My Lean Olive Tree

October 30, 2007 at 7:28 pm | In Awake My Heart, Prayer, Serving the Lord | No Comments
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Two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough. ~ Isaiah 17:6

Note: This devotion is from September 24

Olive TreeLet’s read the full verse: “Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,’ declares the LORD, the God of Israel.”

The prophet is foretelling a sorrowful day of leanness that will surely fall upon the idolatrous apostates who had treated Jehovah with perverse thanklessness. Only at the very top – where the sticks cannot reach – are the remaining few berries.

Is this symbolic of our own spiritual lives? Has our spiritual life become barren either now or at various low-points of our lives? What can we do about it?

See verse 10 that says “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation…”

Let us remember that at the root is the forgetfulness of God. We become inordinately immersed in mundane things, in business, in pleasure, in domestic absorptions, in social affiars, in getting and spending, in working and playing, in much “coming and going” (Mark 6:31).

Look again at verse 10 . . . “Because thou hast not been mindful o the Rock of thy strength . . . “ We are spiritually self-sufficient and forgotten God in the one true rock.

Today, I pray that you and I will get back to Him, that we will put wrong things right, that we will throw down our idols, that we will get back to prayer with faith and love. That our olive trees will again be laden.

The Moon and the Church

October 29, 2007 at 9:35 pm | In Awake My Heart, Christ, Christian, religion | No Comments
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He appointed the moon… ~ Psalm 104:19

Note: This devotion is from September 23

The Christian Church draws comparisons and parallels to many things. But have you ever considered the moon as one of them? Well here is a case:

The moon shines a reflected light and none of its own. In a similar way, the Church reflects the light of Christ for without Him, there would be nothing. Some churches, especially in today’s environment, have evolved into talking more about itself than about HIM but it would serve us well to remember that the Church was not placed into this world to witness to itself. It can only give light as it forgets itself in reflecting Christ.

Among the theories of the moon’s origin is that it broke off for the earth. The moon is much bigger than it appears in our night sky. The moon affects the earth greatly, but does so silently.

So it is also true of the Christian Church.

Today, I pray that you and I will aspire for an organized church that may again become the unclouded luminary of Christ in a sin-darkened world.

Spring Versus Autumn

October 28, 2007 at 5:14 am | In Awake My Heart, Blessings, Ponders | No Comments
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I have been young, and now am old… ~ Psalm 37:25

Note: This devotion is from September 22

Autumn PondersYes, Spring has charm. Arrayed in unspoilt green,
Bedecked with blossoms – like a fairy queen,
Her magic wand grey Winder’s spell transforms
To laughing loveliness in sprightliest forms,
And wakes the merry songsters in the trees,
And scents with dew-kissed petals every breeze.
Yes, Spring has charm. Yet non the less I hold
That lovelier still is Autumn’s mellowed gold.
Tho’ not with livelier, yet with kindler eyes,
She smiles upon is from soft-dapples skies.
Her deeper crimsons and her wistful brown,
With russet hues weave Nature’s richest crown.
Her laden boughs and glorious waving corn –
It was for these that Spring was ever born!

Yes, Youth has charm. Who doubts it or denies?
Unfurrowed brow, undimmed and questioning eyes;
Lithe figure, supple limb and graceful poise,
And brave horizons bright with promised joys;
And merry hear all full of gleeful play,
And life and love and laughter all so gay.
Yes, Youth has charm. Yet none the less I hold
That fairer halos cling around the old.
The mellowed luster of the long-lived wise
Beams out from kindlier if less lively eyes;
The ripened fruit , and gold of harvest field,
And softer hues which weathered seasons yield,
And milder charms which now the brow enring –
It was for THESE that youth awakened in Spring!

~ J. Sidlow Baxter

Today, I pray that you and I will meditate on this work.

He Faileth Not; Who Says Too Old?

October 27, 2007 at 7:25 pm | In Awake My Heart, Serving the Lord, purpose | No Comments
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He faileth not ~ Zephaniah 3:5

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. ~ Genesis 17:1

Note: This devotion is from September 20-21

The Zephaniah passage is a matter of fact that succinctly sums up what so few can comprehend. There are days when we feel like God has failed us or that we are being punished by God. Perhaps some of us even believe that we are being “tested” by God. However, we forget that God works through everything – even the wicked – to achieve His purpose.

He faileth not in His power, in His wisdom or – most of all – His love.

We as servants of the Lord must remember this fact. We must remember it whether young or old. For cannot even the elderly render a rich-quality Christian service?

Let us remember that no matter what, the Lord may call upon on for His work. Look to Abram – at the age of 90 and nine – he was called to a new purpose (see Genesis 17).

Today, I pray that you and I will continually seek to serve God’s will – no matter our stage of life.

A Great Harvest Exclamation

October 27, 2007 at 11:02 am | In Awake My Heart, Blessings, Serving the Lord | No Comments
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O Jehovah, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! ~ Psalm 8:1

Harvest is come ~ Mark 4:29

Note: This devotion is from September 18-19

“At the end of this present age, our Lord Jesus will reap a great harvest. The angel reapers will spread abroad. The saved ones will be garnered home. The ransomed of the Lord will gather to the heavenly Zion. The ‘innumerable company’ who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ will be harvested to heaven. What a time of exclamation that will be!”

At that time, every true Christian will reap a harvest. The Lord will bestow rewards for faithful service and we all will reap tears of joy.

On the other hand, the Christ-rejecter will reap a much different harvest. Those who have lived for the flesh will reap a harvest of corruption. Those who have known the Gospel but foolishly rejected it will reap a harvest of confusion and damnation.

Taking the idea of harvest further, there are 7 great harvests mentioned in the Bible.


Today, I pray that you and I will seek to reap a harvest of the true Christian and seek not that of corruption and damnation.

Summer Fruit and Spiritual Ripeness

October 16, 2007 at 8:20 pm | In Awake My Heart, Blessings, Serving the Lord, Spirit, soul | No Comments
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Behold, a basket of Summer fruit. ~ Amos 8:1

My soul desired the firstripe fruit. ~ Micah 7:1

Note: This devotion is from September 14-17

Let’s expand upon the idea of spiritual fruit and ripeness.

Firstripe FruitsAs you might know or recall, I like to garden. It is not only something I enjoy, but something I feel compelled to do. During the summer, I eagerly await the first basket of ripe fruit to carry inside and enjoy with my family.

Consider that basket of ripe fruit. What a wonderful emblem of the Gospel. It is beautiful, like the influences of the Gospel. The fruit is bountiful, like the blessings of the Gospel. It is attractive, just like the invitations of the Gospel. It is healthful, like the doctrines. And it is perishable . . . just like the opportunities of the Gospel.

But now, as we indulge into the Autumn season, let us further think about those firstripe fruits. They are beautiful to the eye. Yet, in the early summer as the fruits first form, they’re boring and plain. It is not until they ripen that they become aesthetically pleasing to the eye. If there is spiritual ripeness about you and I there will be a beauty of character and demeanor. There will be what Scripture calls “the beauty of holiness.”

In addition, those firstripe fruits are sweet to the taste, delightful in fragrance, tender to the touch and hangs downwards. We should cling about us what Paul calls a “sweet savour of Christ.” We should seek to relieve ourselves of the bitter taste and pungent odor we leave as unripe Christians. We should seek the spiritual ripeness of tenderness, sympathy, ease of approach, and leave behind our hardened natures.

And finally, just as a ripened fruit will hang its head low, we too should always bow our heads in worship.

Today, I pray that you and I will seek a nurturing soil and receive the ministries of nature to become spiritually ripened. Let us also be on guard against blight and pest.

Clinging, Climbing, Claiming

October 14, 2007 at 3:41 pm | In Blessings, Christ-Sightings, God, Providence, Serving the Lord, faith, purpose, religion | No Comments
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But speaking (or holding) the truth in love, grow up into Him in all things. ~ Ephesians 4:15

Note: This devotion is from September 11-13

If you are going to cling to something, make sure it is capable up sustaining you. It must be strong. It must be worthy. The Bible warns us against clinging to attractive but unworthy things (Romans 2:9, I Thessalonians 5:21,22).

But we must do more than cling. We must grow up into HIM. Therefore, we must climb daily through prayer, study of His word and continual denials of selfish and the world’s incessant attempts to make us conform.

Let me tell you about my own personal journey of climbing. I became born again in 1995, shortly after I graduated high school. It was one year and eight days after a serious injury that could have been fatal had I not received quick medical treatment.

The next four years, I attended college and, thought I professed to be a Christian and was a “good person” I really did little to display those facts. I went to Mexico for mission work twice and went to church most Sundays. But did I ever open a Bible? Not often.

Did I even try to grow into my relationship with Christ? Not really. What I didn’t realize was that god had planted the seeds and claimed me as His at a time where it was necessary. What I didn’t realize was that He was nurturing that seed and providing the right nutrients and guidance at appropriate times.

It reminds me of my African violets. For a couple years, I tried to get them to bloom. They would grow, but never blossom. I repotted them. I nudged the soil. I moved them in varying degrees of sunlight. I provided less water and more water. I fertilized them.

Frankly, these were the most aggravating flowers of all time!

But something happened. Finally, one of them blossomed. The blooms hung around for several week sand it was a marvelous sight. And then, just as the last blooms had died off, the second plant budded. It blossomed bigger and longer than the first.

The moral there: It is never on our timing or perhaps even through our doing that God allows us to fully blossom. But we must grow while clinging to a strong and worthy environment.

Today, I pray that you and I will cling to the strong and worthy while growing in preparation to one day spiritually bloom.

The Seeking Shepherd ~ Seeking, Finding, Rejoicing

October 14, 2007 at 6:00 am | In Awake My Heart, Blessings, Christ, Christ-Sightings, Christian, God, Jesus, Providence, Serving the Lord, Spirit, faith, religion, soul | No Comments
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What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them doth not . . . go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ~ Luke 15:4-5

Note: This devotion is from September 9 & 10

Christianity never saved a single soul.

“What men need is not religion merely. But redemption; not some new ideology merely, but regeneration; not a new ethic only, but a new life; not just some new system, but a Saviour.”

This really makes you think. No amount of singing, reading Scripture, placing checks in an offering plate, even Holy Communion has saved a man or woman. In this parable, the Son of God Himself is displayed as a seeker of lost souls. The Shepherd is doing three actions: 1.) seeking, 2.) finding, 3.) rejoicing.

Now consider this: “The loss of merely that one from a hundred would be no serious matter. Yet away this Shepherd goes, amid the gathering night and the hazards of the hills, to rescue the one stray sheep because it is dear to Him and He is moved by compassion.”

But how does He find us? It is when we are spiritually helpless, broken, perishing even. Then, with His mighty arm, He lifts us onto His shoulders. But He doesn’t stop there. He rejoices over it and invites all others to do the same.

Today, I pray that you and I will be moved by compassion. If we are lost, may He now find us . . . and let us all rejoice!

Let Us Draw Near ~ The New and Living Way

October 13, 2007 at 10:04 pm | In Awake My Heart, Christ, Christian, Devotions, God, High Priest, Prayer, Savior, Serving the Lord, The Cross | No Comments
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Let us draw near . . . in full assurance of faith. ~ Hebrews 10:22

Note: This devotion is from September 7 & 8

One of the prominent ideas in the Hebrews epistle is the concept of drawing near. But we are to do more than simply draw near. We are to do so boldly and in confidence.

But how is it even possible to draw near to God so boldly?

“It arises from knowing a glorious, divine-human Sin-bearer, Savior, Mediator, who has wrought atonement, reconciliation, and eternal redemption for us. Let’s review more context of our passage:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” [19-22]

Nor need I be deterred by fear,
My access is complete;
Within the veil I may draw near
The heavenly Mercy Seat.
~ J. Sidlow Baxter

Today, I pray that you and I will draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

Slay That Babe – Pharoah’s Deadly Edict

October 13, 2007 at 5:01 pm | In Awake My Heart, Christ, Prayer, Providence, Savior, Serving the Lord | No Comments
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Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river. ~ Exodus 1:22

Note: This devotion is from September 5 & 6

If there is anything the Devil hates most and seeks to destroy, it’s a Christian’s endeavor to win souls for Jesus. Surely, when a new covenant is entered, he gives the deadly command to “slay that babe” with the intent of cutting short the grace in the heart of the new believer.

Young believer beware! He knows you better than you know yourself. He will sow weeds in your life to choke the good seed in your mind. He will come as an “angel of light” to deceive you. By his cleverest snares, he will seek to entangle you. He will deny you food. He will do all these things to discourage you. To win you back.

“Slay that babe.”

Surely he says that about the new believer. Surely too he will command it of your prayers or hunger for holiness. The moment there is revival, he will step up his plots to quench it.

Today, I pray that you and I will be conquerors through Christ.

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