’t wired into the ‘power structures’ of the time. They did not have the right kind of education. They were not trained leaders. In the Gospels, we read stories about their mistakes, their fears, and their lack of vision. But, they had a promise – they would not be alone. The Spirit of God would live in them.  Pentecost was a moment of transformation, the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise - “I will be with you, even to the end of the age.”

He is with us! This is our strength. Paul, writing to the Christians of Corinth, people who were impressed by earthly status and influence, tells them (and us) that they need to understand from Whom their real ability comes. "Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." (2 Corinthians 3:4-5, NIV)

Feeling incompetent? Join the song of David that he wrote in his victory. Find hope in the promise.

"To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure,

but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me;

you stoop down to make me great.

You broaden the path beneath me,

so that my ankles do not turn." (Psalm 18:25-36, NIV)

______

You Make Me Brave

(Amanda Cooke declares our hope)

I stand before You now

The greatness of Your renown

I have heard of the majesty and wonder of You

King of Heaven in humility I bow

As Your love wave after wave

Crashes over me crashes over me

For You are for us You are not against us

Champion of Heaven

You made a way for all to enter in

I have heard You calling my name

I have heard the song of love that You sing

So I will let You draw me out beyond the shore

Into Your grace

You make me brave

You make me brave

You call me out beyond the shore into the waves

You make me brave

You make me brave

No fear can hinder now the Love that made a way

You make me brave

You make me brave

You call me out beyond the shore into the waves

You make me brave

You make me brave

No fear can hinder now the promises You've made

Because of love  wave after wave

Crashes over me crashes over me

For You are for us You are not against us

Champion of Heaven You made a way

Champion of Heaven

You made a way for all to enter in

Amanda Cook

© 2013 Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Delight, then duty!

Is your life, like mine, filled with things that must be done – the oughta’s, shoulda’s, gotta’s?  I awakened this morning with a list running through my mind … better get those branches picked up after yesterday’s storm, get prepared for that meeting, write that email, make that call. 

Then, as I sat to read the Word, I paused to watch 3 birds at the feeder outside of the window. Do birds play? It sure looked like it. They fluttered up in the air, dove down, rose up, and landed again on the feeder. They reminded me of Jesus’ words – "Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds." (Matthew 6:26, The Message)

I am not throwing away my responsibilities. Chaos is the default setting of a life without discipline.

But, duty without delight is drudgery. Jesus invites us to joy, to the ‘abundant life.’  

How easily our practice of the Christian life becomes a list of oughta’s, shoulda’s!

“Go to church!
Read the Bible!
Pray! Tithe!
Overcome temptation!
Serve faithfully!”

It is critically important that we remember the “why” of those choices. We cannot slip into the deception that we must work harder to earn what He freely gives us through Christ. We are beloved children of the Heavenly Father called to delight in knowing Him, not just being His servants.

In the recent months I have been carrying the weight of disappointment, wrestling with discerning the ‘next step’ for the church I serve, and praying in faith in the face of persistent problems. It has been a soul-numbing time.  Worship can be difficult. Prayer can be hard. I sometimes feel an irrational guilt- “What kind of Christian are you, Jerry, that you let life become so weighty, that you lose your ability to enjoy the holy Presence of God?”  My experience is not unique! Perhaps you, too, are walking through a time like that or you have.

Let the Word silence the accusing voices of your mind or those demons that desire your destruction. Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)  Set you mind on the wisdom of the Psalm that teaches us to "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes." (Psalm 37:7, NLT)

There is comfort in the knowledge that “the One who watches over you will not sleep.” (Psalm 121) Even when we rest, our Father is active. He pursues us, loves us, surrounds us with His grace – everywhere and all the time.

Feeling the pressure? Tempted to rachet up the effort to regain control? 

Pause, reflect on His promise.

Love Him, quietly, by faith. Then, take up your responsibilities.

Delight, then duty.

Here’s a word from the Word.

"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and

beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise you." (Psalm 63:1-5, NIV)

_________

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river

Attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot

Thou hast taught me to say

It is well

It is well with my soul

It is well with my soul

It is well

It is well with my soul

Tho' Satan should buffet

Tho' trials should come

Let this blest assurance control

That Christ hath regarded

My helpless estate

And hath shed His own blood

For my soul

My sin O the bliss

Of this glorious tho't

My sin not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross

And I bear it no more

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord O my soul

And Lord haste the day

When the faith shall be sight

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll

The trump shall resound

And the Lord shall descend

Even so it is well

With my soul

Horatio Gates Spafford | Philip Paul Bliss

© Words: Public Domain