VICTORY

God brings us through the streams of living water for a reason. So, we may have a small taste of the victory he has for us when we are in union with him in heaven. The story below is a story I have read many times but touches my heart again of the power of God's love and how I need to rely on him as I wait for the union with him in heaven. While here let me taste the faith found in the streams of living water.


Peace Like a River, by Tim Archer


"Saved alone. What shall I do?" Those were the chilling words Horatio Spafford read in the telegram from his wife. It was November, 1873. Anna Spafford had been traveling to Europe with the four Spafford children; Mr. Spafford was to join them later. The ship the family was traveling on, the Ville du Havre, was rammed by a British iron sailing ship, the Lockhearn. Mrs. Spafford was rescued by the Lockhearn, but the four children were taken by the waves.

Mr. Spafford was a prosperous lawyer and real estate developer in Chicago until his fortunes were reduced to ashes by the Great Fire of 1871. Still reeling from that financial disaster, now Spafford faced an even greater crisis. He was a man of faith, but these were times that would try even the greatest saint.

Making the Atlantic crossing to join his wife, Spafford was shown the location of the wreck that had cost him his children. Reflecting on that moment, he wrote his wife's half-sister saying "On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs."

During the crossing, Spafford sat and wrote the words to one of the best-loved songs of all times. The first verse reads:

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot

It is well with my soul

Thou hast taught me to say
"It is well with my soul."

It's an amazing story. Most of us would have trouble reacting in such a way. When faced with loss, when dealing with grief, the common reaction is to fall back on self-pity. What enabled Spafford to respond as he did? Faith. Spafford believed that death was not the end for his dear children. He believed that the grave was a stopping point, not a
destination. To him, his children lay, not beneath the cold waters, but folded safe in the arms of Jesus.

Without God, such hope is not possible. Without God, death is the end. But God has overcome death, through the history-changing resurrection of his son. We can read in the New Testament: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God!

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"
1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Thirsty, one more time

If I am truly seeking God and his precepts. than I must be thirsty ALL THE TIME. I must desire the streams of living water Jesus spoke about to the Samaritan woman and I must be willing to give up myself and let the Spirit of God work in me as he continues to make me who HE wants me to be. I need to come to his fountain every day as I wait expectantly for his return. It is ONLY God's fountain that can take away the pain and the sorrow as I give it all over to him.

It is ONLY in turning it all over to him that I can really receive the JOY and BLESSINGS God has for me.

Lord, lead me to the fountain so I might seek your will and the streams of living water will flow in me.

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of his mercy
As deep cries out to deep (we sing)

Come Lord Jesus come
Come Lord Jesus come
Come Lord Jesus come

Holy Spirit come
Holy Spirit come
Holy Spirit come

As deep cries out to deep
As deep cries out to deep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwDtSFMjdw&feature=related

Where can you get this living water?

...whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4

All this water stuff has been leading me to the same place as is mentioned here in the encounter with the Samaritan Woman. I have known God and Jesus for a long time but I have not know HIS spirit like he wants to me for very long. I have known my spirit and what I want to do but have not been earnestly seeking HIS will.

I am no different than the Samaritan woman. She had 5 husbands. I do not have five wives. Wow! I would really be in trouble! I did have more than 5 other distractions that were taking my eyes away from the one and only God and his spirit that needs to direct me down his path, not mine. God knew I had "5 husbands" He knew the distractions of life, he knew that I was following Rick's path not his path.

God knew my heart!

Just as he knew the heart of the Samaritan woman, he knew my sin and my pain and my desires.


He told her, just as he told me, to seek something other than the worldly water but seek the living water that brings eternal life.

He told her, just like he told me, to seek the pleasures of heaven not the pleasures of this world.

He told her, just like he told me, to bring all my pain and suffering to him.

He told her, SHE could have life! not life on this earth but the promise of an eternal life with God!

All she had to do is give up herself.

He told me too...

"Rick, give up yourself and seek the living water that only I can offer.

Stop seeking the worldly pleasures that detract from what I really want you to do.

Seek the spirit of the living God and let me work in your life to bring the real peace only I can offer."

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Use me Lord for your good and your purposes

Let your Spirit fall fresh on me!

No Water This Time

1 Kings 17

God has me sitting by the brook.

He is asking me to wait on him.
He is asking me to trust in him.
He is asking me to ask for wisdom from him.


St. Augustine said, 'God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.' In Elijah's case, although the brook had dried up, God had Plan B. God did not give Elijah Plan B until the brook was completely dry. When Elijah came out the first morning and found the water level had dropped a bit, he probably would have appreciated it if God would have rang him up right then and said, 'Don't sweat it, Elijah. You've got about a week left. And at the end of that week, I'm going to send you somewhere else where you'll be taken care of.' No, I think God let the brook go completely dry maybe even for a day or two before He spoke to Elijah. That's the way God works often. Maybe Elijah was on his knees in the middle of the brook, crying, 'G-o-d!' finally the Lord said, 'Get down to Zarephath' Elijah probably said, 'Alright!' - until he heard that it would be a widow who would take care of him. 'A widow?' he must have wondered. 'Are You sure You have that right!

Just as God was refining Elijah, God is refining my soul for much greater things in his kingdom The sum will be much great than the parts.

Elijah didn't know what the Lord had in store. He didn't know what the future held. But God did, and He was preparing Elijah for tomorrow. My brook may be dry. But I don't know what God has in store.

He's refining me.

He's teaching me faith.

He's preparing me for greater things.

This dry brook taught Elijah to trust in the Lord and in His Word. As a result, when God spoke to Elijah, Elijah obeyed.

God speaks to me as well.

I need to learn to surrender in obedience to His refining process in my life.


It's difficult when God allows us to pass through times of difficulties and trials. But I need to learn to trust and obey Him, for God is teaching me faith.

Remember Hebrews 11:1

Faith and Obedience - How can I practically turn calamity into capital as Elijah did? Two simple ways:

Faith and Obedience.

Verse 2, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah.
Verse 5, he did according to the Word of the Lord.
Verse 8, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah.
Verse 10, he did according to the Word.

'I don't know what to do,' I cry. 'My brook is dry.'

All God wants me to do is simply trust and obey

Lord, help me as I learn every day to trust and obey. Bring me from the dry brook to springs of living water so I may experience the joy of what greater things you may have in store for us. While I wait, give me patience and wisdom as I come before you every day and ask that your grace and mercy to be evident in my life as I continue the Adventure in Middle Grove.

(based on sermon and notes from JP Miller )

Thirsting Again

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

1 Kings 17:2-4 (New International Version)

Elijah went to the brook because God gave him a command to go eastward and drink from the brook and the brook dried up. This could be bad since there was famine and lack of water in the land. But God provided people to help him and in turn he was used by God in a more powerful way. The drying up of the brook is a metaphor for me in the things that I thought were important that were there until God stopped the rain and the brook was dry. Elijah need to rely on even the ravens to give him food. They left after the brook dried up too!

I had a brook dry up on me over many years but not a brook that God sent me to. It was a brook created by me to get water to drink but not the spirit of the living God. I was thirsty for the wrong water and God dried up the stream.

God asks us to thirst but thirst in him and not on or own.

What should I do when the brook runs dry...

Tomorrow.

Lord, help me thirst on the living water you provide and help me look towards you daily as I thirst for your spirit. Mold me and make me who you want me to be as I sit by the brook of your creation.

Continue to Thirst

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for the water,
So my soul longs after You.
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You.

You alone are my strength, my shield,
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You.

I want You more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye.

You're my Friend and You are my Brother,
Even though You are a King.
I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything.

Yesterday, I continued to be intrigued by this idea  of thirsting.
It is the last and most powerful human need before we die.
We can go for quite awhile without food but  not many days
without water. We are over75% water so without water our bodies
shut down and die. This idea of the deer panting by the water is
interesting. It shows me the deer must be very thirsty
since it is panting near the stream waiting to get a drink of water.
Just like the dear panting by the stream, I should be daily
panting for the stream of living water found in the spirit of God.
This stream should be my life's desire and should satisfy my
needs just as the real water refreshes and brings life to our bodies.

Bring me to the stream every day so I can be refreshed
with the living water only you can bring. Restore my soul as
you are my strength and shield.

Lord, You are my heart's desire and I long to worship you.

Let me yield to your spirit.

Thirsting

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6, New International Version

One of the things that struck me yesterday from the verse in 2 Peter was the phrase

..." make every effort to add to your faith..."

This did not say, "give it a good try" or "see what I can do"

It says to do everything I can to add to my faith. This is why I was drawn to Matthew 5

What I am really trying to make an effort for is to live a righteous life and in living a righteous life, I will add to my faith. I think it is interesting how  Matthew uses 2 human conditions to highlight out spiritual needs and desires.

I have been hungry and thirsty but never to the point that I thought I was going to die. If I was ever at this point, I can imagine that there would be nothing else I cared about other than getting food and water. Nothing would stop me from reaching my goal of satisfying my hunger and thirst. I would do nothing but think of satisfying my hunger and thirst.

I would think of nothing else

I think this is what Matthew is talking about! I am to hunger and thirst for righteousness like there is nothing else that can satisfy the need. There is nothing that will stand in my way of being filled with God and what he has to offer me.

To thirst for righteousness, is the first step in adding to my faith. Without the desire and the acknowledgment of the need, the foundation of faith will not grow.

Lord, Help me in the Adventure of Life that I would continue to know what it means to thirst for you. I would hunger and desire you and you will fill me with your righteousness so my faith will be added  on a daily basis.

Satisfy all my needs for building the kingdom and in putting your relationship in a place where I "make every effort".

A Firm Foundation

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith
goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge,
self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness, love.

2 Peter 1:5-7, New International Version

My walk with God is built on a firm foundation of faith but look at a building that only has a foundation and you are not looking at much! Usually a big hole in the ground and walls protruding up out of the ground.

As there is much more to a building, there is much more  to my walk in faith than the firm foundation of faith. God has taking a long time to make sure the foundation is built on him, not me. He has taken the foundation down a few times and said to me that "this isn't the way I want it done." He has shown me a foundation built by me is one that will crumble and not last. The foundation of faith must be built on him being lead by his spirit.

My life was truly spiritually transformed by God’s indwelling presence, my affections and attitudes are different toward people.  God removed the fog from me to see more clearly through him. First of all, within the church I  will really exhibit “brotherly kindness”. People in churches don’t even treat each other as friends sometimes much less as family. I don't see much joy in the church. My trip to NYC was really invigorating a few weeks ago. I saw people who loved each other but more importantly they had the "fire of the spirit" living in them. They were excited about their faith and how it was the driving force in what they did and said. It was a great experience and restored me spiritually to continue to seek the excitement of God's spirit. Thank you NYC! This kind of love should be the outgrowth  of my relationship with God and through this love I should be able to be patient with others  because we love one another (Eph 4:2).
Not only should my treatment of those of our spiritual family be different, my treatment of all people should be different. Peter lists the final attribute in his list as “love”. This, as I’m sure you could guess, is REAL love. This is he highest, most sacrificial form of love. This love seeks the good of the one loved with no regard for self. I should be willing and able to serve my wife, my family, my neighbors, my community as a way to demonstrate God’s love. People should know I am Christian because of how loving I am toward people.  When I serve, I should serve out of love.  Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, listed this quality last because it binds all the others together. In fact, if we don’t have love, our lives really do not reflect the character of God. If we don't have love, the foundation of faith will never see the roof of love that protects and covers us with God's grace and mercy.

Lord, let me be an instrument of your love. Use me to  to bring love to my family , friends and community like I have never done before. Let your spirit work in me so your love will be evident in all I do, think and say. Let your love pour out from me like I have never experienced before. Guard me, with your love and by your spirit, not mine.

Thank you for the love that binds me together with my family and friends. Thank you for showing me a "new way" in you that really is not so new.

Thank you for you love!, and a new way in you.

Boasting

VERSE:
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my
weakness.
 -- 2 Corinthians 11:30
 


Now that is a thought that goes counter to society and the culture of today!  Probably would not make a good commercial. Like "Army WEAK", or The Marines, Proud and WEAK, or a politician saying, "come and join the WEAK for change"

One of Paul's recurring themes throughout 2 Corinthians is that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. In 1 Corinthians, he emphasizes that the strength, wisdom, and power of God are shown in what is normally a sign of weakness and humiliation -- the Cross (1 Cor. 1:18-2:5). Paul wasn't a wimp -- remember all he endured and kept on serving the Lord. (2 Cor. 11:24-27) He just knew that even with all his training and talent, he wasn't skilled, smart, or strong enough to do all that needed to be done for the Kingdom of God. But he knew that when I recognize my insufficiency, God takes my weaknesses and uses them powerfully when I offer myself  to him! He has already shown me I have the power  to ask for his love and his compassion for me is one of grace and mercy. He does not ask me to be strong. He asks me to be obedient to him and not be afraid of my weaknesses. It is in my weaknesses, God is working, making me more like he wants me to be in his eyes, not mine


Heavenly Father, thank you for all those times that you have:

strengthened me when I was under trial, 

given me wisdom when in a difficult situation, 

or empowered me when I faced situations and opportunities greater than my ability to handle. 

I recognize that you saved me by your grace; but each day that I serve you, I
am again reminded that your grace continues to enable me to serve you.

Graciousness Beyond Belief

  The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom (Psalm 145:8-12 NIV).

Yesterday God showed me the unimaginable power I have in obtaining his love and how enormous his love is for me.  His compassion for me also touched me as I look at the things in my life that I did that were sinful  and how I can come before him and asked for forgiveness and he will touch my soul.

The Lord is gracious. 

His compassion draws me to Him. 
His compassion touches my heart.
His compassion proves I am loved. 
His compassion reaches to the depths of my heart. 
His compassion compels me to love Him and follow Him.

The Lord is gracious. He is slow to anger. How quickly He could condemn me! He would be justified if He chose to reject me and turn away from me. I would deserve it if He unleashed His anger upon me. I could not defend myself if he were to decide to put me on trial. His patience is unfathomable.

I deserve His anger. 
I deserve His wrath. 
I deserve His judgment. 

I am saved because He is gracious and slow to anger.

The Lord is gracious. He is rich in love.

Because He is rich in love I have hope.
Because He is rich in love I have peace.
Because He is rich in love I have joy.
Because He is rich in love I have salvation.
Because He is rich in love I have  eternal life.
Because He is rich in love I have a Savior.
Because He is rich in love I have been redeemed.
Because He is rich in love I can experience His love.
Because He is rich in love I have no fear of judgment.
Because He is rich in love I can know His gracious nature.
Because He is rich in love I can know I have a home with Him.


The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Let me, His creation, praise Him, fall down before Him, tell of the glory of His kingdom, and speak of His might, so that all people around me may know of His mighty acts and the glorious splendor of his kingdom.

Lord, thank you for your compassion and love as you continue to work in me.

I have the POWER

...And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3

It is in verses like this that I am humbled and brought to my knees as I considered the greatness of God's love and how it is personal for me. Many times, I tried to go it alone and tried it under my own power. This past week , God's word touched me about the importance of what I do before him as I make a meager attempt to walk in his way. I stumble and fall and he is there to pick me up. I say things that are not Godly and he is here to listen to me confess my sin to him. I feel unloved and broken and his hands are there to reach out to me and tell me , "come with me, I will lead you down the path of hope"

Then today, his word tells me that I have the power to understand how much God really does love me through Jesus. Scripture says in Ephesians that I will have the power if I am rooted in love.

For many years, I know I was rooted in love.
Julie is a Master Gardener, she is a good teacher who taught me that when you plant something, the soil is prepared and all consideration is given to making sure the plant has the right conditions for growth. Great care is taken to ensure the rooting of the plant is done to minimize the trauma and shock of a new environment.

I was rooted in God's love for many years...

Now comes the established part. Continuing with my Master Gardener, establishing a plant is the hard part. The environment is always trying to take it down. Weather, water, nutrients, and especially weeds will try to ruin the life of a plant or stop it from growing.

I have been a bad gardener.

The weeds had grown up so I could not see and the nutrients of God's love were almost gone.

The GREAT MASTER GARDENER took the gardening chores away from me as I was really doing a bad job. He is showing me the real substance of life is not in me, but totally in him and his Holy Spirit is the nutrient I need for growth and contentment.

Then Today...

He blew me away..

That I,

Broken

and

Fallen

have been given the power, established in love. to know

HOW LONG

HOW DEEP

HOW WIDE

is God's love to for me

God says "how far is the east from the west" This is the measure of his love.

BUT, not only does he tell me that I can understand this but I can have this!


He says I can be filled with the measure of all the fullness of God.

This fullness is unmeasurable since we cannot measure how deep and how wide and how long is, to grasp the unbelievable dimension of the love God has for us.

God is GREAT!

Lord, continue to establish me in the soil of your spirit so I may continue to grasp the greatness of your love as far as it is from the east form the west. Breathe on me the live of your love as I continue on the adventure from Middle Grove.

Thank you for new life established and rooted in you!

A Good Man

He [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,
and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
 -- Acts 11:24

Barnabas was a good man! Why? For many reasons. But, the key reason was that he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. This shouldn't surprise me. When the Holy Spirit lives in me, he is at work producing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and
conforming me to the character of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). No wonder Barnabas' influence was so great on the lives of those who lived in Antioch;

his life was under the influence of God's Spirit!


Dear Heavenly Father, I want my life to be influential for the good of the Gospel and the growth of your Kingdom. I offer myself to you as a living sacrifice, asking that you conform me to the nature of your Son Jesus and bring forth in me the fruit of your Spirit. 

Watching your Mouth

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
(Ephesians 4:29 NASB)

How easy it is to "talk trash" To put others down and to make my self feel good because I feel I am better than another person or I have it more together.

Well, I guess, no wholesome word  sums up what I am to say in situations

AND

only say things that are edifying and good for the moment. This means I am not supposed to project in to the future about what someone might say to me and my response. I am only to look to the moment.

A moment in time that is rule by God. 

A moment  in time where I make a conscious decision to say something edifying and good. 

A moment controlled by God.

Lord, let no wholesome talk come out of my mouth. Let me not say anything unholy, un-Godly, vindictive, hurtful, spiteful, damaging, and unloving.

Let me be edifying in my life and use me to influence those around me for your good and your purpose.

REAL THANKSGIVING- The Lord is Faithful

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:13-16
NIV).

This Thanksgiving as I come before God as a renewed creation in him, I am thankful for my family, my friends and for a job to provide for my family.

BUT..

More importantly...

I am thankful for the faithfulness of God and his everlasting kingdom. Our influence and memories fade after a few generations. The Lord's last through all generations. His promises are honored and he lifts up all who fall. He opens his hand to us. This gesture is one of complete openness and welcome. An open hand is there for us to accept it to be lead in his time and his place to a kingdom everlasting.

I thank you Lord for accepting me and loving me. Let my love be evident in all I do, think, and say to bring you all the honor and glory. Use me as an instrument of your love and mercy.

Thank You Lord

God caught me

Psalms 37:23-25:

 The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in
 their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD
 holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old, yet I
 have never seen the godly forsaken, nor seen their children begging
 for bread (NLT).


This has been something I have been waiting to write about in a condensed version so I could  have a picture in my mind that will last for ever.

Since Rick died, I was very troubled and traumatized by his death. I did not have any inclination that I would experience the death of my only son. As a father, this is the worse thing imaginable. I had good experiences with Rick but there were 12 years of a troubled son. This took a toll on my relationships in the family and  in life. It was a constant pit in the stomach that Rick was in trouble and there was not much I could do about it.

After his death, I went in to a state of shock that lasted over 3 years.  This was not good for me or my family.

Over the past year, God was breaking me down...

to rely only on him,
to trust only in him,
to look for direction only in him

I fought hard to do it on my own like I did for many years.

But God wants to win the tough battles of the soul

He took me places I did not want to be and showed me things about me that I did not like

But God wants to win the tough battles of the soul

He showed me the inadequacies of who I am alone without him and what I would become if I continued on the path of self confidence and control

But God wants to win the tough battles of the soul


God brought me to my knees and showed me the who I was trying to be and not who he wanted me to be.

But God wants to win the tough battles of the soul

Summer of 2008 will be a personal memory for  a life time

It was a warm night and I was having trouble sleeping but finally fell to sleep.

About 3:00 am, I woke up and was shaking and sweating and saw in front of me a stream and I was on my back going down the stream.

The rocks were slippery and I was grabbing on to the rocks and trying to hold on but I couldn't. I kept going down the stream trying to grab on to anything but  I could not hold on to the rocks. In the distance I heard a waterfall and the current was getting stronger. I tried but I could not hold on.

I was now caught in a current that was not going to let me go and I let go and did not try to hold on any longer. In shear terror, I was swept over the waterfalls and was falling to my death.

Little did I know, it was a different kind of death. As I was falling over the falls,  in front of me I was caught with the outreaching hands of God.

He grabbed me and held me

But God wants to win the tough battles of the soul

He told me,"Rick, you don't have to worry any more, I am here." I will hold you and never let you go"

A peace came over me like I never experienced. God really did want me

I knew who God was, I knew Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I knew the Holy Spirit.

I didn't know me...

God brought me down the waterfalls to show me about me.To show  me the junk in my life, to show me the path I was heading down.. and it was not good.

He showed me who he wanted me to be not who I wanted to be, because it really did not matter.

He showed me the inner core of my soul.

He also showed me that his love was far greater than I imagined and reached in places I did not know I even had.

He also showed me...

 God wants to win the tough battles of the soul

He showed me life and a relationship with him that can not be surpassed by any other means.

He showed me that true spirit of his love.

Lord, keep showing me your love . Help me Lord share this love for others. Help me show your love in my relationships and in my life.

Thank you for wanting to win the tough battles

Thank you for catching me and holding me with your hand.

Thank you for a renewed life in you, not in me!

Life Insurance

The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect "ME" from the evil one.
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:3


The Bible repeatedly reminds me I am in a spiritual war with forces that are strong, malicious, and evil (Ephesians 6:10-12). I should steer clear of every appearance of evil. I shouldn't involve myself in anything related to Satan and his work. But I also need to remember that our Lord is greater than Satan and all of his evil angels. He is faithful. He will not abandon me to our enemy. He will strengthen me and protect me from attack if I will let him!

He is my Strength and my Shield. Without him, I am lost.


Lord, thank you for giving me victory over Satan through the sacrifice of your Son, his resurrection from the dead, and his promised return to take me home to heaven. Please strengthen me and empower me to overcome temptation and resist the deceptive
enticements of the Evil One. O Lord, it is only you that I want to worship, serve, and obey. To you belongs all glory forever, and ever.

Wakeup call

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may
sing for joy and be glad all our days.
-- Psalm 90:14


Wow, It's Monday and I was away all weekend, my alarm is messed up, I cannot take the bus today and I am discombobulated. Not a good way to start a Monday morning!

OK, Let me start over......

What's the secret of having a good day? How about waking up and recognizing that I begin each day just as I ended the previous one --

I am in the grip of God's unfailing love.

That should make my heart overflow with love and my voice sing with joy and contentment. This song should stir God's Spirit within me and lead me to a deep and profound thanksgiving that permeates all of my days.

So rather than waking up tired, cranky, and dreading another MONDAY, let this day begin with a reminder of God's grace in my daily life and a reminder of God's promises in my heart.

God will NEVER forsake me or leave me!

Then, I don't think I going to have any problem singing the rest of the day for Joy and contentment!

Lord Master and Eternal Father, thank you for pouring your love and joy into my heart through your Holy Spirit. Fill my heart and satisfy my life with a sense of your abiding and unfailing love. YOUR LOVE NEVERS FAILS!

Hurray! It's Monday!

Heart Attack

The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those
whose ways are blameless.

 -- Proverbs 11:20



Wow, I surely wouldn't want to be on God's "I detest" list! Such people are an abomination to him. But what is a perverse heart? It is a heart that allows what is evil, impure, warped, greedy, dishonest, or violent to hold sway MY attitudes, views, and opinions. Ultimately, Jesus reminds me, such a heart shows up in MY outward actions. How is my heart changed? By coming to God in repentance, confessing my connection with what is evil and ungodly, and asking God to cleanse me and make me new by his Holy Spirit.


Create in me a new heart O God and renew your Holy Spirit's presence in me. 

Leaning in the wrong direction

Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own

( or as other translations say lean on your own understanding)

figure it out is better for me!

God continues to lead me and teach me in ways I cannot fathom and why does he even bother with me! This weekend I am in NYC visiting the 3 homes of Radical Hospitality. I have always been interested in the "Community of the Saints" and how this is worked out here in our earthly domain. Living in community brings out the best of what God has to offer and the junk that we do not want anyone to know about. Just like life!

I drove to NYC to take a needed van to the race track and Cate graciously found her way to Brooklyn. I had a good visit with some of the people who were around and saw the beautiful little girl of Jason and Venetta.

I then went back to the guest house and was ready to do some reading to finish the night.

I forgot my glasses!

Oh not, I must have another pair. Let me check my pack. No, let me check my bag, No.

I do not have any extra glasses!

I cannot fix this.......

What am I going to do!

God intervened, as usually.

Rick, you lean too much on your own understanding to try to fix things, I know that God teaches me every day. I need it every day. I let the sin of my understanding get in the way of your wisdom. So here I am at 12:30 AM, looking for my glasses and leaning on my own understanding. POW! right in the face. I could not do it on my own. I could not will myself to read. I could not wiggle my eyes so I could read anything.


I COULD NOT RELY ON MYSELF

God brought me to my knees again. I am going to need to get knee protectors! He told me, Rick, you cannot read without your glasses, just like you cannot live without me. You cannot fix your eyes just like you cannot be lead in the right direction, without me. You cannot make something happen on your own.

YOU NEED ME!

Pray for WISDOM, and a changing of the heart

My understanding is not certain and is limited, so don't LEAN on it. It does become clearer and clearer, though.

I see as through a dark, hazy glass, but I will see God face to face!

If I lean on my understanding, I can become wayward against God .

My understanding becomes screwed, like when I explain things away, excuse them away, and get it wrong or hurt someone.

If I lean more of God and His understanding and if I have a humbleness before God, then He can show me many blessing that I would not otherwise know at all!

I know I lean on my own understanding out of pride and also out of worry. The opposite is
humbleness and trust.

They lead to the truth much faster!

Lord, let me lean on you as you continue to whack me on the side of the head and keep me leaning in the right direction.

In God I Trust

O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Psalm 84:12, New International Version



I see this every day on the back of our dollar bill. "In God we trust"

Do I really believe this? How many thousands of dollar bill have I handled and not even notice this is on the back of the dollar bill. It is much like how my relationship with God is at times. I know he is there but I just get a fleeting glimpse of him because I am interested in picking him up when I am interested.

This is not the relationship God wants me to have. He wants me to worship him and enjoy him forever not just put him on the nightstand and use him for my own good.

I need to be used for YOUR purposes and for the divine good of your kingdom.

"In God we trust" is not something I should take lightly but as a guidepost for the future.

Lord, help me look to you for my trust , love, and direction and I would not be a stumbling block to having you work in me.

Do I Have Hope?

I believe that the first thing I must accept is that hope exists. There is hope. Before I can decide what to believe in, I need to understand that there is something to believe in. Some people look at the world and dismiss hope, choosing to focus on chance and coincidence, chaos and disorder. I've seen enough to know that they are wrong. There is hope. It exists. It can be found. It can be believed and embraced.

I believe that hope is in God. Many of those who have given up on finding hope have done so because they spent their time looking to the wrong things. People place their hope in other people, only to be let down. They place their faith in wealth and possessions, only to have that faith shaken by economic turmoil. Others look to science, but find that the hope science offers is short-term, not reaching beyond the limits of this world. Only God can offer hope for this life by offering a promise of another life to come.

I believe that God offers hope through his son Jesus. There aren't multiple paths to God; there is only Jesus who proclaimed himself to be "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus offers me the way to overcome the things in my life that separate me from God. He doesn't just ask me to live right; he makes it possible for me to do just that. He brings me the hope of mercy and forgiveness, rather than judgment.


God's hope is hope that will last an eternity

Our Test Before God

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8 NKJV)

Seems like I have been talking to many people these days who are involved in some type of testing for school. It could we elementary, high school or college. Testing is a way to measure our knowledge and understanding of what we know not necessarily what we can do. The types of testing we are used  to are only measurements of how well we know specific content at a moment in time. I can remember, still , tests I took in college that we very difficult and I studied very hard. I did well but guess what? I don't remember anything on the test or how would I use it.  Either it wasn't very useful or I am getting old! Probably both!

God has a different test for me. One that I can reflect on with various degrees of success over the years.

He asks me to love others. This is not always an emotional high love but a deep seated love borne out of the love God has shown for me.   Let's face it I  can be ugly and unlovable at times. And speaking from personal experience, I have done a good job at that  more than not in my life.

We need to love, because God is Love.

OK, here is the testing part. No need to study or stay up all night for the test.

The test is PASS / FAIL


Love = Knows God
Does not love ≠ Does not know God

Simple test, hard results

If I love, I know God. What does this mean. It means that with all my spirit and all my being, God expects me to love if I love him. If I do not love, I do not know him.

This is love of a different nature. Not a love like we love shrimp or love baseball. It is a deeply rooted love when I can look at a whole being through the eyes of Christ who first loved me when I was  still a sinner. I didn't deserve it in ANY manner, shape or form. Loving others through the eyes of Christ, is a humbling experience because it brings up all the junk in my life when I felt unlovable and unforgotten. It reminds me of the times when I thought I was lovable and no one loved me. It brings up thoughts of rejection, dejection and failure.

But those thoughts are fleeting because God LOVES me and if I love, I know God.

I need to continually go before my creator and ask him to forgive me for the times when I did not love and did not look at those around me through the eyes of Christ. I need to lay down at the feet of God and ask him to have mercy on me.

Without him , I am unlovable. With him I have the greatest love known in the universe

Lord, help me to love and see those around me with the attitude of love. Let me see them through your eyes and not through my filter. You love me Lord and there is no greater love than this.

You are my joy and contentment is secure in you.

Masquerade

 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
-- 2 Corinthians 11:14



While I wait for God's great victory  to be complete, I also need to know that I  am in a battle. God will win this battle through Jesus Christ. The final outcome is certain.

Christ has already won the war.

However, I cannot  be fooled; the evil one will do everything he can to deceive all people and confuse the lost. I need to follow  God's plan -- living his truth, listening for his voice in Scripture, and following the lead of his Spirit. Things that look good and enticing, may be the very things that will ruin my life and take me places I do not want to go. The struggles of this life are there to develop our character so I rely on God's spirit to guide us and show us the way. If I rely on my own merits and strength, we will listen to a truth, but not the truth that leads me from temptation and evil. Let God's spirit lead me from temptation and follow God's plan, not my plan.


LORD, please give me the ability to discern truth and resist the deception of Satan. Please empower me by your Spirit as I seek to live victoriously for you.

Time for a Move?

The holidays bring us memories of not just the holidays but memories of things that did not go so well or relationships that  are still not mended in our families and friends

In Exodus, go to the scene just before the dramatic crossing of the Red Sea. The Egyptian enemies are close on the heels of the Israelites, who take this opportunity to whine to Moses about being stuck out into the desert to die when they could have just as easily died in Egypt. Moses gives an inspiring speech concluding with:

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14 NIV).


This is a good  since it is a struggle to remain still and let the Lord fight instead of trying to dig out of the messes I make. You need  to keep reading in Exodus 14. Evidently, the Lord was not quite as inspired by Moses' words as me. The very next verse says, "The Lord said to Moses,

'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on."

I love that. Sometimes I just need to move on -- the Lord says so Himself.

Need to apologize to someone? Apologize. Move on.

Need to forgive someone? Forgive. Move on.

Just move on.


As Christians, wear the name of the One who set us free from bitterness,  fear, and anger, but often we live like we don't wear the very name of Christ, a name defined by selfless love and forgiveness.

There are times to let the Lord fight for you and be still, but there
are times when the Lord says  "Quit whining and MOVE ON." This can be a season for change.

Apologize. 

Forgive. 

Let go.

Move on.

Lord,

let me be a person of forgiveness and help me to  move on with your grace, mercy and love

More Bad Waiting

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12, New International Version

Back to the Christmas catalogs. This was even a worse problem for me when I was growing up. We owned a Toy and Hobby store and we lived in the back of the store and above the store. The line between home and work was, basically none. We had dinner interrupted most nights and someone had the responsibility to go out in the store if someone came in during dinner.

This time of the year we were always getting ready for Christmas and all the Christmas Toys and Hobbies would start arriving by the truck load. We had stuff all over the place. The stuff   saw in the catalogs over the summer when we ordered for Christmas was right at my fingers. So, I had to wait from the summer until Thanksgiving to see all the things we ordered, BUT I still couldn't touch them because they were for the store.

I am bad at waiting and this was a painful experience. It was like  having your hand an inch away from the candy jar but I know I could not touch it!

Maybe this is where I developed the "bad at waiting" syndrome!

No, that is too easy.

My bad at waiting was something that was a result of me wanting to control situations and get things when I wanted them. This is not how faith works.  This is not how God intended us to be. My sinful nature allowed me to think I was in control of waiting, but I am not God is. 

If my hope is in me, then I will be disappointed. 

If my hope is in my strength, I will be disappointed. 

If my trust is in me, I will be disappointed

BUT,

When my hope is in the Lord and the  longing of the spirit arrives, I cannot take any credit for what happened. It is not me in any shape form or manner.


Lord, I long for fulfillment as the tree of life grows in the garden. Let me rest in your spirit, have your spirit fill me with your grace and be merciful on me as I trust in your for the longings of my heart.

My trust is in YOU

Bad at waiting

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
 -- Hebrews 11:13



Earlier in the month, God was really putting something on my heart and it just won't go away. It is the aspect of faith and how I in the past wanted to to be faithful but the keyword is  I ! I wanted to put my faith in me. God has showed me how wrong this was. My faith was in him but I could get rid of the me part. He has shown me the me doesn't matter and it is all him . Our faith is in those things we cannot see and how God is "working behind the scenes " so we cannot take any credit for what is going on or put ME in the middle. It is God all the way and none of it is me.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

I'm not good at waiting for much of anything. I'm like the kids who have seen the catalogs for Christmas toys and are anxious for the big gift day. God does have a great Gift Day ahead for me. On that  day, all my waiting will be over and my faith will become clear. Let me  live the example of these great heroes of faith, and welcome that day right now, right here, by anticipation, praising God for his victory through Jesus Christ in our lives.


Victorious King, Ruler of the Ages, I praise you for the resurrection that lies ahead for me. I thank you in advance for the day I get to see you face to face and join the great celebration of heaven.  I thank you for the end of me and the beginning of you. I thank you for this great example of faithfulness. I thank you for your love and for your son Jesus Christ who without him  all this would not be possible. I thank you for your mercy and grace and how you show it to me every day. Until that day, please use me to help others glimpse the character and joy of your great victory.

Gaining Judgement

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue.
   -- Proverbs 11:12
   


   If I have wisdom I don't have to prove myself  wisdom by disrespecting others and putting them down. Instead, I need hold my tongues and let my life speak what is good, honorable, righteous, and true. it is too easy to see something wrong and criticize what others are doing. It is hard to hold my tongue some times but God can do this. He has shown me great restraint in situations where my human nature would have been bad. He is faithful and can impart wisdom, if we ask.

Lord, give me wisdom in the way I use my speech. May it be a blessing to others and a source of praise to you.

WISDOM RECEIVED- Just ask for it

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5, New International Version

Wow, I can use some of this and I just have to ask for it? God is not telling us we need wisdom. He is asking us if we lack wisdom. This is an important point for me. If I am trying to do  this adventure in life on my own, then there is no way possible I will ask for something I think I do not need. My human nature will take over and say to myself, "I am a pretty smart guy", "I seem to be getting along ok". Me in this condition is not ready to ask God for wisdom since I am trying to do it all by myself. If I am in the Word and I have a relationship with God,

I will realize I cannot do it on my own.

I will realize that without God I am nothing.

I will realize that my sinful nature will not even think of asking God for wisdom because I can do it by myself.

Lord, help me to seek you and love you. I acknowledge my sinful nature and my lack of going to you and asking for wisdom. Help me seek you and what you want for me and let me rest in the wisdom you can give me as the adventure in life continues

Obedience

Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so
that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that
you are crossing the Jordan to possess...
 -- Deuteronomy 11:8



God's desire that I obey his will is not arbitrary, impulsive, or demanding. He simply wants me to reflect his character, find his blessings, and receive his strength. Keep me  from looking at obedience merely as something I must do, but as a blessing I get to discover and benefit from EVERY DAY because I am following your will.

LORD and Father, thank you for revealing your will and calling me to obey it. I know your desire is to share your blessings with me and bring me into your eternal presence. 

Helping the weak

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him
in times of trouble.

Psalm 41:1, New International Version

Our Christian faith is based on help the poor and the weak. God wants us to use what we have to help others. It does not mean we should feel guilty for having money and nice things. We should not covet these things but use them for God's service. AND, we should be thankful and gracious for what God has done for us. We need to  use the gifts he has given us to help those who are in need and that we may have the opportunity to  minister to them in God's name.

Lord, Help me to minister to those who are weak, in trouble, poor and destitute, for our reward is in heaven.

Looking for Trouble?

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34, New International Version

Wow! how this is so true. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Aot of it I make for myself!

As I meditate  these words of Jesus, I must recognize that worry and planning ahead are different things. Jesus said that is is unreasonable not to do some essential planning. (Luke 14:28-31) Still, I have battled worry at points in my life. I go to bed with that nagging concern about what will happen "tomorrow." (Clearly Jesus is referring to worrying about what will happen in the future and not just literally tomorrow.) It may be a conflict that troubles us. It may be a mess at the office that must be confronted. It may be facing someone who has hurt us or that we have hurt or it may be that financial doubt about paying bills.  Jesus wants me to let go of our anxiety. I must live in the present moment. There are too many opportunities I could miss today by worrying about what might happen tomorrow. The Lord could come between now and tomorrow and all my worry would have been stupid. The Lord may be at work in the situation during today, in ways I cannot not comprehend, and my problems are not as insurmountable as they seem today.If the bad thing were to happen, our worry will have needlessly stolen the joy out of today.Let me sure I fill up today with God's Kingdom priorities and then I can deal with tomorrow’s mess when, and if, it ever comes.

Hebrew 11:1 says ...to be certain about the things we cannot see

Almighty and great God, I believe tomorrow is in your hands, so I will rest myself in your grace today as I seek to live for you. Please open my eyes to see the opportunities you provide today so that I can serve you and do your
Kingdom work with focus, courage, and clarity.

The Highway of Life

The highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his life.

Proverbs 16:17, New International Version

If I think about the modern highway, what comes to mind is chaos and confusion. A place where peace is absent and being on your guard for disaster is  vigilant and wise. Those who drive down the Northway every morning know what I am talking about It is a dangerous place where there are accidents most mornings. I wouldn't call the Northway evil but is a place where the best of people is not always shown and danger is present.

In contrast, God wants me to avoid evil and guard my life. It is dangerous all around and  evil exist where we least expect it. I need to guard myself from evil and the only way I can do this is to be immersed in the Word and have the spirit of God dwell in me. I need to talk to God every day and thank him for the work of Christ and how he has accepted me while I was STILL a sinner and what a gift this is from him. I need to pray for myself and others that God would be merciful on me and the people around me. The highway of Life is a dangerous place but not if we submit to God and his laws and precepts that he is our guide and he is going before us on the Highway of Life.

Lord, As the adventure of life continues, keep me safe, protect me, guide me and love me as we travel down the highway of life together.

Awesome Presence

Correct me, LORD, but only with justice not in your anger,lest you reduce me to nothing.
  -- Jeremiah 10:24
 

 I love a request that a good friend regularly makes of the Lord: "Humble me gently, Father." Transformation is hard work and requires even more patience on God's part than it does on our part. We thank God for his grace which lets us admit our sin and yet still come into his holy and awesome presence. Thankfully he doesn't treat us as we deserve, but as we need (cf. Psalm 103).


 Dear God, I sin. I don't like it that I do, but I still find myself succumbing to sin . Please correct me and put me on the path of righteousness. Even more than  wanting to please you, I want to honor you, so please, gently and consistently rid my heart of duplicity, deceit, and spiritual weakness. Nurture me in holiness. Change me to be more like Christ. Thank you for not treating me like  I deserve but loving me.

Last in Line

Mathew 20:16
"So the last shall be first, and the first last."


Yesterday during the election, I heard alot about people who wanted to be first in line to vote. What I was thinking during the day was this is counter intuitive to what scripture says in Matthew.

This text is the heart of Matthew 20, and its not particularly an easy text. Generally most people would prefer being first in most things that are good or enjoyable. First choice is generally the best choice, Even in the expression "saving the best till last" – its not that you didn’t want it first, but rather it is a discipline which has taught us that sometimes there are other things which once done, will permit us to savor something with uninterrupted pleasure.

Everything around us says the best is first and the first is best – well almost everything – sometimes when it comes to work, or a call for volunteers – thought to let someone else go first, which may be to our advantage if we didn’t want to do it anyway. So, in most cases, my first choice will always be what is most advantageous, to me.

God’s ways are not man’s ways – and God reveals this in the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Those who got hired last, were paid first, but everyone received the same wage. It didn’t seem fair then, and it doesn’t seem fair now. But the point is not – everyone receives the same, the point is everyone receives what they need – the point is that God can be generous – and that we should not be jealous when God is generous – but to be thankful everyone receives what they need.

Our God is great and generous. Help me Lord to be more like you as I labor in this life for you.

FEAR FACTOR

Fear is a natural part of the human condition

So, what's your worst fear? What robs you of peace? What clouds your
view of the horizon? Whatever it is, wouldn't it be nice to get rid of
it? Maybe I can't fix all of your problems, but I can tell you how to
recover your peace and maybe even get to where you can sleep at night.
Here's what a man named Paul wrote many years ago: "Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). "Sure," you say. "Easy for this guy
Paul. He wasn't facing what I'm facing." While that's probably true,
Paul certainly was not living the life of ease when he wrote those
words. He was in chains in a Roman jail cell. He wasn't serving out a
sentence; he was awaiting a probable execution.

So listen to his words. He knows how to face fear. As Paul said, God
can give you a peace that goes beyond what is reasonable, that goes
beyond human understanding. He can teach you to take all of those
problems, bundle them up, and give them to him.

Put all our cares and fears before Gd and he will come near to you.
Help me Lord to keeo you  up, front and center!

Thirsty?

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42

The Psalmist asked an obvious question here that sounds like we should ponder the answer. In looking at the first part of the sentence, My Soul thirsts... Where do I go to if I am thirsty? I go right to the source of water to get a drink. So where do I go if my soul is thirsty for the living God?

Nowhere and everywhere.

God is with us in when we are sleeping. He is with us when we are awake.

God is with us.

If I acknowledge I need him.

I need you Lord in the dark of the night and the dawn of the day. Draw me near as the person who is very thirsty for you as you are the giver of life and the thirst for the soul.

May I be really thirst today as the week begins with you. Let me live with you, draw me to the source of life!

Watch you lips

  Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my
 lips (Psalm 141:3 NIV). Take control of what I say, O Lord, and
 guard my lips (NLT). Help me to guard my words whenever I say
 something (CEV).

Father, put a guard over my mouth when I am about to say something I
should not say. Whether it is a word that is untrue, a word that is
negative, a word that is critical, or a word that discourages, Lord,
stop the words before they come out of my mouth. Close the door of my
lips and prevent the words from leaving my mouth.

Father, take control of what I say. Help me think before I speak. Help
me pause before I speak. Help me consider my audience before I speak.
Some things are inappropriate for some to hear. Some things are
inappropriate for all to hear. Some things do not need to leave my
mouth. Father, guard my lips and control what I say.

Father, help me guard my words when I say something. Help me make sure
that the words I speak are worth hearing. If they are not, let me be
silent. Being quiet may be better than being foolish. Being silent may
be better than being critical, judgmental, or destructive.

Father, sometimes there are words of encouragement that need to pass
through my lips, let them through. Sometimes there are words of hope
that need to be spoken, let me speak them. Sometimes there are words of
exhortation that need to be shared, please don't let me remain quiet
during those moments.

Father, there are times when someone needs to hear that I love them,
let me say those words. There are times when someone needs to hear that
I appreciate them, let me say those words. There are times when someone
needs to hear something hopeful, let me say those words.

Help me to guard my words whenever I say something.


Father, there are times when I am afraid to speak. Please remove the
fear that prevents me from speaking on behalf of the weak, the
oppressed and the helpless. Please remove the fear that keeps me quiet
when a child is neglected, abused, or ignored. Please remove the fear
that prevents me from speaking when someone needs to hear of Your love
for them. Help me never to miss an opportunity to speak for You.

Father, there are times when I need to speak, and times when I need to
be quiet. Give me the wisdom to know the difference and the courage to
respond accordingly.

Father, guard my lips. Open them when they need to be opened and allow
the words that need to pass through them to pass. Close them when they
need to be closed and prevent any word that might do damage to another
soul from passing through.

Help me to guard my words whenever I say something.

 I promise you that on the day of judgment, everyone will have to
 account for every careless word they have spoken (Matthew 12:36
 CEV).

Lord You are in control if I yield to your wisdom and guidance.  Guide my paths as you work on my heart for you.

Real FAITH

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see.
   -- Hebrews 11:1
     


  "I believe, but help my unbelief!" That's what the father of the boy with convulsions said to Jesus (Mark 5). This must sometimes be my prayer, too. As I look at the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, I know this must have been their prayer as well. Their faith wasn't always perfect. Their trust wasn't always mature. But, they stayed at it; they believed and acted with a relentless assurance that somehow, some way, God WOULD act and deliver. Let me  stay at it with that kind of faith, too!
As a new month of the journey continues, your spirit and love need to continue to do their work in me as you refine what you have already started.

  Dear God, "I believe, but help my unbelief." Please mature and empower my faith so that my life will be a steadfast and consistent testimony to your presence and grace. 

Help me not only to hold on to faith but to have it GROW as  you work in me!

Three Legged Race

Recently was I reading an analogy very applicable to daily life and me, in particular. Simple messages provide great truths in how we are to live our lives in the way God desires us to live.

"It'll get better if you get closer."

John's mom laughs as she untangles five-year-old John and Malakai, two
boys practicing for a three-legged-race at a community gathering.

But our Malakai is close to tears as I unknot him from a snarl of arms
and legs and feet. "Really, if you'll get closer, put your arms around
each other, you'll find it gets easier."

John's mom takes an arm and wraps it around a shoulder and I find one
too and direct it around a neck, and the boys shyly giggle and step out
again. "One-two! One-two! One-two!"

John's mom chants, and I cheer, and the boys stride off in rhythm, arms
flung over shoulders. And the boys turn faces to each other, happy eyes
shining, and belly-laugh. Us mamas can't help but laugh too. They're
maneuvering life's tangle!

For isn't family life a bit of a three-legged race? Days tie us
together, and schedules trip us up, and everything snarls. We stumble
and fall and it hurts. "It'll get better if we get closer." Because
relationship -- love -- is the most transformative force in the
universe. It's what God wants with us: intimate relationship. Get
closer. And it will get better.

Too often, I buy the lie, the one the serpent hisses.

* Speak harsher and it will get better. (More tasks will get
accomplished.)

* Push harder and it will get better. (More places can get crammed
into the hours.)

* Bluster longer and it will get better. (More life squeezed into
life.)

But don't I know it? "A brother offended is harder to be won than a
strong city ..." (Proverbs 18:19). The harshness, the blustering, the
pushing, offends and we trip. Knees and elbows smash and we bruise. It
gets harder to get up.

A flurry of accomplishments will not get us happily across life's
finish line. Tasks aren't the purpose or the priority. If to-do lists
are what compel us, inevitably, we'll stumble. Because that's not the
essence of family life. The essence of family life is the care of
souls.

When we tenderly draw near, collect hearts, wrap each other in arms and
love, we hit our stride. The three-legged race (or five legged or seven
legged or ten legged race) becomes a happy delight. We get closer. And
it gets better.

What I'm learning as we step (sometimes fumble) through the
three-legged race of family life, these ways of getting closer
genuinely make it better:

* Reach out and gently touch when you talk; make it a practice to
always connect before your direct.

* Fully listen to conversations with your ears, eyes, whole body
language. Smile into eyes.

Relationship is ... all there is.

* Make time for walks, a mug of hot chocolate, a chapter of a book
read aloud together. There's no better way to spend time than
making time.

* Fill your words with the affection you feel. Children don't assume
they're loved when our words aren't loving.

* Tuck in with long talks in the dark, a foot rub, prayers. It's the
happiest way to finish a day.

* Slow down: the priority is hearts not household tasks. Take a deep
breath and preach to yourself often: "I want to be, more than I
want to do."

Relationship is not just the priority. It's all there is. Our family
relationships are hallowed. Aren't they forever? (And, yes, true, clean
floors and schedules aren't.)

The three-legged boys practice intently and when the race begins, I'm
at the other end, arms wide open, ready for Malakai and John as they
step, tumble, laugh across the finish line.

And when they fall into me and I wrap them up, this happiness feels
good. We're closer and it couldn't be better.

Lord, cause me to draw near today -- to You, to others. Relationship is
all there is.

BE WISE

Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right
path.

Proverbs 23:19, New International Version

There are so many paths I can take during the course of the day. Most are heading in the wrong direction. Without God's guidance and wisdom, most likely I will be on the wrong path. Lord guide me and hold me has I continue on the wild ride of life. Keep me on your path. The path of righteousness and mercy that can only be found in you.

HOPE

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him

Psalm 62:5

I have always thought I placed my hope in God but God is teaching me that his spirit must live in me , ALIVE, every day or my hope will wander to the human pursuits surrounding my environment. I need to daily go before the Lord and and seek his presence so I may be immersed in his spirit. I need to have daily conversations with God as I seek his will. His peace will grip me as I quietly wait for him.

For my Hope is in Him!

Joy of Your Presence ( Revisited )

Psalm 16

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Knowing that God has me at his right hand and that he will not abandon me is reassuring and provides great comfort. He also leads me down the right path so I may be filled with his presence.

It is simple but true, God is my guide and our comforter and will NEVER leave me or abandon me.

HE loves us FOREVER.

Lord, help me use this words as my comfort and encouragement as you lead me through today and in the future. Thank you for calling me into your presence!

Permanent Record Card

We always used to fool with my friends in high school who went to Catholic school telling them they better not screw up or it would go on their permanent record card. I am glad we have another view from scripture.


Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins. (Psalm 130:1-8 NIV).

Here's a thought  to ponder as you go through your day: What if
the Lord kept a record of our sins?

The Psalmist says if the Lord did keep a record of sins, no one can
stand (vs. 2). "Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my
voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy" (Vs. 1-2).

How would you respond? "Oh my! I'm in trouble!" "Tell me it's not
true!" "I knew all that talk about grace and mercy was too good to be
true." "I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips among a people of
unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5).

It is a horrible thought, isn't it? Every sin you've ever committed
would be kept on file. All kinds of questions race through your mind.
Is the file locked? Who has the key? Would it be possible to have the
key? There is no hope. I am doomed!

Then, in verse 4 our fears are relieved when he says, "But with you
there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared" (NIV). "As it turns
out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why you're worshiped" (The
Message). "But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you"
(The New Living Version).

From fear to RESPECT.

From dread to HOPE.

From anxiety to RELIEF.

From sorrow to JOY.

From the worst news possible to the best news possible.

"With you there is forgiveness."

Thank You, Lord, for being a God who offers forgiveness.

FREEDOM?

"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial.
"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive.
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
-- 1 Corinthians 10:23-24



Freedom is a wonderful gift! Freedom in Christ is greater than any other kind of freedom. God entrusts it to me as an individual. But, I don't want to use my freedom to impinge on someone else's freedom.I don't want my liberty to cause others to sin or to lose sight of Christ. So I need to use my freedom wisely and have my freedom in Christ be an example to all those who are around me. I want to make sure in the days ahead that I do not seek my own good but seek the good of others so I can really experience the freedom in Christ because of what he did for me on the cross. That is a freedom that will last an eternity.

What Can we Learn From Trees?

As fall turns to winter and the trees lose their leaves, God reminds us of his faithfulness

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the
scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law
he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose
leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper (Psalm
1:1-3 NKJV).

The Psalmist says that a godly person is like a tree in three very important ways.

First, he is planted -- he's got his roots put down deep, he's
fortified, stable.

Second, he bears fruit -- he develops godlike qualities in his
character and life.

Third, he doesn't wither -- he is able to survive under all
circumstances, even days of difficulty.

May my spiritual life take on the qualities of a tree planted by the rivers of water and watched over by the Spirit of God as Christ dwells in me and makes me to who he want me to be.

Showers Likely

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing
love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the
LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
  -- Hosea 10:12
   

 What a great challenge! Even more great is the promise
that God will help me break up the unplowed ground in my heart as
I seek him. He will pour out his blessings and his righteousness
on me as I pursue his righteousness.


 O LORD Most High, use your Holy Spirit to purify and cultivate
my heart so that it is soft and receptive to your will and
compassionate to those in need. Make it a holy place for your
Spirit to live.