strength

A Change of Paradigm

Today’s reading is 1 Samuel 3-4, Psalm 23, and Acts 6.

Below is a post I wrote on February, 7 2019. It was a “different time” as they say pre-COVID. As I read Psalm 23 in preparation for today’s assigned reading though, this change of paradigm and post came to mind, and it seemed appropriate to re-share it. I was also reminded the heading above this chapter in my Bible says, “The Lord is My Shepard.” It made me think again…we need our “Shepard” during this life here on Earth.

When you think of a funeral and what Bible passages are read most commonly, which ones come to mind? Today’s reading of Psalm 23 most certainly is in the top few. When I hear this verse, I picture a person walking down a dark path lonely with a light up ahead. I’m not sure this would be the mental vision God would want me to have about death. As I read this verse more closely, what stuck out to me is that it is “the valley of the shadow of death” in Psalm 23:4. We, who are still living, are in the “shadow of death.” This is where we have fears, anxieties, and worries that cause us stress. This is when we need his “rod and staff” to “comfort me.” This is when I need to “fear no evil” and my soul needs restoring by laying in “green pastures” and by going “beside still waters.”

Revelation 21:4 tells us, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be morning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” When I die, I want my funeral to be a celebration that I’m living in Heaven in perfect peace worshiping the only King forever. I want a band playing songs of praise with everyone standing and worshiping Him reminding all there of the joy they can have in eternal life through confessing their sins and belief in Him and His resurrection! They don’t need to be sad for me…I’m not in a dark valley standing there by myself lonely. I’m experiencing a joy we can’t even imagine on this Earth worshiping Him in a similar way to how I hope they are at that moment.

The first part of Psalm 23:8 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” telling us maybe Psalm 23 is more appropriate for a baby dedication, a first communion, a baptism, or even a wedding. We can live in perfect peace throughout our life because the second part of Psalm 23:8 says, “and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” When we fix our eyes on that which is eternal (the only thing that matters), we will have comfort and respite from the challenges in this life.

Here is the song 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman which was sung at my wife’s great uncle Lee Dexheimer’s funeral. It reminded me we will experience a peace that passes all human understanding just like Lee did that day and still is today, forever and ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

Control

Today’s readings are Job 37-39, Psalm 103, and Revelation 21.

Control.

Control is something we all want all the time..especially around Christmas. We want everything to be perfect… the travel, the outfit, the meal, the service, the gift, the time with family. The list could go on and on. We also want control of other areas of our lives…our careers, our relationships, our health, the actions of others, finances.

The saying goes..”control is an illusion.” If we think of some of the greatest leaders the world is ever known, it is very apparent even they were not fully in control. They were not in control before and after their lifetime and not even during their lifetime. God reminds us in Job 38 and 39 that He is fully in control of everything..including creation and nature. He laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:4-7). He controls day and night (Job 38:12) and the rains (Job 38:34) just to name a few. He reminds us that we need to humble ourselves and be without conceit because even the most powerful human being’s control is extremely minute.

Psalm 103:19 reads…

The Lord has established his

throne in the heavens,

and His kingdom rules over all.

Did you catch that? He “rules over all” which means Earth. He is in control. Let us trust Him with all that is going on and with our lives and those we love.

Most importantly, He does not deal with us according to our sins. Psalm 103:8-12 tells us some characteristics about Him.

He is…..

merciful
gracious
slow to anger
abounding in steadfast love

He also…

does not deal with us according to our iniquities (sins)
does not repay us for our sins (see Romans 8:1 as well)
has steadfast love towards those who fear Him
removes our sins as far as the east is from the west

Reading these just makes me simply say, “WOW!” If we truly believe these things to be true, and we remind ourselves of these on a regular basis, this should bring us peace and joy.

How do we know these things to be true?

We will celebrate in just a few more days the birth of His Son just over 2,000 years ago who was God in the flesh. Jesus’ actions while here on Earth showed us firsthand that this is who God is….taking it so far as humble himself and die on the cross for you and for me where He left no question that He forgives our sins as Psalm 103:12 states. He then conquered death through His Resurrection so that we will someday do the same.

Let us consider reading Psalm 103 and Revelation 21:4 on a regular basis in 2024 as a source of comfort, peace, strength, and hope.

⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

Have a blessed Christmas and 2024.

Perfect In Weakness

Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians chapters 12 and 13, as well as Galatians 1.

What is at least one thing you are self-conscious about? I have a few. One is my bow legs. As I grew, they got worse and classmates poked fun at me. I have to laugh though because my last name is Bandy and if you look up “bandy” in the dictionary it says “bandy-legged” means bow legged! It only stands to make sense that my brother, dad, and I have been smitten with this. The other item I became self-conscious about at a young age is my skinniness and lack of physical strength. I remember getting anxious about going to the weight room for football. I didn’t want my teammates and coaches to know that the kid who was competing for starting quarterback could hardly lift the bar in bench press. As I have shared before, I then broke my arm three times in two seasons. That obviously did not do anything to stop the jokes about my frailty but only poured gasoline on the fire.

Now that I’m an adult and married with four children, I should be past this right? To be straight, it’s still not easy. As a man, husband, and father, we still often measure ourselves by our physical strength and our masculinity. I should be able to lift or move something on my own, right…or use my physical skills to fix something around the house? That’s maybe a 3^rd complex I won’t go into today..haha. We should also be able to physically protect our family with our strength if our family was ever in danger.

I have previously written about my spinal stenosis and ironically as I write this, I am getting ready to have my 5^th surgery in a few weeks. As I’ve shared in the past, I have permanent loss of strength (about half) in my right hand, as well as motor skills, and now have had more surgeries including the one coming up to keep the same thing from happening to my left arm/hand. As you can tell, getting away from self-consciousness about my lack of strength because I now am old, no longer play sports, and work a job where I mostly use my mind and relationship skills is still not easy because now I still struggle with some of the basic things I want to do around the house for my family. I know it’s silly to be concerned about my physical strength at this point. Paul even tells us 1 Corinthians 16:13 physical strength is not what makes a man a man. He says, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

I don’t believe in coincidences, so I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 where Paul talks about an affliction he was given was part of my assigned verses as I prepare for my next surgery.

⁷So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,^[^a^] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul states that his affliction (we are not sure what that affliction is) keeps him from being conceited. Is this the case for me? I don’t know..maybe. I know one thing..I’ve been blessed in my life with some things I don’t deserve that unfortunately not everyone has…loving parents, a loving and supportive wife, four healthy kids, financial blessings, and a stable career I love. If I didn’t have some “thorn(s),” would I even think I needed God? I realize God had His hand on my life when he led me into the field of financial planning, rather than dentistry/orthodontics, my original dream career, which I would not be able to do with my hand issues. If these surgeries were not possible due to modern medicine, I would be like the man at the pool in the Bible..paralyzed eventually. He led me to a surgeon and surgery options by His grace that were better than what Mayo even proposed. I can still throw a ball with my kids and type on a keyboard which is needed in my career. I’m extremely grateful for His provision through all of this. I’m also grateful these challenges are mine and not my wife or my children.

Most importantly, as I look down and see my puny, almost withered right hand..I’m reminded what Paul says here in 2 Corinthians 13:10. When I am weak, then I am strong, and His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weakness. It’s all that matters and all I really need in life. Ironically, another Paul, my good friend and Christ follower Paul Kelly, stated the following to me recently in a text message dialogue after a sermon…

“My desire to be the best version of myself will never be good enough. So..it’s in our weaknesses that God unveils our greatest gifts..His love is incomprehensively good and although I’ll never be worth it…I will forever be grateful.”

Thank you, Paul…no truer words can be said.

Family Traditions

This week, during our e-learning adventures, I worked with my first grader on social studies. Cultures, customs, and traditions were in the lesson, and I had to laugh at the family tradition he chose to write about.

Taco Tuesday.

This kid L O V E S tacos. And he REALLY loves taco Tuesday at our house. Have you ever heard the song “It’s raining tacos”? Yeah, it’s a regular over here.

Anyway, his write up on Taco Tuesday was great – except one small detail. Taco Tuesday doesn’t fit into the definition of a tradition: a custom that is passed down through the generations over time.

Now, if my son eventually makes tacos with his kids on Tuesdays, BAM, this custom is now a tradition! And I’d be a proud mama to pass that down.

Although, not quite David/Solomon level of traditions we have recorded in the Bible…

From an early age, David declared not just the power of God, but the power in his NAME! When standing against Goliath he says “you come with sword and spear, and I come in the name of the Lord”.

In Psalms, David says “may the name of the God of Jacob defend you“. He goes on to worship and sing praises to the name of God and call on the name of God.

There IS power in the name of the Lord! This power continues with the name of Jesus. Praying in his name, miracles in his name, POWER in the name of Jesus.

I’m guessing that King David not only wrote down about this power and strength that the name of the Lord carries, but he also shared his testimonies with his family. His real life experiences of God’s protection while battling Goliath, running from Saul, and everything in between. He shared how the Lord was his refuge and strong tower against his enemies, passing down to the generations the protection that the name of the Lord provides. I can picture them worshipping the name of the Lord together as a family. What a legacy!

Proverbs 18 records David’s son, King Solomon, penning this very same thing. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it. His name protects us, shields us, secures us. David believed it, Solomon believed it, and generations later, we believe it. We rely on it. I’m so grateful to be part of the family of God with these truths passed down from generation to generation!

I must be very transparent in that as I’m writing this we are wrapping up what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend getaway with my wife’s family to Grafton, IL and while it was a great time with them..I’m still tired. I’m not refreshed and recharged like I hoped. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful that many of the recent events have not directly affected my family negatively. My prayers go out those who have been directly affected my all the crazy stuff going on in our world. When I say I’m tired…I mean I’m tired of all the sin and evil every day with so many bad things happening which also seems amplified in the news. Yes…we have had conflict since sin came into the world through the Fall and we always will until Jesus returns, but it seems as though the level of divisiveness is extremely high right now. At times I just sigh and long for us to do as Jesus directed us in John 15:12, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

As Jon wrote about last week https://www.biblejournal.net/2020/09/11/200-trillion-decisions/ , we make about 35,000 decisions a day. And while that can be tiring enough, it seems as though every decision we make, or don’t make, is under a magnifying glass as political or social statement these days which there also doesn’t seem to be a perceived difference right now. You are either for something or against it. If you say one thing on one side of a social or political issue..or even don’t say anything at all…you’re labeled an extremist for or against it. Even a decision whether or not to wear a mask, or what’s on the mask, seems to make an unintended statement someone may not agree with. There’s also the whole social media animal which I used to love to keep up with friends and their families. Then, there’s sports and movies. And while I’m not going to say that athletes or entertainers should be silent on issues in our world which they can potentially help make a positive impact where needed, I must admit I miss the days where we could watch a game or movie to get away from the stresses of the world without everything and everyone making a statement on something. In fact, I’m concerned as I write this that I’m going to offend someone by this prior sentence. That they might think this means I don’t care about these issues athletes and entertainers are speaking and acting on and thus I’m making a stance for or against something. Crazy, isn’t it? Please don’t misunderstand and judge me. Again, I’m not. I am just saying again I’m tired…and sports and movies were something to watch and attend as a respite for weariness..a medium to get away so to speak..and to forget about everything else in the world for a couple hours and get re-energized.

Again, I’m very blessed, and this is minor in comparison to the direct challenges others are facing due to the issues we see in the news everyday or just the everyday financial, relationship, and health challenges others are facing to name a few. I’m just being transparent with the fact that I’m feeling drained right now. Author Jon Gordon writes about staying away from energy vampires. I feel like the present times we are in are like one big energy vampire. A weekend getaway with family, scanning social media to see what friends and their families are up to, sports, and movies are not refreshing to me.

That brings me to my personal lesson in reading today’s verses and my assignment to write on which is the Lord being our “strength.” It seems as though He’s speaking to me through this topic that my relationship with Him has an opportunity to grow to look to Him to re-charge and for strength and not to the idols of this world in our everyday lives. This is the ‘what’ so to speak..I need to reflect more on the ‘how’..although their are simple steps like more time in prayer (speaking with Him), His Word (listening to Him), and worship (praising Him for His saving grace on the cross and all He’s done for me).

Please take a few moments to read the below verses and if you are just plain tired like me, reflect on if you need to turn more to your relationship with Him, and not to other idols, for strength. Pray on how you can do so as well. As Psalm 73:26 says, when He is our strength, He is our portion. He fills us up…forever.

“I love you, O Lord, my strength.”

Psalm 18:1

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.”

Psalm 28:7

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:1

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 73:26

With Wings Like Eagles

This weekend, over a hundred people are gathering from Central Illinois to run a charity half marathon to benefit families living in poverty in Central America. It’s been a really neat journey, from the spring when everyone signed up, learning about the communities we would be supporting… to then training through the warm and humid summer months, and now getting ready to toe the start line. We will run the 13.1 mile victory lap of all the miles already run. The work is done. They hay is in the barn. The runners have done the hard training, and race day is the icing on the cake.

When I visualize running a successful race, it always comes with this image of leaping, and bounding, and flying – literally flying like an eagle. Isaiah 40:31 says we will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not grow weary!

When I thought about today’s journal entry post of Isaiah – of course I was going to share the parallels of this run supporting Central Americans and our strength from God. As I was packing and prepping for the race weekend, there were several things that came to mind and I was looking forward to putting pen to paper.

Right in the middle of all of this – I received some really awful news. One of our runners has a serious health condition that came on and definitely can’t join us. Our entire team is amazing… but this runner is also SO INSPIRING. She is new to distance running, and this would be her first half. The runs didn’t always come easy to her. And yet she continued to focus on the bigger mission, fundraised to help others, and week after week, she logged her workouts, coming back for more even when she wasn’t loving it. When it got hard, she showed up. She has encouraged and led others this summer, and I had no doubts she would cross that finish line – and I couldn’t wait to witness it.

I wish I knew why this isn’t her weekend, why this has happened. And why now? I wanted her to wrap up her summer with a big bow – that finish line ribbon! Having made this hard decision myself two years ago for a race I had to pull out of, I know she’s feeling sad, hurt, and discouraged. And it’s kinda lonely when everyone you’ve been planning and prepping with is moving forward and you’re not.

When I go back to our scripture – it’s that first part of this passage that I struggle with… you know, the WAITING.

For they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.They will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint.

Have you had situations where you had the wisdom to make the hard decision to wait? Or, if you’re like me, sometimes you don’t wait, you keep pushing forward, and God has a way of forcing the waiting!! I can think of a few of those… and God knew that more time was needed.

Do you believe in the strengthening power of the Lord, that comes in the timing of waiting? Yielding? Listening? Being still?

Or do you view the waiting as a waste of time… unnecessary, or uncomfortable even?

Will you join me in praying for my friend that wisely made the hard decision to wait, that she will feel God’s comfort and strength in the process.

So why do you think God call us to wait? What has happened during your seasons of waiting?

From big things to little things, from waiting on medical test results, to a relationship to start, or for the promotion we’ve been working toward… there is a LOT of waiting.

On the other side of these waiting periods in my life, I can look back and see how waiting has grown my patience and perseverance. Waiting has taught me how to rely more on the Lord. Waiting has transformed me. Think of Moses – from the start of his journey with the Israelites, through the end. All the waiting, yes, but also all the growth he experienced!

If you have a moment today, reflect with me on the waiting seasons you’ve experiences and write down what happened. How you handled it, what you learned, how your perspective changed. The next time you are in a season of waiting, dust off these notes and get encouraged by your own personal testimony of waiting.

Here are additional scriptures on waiting on the Lord:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He puta new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Psalm 40:1

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25

For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5

If you’d like to learn more about the prophet Isaiah, check out chapter 6, which outlines his calling from God as a messenger to the people – and his quick and willing response! Isaiah 53 is the chapter of the prophesy of Jesus, including his rejection and suffering, for our salvation.

Samson

From the book of Joshua we go to Judges, and it’s a fascinating period of time with a lot happening. Joshua dies, the tribes are still trying to conquer/divide/settle into land, and going through cycles of sin and depravity. Between Joshua’s death and until Saul is named the Israelites’ first king, we have “judges”. These judges are different than modern day judges and I love how they’re described in chapter 2 verses 16-18:

¹⁶Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

In our reading today, we focus specifically on Judges 16, which outlines Samson as a judge for the Hebrew people being oppressed by the Philistines (there are 11 other judges recorded in the book of Judges). If you’ve heard this one before, your high points might be similar to what stood out in my mind over the years:

God gave Samson supernatural physical strength, and if he cut his hair he would lose his strength – but no one knew that but him.
Delilah tries to get the truth from him multiple times – in order to sell his secret to the Philistines. The first couple of times he tells her lies, but she tries to take away his strength with these lies… why does he keep trusting her and telling her?
Eventually (third time is a charm) he tells her the truth about his hair and she sells him out and Samson is captured.

After spending more time in Judges and the life of Samson, a few new things came to light for me:

Samson was born to Manoah and his previously barren wife, after an angel appeared telling her she would bear a son that would be a deliverer for the Israelites. – Ch. 13
Samson was raised as a Nazarite and as he grew, the Lord blessed him. – Ch. 13
Samson desired/tried to marry women outside of his tribe (against God’s laws at that time) – Ch. 14 the woman from Timnah, Ch. 16 Delilah.
Samson was betrayed by both women, both telling information he trusted them with.
The situation with the woman from Timnah (his soon-to-be wife) is Lifetime Movie ready. He kills a lion on his way to ask for his bride.. then during the wedding feast creates a riddle for the Philistines to solve. His bride tells the secret answer, and it all ultimately ends in death. Samson was a great warrior and killed 1000 men without an army. Ch. 14-15
Samson has his “Hey there, Delilah” moments and we do not know how long she nagged him to reveal his secret, but in verse 16 it says she pressed and urged him daily until his soul was vexed to death.
The Philistines gouged out Samson’s eyes upon capturing him. Samson, whose role was to help people keep their eyes on God, lost his way, and his own sight in the process. – Ch. 16
God gives Samson one last super strength moment during his captivity and he kills 3,000 Philistines before his own death.
Samson is listed among the men and women of great faith in Hebrews 11!

This deeper study of Samson has replaced my thoughts of “why did he spill the beans” with some areas of encouragement:

After Samson is captured and realized he wrongly told the secret of his strength, he still had the courage to call upon the Lord for help. Wow!! When we mess up, we need God’s help to deal with the fall out. But sometimes we let our shame, pride, or doubt keep us from calling on God. What an awesome example Samson gave us to cry out with faith!

Be wise about who you allow into the inner circle of your heart. Are they Christ Followers, encouraging you in your walk with the Lord? Is there anyone influencing you in ways that come between you and God?

What strength did God entrust you with and how are you using it for His kingdom?

Rooted in His Love

Today’s Readings: 1 Kings 6, Ephesians 3, Ezekiel 36, Psalm 86

Today we find Paul again in Ephesians 3 writing from prison. I did some reading about Paul’s experience and learned that he was under house arrest in Rome while he awaited trial. In the very first verse he describes himself as “a prisoner for Christ.” He goes on to say that he is a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles. This short phrase is so easy to skip over but I think it is really significant. What does it mean to us to be prisoners for Christ? To me, that means putting Jesus before all other things. That means dying to myself in order to put him first as he put me first on the cross. Paul goes on to explain to the Ephesians that they should not lose heart over his suffering. He says,

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.” (Ephesians 3:8-9)

What would it look like if I committed to bringing light to everyone and shared the plan! Even though he was under arrest, Paul maintained his faith that God was in control of everything. When I think of this in context of my life today, it gives me such comfort to know that God is in control. Then I think about the possibility of sharing that message with others. I know, sometimes we feel hesitant, we don’t know if it’s the right time or place to share the hope and promise of Jesus. Paul shows us through example that we too can gain strength by sharing the message in our times of weakness.

Paul goes on in Chapter 3 to pray for spiritual strength. I love this moment and these words. It reminds me that each of us are named, each of us are absolutely cherished in His heart.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ….” (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Did you read that? Did you take it in? Rooted and grounded in love! How many times this week can we repeat that sacred text to ourselves in times of worry or anger or fear. We are truly rooted and grounded in God’s love. So rooted that we may have strength to comprehend his love for us. Paul wants us to see that God’s love for us is multidimensional. It isn’t just at church, not just at home in our Bible or our daily devotional. God’s love for us fills all the spaces. Paul calls us as Christians to go to Him. He reminds us that God truly wants to hear from us.

Today’s message is so simple but to me it is so foundational. We can do better than survive each day. We can thrive in the knowledge of his love for us. We are rooted in Him; nothing can separate us from our grounding in Christ Jesus.

God, thank you for your words, help us to find our strength, to comprehend your all-encompassing love for us. Amen!