devotion

The End of the Beginning

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Sometime around Christmas of 2012 I decided to challenge myself by posting at least once a day for a year beginning January 1, 2013 to a newly created blog. From the beginning the toughest part of this challenge has not been posting “something” each day. Posting something I was truly happy with, now that has been a whole other bottle of ink. So, I made up my mind to make this year a training ground of sorts. I would allow myself to experiment with various styles of poems, devotions, short stories, editorials… really, any sort of writing that I could come up with in a day. I made it as fun and meaningful as I could, both for myself and anyone who cared to take the journey with me. I tried to not pay too much attention to the number of people reading or “liking” each post and I tried to give myself enough room to fail now and then. One of my favorite lessons to take away from the Bible is that God expects us to fall down once in a while. Anyone who has gained a reasonable amount of life experience knows that’s part of the process. I failed just enough to learn some, I think.

My prayer throughout this year has been that I might be an instrument of God to bring healing to those who need it. That sounds like a lofty goal, and I guess it is. If I may be bold enough to say so, I think followers of Jesus bear the responsibility of expressing healing words to those we encounter every day, whether they are spoken in what we might consider an artful manner or not. I don’t consider myself to be that sophisticated. Most of my training in writing has been to write clearly and succinctly. Conveying thoughts through the various means of creative writing can be tremendously therapeutic for the writer, as well as (it is hoped) for the reader.

So what will I do for 2014? To begin with, I will continue to post here at least once a week. Going from seven days to one will allow me to branch out into other projects. I would like to publish my first book before the year is up. Naturally, you want to know what kind of book I have in mind. Right now I’m considering that. Using a word I learned reading Mark Twain, I’m “cogitating.”

To those of you who followed this blog during the last year, I want to express my deepest appreciation. Thanks for reading, commenting and just hanging in there to read again when you had no idea where I was going. Thank you very much indeed.

© Joel Tipple
384

Intercession of the Spirit

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We do not know what we should pray for as we ought,
but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered —Romans 8:26

Thank you Holy Spirit for Your work in me,
praying for me in ways too high for me to understand.
I keep my body a temple for You, while you intercede
for me in accordance with God’s plan.

Heaven on earth may not seem possible
due to our earthly circumstance,
but we have an advocate in the Spirit of God
so we are never left to chance.

© Joel Tipple
331

Blossom To Be

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Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17 (NASV)

Did you think you knew better,
blossom to be?
Your gifts are still held within.
You mistakenly guessed your time had passed,
but hoarding the gifts
God gave you is sin.
We were designed for His expression,
His joy made manifest.
He would use each of us to make His church complete,
that we all would share and be blessed.

© Joel Tipple
293

God, did you hear?

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God, did you hear the world shout?
They decided
not
to believe
in you.
Not just
a lone voice
in the desert,
but all your believers, too.

God, did you hear the world shout?
Give us
science,
that’s what we
understand.
The scientific method
will unify the nations
and bring solace and joy
to the land.

God, with all the shouting,
how can anyone hear?
How can they look
at your creation
and not believe
you are near?

God, we humans
have made such an awful mess
of what you created for us
while not believing
and wanting everything
except you
we’ve made
deadly short cuts
to our lusts.

God forgive us
and bring us
into relationship
with you.
Let us place you first
in our hearts and homes
until the world you made
is renewed.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelations 21:1-4

Dream Big

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If you would take the time to dream at all,
why on earth would you dream small?
Go on ahead and tell yourself, dream big.
Bigger than those dreams of being wealthy,
bigger than those dreams of having it all,
bigger than getting approval from the Council of Important People…
The C.I.P.? They like me! They really like me!

Get on board with the plan that God has for you!
It’s for sure you’re not just here to take up space.
You’ll need to set aside time to examine His Holy Word,
and get suited up to run a holy race.

For it is You who blesses
the righteous man,
O Lord,
You surround him with
favor as with a shield.
Psalm 5:12

Right Relationship

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There was a time in my life when the first place I would visit in any bookstore was the “Self Help” section. Later, when I worked in bookstores, I would joke with customers and tell them that I could show them where self help was, but after that they were on their own. Sorry ma’am, it’s self help, your first step towards wellness is finding the books by yourself. Of course, I’m kidding, but I think that if I ever said that, it would have been to someone who knew me and my sense of humor very well. Knowing what kind of relationship you have with people is important. You can let your hair down with friends and family and know you’ll be understood. But while it’s essential to have close healthy relationships with the people in our lives who matter most, the one we should be closest to often gets the leftovers. “God, when I have time I’ll sit down and it will be just you and me; I promise.” But our actions speak louder than anything we ever say.

So what kind of relationship are you cultivating with God? The bible says the church is the Bride of Christ.

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelation 19:7-9

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27

If we want that close and open relationship with Jesus, and want to know everything about Him, where do we start? The Word is the best place to go.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
We can trust that He wants the best for us and has great plans for our lives if we will submit and trust Him.
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11

So how would you characterize your relationship with the Lord? Do you spend quality time getting to know each other or do you just occasionally throw Him a “like” on Facebook? Don’t get me wrong, I’m writing this for myself as much as for you. I do think it’s a good question to ask ourselves, though. Good relationships take effort.

Ascended

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Acts 1:1-3 “…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Verses 8-9

Jesus, in Your glory,
ascended to God’s right hand,
You have paved the way for us,
Your followers.
Most of us don’t suffer as the majority
of Your disciples did
risking
torture and death
for proclaiming your story.

If the disciples had simply
faded away, and not proclaimed
all that they had witnessed,
they would have avoided such
suffering.

But they didn’t fade away.
They delivered the gospel message
to so many, that over 2,000 years
later we are still talking about it
and experiencing the miracle of changed
lives the message of Christ bestows.

Remember how precious this knowledge is!
To this day, people are imprisoned for
spreading the good news. It is incumbent
upon us, after experiencing the transforming
power of Jesus Christ, to share that
message in any way we are able.

Turn to the Sun

In the middle of our troubles it’s sometimes hard to remember that light even exists. All your senses perceive is an opaque wall between yourself, God and those who care about you. Time slows to a crawl. The air is heavy. Just existing can become a physical and emotional trial. This time of year, the daffodils I planted last fall are starting to bloom. For some time their green stalks have been showing. Now, we can enjoy the payoff of color. While winter lingers, spring beckons. An evening of rain is often followed by a morning of sun as the seasons get to the point in the relay race where the baton is passed. I noticed a particular flower the other day that had bent its head following a cold tumult, only to lift up as it dried and pointed to the blue sky. Hope and warmth drew it up as it dared to reveal its brave face. Is that a great leap? Are we foolish to believe a plant can hope? Look around. Everything God has created is brimming with hope and expectation. It’s inside you as well. Dare to lift up your head and find joy.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.
Psalm 98:4-6

The Helper

In John 13, we can imagine the anxiety forming in the minds of the disciples. This time was shortly before the crucifixion and Jesus was preparing them, not only for what was to come in the short term, but later, when the infant church would be put to the test. Imagine yourself in their place. This was the man they had followed and worshiped. They were prepared to do anything for Him. But the prophesies must be fulfilled.

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.” John 13:36-38. It was in the backdrop of what on the surface seems like a shaky start that His church was formed, formed with men like Peter, of whom Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18

Lord, You said you would ask the Father to give us another Helper,
Who would be “the Spirit of truth.”
You said He would be in us
and with us abide.

You said the Holy Spirit would teach us
and help us remember all you said.
You said when You would go,
He would reside.

Thank you, Spirit of God,
for disclosing our Lord’s truth.
How else would we comprehend the mystery.
The revolution that conquered sin,
the ultimate sacrifice that took us in,
prophecy fulfilled on Calvary’s tree.