All posts by ljmonson

Devotions

Miracle March

Mark 10:27 “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

——————————–

Those who would call themselves Christian have clamored for miracles. Pleading for God to push His way in to repair something. By my will, I want to bend God’s schedule to do something that is beyond my might and measure. I pray for a miracle of relief from pain when we writhe in agony.  We pray and expect God to change the world but it does not improve and seems to be getting worse.  My prayers seem to bounce off some stone wall between God and me.  And yet, the miracle I seek might well have already been provided. I have endured one more day. The miracle I am praying for, which does not come as I had planned, does not mean that God has forgotten me or that He does not hear my heart’s cry. He does!

# Just Larry

Devotions

Transformed by guarantee

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

———————————-

As I rise from my slumber this morning wondering about the glory which God has for me, a smile comes to my face. God is more than good. Jesus, in his sacrifice, provides for me a promise. A promise of an eternal future.  A future greater than I can ever imagine. That I could be an object of perfect love astounds me. As Paul here writing to the church in Corinth states, “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed in our heavenly dwelling,” I long for the day in which my groans will turn to heavenly leaps of joy.  And who is it to say it is not possible with God?

——————————–

God, there is no dread of my life here on earth being over.  You gave it to me.  You clothed me in my present circumstances, and you will clothe me again.  I shout with joy unspeakable and full of Glory in the mercy you bestow.

Devotions

Seek First…

Psalm 86:5 “You, LORD, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.”

—————————————-

The best place to be is where you are at peace with God, with yourself, and with all those around you. So how do I find it? From where can I find help for my troubled soul? Where can I expect help to get to this peaceful place? If my expectations for help come from my culture, then I will certainly be disappointed. Can I find peace in the new normal as proclaimed by the government? I think not. Can I depend on my neighbor to be there at any time and at any place? Again, the possibilities are less than my need. Can I find this place of peace in my marriage? Can I find this place in the latest gadget? Maybe for a moment, but as the price of my continued, sustaining peace, each would come with disappointment.

I find my peace, true peace in my creator, my God, and my king. Peace is attained because He is forgiving, He is good, and He is abounding in love. So now, I call on Him for peace. Will you join me?

# Just Larry

Devotions

Flag or healing?

Proverbs 17:9 “He loveth transgression that loveth strife: He that raises high his gate seeks destruction”

————————————-

If you have been in any group of people there will flag thrown, as if there has been some infraction of an written social norm.  They want to throw out the victim flag like a referee at a ball game.  I am a victim, “throw the flag.”  Somebody used a word that made them uncomfortable, “throw the flag.”  I have it worse than you, “throw the flag.” I also have my own flag ready to throw it any time I need a warm fuzzy “Aaaw”.  With a glee to get sympathy, the red flag flies upward and outward. It was a flag I could throw with distinction.

But more likely the walking wounded would like to be left alone with their pain.  I have been there. I have been so filled with feelings of hurt that I did not want to be around anyone. My hurt becomes almost pleasurable because it was caused by someone else. I justify myself into believing that this enduring internal pain was good for me. It was the old, “no pain, no gain” mantra. Pride in pain. I raised it for all to see. “Look at me, I am well on my way to martyrdom.”

But then I realized, in this self-induced misery of pain, is not worth it. It is not enough to be a victim. It was not enough to hold my red flag of martyrdom at bay. I had to let it go. The better option was to forsake the walking wounded and join the forgiven and the victorious. Healing!

Devotions

Well

Proverbs 15:18 “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”

———————————

I have been there.  Walking this world with an inner dissatisfaction with everything.  It was a life with anger, resentment, wrathful disposition, and a furious spirit.  I may not have displayed it much, but nevertheless it was there. It was a soul characterized as one who simply had no forgiveness. It was a soul that went from issue to issue looking for trouble. It was a soul that had soured. It was a soul that could not and would not be satisfied with a simple, “I am sorry”. It was a soul that needed revenge, conflict, and discord. It was a sick soul which needed retribution and payback.

Then Jesus came and made me different. Over the years I have become the one who is patient, kind, calm, loving, and forgiving. I am becoming healthy. The presence of this healthy soul calms all those around. I still have some frustration in my life, but I must allow God to calm my quarrel.

“Please God, come evermore into my life and calm my soul.” One old hymn echoes in my heart today, “Peace like a river attends my soul and it is well with my soul.”

#Just Larry

Church

Gather in and give in

James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

———————————–

There must be a safe place. A safe place to confess without condemnation. A safe place of prayer. A safe place to understand that everyone, including me and including you, are not perfect. A safe place where we are healed. A safe place where there is power. A safe place where you are valued beyond your ability.  A safe place where you are accepted not because you are successful or a failure. A safe place where healing will change your life. A safe place where there is no division, no victim, and no oppressor. There is such a place. This place is within the united gathering of believers. My friends, let us confess without fear, pray without condemnation, hope for healing, and gather in peace for fellowship. A place for prayer.

As we gather today as one body let us not be guarded or restricted in our love for those are in most in need.  Today of all days let us seek out those who hurt the most and just love them as Christ as loved you.

# Just Larry

Ministry, Motivation, Prayer, Preaching, Ramblings

Attitude determins altitude

Years ago, I was a wholesale meatcutter and a butcher.  I stood along a long moving conveyer belt that would bring pieces of meat that each cutter would in turn take off the belt and cut, slice, bone, separated into specific portions.  There were twelve of us six on a side doing this beef disassembly line.  We would work continuously for two hours, fifteen minutes then another two hours and take a half hour lunch.  Time worn meat dance would be repeated in the afternoon. We would continually talk and banter about the latest news of the world and our families, all the while soft music would play in the background to keep from going out of our minds.

As we approached quitting time we would look down the line of pieces of meat and know we had to get the conveyer belt empty before cleaning up.  If we would work real hard the boss would just add more big pieces of meat. 

One of my fellow butcher workman would, at the appropriate time would say under his breath “Twenty Degrees.”  He had his pilot license and he was referring to the attitude of the plane.  If you raised the nose of his little Cessna to twenty degrees above level, the plan would ultimately stall and fall out of the sky.  It was how we paced ourselves at the meat line became empty at the exact time when the clock said it was time to go home.

As he explained it to me, “In flight the attitude determines your altitude.” 

Your attitude determines your behavior.

Your attitudes determine our actions.

Devotions

Arithmetic

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

————————-

I don’t understand that anyone would make a decision on the spur of the moment. It takes me more time than I would admit just to decide on the smallest of things. I refuse to settle for second best.  When I have a need for something to at any given moment, I search, research, make comparisons, consider opinions, and make lists of pluses and minuses, I have even resorted to making an Excel spreadsheet to weigh the pros and cons. Lastly in my quest for the best solution, I must ask the question, “Do I really need it?” Many try to fill their lives with perceived treasures. Each new shiny bauble becomes a distraction for a moment. Each new thing tries to fill a hole in their own lives. My friends, there is a minus sign with every plus.  Everything I own is another thing that owns me.  The full life, the abundant life is not things it is a person: Jesus! Without Him all else is arithmetic.   

Devotions

Salvation

Of my earliest memories was of a place called Ordside service. It was a corner lot owned by my Uncle Robert and housed a one-stop auto service center. It was a place where you could get the best Chevron gasoline. Three pumps provided the fully leaded Super, Ethel, and Regular. If my memory serves me well the regular was 29 cents a gallon and for Mom, two dollars would be enough to last a couple of weeks. Included in the complex was a car parts dealership serving the entire town of Marina and most of the Military personnel of Fort Ord. There was one of the first fully automatic car washes.

And my dad worked as a mechanic in the auto repair business behind the parts house. There were four giant roll-up doors for three repair bays and one for tires and oil changes.

Back and across the back of this family business was an area for cars that could not be repaired or fixed. High cement block walls went around this area with barbed wire on top. Occasionally a part from one of these cars was used to fix another. It was called the salvage yard.

I was not a church kid. There were 16 cousins in our little town of 1,645.  There was a little church about a ¼ of a mile away where I got my first encounter with all the “Church words”. When I heard salvation.  I immediately thought about that section of Ordside service.  The salvage yard. Salvage, Salvation, it sounded close enough. I figured salvation had to do with finding worth in something that nobody else wanted or needed. Salvation was about going out back and claiming something that was broken and messed up and then using it to fix something else. 

My idea of Salvation became an outgrowth of this idea. I was broken and I needed something to fix me from the salvage yard. Salvation was getting worth from something that was very broken. Salvation was making something good out of the worthless.

So when I attended that little church the youth leader told us we needed to be saved. I saw myself as something that was worthless and I had parts that needed to be used for better things.

I guess I was pretty close.

Ramblings

Perfect Memory

I was sitting in my office this afternoon cleaning out a number of files off of my temporary thumb drive because it was full and I wanted to save some more important files. I can across a picture I had taken a month or so ago. It was of two of the most perfect persons in the whole world. Now don’t get me wrong here, I am not prejudiced just because these two little souls are my grandkids. I caught myself getting a little misty and my analytical side broke in. What is perfection?
One of the oldest definitions is the one from Aristotle:
Perfect is that

  1. which is complete — which contains all the requisite parts;
  2. which is so good that nothing of the kind could be better;
  3. which has attained its purpose.

The first of these definitions is a part of the second, but between the second and third there is a giant difference. Something or someone is perfect that could not be better and something that has attained the designed purpose.

I struggle with comparisons. And following Aristotle’s line of logic there is no comparison in perfection. It is not that one is better than the other. A grandson who would rather ride a little car is no less perfect than a granddaughter who prefers a tricycle. Blond long hair is no less perfect than short blond hair. A “I love you pop pop” filled with bravado is no less perfect than a little smile and two pointing fingers directed to the depths of my soul. Both of my grandkids are complete, nothing could be better and reaching their purpose.
What is perfect? Perfection is that which brings a teardrop to the eye.