June 16 (James 1:27)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  (NIV)

To celebrate Fathers’ Day, our children surprised me by taking me to one of our favorite state parks for a day of hiking.  We hiked trails we had never been on before, enjoyed lunch at the park inn, and concluded the day with a show at the park’s planetarium.  All along I kept telling them that they really knew their daddy well.

How well do we know our Father in heaven?  Do we know Him well enough to do what means most to Him, what is closest to His heart?  He does not leave us guessing about this.  We may hope that a friend or relative likes the gift we have picked out, but Scripture makes it clear what God wants.  It is to serve those in need and to become ever more like Him.

So what are you getting your Father this Fathers’ Day?  Not only has He told you what He wants, He will help you do it.

O Lord, my God and my Father, thank You for all that You are and all that You do for me.  I want to make Your heart glad.  I want to serve You by serving Your children.  May You be honored and glorified in all that I do, say, and think.  In the name of Jesus, Who more than anyone else has showed me how to love You, amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

June 9 (Isaiah 9:2)

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light….  (NIV)

This prophecy from Isaiah is quoted in Matthew 4, and there is quite a grammatical puzzle in the wording.  In the time of the New Testament, it would make sense to use the past tense “have seen,” for the people had indeed seen Jesus, the light of the world.  Yet would it not make sense that as a prophecy in Isaiah the verb be in the future tense?  After all, Isaiah was writing about what had not yet happened.  Would it not have been better for him to have written, “The people will see a great light?”

This is one of the many things I love about God.  His promises are sure.  They are rock solid, one hundred percent guaranteed.  You can take them to the bank.  So certain are the promises of God that the prophet Isaiah could use the past tense to describe an event that was still nearly 800 years in his future.

Usually the best I can do when our children ask to go somewhere special is to say, “We will see,” or “We will try,” or more likely, “Let me talk with your mother.”  They get beside themselves if I actually commit by saying, “Okay, we will go.”  Can you imagine the confidence I would need to have to say, “We have gone to the pool later today” as if it were an already accomplished fact?

Lord, it is so comforting, so strengthening to know that Your promises are sure.  I know I can count on You and Your word.  May Your words become my flesh, Your promises the very strength of my life.  In the name of Jesus, Who has proved Your faithfulness beyond measure, amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

June 2 (John 10:10)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy….  (NIV)

An epic story in which the forces of evil are pitted against the forces of good.  It is the stuff of movies and summer novels, but if we think for one moment it is not the story of our own lives, then we have fallen for a subtle, yet powerful, trick of the enemy.  When I look back over my life, I see that it has been one battle after another.

Many people reading that will think I am talking about family chaos, the fight against illness, or some sort of natural disaster.  Dealing with any of those is a battle, to be sure, yet if you looked at my life, it would appear quite smooth.  On the surface.  Yet how often have I fought worry, fear, and despair?  How often have exhaustion and frustration threatened to overtake me?  How often have I been tempted to give up?  Then throw in even a little family chaos or illness, the kind that afflicts every one of us, and you begin to see.  There is a constant attack trying to take us out.  Sometimes it goes underground and is hard to see, but it is always there.

So what will you do?  Personally, I am going to call on the One Who has already defeated the enemy fighting against me.  He knows how to do it.

Lord Jesus, stay with me.  Never leave my sight.  In the midst of the battle, I need to see You and know that You are with me.  Help me to stand my ground.  I am confident that together we can defeat anything.  In Your powerful name I pray, amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

May 26 (Luke 22:19)

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  (NIV)

In the United States we are celebrating Memorial Day weekend.  It is a time to remember those who have given their lives defending our country.  We hold parades, watch the Indianapolis 500, and have picnics with family and friends.  We put flowers on gravesites and display our flags.  Yet none of the things we do actually takes us into the very life and death of those we remember.

Consider now the Last Supper.  Jesus never once said, “Do as I say, not as I do.”  He always invited people into His life, which included His death that brought life to all.  When we partake of Communion or the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, we do far more than merely remember.  We enter into the life of the One Who came to give His life as a ransom for many.  Jesus was not interested in simple remembrance.  He invited us to remember Him by fully participating in His life.

We will not forget those who have died for their country come Tuesday, but the memory will move to the back a bit as we return to the activities of daily life.  It is not so in our memory of Jesus.  We carry Him, the risen Lord, with us.  He lives in us, guiding and inspiring us to live ever more like Him.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the greatest sacrifice of all.  You chose to die for me, even though You had done nothing wrong and I had not yet been born.  May my life reflect Yours in all that I do, say, and think.  Amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

May 19 (2 Timothy 1:14)

…the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  (NIV)

“I am not God.”  We sometimes use this as an excuse for bad behavior or to get out of something we think is too difficult to do.  Although this statement is, of course, true, as an excuse it is false.  God lives within us through the Holy Spirit.  If our lives do not reflect this, then one of two things must be the case.  God is inactive in us, or we are rebelling against him.  Have you ever known God to sit around and do nothing?

Do not misinterpret this as something to shame us into action.  Stop and think for a moment.  What does it really mean to have God dwelling within you?  He is as close as your next breath.  You can know Him as intimately as your own heartbeat.  The strength of the One Who defeated death is in You.  The creativity of Him Who spoke the stars into existence inspires your soul.

What will you and God, Who lives within you, do together?  Dare to dream.  Dare to ask Him.  Dare to live the life of one joined to God.

O God, I pray as if You are a million miles away.  Help me to know You intimately.  What would You do together with me?  I am Yours.  Show me how to live.  In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray.  Amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

May 12 (Romans 6:6)

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  (NIV)

It is my right to say what I want to say when I want to say it.  What could be more freeing than to do exactly what I want to do?  Surely true freedom is just that, to act on a desire at the very moment I have it.

Does this sound familiar?  It is the rallying cry of just about every movie, television show, and news article.  We have all felt it ourselves.  It is, however, the lie of our great enemy that makes slavery appear as freedom.  You see, it is the tyranny of sin that says we must do this or that in answer to our appetites.  Genuine freedom is the exercise of free will to say no.

What a revolutionary concept this is!  What an amazing freedom is actually ours!  In His free choice to die, Christ said no to the ultimate slavery of sin and death.  He offers that freedom to us through His resurrected life.  What choice will you make?

Lord, too often I feel as if I have no choice in my life, forgetting, ignoring, or even rejecting the powerful freedom You have given me.  Help me to live boldly in the freedom of Your grace, free to reject what seems to have power over me and free to live the true life that You have designed.  In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray.  Amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins

May 5 (Nehemiah 8:10)

[T]he joy of the Lord is your strength.  (NIV)

Nothing is more difficult to write about than joy, and to talk about the joy of the Lord is nearly impossible.  First of all, most of us know little about joy.  We are quite familiar with happiness and pleasure, but joy?  Not so much. 

Joy is something that does not grow naturally in this world.  It has to be imported.  The difficult thing in talking about this is that there is no list of things to do.  We can tell each other how to achieve happiness and pleasure, but joy is simply something to be experienced.  We must be still.  We must pay attention.  We must allow God to bring the joy.  Only a heart being transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ is capable of recognizing joy for what it is.

And only then is there something for us to do.  We must hold on to it.  We must choose not to draw our strength from any other source, and this is a great effort indeed.  Yet the reward is worth it, for the strength that comes from the joy of the Lord is capable of facing anything.

Jesus, grant me not only Your joy, but the grace to see it for what it is.  As my identity grows deeper in You, may I take my strength solely from Your joy.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins