K a t h y s p a c e

Choices, Choices!

2011-05-18T09:19:00.003-05:00

Here in the land of plenty, we have choices. We have resources and distractions, and the leisure time to consider them. I need to make a conscious decision to prepare my heart so that I will NOT follow the example of God's people in ancient times (see Psalm 78:8, 33).

They had everything they needed at their disposal, yet ended up wasting all their time. Lord, let me be wise enough to consciously and intentionally choose to prepare my heart to seek and follow you today. (See also 1 Cor. 10:1-13) for an overview.

This blog post based on today's reading.

Power to Help or Overthrow

2011-04-07T16:27:00.006-05:00

May the Lord hide his followers “from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows . . .” per Psalm 64. God can and often does take 'em down suddenly and with poetic justice, “with their own tongues turned against them.” And He can do it without any help from you and me!

2 Chronicles 25 illustrates the monumental truth that God has the power to help -- or to overthrow. Sometimes our job is as simple watching His justice play out. This passage contains the factual account of a Hebrew king who was serious about his goals. He had a war to fight, and had even hired mercenaries to march with his army. The only problem: God wasn't in on the plan! A prophet warned and encouraged him with words that still ring true:

But a man of God came to him and said,
“ . . . Even if you go and fight courageously in battle,
God will overthrow you before the enemy,
for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

Amaziah asked the man of God,
“But what about the hundred talents I paid
for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied,
“The LORD can give you much more than that.”
- from 2 Chronicles 25:7-9

May we not doubt God's power, nor count the cost! Let us not be concerned with what we could lose, but count it a joy to lay claim to the promise that the LORD can give us more, so much, much more than anything we could lose for following Him.

God says, “Be still, and know that I am God . . . ” (Psalm 46:10). Let's listen!

P.S. See also, Job 12:14-16

God's Good Motive

2011-03-07T10:57:00.004-06:00

Why should I trust God enough to do what He says? Today's reading reveals God's motive for my obedience: it is for MY good. God lays out the ten commandments not because it does anything at all for Him, but as a solid framework for my happiness. He has no selfish motive but is simply looking out for my welfare, success, and security. He wants things to go well for me. How do you like that? God says:

"Oh that they had such a heart in them,

that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments

always, that it may be well with them and with

their [children] forever!" - Deuteronomy 5:29

If I truly trust in God's good motive, then maybe I could at least claim complete willingness to obey. But even then, I would lack the power! Today's New Testament portion reveals my own weakness -- not just Peter's. We are all in the same situation as Peter in the garden, wanting to do what's right, but unable to stand up to even the simplest test. When Jesus found him asleep at the switch, his response was not condemnation, but a comment:

" . . . the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." - from Mark 14:38

I pray that God will give you and me the motivation and power to do as we should today, and that He will grant us the humbling awareness that He alone is the source of both willingness and strength to comply.

P.S. March 17, 2011. As I've continued through Deuteronomy, I have noticed again and again God's good motive for my obedience. Another specific example is in Deuteronomy 30:6. Even my love for God is for my own good, that I may live.

TRUST AND DO GOOD!

2011-02-24T23:53:00.003-06:00

The people of Israel were dismayed when they heard the reconnaissance report: they were sadly dwarfed and outnumbered by their enemies, a multitude who were taller and stronger than they. Joshua and Caleb tried to bolster their brothers' sagging self-confidence with encouraging words:

If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land
and give it to us . . . Only do not rebel against the LORD.
And do not fear the people of the land . . . the LORD
is with us . . . " - from Numbers 14:8-9

It is not when we're surrounded by giants and far away from home that we're in a bad place, but when we retreat or refuse to march forward. Do we trust our perceived security, or will we trust the Lord? I pray we will trust Him, and walk according to His marching orders in spite of feelings of fear and unease. There are brave examples in today's reading.

There was Aaron. Do I love anyone enough to run into the path of destruction in order to save them? Yet the priest, Aaron, did not hesitate to do as he was instructed, and his intervention was effective. He "stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped" (see Numbers 16:47-48).

Then there was Jesus. He knew everything, so when he felt critical eyes watching, He might have said to Himself, "Uh-oh! I want to heal this man, but Wait! It's a trap, I'd better hold back." In retrospect that would have been ridiculous! We know Him better than that. His response was this:

Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,
so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him
on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand,
“Stand up in front of everyone.” - Mark 3:2-3

Very rarely does the Lord call us to walk into a trap -- or into any danger whatever -- in order to do the good He has called us to do. Nor does he often ask us to walk the thin line between the living and the dead like Aaron did. So what's our excuse to hold back the good news? Lord help us move out of our comfort zone with a prayer, a word, or a deed to promote the good news of grace.

YouVersion Reading - Time Well-Spent

2011-02-04T17:14:00.002-06:00

Today's reading took me 21 minutes and 55 seconds. I know, because I timed it. With all the cold stillness of my city during these past few days, I really have no excuse NOT to spare the time, even if this year's YouVersion plan is five or ten minutes more than I would normally spend in daily reading.

I pray that those the Lord has called to follow this plan will find themselves mysteriously unhindered to do so! I pray that He will bless and multiply the REMAINDER of the day to accomplish even more than we had hoped, and that in short, the fruits of this labor of obedience will be imminent and obvious.

. . . The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD
are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD
are radiant, giving light
to the eyes.
- from Psalm 19:7-8

MY INHERITANCE

2011-02-02T16:08:00.002-06:00

Part of the calendar reading for today was Psalm 16:6, where David exclaims, ". . . indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." It reminded me of Sunday's sermon at church.

The message was about Jesus' blessing for the meek from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:5), " . . . for they will inherit the earth." My pastor pointed out this was a reference to the doormats and the dirt of society, people much "less fortunate," and to those who choose to humble ourselves.

I was thankful for the reminder that YES, I want to be included in that group called the meek, and that YES, this inheritance is the gift of grace, and not something I could ever earn or merit. I have a beautiful inheritance, indeed! It will take a lifetime to discover the depth of it.

Permanent Scars

2011-01-24T10:34:00.000-06:00

Do you think Jesus bore the scars of torture only on his hands and in his side? We're told he was beaten so severely he was barely recognizable as a human being.

I am not at all surprised that the two followers walking along the road to Emmaus failed to recognize him for a long while. Surely he was greatly changed.

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. - Luke 24:15-16

. . . his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind . . . - Isaiah 52:14

See also the story of Dallas Wiens.

P.S. This is my first blog post since I joined a new reading plan. Check out Life Journal plan (second on the YouVersion list). Today's reading was Exodus 9-11 and Luke 24. That's a bit more reading than what I'm used to, but only takes 15-17 minutes a day. Plus, the Life Journal community page is a wonderful way for like minds to share notes.

Active Faith

2010-12-23T06:49:00.005-06:00

What is it to be faithful? Per dictionary.com, it is "strict or thorough in the performance of a duty . . . true to one's word . . . steady . . . loyal. . . . reliable, trusted, believed . . . true to fact, a standard, or an original." By definition, sounds like faithfulness takes some active effort -- not a passive, ho-hum, nebulous, mystical term at all!

When the prophet Habakkuk uses the term in today's reading, he seems to draw a comparison between faithfulness and the lack of it:

. . . his soul is puffed up; it is not upright

within him, but the righteous shall live

by his faith (footnoted "faithfulness"). Habakkuk 2:4

The New Testament section was way over my head for the most part, but I did pick up on a reference to faith:

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints,

those who keep the commandments of God

and their faith in Jesus. " . . . Blessed are the dead

who die in the Lord from now on . . . Blessed indeed,"

says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors,

for their deeds follow them!" - Revelation 14:12-13

The deeds of the faithful follow them. Habakkuk's comparison between one who is "puffed up" and a righteous person is very pertinent, since endurance and consistency can be a problem for me when it comes to faith. I am moody! Sometimes I feel like pursuing God, and sometimes I don't so much. Some days I'm willing to squeeze in time for prayer and focused Bible reading, and on other days things get in my way. This is a reminder to you and me both. It takes an active, steady effort to live by faith, but our deeds will follow us. It is well worth the time and trouble to keep up the discipline of an active faith!

Ridiculous Expectations

2010-12-03T10:58:00.004-06:00

"The thing that the king has asked is difficult . . . " Are there ridiculous expectations place upon your time, finances, emotions, or intellect? Today's reading was a great encouragement to me as I try to keep my head above water and juggle the numerous balls I have in the air.

There is an answer. Seek counsel from the God of mercy, draw together with others of in prayer, and rejoice that God gives knowledge to the wise, and reveals hidden understanding today, just as in Daniel's time:

. . . he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me

wisdom and might . . .

- from Daniel 2:21-23

The light dwells with God, and is freely shared with us, available for the asking in the name of Jesus. Give thanks! No matter how frazzled and overwhelmed we may feel, God will make known to us everything we need to know concerning the matters befor us.

Furthermore, God will bless those around us as a result of our trust in Him. Daniel was able to save the necks of his peers as well as his own (see verse 24). Others will reap the benefits of God's presence in our lives, and through our testimony, God's character will be revealed.

I'm rejoicing in the middle of my busy, impossible day, and I pray wisdom and might for you today, too.

. . . there IS a God in heaven

who reveals mysteries . . . - from Daniel 2:28

EXTRA ACCOUNTABLE

2010-11-16T13:26:00.004-06:00

If I "hide idols" while I claim to seek the God of the Bible, I am accountable for my error, and in for real trouble. In today's reading, Ezekiel describes certain prominent people who went through the motions of seeking God's direction, yet their loyalties were divided. In reality, God's directives for them were anything but top priority. Here's what God said through the prophet:

For any one of the house of Israel,
or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel,
who separates himself from me, taking his idols
into his heart and putting the stumbling block
of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes
to a prophet to consult me through him,
I the Lord will answer him myself.
And I will set my face against that man;
I will make him a sign and a byword
and cut him off from the midst
of my people, and you shall know
that I am the Lord. - Ezekiel 14: 7-8

These guys were admired, respected, and looked up to in their community. They were in a position to be emulated, and would certainly lead others astray by their bad example. They thought they'd have their cake and eat it too by consulting Ezekiel to keep up appearances, while at the same time keeping certain things separate from God's rule in their lives. Those idols they treasured were surely not worth the cost of having God set his face against them!

What do I treasure above God's rule, though it may not be made of gold? What would I withhold from God's sovereignty? What have I taken into my heart that's more important than what God wants for me? What am I doing that might lead others astray by my bad example? Is there an area in my life where I want to look like a Christian but act otherwise? I'd better watch out if I say I want to seek God. If I am not sincere, that makes me extra accountable, directly to him.

My prayer for you and me is from the New Testament portion of today's reading. May we be like Moses, who "considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward" (Hebrews 11:26). Here's to greater wealth!

THE FIRE HAMMER

2010-10-28T15:19:00.007-05:00

Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord,
and like a hammer that breaks
the rock in pieces?
- Jeremiah 23:29

God's word IS like fire, an unspeakably powerful precision tool. It's an instrument that breaks in pieces any rock that stands in its way. Whether the rock is my own heart of stone, a boulder of self-condemnation or pride, a roadblock of contention or resentment, or an entire mountain of circumstance, I'm going to turn that power tool loose to do its good work.

Just when I was wondering if my fifteen minutes a day of Bible reading was really necessary in my tight schedule, today's reading was a great reminder (and reprimand) to keep at it. Yes, it is necessary, and yes, I do have the time -- nearly 100 times that much in every day, when I stop to think about the 1,440 minutes on the clock at my disposal.

This rock-crushing fire hammer doesn't do a thing unless I pick it up, plug it in, and turn it on. I'm going to try even harder to plug God's word into my brain on a daily basis, and switch my mind into active mode about letting it cut away some rock! I pray that you, too, will be unhindered in your time spent using your power tool: let it be plugged in and the willpower switched ON. And may God's hand be ever present, teaching us how to handle his awesome word of truth.

Do your best to present yourself to God
as one approved, a worker who
has no need to be ashamed,
rightly handling
the word of truth.
- 2 Timothy 2:15

Praying Thru' to Daylight

2010-10-03T12:12:00.005-05:00

Sometimes there's nothing to do but pray through until the light of day, mentally laying claim to the promises of God's word. Isaiah claims a promise when he prays to God in the dead of night:

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you. - Isaiah 26:3

Isaiah encourages others, as well, telling them:

Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. (verse 4)

Deliverance is a promise and a PERSON, the One who gives grace to endure deep discouragement and trust that morning is on its way:

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” - Ephesians 4:7-8

Yesterday's reading was a great encouragement! I'm thankful for Jesus, who went before me through every kind of despair and leads me out of darkness, handing out gifts as he goes.

A Lot Like Work

2010-09-30T22:57:00.002-05:00

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10

Today's reading says believers are created in Christ. We're created not just in two dimensions as the image of the perfect man, but IN him; we're not a static creation like a painting or piece of sculpture to be admired, studied, and occasionally dusted, but as living art. We're made to move, created to do good work and lots of it - jobs that God laid out for us with care. YES, we're cut out for what we're called to do. Sounds like an active and interesting pursuit, does it not?

Sometimes I need to be reminded! I don't always feel so very active, and at times I'm so tired that even I am not interested in my mission -- so how can I expect that anyone else will be interested in what I have to offer, namely the gospel? At times I feel my activity is a futile process of repeated chores and duties. The soundtrack of my life seems like Lamb Chop's annoying unending loop, "The Song That Never Ends" (Shari Lewis, gotta love ya, you'll live on for that one!)

But life isn't really like that awful song, an unending cycle of sameness. Life is linear. There is direction and purpose, even when I feel like I'm going round and round in circles. Perhaps during the dizzying dry times that seem to do nothing but drain me, the purpose is to learn the hard humility, the obedience, the focused faithfulness to the Lord (and NOT to the prosperity gospel), and steady trust in his word regardless of how I feel.

Christians are like athletes in endurance training for an expedition. It's tedious to reach the top of a steep ascent, back and forth, back and forth, crisscrossing a shaggy mountain, every new turn looking just about like the last. The joy is that to every climb, there is a crest, a stopping point of looking over the top and catching a glimpse of something breathtakingly worthwhile. I pray for a stopping point of rest and refreshment the next time you are wondering whether the work you are doing really matters. The answer is YES!

Like a Bug

2010-08-30T08:00:00.006-05:00

You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it. - Psalm 139:5-6

Ever felt like a bug? Sometimes I catch one in my house, where it shouldn't be, and trap it by throwing a tissue on top and "hemming it in" with my hand so there's no escape. This passage reminds me of a bug in a tissue, yet it is a comfort to me! I am snug as a bug, hemmed in with God's hand over me. I know who's got me, and I'm glad of it. I'm not about to be crushed, smushed, or flushed. Instead I'll be moved, protected, comforted, or blessed. The passage continues:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
. . . even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you. - from Psalm 139:7-12

For the entire reading, see Sunday, August 29.

Why I Read My Bible

2010-08-24T09:26:00.004-05:00

Last month I set out on a thousand mile road trip to the east coast. That was a lot of driving, but I wasn't worried about getting lost. Before I left my driveway I carefully plotted my route on GPS, and as I drove east, I watched my progress on the screen. I kept that little LED road map right in front of my face, and methodically followed the route guidance, step-by-step.

The August 21 reading makes me think of that little car adventure. IF as a believer it is my passion to follow the Way, then I'll be as careful to stay on track in my daily walk as I was on the road to South Carolina. I'll read and store God's word in my heart and in my mind so that I can use it to orient myself about where I am and which way to go. I'll trust it to keep me from wandering off track in the decisions I make.

With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:10-11

The New Testament portion of the reading complements the road map analogy, and reinforces the importance of Bible truth with additional word pictures:

A FOOD PICTURE (What are you having? A baby bottle or a big, juicy steak?)

I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.
And even now you are not yet ready, for you
are still of the flesh - 1 Cor. 3:2

A BUILDER'S PICTURE (If we're like architecture,
we want to try to be a well-built house, right?)

. . . like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation [of teaching],
and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care
how he builds upon it. - from 1 Cor. 3:10-13

Back to the road map, here's another good mental image: a COMPASS. Picture yourself at the center of the compass, and say you want to head due north. If you're off by a single degree, you won't notice right away, but as you moved out toward infinity, you would find yourself very lost. For me reading the Bible is like checking, correcting, and staying true to my heading.

The more I read the Bible, the more I see its importance, and the better I know Jesus. Without time in his Word, I can't live right, nor can I convince anyone else of the truth. I pray for more passion to keep my nose in the Book, for me and for you. I pray that in this busy world, the barriers that keep us from nitty-gritty, focused, contextual Bible reading will be removed.

God Bless the Generous!

2010-08-23T13:45:00.000-05:00

It is well with the [one] who deals generously
and lends. who conducts his affairs with justice . . .
He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady [and] will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph
on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever . . . - from Psalm 112:5-9

My prayer is this: that it be well with generous guys and gals who find it a joy to lend. Let nothing stand in the way of their just conduct, their good work, and their service to others. May they never fear bad news, but stand firm, trusting in the Lord with steady hearts. May the good things they do endure and bear fruit for all time.

What a blessing to see what God is doing through generous hearts, to see the freedom with which they give, and to be a recipient! I've been bragging right and left per I Cor. 1:31. May the Lord bless the hearts of gold that He has created, and may he give them success in all they undertake. “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

This blog-blessing inspired by the August 19 calendar reading.

Free Bird in a Cage

2010-07-30T14:44:00.007-05:00

. . . vain is the salvation of man!
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.

- from Psalm 60:11-12

It is crucial, yet so difficult in a crisis, to remember to look to my only true hope! My dearest friend or most loving family member may be unable to release me from my limitations, but help is a heartbeat away. I'm free at a moment's notice to go straight to the source of immediate, life-changing power.

Today's reading was a great reminder to keep my eyes on Jesus when frustration sets in and I feel stuck in the muck. My prayer for you is that you will remember to call on God, "with whom we shall do valiantly." I pray you will see Him at work treading down your foes right before your very eyes.

God's way of helping is a sight to see, surprising and ironic. Today's New Testament section (Acts 28:16-31) is a prime example of the laugh-out-loud humor that happens when God decides to turn the tables. The apostle Paul was preaching the gospel from a protected position as a prisoner under Roman guard, just like a cartoon Tweety bird safely out of reach of a hungry cat.

Technically Paul was the one in the cage, but for all practical purposes the Jews were his captive audience, taunted like Sylvester, with their mouths watering, but powerless to pounce. Though they wished Paul dead, they had to listen to his arguments. They couldn't touch or harm him in any way while he awaited his day in court.

May the good news have free reign in your heart and in our mouth, even if you feel you are weighed down by chains of doubt and dilema. May the Holy Spirit empassion you and me to take in, and dispense, the truth of the Word day by day. May his joy lift your heart till you feel as light and happy as a certain little yellow-feathered friend!

STOP SIGNS and ROADBLOCKS

2010-07-10T10:37:00.009-05:00

Paul and his group were stopped repeatedly, even though they were doing exactly what God told 'em to do. They were trying to share the good news, and must have wondered what in the world was going on when they were blocked at every turn. All the delays were necessary, though, to put Paul in the mood to see what God really had in mind:

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia,
having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to
speak the word in Asia.
And when they had come up to Mysia,
they attempted to go into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night:
a man of Macedonia was standing there,
urging him and saying,
“Come over to Macedonia
and help us.”
- Acts 16:6-9

Forbidden to speak the word in Asia?! That seems pretty strange in light of the Great Commission. Obviously God didn't intend for the Gospel to be off-limits to the Asian people, to the people of Bithynia, or anybody else. One of the most basic tenets of the Christian faith is that the good news of Jesus is for EVERYONE.

At that particular moment, however, God had something specific in mind for Paul and his little Gospel road show. The Good News bus was stopped dead in its tracks, but not for long. On close inspection, what appeared to be senseless roadblocks were actually helpful STOP SIGNS, indications to look and listen for direction.

The next time you feel like you're doing nothing but spinning your wheels, I pray that you'll be blessed with the presence of mind to calmly pause and read the Spirit signs. When you encounter delays that just don't make sense as you're trying our best to follow the right road, don't take it personally. Remember that there's specific direction at those stop signs of life.

And though the Lord give you
the bread of adversity and the water of affliction . . .
your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
when you turn to the right
or when you turn to the left.
- Isaiah 30:20-21

WHAT HE DOES IS DONE INDEED!

2010-06-28T14:00:00.002-05:00

Food for thought from yesterday's reading:

. . . If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he shuts a man in, none can open.
If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
With him are strength and sound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
- from Job 12:14-16

Wow, if I were Job, I don't know if I'd be talking like this! Job is a ruined man, even though he has done all the right things, and he's earned a pass to his own private, pity party. Yet here stand his words, preserved for all posterity. He asserts that God works with a sure hand, and that what God sets out to accomplish will be done.

How do you feel about Job's words? Do they reassure you, or do they disquiet you? I'm here to tell you (and to remind myself), that IF you have entrusted your life to God's will, and if you are trying to walk according to the plans he has for you, then these are words of encouragement and comfort - especially in hard times!

Even if you are in a time of uncertainty and distress, God is aware and in charge. We can learn a thing or two from Job, even as he sits on a heap of garbage and scratches his festering sores. He NEVER stops believing that God is in control. My situation has never been so extreme, but can I say the same?

When I get discouraged, I tend to doubt that God sees or cares about my situation. I forget to focus my attention on his sure hand, but instead I think of my own problems, and feel sorry for myself. The other day, when I was down in the dumps, I ran across the verse below, and here it is again in today's reading:

. . . “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him . . . ”
- from Acts 8:32-33

The words above are quoted from an old prophecy, and they don't refer to an ordinary guy like Job, but to the Lord Jesus himself, and his attitude when he suffered for no fault of his own. This is the model to follow: to open not our mouths to complain! When and if we are frustrated with life, let's remember Jesus, as well as Job. Let's insist upon trusting God. Remember this promise:

The LORD will
fulfill his purpose for me . . .
- from Psalm 138:8

FROM ESTHER TO ACTS

2010-06-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

I'm amazed at the story of Esther.

In her time, the people of Persia came to respect the Jews because of the uncanny way God protected them from harm. Haman, a high official who instigated a plot to wipe out the entire Hebrew population, found his plan frustrated in the most ironic possible way when he was required to honor Mordecai, the one Jew he loathed more than any other.

Haman had prepared to annihilate Jews everywhere, but because he hated Mordecai most, he had a special punishment prepared for just for him. He had set up an executioner's gallows in his front yard with Mordecai's name on it. Before he could get rid of Mordecai, though, his plan began to unravel. The king ordered him to heap praises and honors upon his foe (read the story).

When Haman went home and complained to his wife, she couldn't help but notice the irony and poetic justice. Her response was prophetic when she said, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” - from Esther 6:13. How true, and how sure is God's power to save his people.

The New Testament section of the June 22 reading included Gamaliel's advice to the authorities not to outlaw the early Christians' efforts to spread the gospel message. He warned, “ . . . if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” - from Acts 5:38-39. So true! God has an uncanny, poetic way of ensuring that his plans, both great and small, will come to pass.

For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the LORD, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you
a future and a hope.
- Jeremiah 29:11

PRAYING AT EVERY TURN

2010-06-17T09:56:00.005-05:00

Ever feel opposition pressing in from all sides? You may not find yourself out in the desert wearing fatigues, but believe me, if you are pursuing God, your enemy is real; he's poised and ready, waiting for a chance to take you down (see more). I love the words of Nehemiah from today's reading, when he was pressed by enemies on all sides. He spoke not only to his own fears, but to all who were, like him, seeking to do what they should:

. . . “Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,
and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters,
your wives, and your homes.” - from Nehemiah 4:14

You may have noticed, as we began the book of Nehemiah in yesterday's reading, one prominent habit of this extraordinary leader. He PRAYED. When he heard about the terrible state of disrepair in his hometown of Jerusalem, he PRAYED. When the king (his boss) noticed his sadness and asked what was wrong, he PRAYED before he dared give an explanation.

When the king authorized him to go back to Jerusalem and see what was to be done, and his peers opposed him, said rude things, and did everything they could to make his job more difficult, he PRAYED. He prayed at every turn, and then he kept right on going with the work God had for him to do!

Nehemiah knew something very important: that it was God who would fight the big battles on his behalf. He may have learned this from the example of David, or from Hezekiah, or from countless others (like Esther and Job, whose life stories are coming up later this month). I hope we can learn to pray at every turn, to trust God, and stick to the work he has laid out for us to do! What an awesome example to follow!

Silly, Sad King Asa

2010-06-05T12:21:00.003-05:00

Context is sobering at times. There's a sad story wrapped around the passage we love to quote from yesterday's reading:

" . . . the eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those
whose heart is blameless toward him . . ."
- from 2 Chronicles 16:9

How much I'm like silly, sad King Asa, who relied upon the Lord in the early years of his reign (because he had no choice!), only to abandon Him when his prospects improved. Asa was sadly outnumbered by his enemies at the beginning of his reign, and God delivered him big-time.

It is ironically improbable, and sad, and downright silly that thirty-five years later, when his resources allowed him to buy aid from a neighboring nation, King Asa decided it was a better bet to trust Syria than to continue to depend upon God for his safety and security.

Lord help me to learn from the context here, and to heed the sober warning not to exhaust myself in futility when all I need to do is turn to Him to keep me safe!

WHAT I WORSHIP

2010-05-19T08:15:00.003-05:00

What do really I worship? What is special enough to look at, ponder, and study? On what do I focus my attention for long periods of time? May 16's reading talks about the people of God, and what happened to them when they lost their focus:

. . . They went after false idols and became false,
and they followed the nations that were around them,
concerning whom the Lord had commanded them
that they should not do like them. And they
abandoned all the commandments
of the Lord their God . . .
- from 2 Kings 17:15-16

In May 17's reading, I saw that even Christian symbols, the icons of my faith, can be twisted into idols. Hezekiah did the right thing when he "broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made." The Bible says that the symbol had been perverted, and that "until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan)." 2 Kings 18:4

The serpent on a pole was crafted at God's behest. People dying of snakebite were instructed to look at it, and as they did so they were healed (see Numbers 21:5-9). The thing served a good purpose, ordained by God. Yet as the years passed, people gave it undue honor, rather than remembering that it was God who used it to help and heal.

I may not be inclined to worship pagan idols, but perhaps there are things in my life that I need to examine for signs of idolatry. Is there anything I fear, honor, respect, or protect, at the expense of honoring God? I pray that my idols will be revealed to me, for I want to throw them down! I wish to honor and fear the living God, and acknowledge him as Hezekiah did:

. . . you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms
of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.
Truly, O Lord . . . [the idols] were not gods, but the work
of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.
. . . O Lord [my] God, save [me], please . . . that all . . . may know
that you, O Lord, are God alone. - from 2 Kings 19:15-19

Let me not go after false idols and become false, as the people of long ago. Let me honor God, and serve him alone, so that others can know him, too. Will you agree with my prayer? "Lord save me, please, from idols. Help me to see you behind the symbols and icons of faith. Help me to strip away even the most beautiful coverings that hide who you are. Please be revealed in my life today."

SOUL CHEMO

2010-04-10T11:50:00.008-05:00

I stopped reading for a few days earlier this week in a subconscious effort to avoid the unthinkable. After Tuesday's reading, which included the shocking account in Judges 19, I set down the book for a while, and that's why I'm praying for you today. I pray that you and I will keep on reading, and that we'll get the words in us in spite of the difficult and disturbing nature of the content. We need it like life-saving medicine -- ALL of it -- though sometimes it's a bitter pill to swallow. It's a pill with a promise, though:

All Scripture is breathed out by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training
in righteousness. - 2 Tim. 3:16

and

Profitable yes, but uncomfortable at best. None of the benefits promised are sugar coated or cherry-flavored; they don't involve direct and immediate self-gratification, a happy tummy, or warm-fuzzy fulfillment. The Bible is a treatment which is harsh at times, and may result in a bellyache. It will cure what ails us, though, so think of it as radiation or chemotherapy for our sin-sick souls. We might not like the flavor of our daily dose, but if we truly believe what God says in and about his word, then we'll chug it down regardless.

I may never fully understand the purpose of the account that stopped me in my tracks earlier this week. It is unimaginable on so many levels . . . the shameless intentions of the village men, the nameless woman and the evil she was forced to face alone, her "husband" (such an honorable title), and his horrifying reaction to the brutal crime. This pill burns all the way down! I can't fathom what good it does me to read this, but I believe there IS a purpose for it, and though it is hard to take, it will do us good in the long run.

It is natural to prefer the "good" parts of scripture -- the Psalms, the Proverbs, and the New Testament. These are the spoonfuls of sugar, as Mary Poppins puts it -- and indeed there's lots of sweet stuff in there! Make sure the medicine does go down, though, along with the spoonful of sugar we like to sing about on Sunday. May God bless and empower you and me for difficult reading. God give us grace to gag it down, even while we make ugly faces. God give us grace to trust that though it may distress us, it can't fail to do all the good it has promised.

SET UNDER AUTHORITY - Not Left Hangin'!

2010-03-31T10:30:00.001-05:00

We are "set under authority," links in a powerful chain of command. We have the right and responsibility to decree order and cause change in the name of our commander-in-chief. In the New Testament section of yesterday's reading, the Centurion had a concrete understanding of this concept, even though he didn't feel worthy to be a part of it. He said:

" . . . I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." - from Luke 7:7-8

Who are you in this story? Are you the servant at the end of the chain, receiving the benefit of a healing touch? Are you the Centurion, unworthy but asking anyway? Yes, but even more, your identity is with Christ! It's God's purpose for you and me to work and live as Jesus did, effective links in a chain, exercising Christ's authority according to the example he demonstrated. Are we doing our job, or do we defer authority to anyone and everyone else?

Consider this a friendly reminder or a somber warning, whichever fits. If we are NOT exercising authority over ourselves and our circumstances in the name and for the cause of Christ - speaking truth at the opportune moment, standing firm in our convictions, emulating the model we're shown in scripture - then we are not just out of order; we're completely out of place and in rebellion. Sounds harsh, but it's true. Jesus started the chain when He commissioned his disciples, saying:

. . . All authority
in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore
and make disciples . . . - from Matthew 28:18-20

You and I are the links at the end of the line. We also must go. We have to exercise authority in order to continue the chain, lest we find we're left hanging, disconnected from God's work. Check out some areas of authority in Christ, and be amazed. I quickly counted over half dozen: authority to teach, to send, to cleanse, and to heal; authority to forgive, cast out, challenge, and question. Authority is a GREAT PRIVILEGE, and I pray the Spirit will push and empower us today to USE IT.

WORTH A PILE O' PIGS?

2010-02-24T09:49:00.003-06:00

Wow, in the aftermath of a miracle, people begged Jesus to GO AWAY! His presence cost 'em too much. It's incredible that the community described here would prefer to write off a human being rather than break their "piggy bank." Sad but true:

. . . they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. - from Mark 5:15-17

I'm sure glad Jesus counts me as hands-down more valuable than a pile of pigs. Yes, I realize there was a sizable investment lost on that cliff, money down the drain, but in the exchange a person was rescued from a fate worse than death. What does it cost us Christians, our churches, the community, to see Jesus at work? Are we willing to tolerate His presence, even if we have to break the bank to see things happen?

A FIT ABOUT A FIG TREE

2010-02-22T12:08:00.002-06:00

A question came up at Bible study last night about why Jesus was so annoyed with a fig tree that he cursed it (Mark 11:13-23). Doesn't this strike you as rather extreme? It appears the Lord lost his cool, but obviously (considering the source) it was the right thing to do! A parable from yesterday's Bible reading sheds light on the question:

The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. - Mark 4:14-20

Our goal as Christians is to be fruitful; what's more, fruitfulness is a perfectly (indeed the ONLY) reasonable expecation. The idea that a good seed could be planted in fertile soil, that the resulting plant could be properly tended by an expert gardner, allowed to develop a deep root system, with few weeds to compete for sun and nutrients -- for that particular plant not to bear fruit is unthinkable!

You and I are like well-tended plants, in a position to be fruitful and productive in garden tended by God's own hand. We do NOT want to be like the fig tree mentioned in Mark 11, which looked from a distance like a fruitful specimen (turns out the leaves and the fruit come out simultaneously on a fig tree, so the presence of leaves should have indicated fruit, as well). Back to the question of Jesus' annoyance with that tree, yes, it was justified. Each cluster of lush leaves should have contained a delectable fig.

Lord forbid that we should be found worthless and barren of fruit in our privileged lives where we're tended by excellent teaching, and our root networks have access to all kinds of resources to utilize and share. I pray the Lord will give us vision, motivaiton, and power to do all that comes naturally to fruitful plants without agonizing or overthinking our productivity in the "food chain." God bless you per Isaiah 55:10-11 -- with sun and rain (or snow) today, and with fruit in abundance, just as God promises. God bless you in the reading of his Word!

SNAPSHOTS - Before and After

2010-02-10T11:13:00.003-06:00

It's easy to skim over the details of proper sanctuary worship until I get to today's reading. When Abihu and Nadab disregarded the details, and offered incense to God in their own way, it cost them their lives! This is a case in point for reading the whole Bible to get a clear picture of our faith. Jesus changed everything for you and me, but can we possibly appreciate the difference without taking a good look at the time before?

I worship in spirit and in truth, just like Jesus described in John 4:23-24. You can worship in the way you choose, and your way is probably different from mine. Our freedom to worship is the "after" picture, and it's worth even more in comparison to the snapshot from Leviticus 10:1-2, of a time when the details were a matter of life and death. I'm thankful for the balance of perspective, which helps me appreciate the freedom Jesus proclaimed!

TO INFORM AND PERSUADE

2010-02-03T15:46:00.002-06:00

As a graphic designer, I can relate to the artisans commissioned to work on God's tabernacle. The very first verse of today's reading describes the principle artist: "I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs . . ." WOW, what a guy!

The detailed descriptions of weavings, mouldings, ornaments, overlays, etc., are extremely interesting to me from a professional perspective. Woo-hoo, God cares about design! God cared so much about aesthetics that he stepped in and laid out the plans for his tabernacle, its furnishings, the priests' garments, everything -- right down to the mixture of incense to burn!

My profession fits under the larger umbrella of advertising, whose mission in this modern age is "to inform and persuade." I apply my training and expertise to the sharing of the gospel, and though you may not consider yourself particularly "artsy," you do too! Whether you know it or not, you employ the very same principle every day in the way you live your life.

You put up posters and pass out pamphlets all over the place. As a matter of fact, you’re a walking media campaign. YOU & I are the temple (see 1 Corinthians 3:16), designed to draw people to God through elegance and exquisite craftsmanship. I do not doubt that a seeker is watching you today as if you were a movie trailer, deciding whether to buy a ticket or walk away.

What does the watcher see? One who notices your kindness to the undeserving, your joy in the face of distress, your love of the unlovely, your patience when interrupted, your unyielding honesty when it would be easy to cheat, or your persistence in prayer, is responding to the message of your life. As Christians, we ALL live under the advertising mantra, to "inform and persuade."

To put it another way, we're SMELLY! See this awesome passage in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16: ". . . God . . . through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." To some people I stink, but to others -- mysteriously -- I smell pretty good! That is God at work calling people to himself, as the odor of my life informs (and hopefully persuades).

My prayer for you is that the Lord will protect and strengthen the testimony of your life that is shown to strangers and kinfolk alike in little snippets all through the day. May he bless your involvements and interactions, both professionally and personally, to fulfill the overarching pursuit of your life's work. Today's message for me is "Hurrah for art!" For you it's, "Hurrah for all you do!" God bless it.

BECAUSE I SAID SO

2010-01-06T15:25:00.003-06:00

God is willing to patiently prove his love for us in the face of our doubts. In today’s reading, God told Abram that he would be blessed, but Abram had serious doubts. In verse 8, Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know?” You’d think the all-powerful God of the universe might have thundered back, “BECAUSE I SAID SO, THAT’S HOW!” Check out this surprising dialogue, initiated by God, who says:

. . . "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me? . . . " behold, the word of the LORD came to him . . . "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." - from Genesis Genesis 15:1-9

God didn’t snap at Abram for doubting. Instead, the Lord proceeded to patiently specify numerous proofs (sacrifices) for Abram to line up in order to satisfy his doubting mind. This is the God we serve, who is willing to get down on our level to prove his love and faithfulness to us in the face of our doubts.

May God give us grace to believe him, and to boldly claim his promises for ourselves and those we love. And if we cannot take him at his word, may we bravely confess our doubts right to his face, knowing our Father will graciously receive us, and that he will answer us kindly! This is my prayer for you.

DEFINING ATTITUDE

2010-01-04T11:29:00.007-06:00

I notice it is not just the book in my hand, but the attitude of my heart that defines whether the reading useful for good in my life. Anyone (including the devil himself) can learn to quote scripture, but it is the attitude of the heart which defines whether we use God's word to rectify our wrongs or to justify erroneous thinking. Check out the quote war, below, from today's reading:

And the tempter came and said to [Jesus], “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him . . . from Matthew 4:3-10

I don't want to leave my attitude to chance! I want to take this moment to deliberately define the purpose and attitude of my heart as I read through scripture in 2010. I pray I'll more like the character in this dialogue who uses scripture to defeat the tempter. How about you?

CALLED AS WE'RE CALLING

2009-12-15T09:45:00.004-06:00

There is a lot of destruction going on in and around us, even in this joyful season. Sunday's reading reminds me that as we call upon the Lord, we will also hear him calling out to us:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved . . . there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. - Joel 2:32

You may find yourself standing in the middle of a lot of rubble, but you ARE standing, and you are a survivor in every way that matters. May you and yours walk in the joyful realization that God can be trusted to make us stand (see Romans 14:3-5).

CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

2009-12-14T09:57:00.012-06:00

Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it! I've put some thought into what I would ask of God as I prepare to enter the new year, since I know he will answer my prayers. Today I'm reminded of what can happen when we, God's people, insist on having our own way instead of following his. In Saturday's reading God spoke of Israel's request to be ruled by a monarch, just like the nations around them:

I gave you a king in my anger,

and I took him away in my wrath. - Hosea 13:11

How they cheated themselves! If you are like me, you might want what you've got it in your head to want; you may wish to have what everybody else seems to have. You could even strive with an angel and win, as Jacob did (Hosea 12:3-4), but is that what's best? I pray that God will will save us from our own dumbed-down desires, and open our eyes to see what's best. May he change our stubborn hearts to crave what he is willing and ready to lovingly supply.

I've prayed a wise prayer over you today, inspired by the words of the prophet (Hosea 14:3-7). May you not count on yourself or your very best friends, but on God himself. May our merciful God be like the dew to you, to cause you to blossom, and to cause your roots to spread out. May you find yourself beautiful, fragrant, and flourishing, dwelling in complete safety and comfort under the very shadow of the Almighty.

Let's not forget how utterly wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked we'd be, if not for the Lord in our lives (see Rev. 3:15-17). May we be continually strengthened to acknowledge him joyfully in all we say and do. May we find ourselves hot on the trail of his truth everyday, and unwilling to to ever, ever turn back. May you and I wisely ask God for nothing but his best, and then trust him relentlessly to fulfill his promises and purposes in us, now and always! AMEN.

More about POLITICAL INCORRECTNESS

2009-11-20T10:13:00.010-06:00

Jerusalem was under a cloud of doom due to politically correct “friends”who said exactly what everyone wanted to hear. Nobody told the people they were doing wrong, or warned them of impending disaster. The November 10 reading, shows just how destructive PC friendship can be:

. . . who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading. - from Lamentations 2:13-14

My responsibility, if I want to be a friend to those around me, is to tell the truth. It is correct for me to be politically INcorrect at times. In the November 12 reading, the prophet Ezekiel was sent to warn God’s people. He was instructed to speak truth regardless of whether his listeners were willing to hear him or not. Ezekiel was not to prejudge what people would think of him, or whether they would take his warning to heart.

In fact Ezekiel was to speak a non-PC message of condemnation, an unpleasant warning of impending disaster, even though he was quite certain to be unappreciated and ill-received. He was to go on talking in spite of his own extreme discomfort in the matter (shoot, the Lord took his wife, and the poor guy wasn't allowed to mourn). Yet Ezekiel's discomfort would have been far more extreme if he kept silent. If Ezekiel failed to deliver the warning, he would be held personally accountable for the people’s downfall:

If I [God] say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way . . . his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked . . . you will have delivered your soul. - from Ezekiel 3:18-19

At the end of the chapter, God reiterated his instructions to the prophet:

. . . I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse . . . - from Ezekiel 3:27

Ezekiel's example serves as a reminder to me. I read the Bible nearly every day, and it's a sure bet that some little bit of truth is always fresh in my mind. I am responsible to share that little bit of truth when it is fitting. I dare not keep silent for the sake of political correctness, even if I’m certain what I say will rub someone the wrong way. If I trust God and want to be a real friend to those around me, I'll speak Bible truth and leave the response in God's capable and loving hands.

CUT TO THE QUICK - Politically Incorrect!

2009-11-07T14:47:00.026-06:00

Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed. - Jeremiah 48:10

The words of warning from yesterday's reading are a potent metaphor against political correctness in my day-to-day dealings. The sword in my modern Christian arsenal is the word of God (per Ephesians 6:13-17). If I keep it sheathed in order to spare someone a little discomfort, I am asking for trouble.

Often I am guilty of "slackness" in the work of the Lord, and of holding back the sword of God's word. I avoid speaking Bible truth because I can't stand to hurt someone's feelings. I keep silent even though I see that a passage I've recently read pertains to a situation I'm hearing about. I fear my words might come across as criticism. I prejudge whether or how I'll be received if I speak up.

At the end of yesterday's calendar reading is a reminder about the power of the sword of the spirit. I hope I can take it to heart, and that I'll trust the Sword in my hand. Though it may seem to cut to the quick, may I trust that God's word does good work, and that sometimes hurt can be helpful. The wounds the truth inflicts are painful, but constructive in exposing the root of trouble.

. . . the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. - Hebrews 4:12-13

TWO-SIDED COIN

2009-10-26T05:52:00.006-05:00

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water,that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought,for it does not cease to bear fruit. - Jeremiah 17:7-8

We believers love to claim blessings like this one for ourselves and those we love, but in today's reading I'm reminded that a blessing is the face of a two-sided coin. We all want that coin of blessing, but it is ignorant and irresponsible to palm it off or pocket it without examining the other side. The truth is that through our faithfulness or lack thereof, we choose which side of the coin is up. Heads, we win; tails, we lose.

The underside of the blessing is a loathsome curse. As a matter of fact, we have to get beyond the curse, in context, before we can lay claim to the blessing. It almost hurts my eyes to look at the dark side of this golden coin, in the preceding verses. Clearly engraved is the warning against any plan that takes us away from trust in God and obedience to his principles, whether inspired by self-confidence, counsel, or calculation:

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” - Jeremiah 17:5-6

Obviously I prefer the blessing, the fruitful evergreen with roots sunk deep in the water of life, fearless against evil, peril and hardship. I can't hand out out the golden coin of blessing, though, or put it in my own purse, without acknowledging the warning on the other side. If we want to spend that coin and buy a blessing, we'll throw our money down, but it is not matter of chance! Whether the coin lands face-up is our choice.

QUALITY Over QUANTITY - a Message for Children

2009-10-03T11:04:00.009-05:00

It's quality over quantity when reading through the Bible. Today in Isaiah 28, I see it's not so much about staying up-to-date with my Bible reading calendar as it is about taking time to take the truth to heart. I'm to apply the Bible's lessons little by little, a step at a time, like a little child learning to walk:

“. . . it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” - from verses 9-10

Like a child I'll stumble, but as I'm flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me I can be thankful that I'm learning to be careful with the truth I know. In the long run a few bumps and bruises are much less painful than the alternative described just a few verses further:

. . . the Lord will speak to this people . . . yet they would not hear. And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. - from verses 11-13

Yikes! The same truth that helps me learn to walk is the truth that can break me. Let me respect and heed the truth of God's word so that I won't be broken, snared, and taken, for I agree with Hebrews 10:31 when it says, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." What a scary thought!

Yet my walk is not meant to be difficult if I just keep on trying. In today's New Testament section, Ephesians 5, I can't help but picture a game of monkey-see-monkey-do or following-the-leader. I'm to be an imitator of God, as a beloved child. I'm to "walk in love, as Christ loved [me] and gave himself up for [me]" (from verse 1). How simple is that? One step at a time!

A WORD ABOUT MY PURPOSE

2009-09-29T11:26:00.006-05:00

Throughout this month of September, I've been considering the purpose of this blog. I love to jot down thoughts about God's word, true. I use scripture daily to shape my prayers and to plan my course in life. There is just nothing that compares to personally looking into God's living and active word. It is so helpful to me!

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you

and you be found a liar.

– Prov. 30:5-6

Though I love to write, I'd prefer to be proven a complete fool than to ever distort biblical meaning and sentiment. The Bible teaches us to interpret the text for ourselves (and not necessarily for others), so I want to take a moment to clearly express that my intention is not to interpret the Bible for you, but to encourage you to fearlessly dig into God's word for yourself.

Take my examples of interpretation, if they are helpful, and then go and do likewise. I know that God will reward your commitment to work your way through the entire Bible, reading on a regular and consistent basis. Each time you read, may the Holy Spirit speak truth to your heart! Don't let me (or anybody else) manipulate God's word, but KNOW THE SCRIPTURE FOR YOURSELF.

I pray that God will use his word in your daily life, and that:

. . . the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know . . . the hope to which he has called you . . . the riches of his glorious inheritance . . . and . . . the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might . . . – from Eph. 1:17-19

DEAR HARDENED HEARTS

2009-08-10T11:32:00.008-05:00

I pray for the ones who are hardened. My heart pleads, "not so!" for the ones I love.

The Scripture speaks of the Pharaoh of Moses' time:

. . . “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. - from Romans 9:17-18

Speaking of his own people, the Paul writes in Romans:

. . . the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear . . . ” - from Romans 11:7-8

I plead for those who are hardened! I ask that hard hearts be softened, that their eyes will see and ears will hear. Only God can change the ones I love, and He will because I'm asking! Who are YOU asking for today?

The Price of a Life

2009-08-02T17:06:00.006-05:00

Last week's reading reminded me of the value of an individual life:

Truly no man can redeem another,

or give to God the price of his life,

for the ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice . . . - Psalm 49:7-8

It is true that we can't buy or give the gift of freedom to another person. Those who are trapped in darkness can be led out by God alone, but we CAN pronounce a blessing over our loved ones in prayer. Jesus defined the purpose of "Christian" work to the apostle Paul. We can pray along these lines as well:

. . . open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ - from Acts 26:16-18

Birthday Prayer

2009-07-16T09:24:00.005-05:00

As I pass the half-century mark in my life and count my many gifts and treasures, I want to state once more my intention, lest I should forget!

Let the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and

my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

In years to come I pray the words of my mouth will consistently acknowledge and honor Jesus, and that I will keep the eyes of my heart focused on him moment-by-moment and day-by-day! I rely on his Spirit to supply the wherewithal to fulfill this intention, and am thankful that he is able to do it! AMEN.

FAITH IN THE FACE OF DISTRESS

2009-07-01T11:47:00.006-05:00

The story of Job is not my favorite part of the Bible, but I'm playing catch-up from last week's readings (24th and 25th of June), and it is time to go through it again! It hurts just to look at that poor guy, and read the account of all he went through. But I'll read through the saga again because I believe what the Bible says of itself, "all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . ."

Once again, I'm blessed by reading even this account, which I don't find "uplifting." It is good for me to be reminded that non-believers look at God's people and think our lives are just a bowl of cherries. They think, just as the adversary stated of Job, that we don't have a care in the world, so why would we NOT speak praises of God? Why would we be anything but happy campers when we lead such a charmed life? The enemy said this of Job:

Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you [God] not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? - Job 1:9-11

Maybe you are suffering unduly right now, just as Job did when God removed the "hedge" and allowed Job to be tested within an inch of his life. You now have the opportunity to prove your faith by walking it out even when you are not feeling particularly "blessed," but in fact quite the opposite - burdened down. Your faith shines as a beacon in the night when you speak well of God even in times of distress:

. . . [Job] said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." from - Job 1:21

We often throw around the term, "the joy of the Lord," and I think this is an defining example of that very thing. God points to Job and exclaims, " . . . my servant . . . still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason." - from Job 2:3

There is no ulterior motive of a charmed life full of blessings here. Job honors God out of pure faith. There is no veneer of earthly security, no prosperity granted from the magical Santa Claus in the sky, nothing but a belief that God is, and is to be trusted. Even Job's best friends taunt him, saying many things that hurt him deeply. At least Job's buddy Eliphaz got one thing right when he asked Job this question:

Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope? – Job 4:6

It's true that the fear of God should be our source of confidence. Ant although we do not trust in our own integrity (we trust in Christ alone), we do train our integrity by making it a habit to line ourselves up with Bible truth. When we hide God's truth in our hearts and his word in our heads, so that we will have reason to hope that our integrity will not fail us in a crisis, but that we will have the integrity to do right when we are up against a wall.

And it is typical for us Christians to be against a wall from time to time, for sure. We're faced with rejection, misunderstandings, oppression, and all kinds of harsh circumstances. Yet the answer when bad things happen for no good reason is to keep right on going, confidently moving forward in the direction you are called. Keep right on trusting in God’s promises, and standing on the truth of his word, which cannot be broken.

My prayers are with you today, as I hope yours are with me. Let’s claim victory for all the saints today, that God’s people will stand firm in the truth of his word, and hold fast our integrity for the joy of the Lord. Let's count it a special privilege to bless God’s name, especially in the face of trouble. This attitude is what sets us apart as Christians, and shows the rest of the world a little more about who God is. And THAT is what we live for, right? AMEN.

Our Spoken Words

2009-06-13T12:48:00.006-05:00

Jesus is synonymous with his words because he acted out everything he said. His words were so much the truth that there is no difference between what he said and who he is. There’s not one promise unfulfilled, not one retraction, not a boast or uncontrolled outburst. We all know (and sometimes we are) someone who is NOT who he or she says. Either through promises broken, falsehoods spoken, or harshness and haste, we fall far short of what we profess. Jesus prayed for you and me when he said:

. . . I have given them the words that you gave me . . . I am praying for them . . . Holy Father . . . Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth . . . – from John 17: 8-17

We have the words (the WORD, the Bible) that Jesus gave us. With them we are, in fact, equipped to live out the blessing Jesus prayed over us. When we speak the truth of God’s word over the people and situations in our lives, we see real change. We can speak Bible truth to God in prayer, and we can speak it to our troubles. Jesus said:

"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Matt. 18:18

Jesus even gave us the awesome power and responsibility to forgive, which has a whole lot more to do with what we say in our hearts and with our mouths than it does with how we feel:

"If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." - John 20:23

Jesus gave us power to bind, to loose, to bless, and to forgive. May we receive the Holy Spirit power today to exercise our authority in Christ over the words that come out of our mouths, as well as our mental talk. Instead of the disappointment of speaking out of turn, may we see the fruit of words well-spoken. Let's agree with what God himself says about his word:

. . . I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure . . ." - from Isaiah 46:9-10

Even to life-and-death extremes, may we insist upon speaking God's truth:

. . . God . . . gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. – from Romans 4:17

Let's pledge to speak life today!

No Ambiguous Effect

2009-06-05T12:27:00.007-05:00

The Lord's word has an equal and opposite effect on us, depending upon how it is received. Jesus says to his followers:

Already you are clean

because of the word that I have spoken to you. - John 15:3

Later, he speaks of those who reject him:

If I had not come and spoken to them,

they would not have been guilty of sin,

but now they have no excuse for their sin.

- John 15:22

Our response to God's word determines its effect on us. Either we honor God's word or we do not. Both responses cause a profound effect on our lives. We have two alternatives: clean or dirty, innocent or guilty, with no ambiguous grey area between the two extremes.

In last Friday's Old Testament section, we see Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, as he fluctuates between the two extremes. For the most part King Jehoshaphat does things God's way in government, and causes a lot of good things to happen for his nation. Yet he stumbles, going into battle as an ally of evil.

Christians today suffer the same conflict; for the most part we honor God's word with a willing heart, yet at times we may act in direct and willful contradiction to what the Bible says. I pray you and I will have the grace today to respond with a willing heart to the word of the Lord, so that we'll stand before him clean and innocent.

ALL WE CAN DO

2009-06-05T10:31:00.015-05:00

What a contradiction in terms, “All we can do is . . . pray,” or “God is . . . all we’ve got.” God allows us to be put in in the painful position where our only option is to cry out to him, and it's for our own good! Then he can show us "all we've got," and the power of "all we can do."

In yesterday's reading, King Abijah of Judah was forced to call upon God to rescue him from an attacking enemy that outnumbered his men two-to-one. Judah was surrounded, and the outcome would have been sure defeat and total annihilation, if not for the presence and power of God:

. . . the men of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD . . . – from 2 Chronicles 13:18

King Asa of Judah had the presence of mind to send an SOS to God in the heat of battle, at the moment when he and his people were attacked, embattled, and outnumbered against a raging enemy. He stood in the middle of conflict and verbalized his trust:

. . . O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you. – from 2 Chron. 14:11

Not surprisingly, there was triumph that day for Judah, yet how quickly people tend to forget the source of hope and deliverance! Even in the afterglow of great victory, God sent the prophet Azariah with a pointed reminder:

The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. – 2 Chron. 15:2

Asa took the prophet’s warning seriously, and took immediate action to remove the objects of adoration to false gods found throughout the land. Afterward, Asa called the people together to express his intention that all his people should earnestly seek and follow God, and his leadership caused a nationwide reformation:

. . . [the people of Judah] entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul . . . – from 2 Chron. 15:12

For several decades there was rest and peace for Judah, but when the next trial came, their king forgot who to trust! When battle threatened once again, Asa called upon an allied nation to help him against his enemy. That seemed to work out fine at the time, but in truth Asa lost far more than he gained. God sent word to this proud leader:

. . . "Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars." – from 2 Chron. 16:7-9

How sad that from that time on, Judah had no rest from conflict, and their leader never again humbled himself before God. In our New Testament portion, Jesus encouraged his followers to have rest from conflict and to consciously trust in him, on the eve of the battle of their lives:

Peace I leave with you; MY PEACE I give to you. NOT as the world gives do I give to you. – John 14:27 (emphasis mine)

Jesus made a fine point of the difference between the peace he offers and the peace the world can give. Let us not accept the peace this world offers in exchange for the peace that comes from God! Often in a crisis we forget God, and try to solve our own problems. Let us make a conscious effort to remember what a blessing it is when “all we can do is pray,” and “God is all we’ve got.”

Lord, save us from our own solutions, and help us remember YOU in a crisis! Thank you for the trouble that trains us to turn to you. Lord, help us remember that our answers, though they may provide immediate relief, will hurt us in the long term. Give us power to stay true to our calling today, and give us grace in our moments of distress to turn to you, our only true source of hope and help. In Jesus name, AMEN.

SPIRITUAL SEEING

2009-05-30T09:53:00.007-05:00

Jesus created quite a controversy when he opened a blind man’s eyes on the one day of the week when work (even “good” work) was forbidden. Jesus repeatedly broke the rules: he worked up some mud, worked to plaster it on the blind man’s eyelids, and then instigated the blind man to work washing the mud off. Oh, and one minor detail: after all that work, THE MAN COULD SEE!

The man who was healed took a lot of heat from “church establishment” for what Jesus did in his life. The Pharisees objected because of the broken rules. Instead of celebrating the miracle of the man’s newfound sight – hallelujah! – their reaction was to throw the guy out of the synagogue in disgrace. Afterward, Jesus found him and explained:

“For judgment I came into this world,

that those who do not see may see,

and those who see

may become blind.”

– John 9:39

Yikes! Lord, please let me be one who sees! I don’t want to insist that I see and then find I’m the one who is truly blind in every sense that matters. Please help me to resist the temptation of thinking I have all the answers. Help me to humble myself before you today, that I may receive your healing touch and the sight you bestow when I’m wise enough to admit I am blind and helpless before you.

Offerings to Nehushtan

2009-05-20T14:53:00.005-05:00

God commanded the making of the bronze serpent which Hezekiah later, quite rightly, destroyed. At the time of its making, Nehushtan effectively brought God's people back to him, yet later generations came to revere the monument instead of honoring God:

And [Hezekiah] broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it(it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel . . . from 2 Kings 18:4-5

Do we make mountains of a molehills when when we cling to tradition? Do we create monuments which have nothing to do with serving the living God? What are we really after when we go to church?

We hear Jesus say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” (John 6:26) Jesus proclaimed himself the bread of life and yet:

. . . the Jews grumbled about Jesus, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” - from John 6:41-42

Let's avoid placing more importance in the trappings of "proper" worship then on the One we worship. Let's not run the risk of grumbling that "it's only Jesus," when . . . well, it REALLY IS only Jesus! He is it: the only glue that can bind us together, the only source of true change, the only One who can heal our brokenness, the only giver of the bread of life.

I pray the Lord will give you power today to look past the Nehushtan to see and honor Him. I pray you and I will look beyond our needs, and honor the Jesus -- whether our tummies are filled or not. Let us break in pieces anything of beauty and honor that sets itself up between us and true reverence to Jesus Christ.

(From the reading for Sunday, May 17)

COP-OUT OBEDIENCE

2009-05-08T11:08:00.002-05:00

As children we are taught that obedience is a good thing, and for little ones that is almost always the case. Obedience to "authority" can be a cop-out, however, if it is in contradiction to God's specific instructions. I Kings 13:1-24 tells the sad account of a prophet and his reward. A young man was sent by God to deliver a specific message to the king of Israel, but his job did not end there. God warned him to go away hungry, along an unfamiliar path . . . and he did everything God instructed him to do, almost!

This young prophet had no trouble following his instructions until he was challenged by a peer, a man of God like himself (re-read verses 11-18). That's when he lost his way! The man who challenged the young prophet's direction was an older (and surely wiser) prophet, who spoke with the voice of experience. The young man must have felt it was safe to defer to him, but he paid dearly for substituting obedience to "authority" for true obedience to God. It was a cop-out, and a fatal misstep.

It is hard to imagine why this happened, or what could have motivated the older prophet to lead the younger man astray, but Wednesday's reading is speaking to my heart today: there is no substitute for direct obedience to God's word! No matter how convenient it may seem for me to "fall in line" and unquestioningly follow God's order of authority, whether in the church or in my home, I am first and always accountable to honor the principles laid out in the Bible. I must measure all human authority against the specific instructions and guiding principles of God's word.

This is my prayer for you:

Whether you turn to the right or to the left,

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,

"This is the way; walk in it." - Isaiah 30:21

GOOD P.R. for GOD

2009-05-04T08:03:00.004-05:00

We Christians are involved in public relations, whether we know it or not. Last Saturday's reading shows the difference between good and bad PR for God's kingdom. We see that Hiram, the king of Sidon, though he was not "a believer," still he blessed God because of the conduct and bearing of his neighbor, King Solomon of Israel:

As soon as Hiram heard the words

of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said,

“Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David

a wise son to be over this great people.”

- 1 Kings 5:7

King Solomon's conduct in business and acumen toward his peer showed not only that he was a formidable force in his world, but that he honored God in word and in deed. How do we inspire the non-believers around us? Do we cause them to bless the Lord by our conduct in our day-to-day affairs?

What a contrast we see in the New Testament reading! What must Gov. Pilate have thought of the people of God as they stirred up an ugly commotion over an innocent man?

. . . they began to accuse him, saying,

“We found this man misleading our nation

and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying

that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him,

“Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him,

“You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests

and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

- from Luke 23: 3-4

How did these false accusations make the Jews look to their neighbors in the community? We modern followers of Christ need to be aware that the testimony of God's people hinges on the attitudes and actions of individual Christians in the community at large. Do we inspire people to bless the Lord, or do they shake their heads and wonder how we could be so unreasonable, unprofessional, or downright ugly?

I pray that today (and always) the Lord will make us conscious of our influence for his kingdom -- whether for bad or for good. I pray we'll be blessed with the vision and the power to influence our neighbors for GOOD in our day-to-day public relations. May we honor Jesus in all we say and do today. AMEN.

NOTHING BUT THE BEST FOR GOD?

2009-04-16T11:25:00.006-05:00

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Save the best for the Lord, and honor him with a public display of sacrifice . . . but that is not what God asked us to do! God said to get rid of all that is to be “devoted to destruction,” without sparing any part of it – not even the very best:

But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good . . . 1 Samuel 15:9

Do we hold back the very best for God? Do we make exceptions for ourselves, with valid reasons in our heads why it is OKAY to live a little differently than the way we’re called, or do we strive to set our minds in complete agreement with what God says in his word?

Tuesday's reading strikes fear in my soul! I do not want to be guilty of saving “the best” of what God has told me to get rid of, even if I could justify it in the most plausible way. The reading goes on to say:

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you . . . (from verses 22-23)

There is a time when it is too late to say, “Oops, I’m sorry, I messed up!” The results of holding back from God can be permanent and unyielding, just as Samuel stated:

. . . the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret. (from verse 29), see also Numbers 23:19.

In the New Testament, Jesus said, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple,” (Luke 14:17). Without a doubt, each of us has our own, personal cross to bear! What is your cross today? Regarding what has the Lord spoken to you in your own private heart-of-hearts, without demanding a public display of sacrifice, but simply requesting a quick and quiet act of faith?

I pray the Lord will help you and me both today, to hold nothing back, but to do all that God has requested of us with NO EXCEPTIONS OR EXCUSES!

BIZARRE ROLLER COASTER RIDE

2009-04-06T15:06:00.003-05:00

After reading a third of the book of Judges in a single sitting, I'm struck by how far and fast God's people went astray without tangible leadership. Judges describes the bizarre roller coaster ride of Israel's unfaithfulness and oppression (the low points), as well as their renewed faithfulness and deliverance (the high points), with no middle ground in between. Rather than following God steadily from day to day, God's people went whizzing along either completely off-course and out of control, or riding the rails to the heights of victory and freedom behind their judges. They seemed helpless in spite of their good intentions, strapped in for a bumpy ride.

It is a lot like that with me. I take roller coaster rides between oppression and deliverance, either on course and willing to honor Christ in every detail, or way off (off track, off my rocker, "off" like something left in the 'fridge too long). When I spend time in God's word from day to day, it is a lot easier for me to stay on course, but when I get out of the habit of reading the Bible, I can quickly get off course. God's word provides me tangible direction, and I pray the Lord will use his word in your daily life as well, to guide your prayers, your conversation, and your thinking. May he use it to enable you to withstand the distractions that try to take your focus off Jesus.

The word is unique when it comes to keeping us on track. Look at our armor, described in Ephesians 6:11-18. Every piece except one is an abstract concept (truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation). There is only one piece of our spiritual armor which is tangible. We can hold it in our hands and view it in printed form. The Bible is also unique in its use. Each piece of armor save one we use for our spiritual defense: belt, breastplate, boots, shield, and helmet are all to keep us safe, but the sword -- now that's different! With the sword you reach out and advance forward, claiming ground. I pray you will continue to pick up your sword, and practice wielding it even if it feels heavy and awkward at times.

God's word IS heavy and awkward at times, especially the current Old Testament readings, like Judges, which describe things like tent pegs struck through temples (Judges 4:21), wars waged with trumpets and torches (Judges 7:20-21 -- think about it. With a jar trumpet in one hand and a torch in the other, in what hand did the soldiers hold their weapons? Yet the enemy ran for their lives!), and a father's sorry oath before God which resulted in human sacrifice (Judges 11:35). It is almost too much to process. It might seem preferable to choose some intermediary (a teacher, preacher, writer, or mentor) to stand between you and the word of God. It might seem safer to have somebody tell you what the Bible means, to insulate you from the hard facts and harsh realities contained in scripture -- yet I hope the Spirit will call you to keep reading!

May the Lord bring his word alive to you, and use it to speak to your heart. God promises his word is living, active, and sharper than a two-edged sword (that wonderful weapon analogy again). Learning to use a sword is an awesome undertaking, one that calls for practice and patience. To use it responsibly, we often turn that sharp point inward to cut away falsehood and hypocritical thinking. It takes a lot of guts to pick up the sword and point it at the enemy of our souls, to swing it and cut down the devil's lies. It takes precise control to use the sword with authority, praying the truth of scripture in intercession on behalf of others and not in judgment or condemnation. May God continue to bless you and keep you on track in your training from day to day.

Trust God's Good Intentions

2009-03-06T15:15:00.004-06:00

In today's reading, I can't help but notice how God's people doubted his good intentions.

The people of Israel wandered in the wilderness when they could have possessed the Promised Land simply because of their bitter doubts. See Deuteronomy 1:27-33, where Moses recounts the heart-struggles of God's people.

That's why I pray for your HEART -- and mine! I pray that the Lord will help us to fully trust his good intentions today, and that our trust will work itself out in our walk.

I love this definition of trust: "to put our full weight on," like sitting on a chair. May the Lord help us to trust him the way we trust that we can plop down on a favorite chair, knowing it will hold us. May we trust God the way we trust that the light will turn on when we flip the switch.

May the Lord work in your heart and mine, to give us grace to trust in his good intentions for us today:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will

make straight your paths. - Prov. 3:5-6

YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT

2009-03-04T18:57:00.011-06:00

What a scary thought, and yet how true, that my sins will and often do find me out! In the time of Moses, as the people were beginning to settle the Promised Land, some of the Hebrews struck a deal to claim a certain parcel of land. Moses agreed, but knew he would not be live long enough to see that they kept their end of the bargain. Moses' words sent a chill down my spine, as he warned of their accountability to God in case the agreement fell through:

“ . . . be sure your sin will find you out.” - from Numbers 32:23

Nowadays, it seems that if one person - or even a whole group or corporate entity - does something amiss, it is like a drop in the bucket or a needle in a haystack, with all that's going on in our society and economy. Misdeeds seem to be swept under the rug, yet Moses assured the people under his leadership that the record of their wrongs would by no means fall through the cracks.

It is the same for God's people today, or at least it holds true in my case. I can't get by with anything! It seems God has his watchful eye on me, and holds me to a very personal standard of conduct. That's why it is especially chilling to see what God said of the specific ramifications if the people of Israel failed to do what they had agreed to:

“ . . . But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.” (Numbers 33:55-56)

That's creepy, especially since I can really relate! Just as in the case of the Israelites under the direction of Moses, I have agreed to follow through with a few things, and only God can know for certain whether I comply. I'm referring to my personal obedience to Christ, things God has asked me to do for my own benefit (such as read and study the word). These little details of life I have willingly agreed to, yet they become a daily challenge.

I'm accountable to God in a personal way, and day-to-day obedience is what is called for. Jesus' words in the New Testament provide help for my daily challenge; an attitude of simple trust toward the Lord and his promises is all I really need. Jesus said:

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15)

If you're like me, that's a challenge, in and of itself! It's hard to think like a child, and yet it is imperative. The Bible describes a very good man who went away from the Lord dejected because although he did everything right, he just couldn't trust Jesus. He was sure that he had way too much to lose. The disciples watched this model citizen walk away, and asked Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” (Mark 10:26)

I am eternally thankful for the reply:

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

There is no way I can unravel all the doubt which has entangled me over the years against simple faith and obedience. Yet God can, by his grace, free me to trust him like a child. My prayer for me - and for you - is that day by day we will take one baby step at a time into transforming trust:

. . . be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. - Romans 12:2 (DARBY, paraphrase)

AMAZING UNBELIEF

2009-03-01T23:00:00.001-06:00

Jesus was not able to do many miracles in his hometown (see Mark 6:5-6) where people knew Him before he was famous. Lack of faith wasn't a new problem, though. In the days when Moses led the Hebrews through the wilderness, God's people stubbornly doubted His promises.

Moses sent twelve spies to see what the Promised Land had to offer -- which was plenty -- but of the twelve, only two believed God would give them the land, just as He said He would. The two who believed (Joshua and Caleb) tried to convince the others to trust God's promise:

“If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land . . . the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” - from Numbers 14: 8-9

Later, even those who lived and worked close with Jesus Christ suffered an acute lack of faith. Doesn't that surprise you? Wouldn't you think if you had daily contact with a person who routinely did the impossible, you might come to expect the unexpected? But no! An everyday miracle did more than surprise the disciples; it scared them half to death:

. . . [Jesus] came to them, walking on the sea . . . when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for . . . their hearts were hardened. - from Mark 6:48-52

I, too, have trouble believing God's promises, and I know I'm not alone in my lack of faith. I'm thankful God understands our small-mindedness. He even addressed our frailty of faith in scripture when He made a promise about His promises. Let's mull this over until we are brave enough to believe what it says:

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? - Numbers 23:19

A Two-Sided Coin

2009-02-18T09:28:00.009-06:00

By God's definition, blessing and curse are two sides of a single coin. The Lord's stringent policies toward his people in ancient times provided for prosperity and security on condition of obedience; however, God specified horrible curses to befall those who would or could not to honor His terms. The blessing is the side of the coin we might prefer to see. God promises:

If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains . . . [and] increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit . . . And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace . . . and none shall make you afraid . . . I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. - from Leviticus 26:3-12 (see the whole passage)

That sounds great, but look what was waiting when God's people fell short:

But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments . . . then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, . . . disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache . . . I will set my face against you . . . Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. - from Leviticus 26:14-17 (whole passage)

Persistent disobedience and disregard for God's standards had a specific and predictable result:

If . . . you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me,

then I will walk contrary to you in fury. - Lev. 26:27-28

God's law of blessing and curse, or cause and effect, was so deeply ingrained in the Hebrew mind that the teachings and works of Jesus were a complete shock to the Jewish system. The scribes and Pharisees (the religious teachers and authority figures of Jesus' time) were unprepared for the the good news Jesus presented regarding forgiveness and fresh starts. When Jesus forgave a wayward heart, it was an offense to their ideas about God:

. . . [Jesus] was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and . . . they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” - Mark 2:2-5

The authorities were offended that one human being would dare to forgive the wrongs committed by another. Surely judgment was God's job, and justice must be meted out in the form of suffering. Yet that was not the case. To prove His point and further illustrate His authority, Jesus followed up forgiveness with physical healing, and then turned to explain his actions to to His critics:

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” - Mark 2:9-11

This was good news for people who were conditioned to think in terms of cause and effect, action and reaction, blessing and curse, obedience versus discipline -- and the good news was for everyone. Although Jesus was monitored closely by the Jewish authorities, He had wide contact with the general population, spending time in the company of people who had nothing whatsoever to do with religion. When the Jewish teachers asked Jesus why He associated with folks who did not even pretend to keep the rules, He responded this way:

Those who are well have no need of a physician,

but those who are sick. I came not

to call the righteous, but sinners.

- Mark 2:17

Throughout His ministry on earth, Jesus broke all kinds of rules - the religious do's and don'ts were redefined (see Mark 2:23-27). Jesus offered everyone - not just the "good" people - a new way of interacting with God, which superseded the old standard of blessings for complete compliance and curse for disobedience. We are called into this new way of thinking; we are offered unmerited grace and love:

. . . he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, - Titus 3:5

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

What a blessing to live under Jesus Christ's new system, which allows us to take joy in living by God's standards, not in fear of punishment, but because we know we are loved and forgiven. May the joy of the Lord inspire you today. May the mind of Christ be in you to provide the desire and the ability do things His way.

To see the Old and New Testament passages which inspired this blog see Through the Bible in a Year's February 18th reading.

JUDGMENT AND MERCY

2009-02-05T09:31:00.005-06:00

Several seekers (I among them) have been commenting back and forth on Facebook for the better part of two weeks on matters of philosophy and theology. While it is interesting to discuss the meaning of scripture in our world today, there is something else at stake, equally as valuable as deciding who is right and who is wrong. Who wins the debate is only half the picture.

It matters who is right -- don't get me wrong. Jesus cared about that, and we're to follow His example in all things; still, we are NOT to pick and choose in what areas we'll emulate Christ. Yesterday's Old Testament and New Testament readings speak a single message to my heart: we're not to merely to pass judgment between right and wrong, but we must also intercede. Judgment and mercy are two sides to a single coin, as illustrated by the example of Moses.

Moses is the most renowned foreshadowing of the Messiah in history, who spent so much time in the presence of God that his appearance was changed. His face glowed so brightly that he had to put a bag over his head! Moses was also the judge of his people, leading them with a firm hand. His tradition of leadership was passed down through the generations, yet Jesus himself placed no credence in the authority of those who carried on the work of Moses in His day.

In fact, Jesus condemned the expert debaters of his time, the scribes and Pharisees. Those who carried Mosaic authority in the time of Christ wanted only to sit in the seat of judgment, not in mercy. They were unwilling to carry the burden of intercession. Moses was an authority figure and judge over the people of Israel, but he was also a powerful mediator, willing to lay down his life for his people. It was Moses' persistent and urgent petition which saved Israel from the judgment they so richly deserved.

Jesus said, "The scribes and Pharisees sit [in judgment] on Moses' seat . . . They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to carry them . . . " (see Matthew 23:2-12 for context). The distinguishing mark of the modern believer is a consistent walk of love, humility, and service, without which judging what is "right" won't make a dime's worth of difference to those around us.

We who would honor Christ are to follow the full example of Moses as judge and intercessor; we can't allow empty arguments to turn us into cold-hearted hypocrites. The Lord Jesus puts us all in our place when he says:

. . . you are all brothers [and sisters]. . .

you have one instructor, the Christ.

The greatest among you shall be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

- from Matthew 23:8-12

God is Up to My Misgivings

2009-02-03T17:14:00.015-06:00

I wholeheartedly believe the Bible, and trust God completely. With my heart I believe, but my mind doubts. The most shameful misgivings raise their ugly heads just when I'm trying to say pretty prayers. I'd like to ignore them, but the Bible says I’m to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in me. I can’t give an answer to others if I don’t have answers myself, so I have to trust God to answer the questions I hate to ask.

Today's Old Testament reading, (Exodus 31-33)about the giving of the first set of commandments, and the golden calf, brought some of those old, nagging questions to the mind. Moses did a lot of things right, so much so that he is typecast in scripture as a foreshadowing of Jesus, or a “type” of Christ. He interceded for his people in spite of his bitter disappointment after they completely disregarded God in the short forty days Moses was out of their sight, meeting with God.

Indeed, God intended to destroy the stiff-necked, stubborn people of Israel, who were quick to turn from His ways. God planned to spare only Moses, making of him a new nation, but Moses eloquently pleaded with God to spare the people, and God heeded Moses' prayer. It is because of his willingness to stand between his people and their certain destruction that Moses is known in history as a forshadowing of Christ, himself.

Moses did a lot right, yet all his good deeds did not guarantee him admittance to the promised land he had journeyed a lifetime to reach. After a forty-year pilgrimage through the desert, Moses himself was denied access because of a seemingly minor infraction, an act of careless disobedience: Moses struck a rock when instructed to speak to it. As a result, he died on the far side of the river, within sight of Canaan, never setting foot on the good land God had promised.

Why couldn’t God have forgiven Moses the small offense, knowing that Moses was only human? Why can’t God forgive all of us our offenses, since He loves us in spite of our wrongdoings? Why do we need Jesus , and what about Him? If Jesus had made one little mistake, would it have been all over for our Savior? If that had happened, could omnipotent God not have produced another Messiah to take over?

As to why Moses suffered dire repercussions for a “minor” infraction – well, what is minor? That depends on what the definition of is is, doesn’t it? Where is the line we cross that changes a minor, forgivable offense to major trouble? God does not deal in degrees; if God pardoned the most minor offense, then the next-least harmful offenses would move into the position of “minor” to be pardoned, until there was no longer any difference between right and wrong, and no point in trying to define it. The result would be chaos, raging injustice, and unending misery for all of us.

Regarding the question of why there could be only one shot at making the Messiah, it is because Jesus was an authentic human being, not a superman. Being a person is a first-hand, first-time experience, hence facing the unknown without prior experience is intrinsic to the human condition. If God were to inseminate another virgin and make Himself human a second time, it would no longer be His first experience, and His authenticity would be lost.

Christ’s authenticity is fundamental because a big part of my hope and trust in Jesus is in knowing that He was human in every way (including his inexperience, i.e. starting out as an infant, going through childhood, facing awkward teenage phase, right on down the line), and yet He did not make a misstep during His entire lifetime. He has the power to help me make right choices because He did it himself. Jesus faced the same struggles and temptations I do, and has offered His own mind to help me face the hard choices.

Here’s another question that has plagued me: what about the short, thirty-three year lifespan or our Lord? Could Jesus have lived a sinless life until the age of ninety, or even seventy-five? Maybe that one is a moot point. Consider the account of Christ’s agony the night before the crucifixion. The gospels record that Jesus sweated blood as He mentally prepared himself to shoulder the cross. This phenomenon has been recorded in medicine as a sign of unspeakable suffering – the kind that takes years off of a person’s life. The Lord not likely have lived to a “ripe, old age.”

My questions don’t seem so scary now that they are on paper and out in the open. Do you have questions you can hardly stand to ask? Are there thoughts in your head that prevent you from trusting Jesus with your life? Maybe it is time to ask God about your own distracting doubts. To trust Him is to talk to Him and pour out your doubts before Him, even if you are ashamed or embarrassed of your thoughts.

The Lord is up to the task of dealing with everything that concerns us, especially our doubts. and will respond with love and mercy even if your questions aren't as easy to answer as mine. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to unravel the things that don't make sense; sometimes a question may be so enormous that the answer won't come until we see God face to face. It is worth asking the One who knows the answers, in any case. May your prayers be honest today, even if they're not pretty!

. . . now we see indistinctly,

as in a mirror, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I will know fully,
as I am fully known.

- 1 Corinthians 13: 12

SET APART

2009-01-26T23:25:00.006-06:00

Followers of Jesus are set apart from others, just as the people of Israel were set apart from the general population of Egypt. Through Moses, God delivers a message to the Pharaoh of Egypt (see it here in context), letting him know that although the plague would strike all of Egypt, the property and persons of Israel would be spared:

Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. - Exodus 8:23

The phrase, "put a division," is footnoted to mean also, "set redemption." We can also look at it this way:

Thus I will set redemption between my people and your people.

What a dividing line: redemption!

It reminds me of what I heard on the radio today that helped me understand what it means to be set apart by God, chosen for redemption. The teacher described adopting his dog from a shelter. He went to the pound with a specific purpose in mind, to rescue one animal, to set him apart from his fate to be euthanized.

It's like that for me - God rescued me when I was in a cage and due to be put down. Do I feel special? You bet! Am I chosen? Yes! Do I feel better than anybody else? Well, no. We are ALL chosen for adoption, picked out for rescue by the Father. God wants to set a division between us and the destruction that awaits at the hands of a merciless enemy, if we are willing.

I'm my mother's natural child, but on my father's side, I'm adopted, so the adoption analogy means a lot to me. Still, I never really thought of how adoption was the dividing line for me, between my before and after. My dad didn't have to give me his name. I could have grown up as a step-child, but my father went out of his way to change my situation.

How wonderful to think of the way God sets us apart when we take Him up on his invitation to make us his own children? His intention is to put a stark dividing line between before and after, between destruction and restoration, between night and day, just as John describes Jesus' promise to any and all:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name . . . - John 1:12

May we be more and more aware of what it means to be set apart, with redemption as the dividing line. May we be more and more aware of how crucial it is that we be willing to help others across that line. Who do you and I know, who needs to be clearly set apart on the receiving side of redemption?

POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD

2008-12-03T08:09:00.015-06:00

There was life-and-death accountability for the prophet Ezekiel regarding the words he spoke - and a heavy penalty for the words he failed to speak. God says:

If I [God] say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you [the prophet Ezekiel] give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Ezekiel 3:18

God goes on to reiterate the prophet's responsibility in the verses that follow. I can't help but ask, if God already spoke to the wicked, saying that they should surely die, why would it make any difference for the prophet to repeat that message? If the "wicked" didn't listen to God Himself, why would they hear the prophet any better? And why should Ezekiel be responsible for the destruction of the "wicked" if for one reason or another the prophet kept silent?

The theme is repeated in chapter 33, where God uses the analogy of a watchman in a guard tower. The watchman is responsible to blow a trumpet in warning if he sees danger approaching:

. . . if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. from Ezekiel 33:6

In our society, polite folks leave others to their own choices when it comes to right and wrong, and we call it friendship. How does the truth of the Bible sit with you in that regard? Are we responsible, as Ezekiel was, to speak a warning when we see a friend go astray? Are you and I under the same penalty as Ezekiel if for one reason or another we keep silent?

For me the idea that I'm responsible to "call 'em as I see 'em" is hard to swallow! It is far more pleasant, when I'm out to coffee with a friend or just having a casual conversation on the phone, to simply say what the other person wants to hear, offering "positive affirmation" of the friend's choices or moral position. Though I may abstain from condoning, I certainly don't want to make waves by raising questions or objections. I choose instead to hold my tongue. After all, I don't want to be rude, do I?

God surely doesn't call me to speak doom and gloom to friends and loved ones, does He? You are surely not called to predict fire and brimstone, are you? After all, God's ultimate intentions are clear:

. . . "As I live," declares the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back . . ." from Ezek. 33:11

And yet, even God's good intentions have to be verbally expressed if they are to be known. So, where do we fit in? Does it fall in the lap of those who see truth to speak it out? In this day and age, how are we to balance the extreme example of Ezekiel's truth-speaking responsibility with the apparent moderation of the commandment to "judge not lest you be judged?" Only God's own Spirit in you can give you grace to balance truth with love and acceptance, but at the very least, the message of the book of Ezekiel brings to light the awesome power of the spoken word.

Look at the power of Ezekiel's voice in chapter 27, where he's ordered to speak to a jumble of dry, human bones. Granted, this passage describes a prophetic vision, as opposed to physical reality, but what a powerful picture it paints for for us today. There is a good reason the bones came clacking together in response to the prophet's verbal command, and there is good reason the restored bodies didn't receive the breath of life until the prophet was urged to speak again.

The message is this: there is power in our spoken words -- a power and responsibility that cannot be ignored or denied. One of my favorite snippets from Scripture describes God as the One " . . .who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist." This is the God we serve, the One who created us in his own image and gives us His authority - and more than authority, the life-or-death obligation - to speak truth and life in Jesus' name.

In many ways I could feel sympathy for Ezekiel, who must have looked like a raving lunatic in his time! He certainly did not live in comfort, convenience, and complacency as many Christians (even prophets and preachers) do today. In between his prophetic utterances, the poor guy was struck entirely mute! Still, at times of missed opportunity, I could almost wish life were as cut and dried for me as it was for Ezekiel.

I'll stop short of wishing to be struck mute, but I do pray that God will make me uncomfortably aware that speaking truth (and crossing boundaries of politeness or political correctness) is not merely an option for me, but an obligation. I hope you'll make it your prayer, too, that the Lord will stop our mouths from affirming and encouraging friends who are in the wrong. May He bring truth from our lips, and may He bring life to dead hearts! I pray God will make us accutely aware of the power of our spoken words today.

THE ONE IN CHARGE

2008-11-04T23:18:00.007-06:00

God is in control -- of course we know that, but it is nice to be reminded today. Jesus "upholds the universe by the word of his power," and He will not let us out of his sight now or ever. The Bible says it is a done deal: the Lord Jesus took the highest seat of power long ago when "he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

It is possible to keep politics in perspective when I remember:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. - Hebrews 1:1-4

Another good lesson from today's reading is that God cares about individuals. There was one foreign advisor who tried to talk sense into the king of Judah in a time of crisis, counseling Zedekiah to save the prophet Jeremiah, whom he had doomed to death. This lonely foreigner, Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, was remembered when the dust settled. He had a message waiting for him from God:

I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall - from Jeremiah 39:17-18

God cares about individuals, and helps each one who trusts in Him. This one person did the little bit he coul, and as a result was remembered and looked after by the Lord of the universe. Even earlier in history, there's another example of God looking out for his people. When the nation of Israel was to be delivered from captivity in Egypt, God used a pagan ruler -- not by causing him to yield, but by his stubborn resistance -- to show God's awesome power.

After seeing all the signs and wonders God performed by the hand of Moses, what kind of a lunatic would NOT have let God's people go? Yet time and again, Pharaoh reneged. The Bible says God hardened that leader's heart -- to the ultimate advantage of God's people. Let's remember today and in the days to come, that God is the one in charge. Whether through our elected officials or in spite of them, God will do according to His good purpose for us.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

2008-10-14T10:32:00.010-05:00

Jesus loves ME, this I know . . . and every day I see it anew as my own personal miracle.

Jesus loves you and me. To think that the Creator of the universe, all-knowing and all-powerful, eternal and enormous, would "so love the world" is not a big hurdle for me. But to think that such a God would notice me -- let alone look with compassion on me as an individual, and would care to answer my prayers -- it astounds me every time I think of it. It's true! God speaks to individuals when He says:

". . . the mountains may depart and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,"

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

- Isaiah 54:10, ESV

Wasn't God speaking to the Hebrew people through the prophet Isaiah? God reassures me as an individual in the vast and varied sea of humanity, just as He reassures you. It's as if he points right at you in the crowd of faces and says, "yes! I mean YOU!" God goes on to say through the prophet:

. . . and "my house shall be called a house of prayer

for all peoples." The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts . . .

declares, "I will gather yet others . . . " - from Isaiah 56:7

It is your own personal shout-out when God says:

For thus says the One

who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

"I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him

who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite"

- Isaiah 57:15

I want to be more and more that person God singles out, an individual with a contrite and lowly heart. Though He is enormous and inhabits all eternity, he dwells indeed with the lowly, and it is a blessing to be convinced of the reality of his presence and power on a daily basis. I pray that you will be intensely aware today of the simple truth, "Jesus loves me, this I know!"

THE SEEING BLIND

2008-10-13T17:05:00.028-05:00

What am I looking for today, and where is my focus? Over the past week, I've been thinking about the mystery of how God sometimes opens my eyes to hidden things, yet at other times I fail to see what is right in front of my face! There are days when I don't do what is right, and afterward wonder how I could have been so blind. The Bible describes two distinct types of individuals in the book of Isaiah. To one type of person God says:

I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

and I do not forsake them.

- Isaiah 42:16, ESV

The other type of person (see Isaiah 44:9-20) is described this way:

They know not, nor do they discern,

for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,

and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment

to say . . . "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

from Isaiah 44:18-19, ESV

Of those two types, which person are you? Isaiah makes it obvious that the clarity of your thinking and spiritual vision depends not on the quality of your eyesight, but on the subject of your focus. What are you looking at today? Are you looking to things created (idols) or to the Creator? The apostle Paul reminds us that to keep our lives in focus, we need only to stay clear on this one thing:

. . . the mystery hidden for ages and generations

but now revealed . . . this mystery,

which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory.

- from Colossians 1:26-27

I pray that the Lord will give you and me the power of perspective today. Let's consciously place ourselves into the first category of individuals, the ones who are led "in paths that they have not known," and for whom God will "turn the darkness before them into light." Let's actively acknowledge that in many ways we're blind and helpless, for only after acknowledging our need can we be led by God's powerful hand.

Let's ask ourselves, "Am I free to be led by God's hand today, or is there a 'lie in my right hand' that would prevent me from latching onto God's firm grip?" If we want our darkness to be turned into light, then we must carefully examine our thinking on a regular basis, and mentally let go of any false assumption or misplaced priorities I find there.

In Christ we can pray with confidence and authority: "Lord, I see that I am blind. Show me what I hold in my hand - what I hold dear - that would separate me from the leading of your Spirit today. Make me willing and able to let go of my 'idols' and take hold of your hand, that you may turn my darkness into light before me, and guide me on level ground." AMEN!

BROKEN, TAKEN, AND SNARED

2008-10-03T08:01:00.010-05:00

There's an often quoted verse in today's reading which reflects the value of consistently applying the principles of God's word so we can grow in knowledge, maturity, and integrity:

". . . it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,

line upon line, line upon line,

here a little, there a little."

- Isaiah 28:10, ESV

How seldom I see such a passage in the light of context, yet how starkly revealing! In the surrounding verses (5-13), there is a warning. As a professed Christ follower, I can either put the teachings of the Bible before me or behind me. If I choose to put God's teachings behind me, I will fall backward over them and break myself in pieces:

. . . they would not hear. And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (from Isaiah 28:12-13, ESV)

Let us not bring the fate upon ourselves of being "snared and taken" because we would not heed God's Word. I hope you will join me as I pray, "Lord, let me place your precepts before me, to guide me and keep me from harm. Let me daily hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against You! Let me be responsible to apply your principles to my decision making, and careful follow your instructions today." AMEN.

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD - FEAR AND DELIGHT

2008-09-29T10:28:00.008-05:00

The prophet Isaiah described the Spirit of the Lord:

. . . the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and

the fear of the Lord.

- Isaiah 11:2

The Lord Jesus gave his followers -- you and me -- the same Spirit (see I Cor. 2:12). That means you and I have all the traits described above, whether we know it or not! The Spirit the Lord gives us is like a big treasure chest, and it will help us dig those traits out of us if we visualize what we are looking for:

Please join me as I pray, "Lord, YOUR Spirit in me -- that is what I crave! Wisdom and understanding to focus on the core issues at every moment of decision; the ability to give and receive good advice (counsel), boldness to speak and act as your Spirit indicates (might), and the presence of mind to respect You above all else (the fear of the Lord)."

Fear and delight are not often used in the same sentence without creating a real contradiction in terms, but truly I pray that it will be our delight and highest pleasure to respect, honor and fear the Lord today, just as the prophet Isaiah spoke of the Lord Jesus, who has put his own Spirit within us:

. . . and his delight

shall be in the fear of the Lord.

- Isaiah 11:3

PROVERBS 31 WOMAN

2008-09-16T09:28:00.006-05:00

The "Proverbs 31 Woman" comes with a long list of qualities and qualifications, of which I'm keenly aware I fall far short! Yet in today's reading, one thing stands out from that long list, and it is something all of us women can give without hesitation or second thoughts:

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness

is on her tongue.

- Proverbs 31:26

I have something to give which costs me nothing. I can give a little thought before I open my mouth, and make a point to show kindness in the things I say. It costs nothing to be generous in attitude and speech. Though I may feel unprepared to face many of the challenges before me, I can rely on God's grace to let my attitude and the words that come out of my mouth be excellent.

Today's reading from the New Testament sheds even more light on my prayer life. Like the Macedonians, who were not wealthy by material standards, I can ask the Lord for this seemingly incongruous mix:

. . . abundance of joy

and their extreme poverty

have overflowed in a wealth of generosity . . .

- 2 Cor. 8:2

I can boldly ask that the Lord allow me, even in my need, to "excel in acts of grace," (see 2 Cor 8:7). After all, "if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he [or she] does not have," (2 Cor. 8:12). I'm not asked to give beyond my ability; I'm only responsible for what I have at my disposal.

My prayer - and I hope you will join me - is simply this: when (and not if) I have a chance to display a good attitude, to give a word of encouragement, to pardon an offense, or to in any small way let Jesus' love shine through me, that I'll be ready to act quickly and decisively to capture that golden opportunity! Let His grace be great in me today.

I know the Lord will honor such a request. Amen? AMEN!

LIVING PROOF

2008-08-19T08:59:00.005-05:00

Look what happened to God's people, how God delivered them in times of trouble:

. . . they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a

straight way . . .

- Psalm 107:6-7

What a blessing that you have the right to ask God the Father to lead you by a straight way. What a gift to know that He will answer you by moving all the details of your life into position to reflect his saving love and grace for all the world to see.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills

with good things.

- Psalm 107:8-9

Even in those long-ago times before Christ, God's people knew that only God provides true help:

Oh grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

- Psalm 108:12

Now I'm speaking to you, a modern follower of God. You know Jesus! You know the saving power of his blood, and the life-changing power of his Holy Spirit. God's daily intervention in your life stands as a monument to his saving grace:

Those who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard

will understand.

- Romans 15:21

People who have never heard the lingo, to whom terms like "salvation" and "deliverance" sound like psycho babble at worst and a foreign language at best -- they are watching you, and will see what God does to change your life. That's how lost people will know God is real, and that He changes lives today.

You don't know who is watching you, who is waiting to see if God will help you, if knowing Jesus really makes any difference. When the Lord changes things for you, that one who is watching will see that there is hope for him or her, too. Point to Jesus through the monument of a life that is changed. Is God real? Does He care? You are living proof.

CELEBRATE YOUR BREAKTHROUGHS

2008-05-25T09:27:00.006-05:00

Like water breaking through, like a flood bursting a dam, like a relentless river chiseling its channel deep into rock . . . that's how David describes the act of God that gave him victory. 1 Chronicles 14:8-12 tells of David's victory over oppressing enemies. In the eleventh verse, David's words are recorded:

. . . and David said, "God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood." Therefore the name of that place is called The Lord Who Breaks Out.

David took time to celebrate victory; he loudly acknowledged that the breakthrough was an act of God. Have you seen a breakthrough? Yes! Don't keep it to yourself, but acknowledge it! Mark the date well, and name the place of your victory in honor of the Lord who made it happen.

Go ahead and tell the story over and over again, for God will put in your path someone who needs encouragement. Somebody you know is looking for a landmark along the way, hoping for some small sign that God can and will rescue in time of need. Every breakthrough offers living proof that the Lord will save.

SAY A BLESSING

2008-04-08T09:03:00.005-05:00

Sometimes we're aware that we are saying a blessing, before we eat a meal for instance. But blessings (and conversely, cursings) happen much more frequently than that. What we say, and even what we dwell on in our private thoughts, can often be divided into two categories: blessing and curse. For God's people, words are weighty. Our words carry God's authority to bless or to curse, even when we are not consciously aware.

I don't want to imply that we are living under a law whereby we have to tippy-toe around for fear that we will say the wrong thing and mess up the entire universe, because that would be a curse in itself. We are under the grace of God for all we say and do (thank the Lord). But just look at the blessings that were spoken, without any awareness of the weight of the words or the specific events that would follow. Boaz speaks kindly, or pronounces a blessing so to speak, on Ruth when he says:

" . . . The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" (Ruth 2:12)

In turn, Naomi speaks kindly (a blessing) about Boaz:

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" (Ruth 2:20)

Did blessings materialize for Boaz and for Ruth? I am sitting here, living proof, that the blessing was fruitful! Ruth and Boaz married, and the son they bore was one of the forefathers of our Lord Jesus. The result of those blessings spoken so long ago is still being multiplied today in every heart that is touched by the Spirit of God. How could these people thousands of years ago have imagined that the very savior of the world would be among their descendants? And yet it is recorded clearly in the lineage of Christ:

. . . Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse . . . (Matthew 1:5)

What comes out of your mouth makes a difference! Do not indulge in cursing (as I am often wont to do), even in your most private moments, when you think it is just between you and the mirror. It is not! Every word that comes out of your mouth - no! out of your heart before it is formed into spoken syllables - has the power to bless or to curse. Blessing from God are a direct result of the power of the spoken word, so weigh your words carefully, and aim to speak blessings today, even (and especially) in your mind and in front of the mirror!

See also Matthew 18:18-20, Romans 12:14.

THE EXAMPLE OF ACHEN

2008-03-28T08:55:00.007-05:00

Never forget the example of Achen! Joshua 7:1-26 gives the background necessary to understand the severity of his error, a little secret he kept which ended up costing him everything. Joshua had sent out a a small number of men on a minor mission, fully expecting God's blessing, and yet they came back totally defeated. When Joshua inquired of God as to why his men were not successful, God replied:

Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep . . . they have stolen, they have lied . . . That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (Joshua 7:10-12)

Sure enough, it came to light that on a previous mission a certain man named Achen had reserved for himself just a few of the things that were supposed to have been "utterly destroyed" in the conquest. He hid the booty, thinking he could get by with holding onto just a few of the spoils of war. Boy, did he pay! He and his sons and daughters - his whole family - paid with their lives for that little judgment call, which must have seemed harmless enough at the time.

There is a lesson in this. If things are not going the way I think they should, if I am not able to stand up against my spiritual enemies (which are not people, but old patterns of behavior), perhaps there is a principle at work which I should heed. I need to make sure I am not guarding things that are "devoted to destruction." Those things may not be material objects, but are more likely old ways of doing things, out of habit or fear.

As a Christian I may not be likely fall into the obvious traps of stealing or lying outright, but there are a lot of gray areas where I might justify less than exemplary behavior. In those gray areas, do I hold my thoughts and decisions up to the light of God's instruction book, or am I guarding things in my heart and mind that don't pertain to a Christ-follower? Have I truly learned in life that it is not only easier, but absolutely necessary to do things God's way?

I hope to learn this quickly and well! Let me hold my thinking up to the light of God's word so that I will not be caught with "booty" that doesn't belong to me. There may be a path before me that seems right, but ends in destruction (see Prov. 14:12). I can't trust my natural patterns of thinking, but instead I must hold every thought up to the light of God's word to be examined for flawed motives.

I pray God will give me courage to throw out any stolen booty, and I pray a blessing on you as well. May our Father in heaven give you the power of the risen Christ to walk each day according to this directive, so that you will benefit from its promise:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you
which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

*Today's Reading: http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/through.the.bible/?date=2008-03-28

UTTERLY DRIVE THEM OUT

2008-03-26T10:14:00.004-05:00

God's people were given a generous inheritance in the land of Canaan. The map was drawn, the cities listed, the territories assigned. The only little problem was the requirement to actively take possession of what was rightfully theirs. To do that, the people of God had to drive out the pagans who occupied the land. A theme emerges in today's Old Testament reading (Joshua 16-18), in which God's people failed to take action. Although they received the deed to their allotted portion of land, they failed to march in and claim it.

The tribe of Ephraim " . . . did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor . . ." (Joshua 16:10). The tribe of Manassah, too, found that they could not really own what was rightfully theirs. "Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out." (Joshua 17:12-13)

There is a good lesson in this. Think of all God would give us, if we are bold enough to claim it! What am I entitled to claim? Do I have a habit to break? Are there patterns in my relationships which God would have me to change? Do I feel trapped, when in reality I'm free to move out of my self-imposed prison? I can think of at least two occasions within the past week when God had written my name on a specific victory, but I simply failed to step forward and claim what was mine. I am sorry I didn't grab what God has given me the right to possess.

May the Lord help us to be bold and brave when it is our right and obligation to put on battle gear and go on the war path. Help us to claim what is ours, and relentlessly drive out the enemy. Help us to set boundaries, marking off the territory God has given us. When (and not if) we find a pagan presence within our boundaries, may God's presence and power make us fearless to call out our enemies by name, and to utterly and completely drive them out by the power of God's word. We can depend upon our God to make it so, for we ask in Jesus' name!

EASY TO BE BLESSED

2008-03-19T01:45:00.003-05:00

I was reading from Luke chapter 1 today, from the Bible calendar I mentioned yesterday. What struck me was the part where Mary says "okay" to God's plan for her. Pretty simple and transparent, profound in its simplicity, as a fact. Later Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth, a mature woman of God. Here's Elizabeth's statement:

"Blessed is she
who has believed
that what the Lord has said to her
will be accomplished!"
Luke 1:45

Okay, I may be oversimplifying here. I tend to do that a lot, but still, the blessing received was a direct result of simply taking God at his word. Mary had doubts and misgivings ("How can this be, since I am a virgin?"), thus proving that she was not mentally deficient in any way. It was a stretch for her, but in the end she believed the message spoken over her life.

What message is God speaking over you? Do you know? The answer is revealed in his word! Get into it on a daily basis -- even before reading what I have to say. Although I would love it if you have time to read my thoughts, I know my insight is diluted compared to what God offers from the source. Find out for yourself what promises to claim, what truths to apply, what actions to take. Even (especially) your prayers will be shaped in a powerful way. Are you willing? I'm praying for you!

NOT "ALONE & UNARMED!"

2008-03-17T10:34:00.006-05:00

You know, some of our loved ones feel as if they are going into battle on a daily basis, and they are not alone. I often face conflict, and I know you do, too. After visiting at length with our Catholic sister from Spain, one thing really stays on my heart: the people of her church all over the world are on the same page of the Old Testament, New Testament (gospels), and Psalms every week in church services. For praying Christians, this is impressive, since our prayers are informed by our reading and interpretation of God's word - AKA the sword of the Spirit, our ONLY weapon of offense in our daily battles.

What will happen when groups of praying Christians are all using not only the same weapon, but aiming it in the same direction and advancing together on the spiritual front? I think evil will have to give way! As of yesterday, I am reading from GospelCom's "Through the Bible in a Year,"* so now you know what page I'm on in a literal and figurative sense. Why not join me on this reading calendar, so that as we read and pray over scripture, our hearts can be as one? Your brother & his precious loved one have this plan as well. Today's reading includes an appropriate reminder regarding God's word. Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and his words speak to my heart as well:

[It] . . . is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. - from Deuteronomy 30:11-14

The bad news is it is difficult for me to keep God's word in my mouth and in my heart if I do not expose myself to it on a regular basis (preferably every day). But what a blessing, God's word is near, right at my fingertips online or in book form. All I have to do is reach out and grab it! In addition to giving structure to my prayers, a daily dose from the Bible can give me the exact information I need in those daily relationship emergencies known as conversations or confrontations.

Sometimes the appropriate response or reaction, the thing God would have me to do or say, is so instant that I don't have time to search my memory for what is indicated in the instruction book, yet those split-second decisions are where spiritual battles are won or lost! What is huge, astounding, and wonderful is that if I have a passage of scripture fresh on my mind, it will often be just what I need for the situation at hand.

I never cease to be amazed at how scripture lives up to its claim to be "living and active, and sharper than a two-edged sword." As an individual Christian, I hate to go into a day without being armed and dangerous, and I am now seeing how effective we can be in prayer together if we are focusing our minds on the same reading (remember Jesus' promise in Matt. 18:18-20, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2018:18-20&version=31).

Let's do try to read together, and allow the day's reading to speak into our prayer life as well as our daily decision-making. We won't be alone and defenseless for even a moment, but instead we'll be armed, dangerous, and standing shoulder to shoulder together on the spiritual battlefront. Let's do it, what do you say? LOVE.

*GospelCom Calendar - Click on http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/through.the.bible/ & save it in your favorites, or use the link at the bottom of the page to set up an RSS feed. I'm doing the same, and even if I miss a day or two, I will skip ahead to the reading for the current calendar day, so that you'll always know on what page to find me reading.

WHERE'S MY MOSES?

2008-03-01T08:41:00.000-06:00

Hey, where's my Moses? I kind-of wish I had that efficient and effective go-between the people of Israel had, always telling them exactly what to do and how to do it. They always knew God's will. They knew when to move out and what direction to go because . . . well, Moses told 'em, that's all!

It is not that way for you and me today, and that's a fact. There is nobody standing in front of us with a robe and a stick, pointing the way. Regarding that fact, there's bad news and there's good news. The bad news is we don't have a Moses, but the good news makes up for that, and changes everything. We have JESUS!

We also have the word of God. While we don't have the guy with the robe and stick, we do have the example of Moses. We have the principles illustrated through his leadership. As Moses led the people of Israel out of captivity, they began to live in fear on their very first day of freedom. When they were surrounded by their enemies, Moses told them:

"The Lord will fight for you,
and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:14

Moses quieted the people's mouths, and he stilled the fears of their hearts. Then, in the very next verse, we see how their quietness of heart and expectant trust allowed God to work on their behalf.

The Lord said to Moses,
“ . . . Tell the people of Israel to go forward.”
Exodus 14:15

I wish it were as simple as doing what we're told. Sometimes we have difficult decisions to make, important choices which will affect the rest of our lives, and will change the lives of others, too. We do have marching orders, though. We have God's instructions to quiet ourselves and acknowledge our trust in Him, and we have the very Spirit of the Lord Jesus to guide us (remember the promise of Isaiah 30:21).

Today I pray that your fears will be stilled, that your heart will be able to trust, and also that when the Spirit of the Lord within you says, "Move forward," you will go ahead without the slightest doubt or hesitation. You have a presence so much larger than a guy with a robe and a stick! You have the very Spirit of God, and his immediate and sure hand of direction when you trust Him. LOVE!

THE DREAM IN YOUR HEART

2008-02-18T07:25:00.000-06:00

Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”says the Lord;“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”says your God. (Isaiah 66:9)

What's this? Has God put a dream in your heart? Does it seem so far away that you've begun to wonder if it could ever become reality? Often I have told you that when you walk with the Lord, your dreams are born of his Spirit. He put desires in your heart for the purpose of fulfilling them!

When God gives a dream or a vision, he does it with the intention of seeing it fulfilled. The only exception is that sometimes the Lord does ever so much more than we can think to ask or imagine. Don't give up your dream; paint the vision in bright colors, tell it out loud, walk in the knowledge that your hopes are not in vain.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
(Eph. 3:20-21)

A PLACE FOR EVERYONE

2008-02-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

I love the all-inclusive nature of God's promises:

Let not the [stranger] who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;and let not the [one who is 'damaged goods'] say,“Behold, I am [totally useless].”4 For thus says the Lord:“To [all] . . . who
choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant . . . to them I will give an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 56:3-5, [Kathy's paraphrase])

Though I believe the Bible, sometimes I wonder if God's promises really apply to me in a personal way. I don't always feel it. Sometimes don't feel very special, at all, as a matter of fact. In those not-so-special moments, I begin to wonder if God will really change me, if He will let others see his character in me, if I will ever get it right, or whether I'm bound to keep digging the same rut without ever moving forward.

There is a purpose for that doubt that creeps in from time to time, in that it qualifies me to speak to others who think the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is simply a dry historical record, a relic of history. I know the feeling. From promises to prophecies, I read and consider, I think and ponder, "I want this to be true, but it really pertain to me?"

That is exactly the question in my heart when I read the verses above. And what is amazing about the Bible, which proclaims itself to be "living and active," is that it really IS! The verses above clearly answered the honest questions of my seeking heart, and I receive that message gladly. I receive the hope, the vision, the mindset, and all that it implies: the security, all the good things for the future, the promise of true and lasting CHANGE.

God is "The Lord God, Who Gathers the Outcasts." Is there someone who needs reassurance of a place in the kingdom? Is there someone who doubts that God will ever intervene? Let's talk a lot about the truth of God's love for everyone -- not just those who look the part, but everyone with a heart to seek Him. Let's keep an eye out for even those close to us who are battling discouragement and distress. Most of all, tell it to your own heart, and I'll tell it to mine: "Yes, there is a place for ME!"

" . . . these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their . . . sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." The Sovereign LORD declares—he who gathers the exiles: "I will gather still others . . . besides those already gathered." (Isaiah 56:7-8)

TO KNOW GOD'S WILL

2008-02-14T19:06:00.000-06:00

I know it is hard at this time of Lent, to rejoice in what you have given to the Lord for this season. Once again, I'll remind you that I "have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Colossians 1:9).

My prayer of blessing over you is for clear purpose and direction: to know his will. I know God will bless you with full of the knowledge of his will, just as it says above. The Lord will "fill you with the knowledge of his will" -- so full that there is no room at all left for doubt. May he plant a vision in your head that will not be overshadowed by doubt and disappointment.

Has God given you a desire in your heart, and a dream to follow? It is there because it is to be fulfilled! In spite of any evidence to the contrary at this moment in time, He will bring your fondest hopes to pass -- and will give you more than you can ever hope or desire. Trust him! (I know that you do.)

He will surely be gracious to you
at the sound of your cry. As soon as he
hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord
give you the bread of adversity and
the water of affliction,
yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore,
but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
And your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”
when you turn to the right or when
you turn to the left. (Isa. 30:19-22)

OUT OF THE DANGER ZONE

2008-02-11T09:26:00.000-06:00

. . . the burning sand
shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground
springs of water . . . And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness . . .
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools,
they shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast
come up on it; they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
(from Isaiah 35)

Jesus promised us trouble in this world (John 16:33), and yet through Isaiah God clearly speaks to us of a spiritual truth when he refers to fools living in complete safety on the Way. When everything is difficult, when everything hurts, I have to wonder whether I might be off track.

Truly, walking with the Lord is like walking in the eye of a storm. All is calm. Though things are falling apart all around me (in my own life), I feel perfectly safe. May the Lord bless you and me to measure our steps today, to be sure that we are on track and out of the danger zone.

I submit my will today, my plans, my preconceptions, my way of thinking, to His scrutiny and revision. May the Lord give us the mindset of Christ, and cause us to walk in a manner worthy of his calling today. May we see that in spite of the storms around us, we are perfectly safe.

KEEPER OF THE KEY

2008-02-01T11:55:00.000-06:00

A snippet from a reading earlier this week is still on my mind:

I will place on his shoulder
the key to the house of David;
what he opens no one can shut,
and what he shuts no one can open.
(Isaiah 22:22)

Do I really believe that? Is God in control? Does He hold the key to the future? If his open doors really do stay open, and his closed doors are locked and barred, then why do I insist on trying to make my own way? Why am I so anxious to try to straighten others out, to point out their faults and shortcomings? Why am I so disappointed at a turn of events that is not what I anticipated?

Rather than focusing on how things and people are messed up, I need to concentrate on the One who holds the key. When He opens a door, I'll just walk on through. My prayer is that the Lord Jesus will help me -- and you, too -- to trust Him, to allow him to open doors, rather than trying to beat them down ourselves. Let us concentrate on Jesus. Wonderful things will happen, and true joy will result:

. . . and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. (Isaiah 25:8)

Keeper of the Key, I trust in You,
To bind up, to break down, or to rearrange,
To open the door, or to bar the way,
To make secure and yet to cause change.

P.S. Don't forget to read your Bible today!

THERE WILL BE NO WAR!

2008-01-25T13:58:00.000-06:00

With a heavy heart I came seeking today, after a sleepless night -- and my restlessness was not due to late-night espresso drinking, but to a question of family dynamics that I turned over and over in my mind. How can our sibling relationships be so fragile? How does poor communication and a lack of planning turn into all-out war? It seems we walk through a minefield, not knowing what will set off a sudden blast!

As you well know is my everyday habit, I came seeking in God's word for wisdom and encouragement. I didn't have to get far in my daily reading to receive reassurance. The prophet speaks of Jesus when he proclaims:

. . . every boot of the tramping warrior in battle . . .
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire. (from Isaiah 9:5)

What Isaiah is saying is that the soldier's boots, and the spoils of war, will be needless, useless, meaningless, and purposeless under the reign of Christ. There will simply be no war - we won't even be able to relate to the concept of strife! The passage continues:

. . . the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
. . . Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government
and of peace there will be no end.
(from Isaiah 9:6-7)

I am not called to be content to sit and watch a family misunderstanding continue. I believe what it says above, that "the government is upon HIS shoulders." The Lord Jesus is able to govern in my life and in this family. I throw the managing of relationships on his broad and capable shoulders, for he is able to make peace abound when I trust him.

My New Testament section of reading today includes a timely reminder that division not to be considered "status quot," but should be recognized as what it is: the work of the enemy. I am not called to sit back and let misunderstandings and divisions continue in this family. Here are the words of Jesus quoted by Mark:

If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand. (Mark 3:24-25)

How shall misunderstanding be cleared up? How shall the situation be rectified? How will this family ever learn to get along? I am not really responsible to come up with answers for all those questions, but I am called to trust the Governor, for indeed the government (the decision-making process) belongs to the Lord Jesus. My job is to place this whole mess in his hands, and to know that he is mighty, and that he is able to make sense of it all. He can make it turn out all right.

So I trust the Lord to resolve not only this one little misunderstanding, but to mightily bless this family in ways I haven't even dreamed of or imagined. Lord help me to be willing to take it one step at a time. Help me to trust the Governor, and to be patient, allowing him to put everything and everyone in our proper places and relationships. Glory to God. Amen.

CHANGE: Are We Willing to Be Willing?

2008-01-09T11:14:00.000-06:00

When we are impatient to see change in our lives & circumstances, let's remember God's promises. I, for one, am desperate for change! Where am I going? Will I ever get there? I don't want to go 'round and 'round, repeating the same mistakes, unable to dig out of my rut.

It is a new year, but why should I hope for anything different? Well, I actually have a very good reason to hope, and so do you. Someone believes in us, enough to bet His life on us. Paul's letter to the Romans reminds us of the huge investment Jesus made, his very life blood:

. . . perhaps for a good person one would dare to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were [no good], Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:7-10, ESV [paraphrased])

Do you ever doubt that God will truly change your life? Do you wonder if things will ever work out? If we truly believe that Jesus has the power to take away our sins through his death (as it says above, we are "justified by his blood"), then we must also trust that Jesus will take action to save us "by his life." He is alive and working in us daily to change us from within.

We are being saved from ourselves, from our ruts, and from our tendency to repeat the same mistakes over again. He sees us very clearly, Dear. He knows us well, and knew us entirely before our lives even began. He loves us and He has the power to change our lives.

Yes! In spite of all our shortfalls and imperfections, Jesus believes in us. He invested himself thoroughly in our lives and continues to intervene daily for our transformation. Remember these promises from Paul's letter to the Philippians:

. . . He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
(from Phil. 1:6, NKJV)
for it is God who works in you
both to will and to do
for His good pleasure.
(Phil. 2:13, NKJV)

God is at work to change us, even though we may not be able to clearly see the evidence. Change is cumulative, and will become visible over the passage of time. When we are desperate for change, we only need to do ONE THING. All we need to do is check our hearts to make sure that we are willing to be willing to change.

Even in our willingness, Jesus helps us. He can make us willing, according to Phil. 2:13, and He is also capable of working the necessary changes in us, in our lives, and in our circumstances! God is able, and we can trust in every one of his promises. Repeat God's promises aloud to yourself, in personal terms. Say to yourself:

. . . He who has begun
a good work in me
will complete it, for it is God
who works in me
both
to will
and to do
what
pleases
Him.

The Lord Jesus does all the hard work and asks so little in return, just that we be willing to be willing. This year, let's consciously offer him the willingness to be made willing. Let's offer it with our whole hearts, and simply trust Him to do the rest.

Keep Planting Seeds

2007-12-05T09:52:00.001-06:00

Keep sowing little words of kindness and grace; keep planting seeds of love! Of course it may take time for the results to show, but what an opportunity to grow something supernatural. What a way to show the Lord's supernatural love. Jesus says:

"If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" (Matthew 5:46)

Even the lost and corrupt (the "tax collectors" of this world) find it easy and natural to love those who love them. They dote on their family members, they care for their friends. They give and receive affection. It is only natural! People are conditioned to respond in that way, and well they should.

We followers of the Lord Jesus have a chance to go beyond that natural exchange, to rise above the conditioned response. We have an opportunity to love supernaturally, ESPECIALLY when our generous words and acts of kindness are unmerited and unrequited. Be encouraged:

. . . my beloved [daughter], be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58).

Dietary Concerns

2007-11-29T11:27:00.000-06:00

Are you getting a balanced diet from your everyday reading*? What I mean is, are you working your way systematically through the entire collection of scripture you know as the Bible, even if you don't read a lot every day? Remember, it took me four years to work my way through the "Bible in a Year" reading calendar the first time I used it, no joke! Even if you don't consume numerous pages at one sitting, do read consistently, with an open mind and willing heart to process, internalize, and heed what it says. It will change you:

Do not merely listen to [or read] the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25, NIV)

Don't feel badly or give up if you fail to stay on a reading plan by calendar date! Some days the reading is just too intense to rush through; it may take several days to digest. Here's an example: James chapters 1-5 were supposed to be one day's reading, according to the http://www.backtothebible.org/ chronological calendar, and three days later I was still on James chapter one! It is just that good, and merited plenty of thought. So do take your time to "hear" the perfect law that gives freedom. Hear it in its entirety; hear it with your heart, and have an open mind to allow it change you, fortify you, and cause you to grow!

PLEASE NOTE: if you are reading bits and pieces (Psalms, Proverbs, New Testament passages) rather than working your way systematically through the entire canon of scripture, then you are not doing what I advocate, Dear! If the Book is a believer's food to nourish the soul, and you are browsing for tasty morsels like cheesecake, pecan pie, and other yummy items that appeal to you, how healthy do you expect you'll be next week, next month, or next year? Don't pick and choose! Use one of the many reading plans available to help you get balanced spiritual nutrition. I want you to be strong and healthy, and have all the "nutritional building blocks" you need to face each day's stresses and challenges.
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*Everyday Reading: remember, for a daily reading plan just go to http://www.backtothebible.org/ and pick one out! There are five calendar plans to choose from under Bible Studies & Devotions at the top of the page. The fourth choice, Reading Guides, will bring up your options. You may have to ignore the date and pick up where you left off day by day, allowing yourself to fall behind. The important thing is to stay on track, reading the calendar passages in consecutive order so that you'll eventually work your way through the entire Bible.

Giving Thanks on a Bad Day

2007-11-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

I heard an inspiring message today about offering thanks to God when I don't feel like it, of offering praise to God when things are not going my way, when I'm having a BAD DAY. According to Psalm 50:23, not only can I honor God, but I can also work in my own best interest by consciously clearing the way for him to inervene in my circumstances & rescue me from my distress:

. . . He who sacrifices thank offerings
honors me, and he prepares the way
so that I may show him
the salvation of God.
- Psalm 50:23 NIV

Wow, what a fabulous reminder that the things I think I'm doing "for God" (as if God needs anything I can provide) are actually for my good. Paul writes:

. . . give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you
in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Thes. 5:18 NIV

Paul doesn't give an explanation; he expects me to give thanks because it is God's will, but going back to what I know of God's character*, I can imagine WHY it is God's will for me to give thanks in all circumstances. I know that God's intentions and all he asks of me are for my own good. I have read in Psalm 50:23 that the "sacrifice" of giving thanks clears the way for God to show me his salvation. If I believe God's word, then even my most selfish motives will cause me to praise and thank God in order to open the way for his rescue in time of trouble.

Truly, God never asks me to do anything beyond my capabilities, nor to give beyond my means. His yoke is easy and his burden is light (per Matt. 11:30). Think about what this might mean in your life. Will you pledge to give God thanks, especially when you are hurting? The willful act of thanking God as you move through a difficult day will be to your benefit, and will clear the way for him to rescue you!
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* God's Character - What I know of God's character is based upon my daily pursuit of God in his word. If you are not on a daily reading plan, go to http://www.backtothebible.org/ and pick one out! There are five calendar plans to choose from under Bible Studies & Devotions at the top of the page. The fourth choice, Reading Guides, will bring up your options.

Do You Doubt God's Good Intentions?

2007-11-23T10:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's reading included the famous "wisdom" verse (James 1:5), which I often quote. Re-reading it in context was revealing in light of my feeling that sometimes God does NOT generously grant wisdom when I ask. There is a clue in the context:

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Ouch, that hurts! Verses 6-8 talk about our mental approach to God as we seek wisdom. We must believe and not doubt that every challenge has a useful purpose in our lives; if we doubt, we show ourselves unstable and unfit.

What, exactly, are we not to doubt? That God has wisdom to give? Not many of us have a problem believing in God's wisdom on a grand, universal scale. No, the challenge is believing that God would focus his attention on me. It is easy to believe God is able to do amazing things, but I often doubt his good intentions toward me.

If you are running up against a brick wall asking for direction, my heart is with you. May God grant you the ability to walk in the conviction that YOU ARE LOVED, personally and individually, by the creator of the universe. His intentions are good. God's heart's desire is to express his love and good intentions toward you in a unique and personal way.

Back up a step and ". . . be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (per Romans 12:2). How can you be transformed? By the power of his word. Speak these truths over your life. Print them, trim them out, look at them a dozen times a day, memorize them. Reprogram and reformat your pattern of thinking by dwelling on these true sayings:

" . . . I know the plans I have for you,"

says the Lord. "They are plans for good

and not for disaster, to give you

a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

God showed

how much he loved us

by having Christ die for us,

even though we were sinful.

Romans 5:8 CEV

. . . he who began

a good work in you

will carry it on to completion

until the day of Christ Jesus.

Phil. 1:6 NIV

Soak your soul in the warmth of God's eternal and true intentions toward you as an individual. If you claim to believe God's word, you must work it into your brain (by repetition and rote memory, if need be) that his intentions toward YOU are good, because YOU are loved. Believe it, or if you are not there yet acknowlege that you DON'T believe it, and ask the Father in Jesus' name for his power to "get it." Ask again for that needed revelation of wisdom. It will be granted!

Self-Interest vs. Self-Sacrifice: A Choice

2007-11-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

With difficulty I read my calendar passages* today, Matthew 27 & Mark 15. It is always hard for me to take in the crucifixion accounts without being deeply moved, and today was no exception. This exchange at the scene of the execution stood out:

So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself." (Mark 15:31)

How true, though spoken in ridicule and with grave disrespect, that "He saved others; he cannot save himself." Truly, in order to save others, he could not save himself. He had to choose; he couldn't have it both ways. He could have saved himself - if only he'd given up the "others," all the lost causes lined up throughout history (including you and me). What a call to make, to deny even his right to life itself - and to give it up for the unworthy creatures before him, who were oblivious at best.

By comparison, what little is asked of me in order to follow in his footsteps and take part in who he is! I'm not asked to make unreasonable sacrifices like what Jesus did. No! "His burden is light." When I am called to choose between self-interest and what's best for another person today, what will I choose? Will I consciously weight the balance in the favor of the other guy, even if the other person is totally oblivious, at best?

Unlike the actions of my Savior, any selfless action you or I might perform is not wasted on the unworthy; it is given as an offering to One who is aware (not oblivious), who sees us for who we are, who loves us unequivocally, and whose very spirit is present to strengthen our resolve.

It is my prayer that the choice Jesus made on the cross will stay fresh in my mind and yours today; that we will be strengthened in the Spirit to walk with a renewed perspective on what is a reasonable level of self-sacrifice, and what is a justifiable level of self-interest. Today may we take joy in living in light of HIS choice.

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*Calendar Passage - if you are not on a daily reading plan, go to http://www.backtothebible.org/ and pick one out! There are five calendar plans to choose from under the Devotions link in the left-hand column. The bottom choice, Reading Guides, will bring up your options.

WHEN THE LORD IS LATE

2007-10-15T09:56:00.000-05:00

When the Lord is late, keep the faith. Is is your turn to be blessed today? Have you claimed the Lord's promises, but he does not seem to be coming through? Are you doing everything right, as best you can, living faithfully day in and day out, to no avail? Refuse to be discouraged, and insist in your soul upon staying focused on the Lord's provision. Think about Jairus, who had an urgent need. Jesus had promised to help, but then was hopelessly delayed, caught up in a huge human traffic jam.

Mark 5:22-42 tells about how urgently the Lord was needed, and how devastating the result of his delay. It was a life-and-death matter that was laid before the Lord, with an urgent time constraint attached. Somebody was dying! How disappointed Jairus must have been when he was notified that it was just "too late." It was all over! Why bother anymore? (Let me interject here, as a mom, that if there is anything even more urgent in my mind than a life-and-death matter for me, it is a life-and-death matter involving my child!)

Jairus must have been in a world of trouble at home, as a matter of fact, for even thinking that Jesus was the answer. What was he doing, out running around at a time like that, rather than being where he belonged, with his distraught wife at his daughter's bedside at her moment of passing? What a bad father; what a silly man! Yes, and Jesus looked silly, too. Everyone laughed when the Lord came in saying, "The child is not dead but sleeping." How utterly ridiculous!

Well, you know how this story turned out, and it almost seems trite to remember that for one little girl and her family, the Lord really was TOO LATE. But when he showed up, the result was even more dynamic than if he had been right on time. If it is your turn to be blessed, Precious, and yet the Lord seems far-away, learn from this example. Keep the faith, because your Savior will show up, and when he does, the result will be more dynamic than you have ever dared to hope or imagine.

PUT THE DEVIL IN HIS PLACE

2007-10-05T09:20:00.001-05:00

SPEAK TO THE DEVIL! That's right, you heard me. Matthew recounts the manner in which the Lord Jesus, our role model, confronted the enemy of our souls. After a time of severe physical and emotional stress, Jesus had this confrontation with Satan:

. . . [Satan] said to [Jesus], “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (from Matthew 4:9-11)

Notice the sequence here:

Jesus tempted by the devil
Jesus SPEAKS from scripture*
Satan flees the scene
Angels appear with tangible help

If there are areas of life where we can't seem to move ahead, maybe it is time to SPEAK OUT. Know and apply God's word to the source of the problem; speak truth to the devil himself, if need be. If the Lord Jesus Christ was not exempt from this type of confrontation, should I hope to avoid dealing with the devil? Should I politely ignore him and hope he'll go away?

In no way do I mean to make light of our adversary the devil, who roams around looking for prey. If the Lord Jesus himself did not confront Satan in his own power, but relied upon God's word to back him up, shouldn't you do the same? We are irresponsible Christians if we have the one and only weapon of defense in our spiritual arsenal, the Bible, available at our fingertips and refuse to learn to wield it.

Our mission in life is to go and do as Jesus did, under his power, being transformed by the renewing of our minds to look more and more like him on the inside! BE BOLD, rebuke Satan, put him in his place, and he will flee. Not until you forcibly move the enemy out of your way by direct application of God's word, will you be able to receive the help that God is waiting to provide.

*NOTE:

The Son of God LEARNED and CITED scripture. He did not rely solely on his divine nature, but throughout his ministry quoted the law and the prophets. To get scripture in your head, work your way systematically through the entire Bible. You ca find tools to help at http://www.backtothebible.org, or use the calendar link in the left sidebar of this blog. One way or another, be SURE to systematically work your way through the entire collection of writings known as the Bible.

FLASHING NEON ARROWS

2007-10-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

Can God be found by everyone? That depends on what a person's looking for, on the motives of the heart, on what one wants to do with God when and if he is found. The second chapter of Matthew describes how on one hand God couldn't be missed, and on the other he just couldn't be found. It is still the same today. Some would say, "Look! You can't miss him -- he is RIGHT HERE!" while others undertake a Dragnet-style manhunt and come up with devastation that is worse than nothing:

And [King Herod] sent [the eastern scholars] to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. (verses 8-9)

The star was like a beacon to those scholars; they couldn't miss the spot! But we know what happened when Herod tried to find the same child the scholars couldn't miss:

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region . . . (verse 16)

Maybe to you and me it seems like there are flashing neon arrows hanging over the place where Jesus is, but some of our loved ones seem to have searched relentlessly and come up with worse than nothing. When you encounter someone who "just can't find Jesus," encourage that person to carefully examine his or her motives, and to pray for honesty of deepest soul before God, who has issued an unconditional promise to all of humanity that, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

THEY LACKED FOR NOTHING

2007-09-28T09:52:00.000-05:00

God provided for his people as they traveled through a dry and thirsty place. From the ninth chapter of Nehemiah:

You gave your good Spirit to instruct them
and did not withhold your manna from their mouth
and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years
you sustained them in the wilderness,
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out
and their feet did not swell. (verses 20-21)

I pray that the Lord will do the same for us as we choose to obey him in spite of the evidence that it simply can't be done. I pray that God's faithfulness on our journey will be such a testimony to others, that they will also choose to trust Him with the most intimate details of their lives. What a privilege to pray this in Jesus' name.

POWER OF PRAYER

2007-09-27T12:59:00.000-05:00

Nehemiah 6 talks about the rebuilding of the wall. Five times the enemy sent messages to distract Nehemiah from that work, and five times the prophet stood his ground. Of his enemies, Nehemiah says:

They were all trying to frighten us,

thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work,

and it will not be completed."

But I prayed,

"Now strengthen my hands."

(verse 9)

How many times have you received the same message of discouragement? How many times will you have to stand your ground? Cry out to the Lord as many times as it takes, "Lord, strengthen my hands."

The enemy of our souls repeatedly sends disconcerting lies to distract us from the work at hand, but God is faithful to strengthen us so we will be able to stand against those messages of intimidation, according to I Cor. 10:13.

Claim it, for it is true:

God is faithful;

he will not let you be tempted

beyond what you can bear.

Food for thought: Nehemiah was rebuilding the temple wall, the wall around Jerusalem. If our physical bodies are "temples," per I Cor. 6:19, then what might be our "temple wall?"

Power of Prayer

2007-09-25T00:02:00.000-05:00

Look at Romans 4:17, which speaks of:

"God, who gives life to the dead

and calls into being that which does not exist." (NASB)

That is what God does, and he has made us in his image. In Christ we're called, as daughters, to go and do like our Father. Without excuse or exception, we are called to be the reconcilers, the peacemakers, the speakers of impossible blessings on the people around us.

My Little Secret: THE PRAYER JOURNAL

2007-09-23T16:20:00.001-05:00

This is my little secret, but not really!

For years I have been following in my mother's footsteps, recording my prayers, plans, and insights as I walk daily through God's word. The plan here is to chronicle those prayers, plans, and insights on this site so you can look into my journal and my heart.