Pattern...

I've used one to make a dress and pants.
I've used one to do cross stitch.
I've used one to shape a cake into a bunny rabbit.

There are patterns for all those things. Examples to follow. Instructions.

Scripture gives us patterns.  Jesus Himself was and is the very Pattern of life.  He didn't draw it out or write it on paper.  He lived it.  We can never have the excuse that God doesn't know how difficult it is to follow the pattern of His holiness.  Jesus knows.  So God knows....

This morning, my attention is drawn to Isaiah 12.  There is a pattern there.  A pattern of praise.

We love to sing songs about heaven.
We sing songs that say "I'll fly away.....when I die..... I'll fly away."
We sing songs of encouragement to each other. "Hold to God's unchanging Hand...."
We sing about blessing, "count your blessings, name them one by one..."
We sing wishing to "...hear mother, pray again."

I do love to sing. And all those things are great things to sing about.  In fact, I am very particular about what I WILL sing.  I opt out of singing something if the lyrics go against what is true and right.

Isaiah 12 has a pattern. 

I am thankful for forgiveness. (vs.1)
I fear God, but I am not afraid of Him. He is trustworthy. (vs.2)
I ultimately have no strength, His is limitless and is mine for the asking. (vs.2)
I am free to take from Him what sustains and refreshes, and saves. (vs.3)
When I have experienced His love, I can not help but share it. I must help others remember. (vs. 4)
It is to my own benefit to acknowledge and appreciate the excellent things He has done. (vs.5)
The Holy One of Israel is still in our midst. (vs.6)

A pattern of praise....  
I am thankful for the blessings of His Hand...but is His Face I seek.
I purpose to praise HIM.
He is always and only...good.

Storms...

I've ridden out a few pretty scary ones.  I've put my kids under the bed and in the closet.  I've put other people's children in a bathtub and covered them with pillows.  I've ministered to people who left everything behind and were at other people's mercy for food, clothing, and shelter.

Tornados.  Hurricanes. 

We can know about these kinds of storms.  We can be warned and take steps to prepare. If we are wise....

There are other storms in life that come without warning. The doctor says 'it's cancer'. The officer says 'there's been an accident'.  A spouse says 'I'm leaving'. 

Nothing we can manage prepares for that kind of storm. But like all storms of life, they blow in, damaging everything in proximity. Ripping  shelter, dislodging foundation, taking what was 'ours'.

When the storm comes and goes, those who remain take stock of what is left behind. Decisions are made, pieces are picked up, broken pieces inspected and repaired or discarded.

We are wise to prepare for storms.  We are wise to have a strong relationship with The One Who is Master over every storm.

For THAT is the only real way to prepare for storms.....


"When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever."
(Prov. 10:25)

Dining...

We have a culture fascinated with eating out.  When we were raising our children, it was a luxury we seldom experienced.  But we did dine!  We ate very well.

 Big meals, home raised beef, home grown vegetables....oh yes.  We ate very well.

We didn't think up this concept of entertaining ourselves around a table filled with food. Table fellowship is almost as old as humanity. Food is indeed vital for our existance. 

And gluttony is indeed a misuse of the Creator's design.  Seems man can misuse every single thing God has created....

Fellowship around a dining table can be so good for us, or so very wrong....

Scripture is rich with stories that include the dinner table. 
I found this warning in my morning quiet time....
"When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,  and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive."      (Proverbs 23:1-3)Sitting together with a table of food can be much more than a time to taste food and fill a belly. It can be a time to bond with other people, and even a time to be caught off gaurd in compromise.  We are admonished to carefully consider what it is that's on the table.  Often, it is not just food. 

Indulging the appetite of our human flesh has always gotten us into lots of trouble.  Self-restraint is an exercise lost on many of us for the most part, whether it is over eating or some other excessive behavior. 

Food can and should be enjoyed, but I wonder that we don't get caught up in 'craving delicacies'...pleasing our bodies and  poisoning them at the same time. 


I purpose to enjoy the people at the table more than the food on it.

Home...

Home.... Webster says it is the 'sacred refuge of our life'.

Some online definitions I saw were 'the physical structure within which one lives'.
Another, 'the social unit formed by a family living together'.
Yet another, 'the place or region where something is native or most common'.


Words are so powerful. A simple four letter word... 'home', so full of application.

There are a lot of people who are homeLESS.  The saddest of those are the people who have big houses, and yet are homeless.

There are homeless people who own places, even lots of land....and never are 'home'.

There are people who are surrounded by people, live among them...with them...and are homeless.


I am blessed with a physical structure to live in. I am blessed with a husband who loves and cherishes me. I am still geographically in the same area that has always been home.

Yet sometimes the world around me and all that is in it seems so foreign. There have been so many compromises, so many alterations, so many adaptations, so much has changed.  Sometimes I feel quite homeless.


"....But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They married their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage. And they worshiped their gods. The People of Israel did evil in GOD's sight. They forgot their GOD and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses. (Judges 3:5-7 from The Message)

 I am called to love, sent to disciple, and instructed to be light in dark places. 

But I never want to feel at home among people who have compromised God's standard and refuse to line up their lives with His design and plan.

"...We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."(2Cor. 5:8)


There are days when I so identify with Paul......days when my spirit longs to cry out "Come Lord Jesus."     

Yet there are those who are not ready....
  

Driven...

Power. Money. Success.  We Americans seem to be driven by them. We drive ourself, and we drive others....pushed by a need and want for more, more, more....

As I begin in John 10 I realize that God has never driven me . It is my own desire that has driven me. Sometimes that desire has been to be more Christlike and driven me to seek Him with an honest an undivided heart.

Sometimes that desire has driven me away from Him.

Jesus  is a Shepherd not like a cattle driver.  Which causes me to remember how my father-in-law would deal with his cattle.  He led them.  He had a certain call.  They recognized him and would follow him into the corral.  They were led.  Not driven. 

I am led.  I want to be led. 

Whether led to it, led around it, led away from it, or led right through it...I purpose to follow Him.

I purpose to listen and follow His Voice, never to balk and run or to be driven by my own wrong desire.


(.....I understand a shepherd would sometimes injure the leg of a disobedient sheep, carry it on his own shoulders until it was able to walk again.  The sheep would become close and very bonded to the shepherd while being carried around, and when the sheep was able to walk and put down, it stayed as close to the shepherd as it could get...   Sounds a bit familiar....)    

Kicked out....

Ever been kicked out? 

I remember being kicked out of a click of girls in school. Of course, I was taken back in a week or so and somebody else was kicked out. 

I've known of people getting kicked out of college. 
I've known of people getting kicked out of a movie theatre.
I've even known kids who got kicked out of their home.

Most of the time, getting kicked out is a result of bad behavior...though not always.  (...I don't remember that I behaved badly in school, but maybe I did...and I am regretful this morning to have participated in that kind of behavior towards anyone else..)

As I continue to reflect on the man with new vision in John 9, I see that he got kicked out. 

This man, blind for as long as he had lived, now sees.  He is interrogated about it as if he had done something wrong. His family is approached. He is challenged about his honesty. The religious leaders throw out their chests and wave their credentials.

Then they kick him out.

Oh that will resolve it....right.  NOT!!

Rather than listen honestly and consider the testimony.....they kick him out.
Rather than honestly consider why they are so against such a wonderful thing....they kick him out.

I am thankful that I am given sight. It matters that some people don't understand. I may be 'kicked out' of certain circles, ridiculed, accused, or avoided. 

But that's ok.  I'll just keep trusting Him......the One Who gave me sight and directs my steps.

Declare...

I remember hearing my grandmother say "......well, ... I declare !!!  "

I don't recall just what it was that she ever declared, but whatever it was, I would have believed her. 

Being believed is a valuable thing. 

Continuing my study in John 9 where  John records the story of the blind man that Jesus' healed.  Afterwards, he is bombarded with questions.  Why were you blind in the first place? Were you really blind?  Are you pretending to be that blind man that has always been down on the corner? Just who did this supposed miraculous thing?  How was this done? If that happened, it was illegal !

ugh... 

I sure understand the response of this man with new vision.... "....I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see." (John 9:25 The Message)


I declare....I have been blind.  And Jesus has given me new sight. 

Why....

We look for reasons. We want to explain...

"...who sinned.... causing him to be born blind?"
( Jesus' disciples concerning a blind man in John 9:2)


"...I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble.. reap it."
(Job's friend Eliphaz in Job 4:8)

The age-old question...why do bad things happen to good people?

"No one is good, except God alone."
( Jesus Christ in Mark 10:18)

I suppose perhaps the question should be why not?

While scripture clearly teaches that we reap what we sow, it is also clear that we don't always get what we deserve.

Paul didn't deserve to be an apostle. (1 Cor. 15:9)
The centurion didn't deserve having his servant restored to health. (Matt. 8:8)
The prodigal son didn't deserve to be restored into the family. (Luke 15:21)
Jacob didn't deserve protection from Esau. (Gen. 32:10)

....and I have done nothing to deserve the privileged life I have enjoyed.

Why was I born into a church-going Bible-believing family?
Why was I born an American and not an Ethiopian?
Why have I not had some dreaded disease?
Why do I not have a physical disability?

There is no answer. Certainly, the reasons are not of my own doing.

What IS of my doing is the choices I have made. I can prevent some bad things from coming into my life sometimes, simply by choosing to be obedient and NOT choosing the participate in evil. (...it's that same principle of choosing evil, picking and eating the fruit from that awful tree...)

But just because I don't, doesn't guarantee a trouble-free life.

Just ask Job.

Can't....

Somewhere in my life I've heard it said that  'Cain't couldn't never do nuthin'....' 
It was an admonition to make an effort.  It was a warning that if you decide you can't succeed before you even try, you will certainly NOT succeed.

There is truth in the saying.

 We have to WANT to try....and it is really hard to want to do some of the really hard things...  Our flawed nature does not naturally WANT what is good and right.  In that, I'm afraid that it is true that we 'cain't' do 'nuthin' about it.

But God can.  And He will, but only by our honest request and permission, only according to His will and not our own.


"  You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair.   I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born.

  What you're after is truth from the inside out.

Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.  

Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.  
God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.  Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.

 (selected verses, Psalm 51 from The Message)



We certainly 'cain't' do 'nuthin' about our flawed nature.  How thankful I am that He is willing to restore mine....

"...Change my heart, O God,

Make it ever true...

Change my heart, O God...

May I be like You. "

Left....

I've never been much of an Elvis fan.  He could sing pretty well, and I could enjoy listening to some of his stuff, it depended on the genre...

I remember the saying, 'Elvis has left the building...'.  I understand that was first said after Elvis had in fact left the performing auditorium, and it was said in order to encourage people to remain in their seat and watch the rest of the show. (..seems people wanted to follow Elvis off stage instead of hear the next performers....)



Now I in no way equate Elvis with God.. but God left a building too.  God's Shekinah glory once lit the tabernacle. (Ex. 40:34) 

But then, because of man's disobedience and rebellion,  "....the Glory of GOD left..." (Ez. 10:18)

God left the building.  (...how sad, yet again, is the response of humanity to the Person of God.)



When God filled the tabernacle with His glory, there was no need of light.  After He left, candelabras were set up to dispel the darkness within the tabernacle.

Hundreds of years later, Messiah Jesus, God in flesh, spoke in an area of the temple, the temple where those candles were still burned. (John 8:20)


God had now returned.

He had returned to 'the building'. Not a cloud of smoke or fire this time, but in the Person of Jesus Christ.  (how sad, even again, the response to the Person of Jesus Christ, God in flesh.)



He told them He would leave again.  (John 8:21)  And He did.

But He left us the benefit of His light.  We don't have to burn candles nor do we grope around in darkness. He has given us His Word, and has sent the Helper to be with us in His place. 

.....until He comes back yet again.  One last time.

Stoning....

Throwing rocks.  AT a living person. Until they die.  That is what stoning is.

It was the death penalty of Biblical time. (...still practiced in some cultures today)

It just sounds horrible to me.  I can't fathom throwing a rock at somebody, especially with the intentions of it being a death blow. 

The religious leaders'  in John 8 suggested a stoning.  Not because they wanted justice, but because they manipulated the rules for their own purpose.


That old saying about sticks and stones?  It's a lie.  Words hurt and can bring about death. 

So I repent this morning as God shows me my words can be spewed out like stones at some guilty person, not because I'm concerned with justice, but because I too am capable of manipulating the rules for my own purpose. 

Lord, give me a heart like Yours...full of mercy and compassion.  I purpose not to be an executioner of those caught in sin, but an encourager, encouraging  them to leave it behind.

Finagle...

It's an odd word.  I've heard it used for years, it's certainly not a new term.

It is defined as.... "to obtain or achieve something by using shady behavior, manipulation, or deception; achieve by indirect, usually deceitful methods"

That's what the religious leaders did in John 8, and they used only one of  two equally guilty people caught in the very act of adultery. 

They used the woman to finagle a trap. (..musta been a neighborhood good ole' boy... he didn't get drug out into the street like she did...)

They had an agenda.....to discredit this Teacher who was gaining favor with the public, they intended to find something wrong with Him.

Finagle.

  They would protect their agenda, keep their (un)holy huddle in tact, and not share the limelight with Him or anyone else.  They would remain top dog.

Finagle.


Why is honesty so difficult for us?  Why can't we just deal with each other as we are?

 Why do we finagle?

What is so difficult about simply speaking plain and truthful? Truth in love....no better way.  Certainly better than the best finagle.



One of the things that makes it so difficult for me is the hard truth that people don't handle truth. (...I'm hearing Jack Nicholson as he portrayed his character in A Few Good Men..)

People don't always handle the truth well.  I often don't handle it well...but I want to be able to BE truthful with others, and I want THEM to handle MY truth.

 I do want to be a big enough person to handle truth with no need of finagling.

 Always.

Caught....

".....and they said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. " (John 8:4)

It is a familiar story to anyone who has been churched.  "The woman caught in adultery"

I have never been an adulteress. But I sure know what it is like to be caught in sin.

The most important thing is my response to having been caught.  Do I try to cover it up? Deny it? Make excuses for it,  in attempt to justify it?

Worse...do I just accept the sin, callousing my heart so that I'm not even bothered about my wrong behavior?

We do that you know.  Just say 'oh well...', and keep right on with the wrong choices and wrong actions.  Pretty soon, we don't have a second thought about our wrong behavior. (...it can even get to feeling right somehow....)   Maybe I'm the only one with that tendancy.  But I doubt it.



I've read this story many times.  One character I don't want to find myself playing is that of the ones who drug this naked, sinful woman to Jesus.  Out into the street, out into public. 

It is easy for me to identify sin in other people. That in itself is not wrong.  Just as it was not wrong for these religious leaders to call this woman to account for her sin, it is not wrong for me to call others to account for their sin.

Their motive had nothing to do with the woman's spiritual welfare. It had to do with promoting their own agenda.

God help me to never have the wrong motive for bringing sinful behavior to the Light of Jesus Christ.

Division...

"...So there was a division among the people because of Him." (John 7:43)

Jesus admonished us to seek unity.

His whole purpose in becoming a human was to bring about a restored relationship with our Creator God.

Yet when He is present, there is a schism.   A divided sentiment.  Divisions in the way people respond....

Jesus never promised superficial harmony.  In fact, He warned us of the opposite. 

"Don't think I've come to make life cozy...... Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies....If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me. (Matt. 10:34-39 The Message)



When I was 12, I recieved a Bible with my name stamped on the front in gold lettering.  There was a poem printed on cardstock in it that I used for a bookmarker.  It is the only poem I can remember much of and I had lost it somehow, somewhere down thru the years.  (....Google can find ANYthing...)

The poem used the word schism.

I had not heard that word and it was hard t find a definition for it. (...didn't have Google then...)

I still have that Bible with it's notes in the margins.  Notes taken from sermons, notes copied from other people...very little notes from sitting alone myself at Jesus' feet with that Bible opened. I had the information drilled into my head....much of it with a certain doctrinal twist.  (...schism...)



That strange word, 'schism' has always stuck with me...and that Bible has become more than ink on a page. I do not tire of the message written within...and I pour over it prayerfully that no preconcieved doctrinal slant (schism) cloud my vision or dull my hearing. 

I want nothing to bring about any division in my heart regarding Jesus.
I purpose to seek Him with a completely undivided heart. 


He has promised that when I do that....He will be found.  (Jer. 29:13)

My Bible And I

We've travelled together,
My Bible and I,
Through all kinds of weather,
With smile or with sigh!
In sorrow or sunshine,
In tempest or calm!
Thy friendship unchanging,
My lamp and my psalm.

We've travelled together,
My Bible and I,
When life has grown weary,
And death e'en was nigh!
But all through the darkness
Of mist or of wrong,
I found there a solace,
A prayer and a song.

So now who shall part us,
My Bible and I?
Shall "isms" or "schisms"
Or "new lights" who try?
Shall shadow for substance,
Or stone for good bread,
Supplant thy sound wisdom,
Give folly instead?

Ah, no, my dear Bible,
Exponent of light!
Thou sword of the spirit,
Put error to flight!
And still through life's journey,
Until my last sigh,
We'll travel together,
My Bible and I.

Publicity....

Publicity is an attempt, deliberately designed to attract and manage public attention.  It is possible to buy it. I don't do it often, but I have paid lots of money for some of it....

Movie stars and politicians are very stratetic about managing how the public percieves them. They go to great lengths to be at the right place at the right time, wearing the right thing, saying the right thing...

The best kind is free.
The best kind can't be bought. 
The best kind is word of mouth....not managed, not designed, not some strategy.

Jesus' disciples would have been publicists if Jesus had cooperated with them. 

As I continue in my study of John's gospel account, I read in John 7 about Jesus' ministry going forward, and it is again near the festival season. (...think 4th of July when everyone rushes to the lake with hamburger and hotdog supplies..) 

Jesus would have participated in these festivities every year as He grew up.  It would have had great religious meaning but would also have been part of His heritage and something He had shared with His family and friends.

"It was near the time of Tabernacles, a feast observed annually by the Jews.   His brothers said, "Why don't you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do.  No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you're serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world."    (John 7:2-4)



Just as the devil had suggested, (Matthew 4:5-6), now Jesus' brothers suggest, "Dazzle them! Show off some of those tricks you can do !! This is a perfect opportunity, all these people in town, everyone receptive to hearing about Messiah, You can take down the house !!"

But....as they should have realized, miracles don't bring about belief.  They had seen, yet demand more miraculous 'proof'. 

Jesus is the most famous person Who ever walked this earth, but His strategy to be in the right place at the right time was not a plan to manage public opinion. 

It was a strategy planned out from eternity past.....

It was a strategy to be in ONLY the right place at the right time....


.......on Calvary's hill, as the Lamb of God, at the time of the final Passover.



Hallelujah.





Devil...

Around Halloween, a devil wears a red suit with a long pointed tail, horns on his head, and a spear in his hand.

I've heard people call a mischievous child a 'little devil'. 

I don't like either.



Jesus faced 'the' devil in the wilderness.

In John 6:70 Jesus spoke of  'a' devil.



 He had been talking to the following crowd  about spiritual food rather than the free fish dinner they had enjoyed previously. In the process, He was exposing false motives.  The real reason they followed Him was not for Who He is, but for what He could do for them. At least in part....

A profound truth I see this morning is that the Word of God brings life, and it divides. 

Some of the people said Jesus' teaching was 'too hard', and left.  They stopped following, stopped seeking Him out, stopped listening.

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. (John 6:67)


I love Peter's answer.

"Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life.We've already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:69 The Message)

But Jesus' response chills me.....

"Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (John 6:70)

I purpose before God this morning to not just 'look' like a follower of Jesus.

I purpose before Him to be authentic. 

Difficult....

"On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" (John 6:60)

Acting in obedience to what God instructs is rarely ANYthing other than difficult.

 Making a decision to follow Christ seems only to make life more difficult. 

Choosing to do what HE says is right is much more difficult than just reacting to our life situations in whatever way we feel at the moment.

Often I have repeated this to Jesus. "This is hard !!"   "Who can do this?" (John 6:60)




"I can"....He whispers.





".....the Spirit of truth.......... you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you........

 I will not leave you...." (John 14:17-18)

Teach....

Continuing in John 6...I think about the crowd of Jews following this new Teacher Jesus. 

They had been fed......miraculously.
People had been healed....miraculously.



I feel sure I would have been right where they were.  Questioning. Drawing on my knowledge of scripture. I'm pretty sure I would not have recognized prophecy fulfilled in this carpenter from Nazareth.....no more than they did.

Why did so many not get it?  Why did they not recognize Him for Who He was...immediately?  They had so much knowledge of scripture, prophecy......




In John 6:45, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 54:13 and Jeremiah 31:31-34, telling the critical Jews who questioned His teaching that "...all will be taught by God.." (John 6:45)

To teach it to communicate to another the knowledge of that of which he was before ignorant. (Webster's definition)



I am struck this morning with that phrase, "taught by God". 

I can learn lots of information. I can replace any area of ignorance with facts and data. I can scrutinize and analyze....

But in matters of God and His Word, what He has said, what He IS saying, what He is doing....I do well to not teach myself.  I may accumulate some knowledge, but that knowledge will be useless unless it is brought to Life by The Holy Spirit of God. 

I purpose today to be taught by God. 

Endures....

Webster says "To last; to continue in the same state without perishing"

In John 6:27 Jesus says, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.."

What does that mean?  I echo the question of the crowd following Him that day. 

As I ponder on the situation recorded in scripture, I see a crowd of people following Jesus because of reasons like the free food and free medical help He was providing.

Why do I follow Him? 



I have learned that my greatest needs are not the immediate needs we all have.  While Jesus is indeed concerned with the needs of my flesh, (He knows about those....personally..), His desire is that I have my eternal needs met.

And those needs are needs that I am absolutely powerless to fill.....


How thankful I am that it is not my own work and labot, but the work of grace, that provides the eternal food that I would die without. 

Eternally....that is beyond a long time.

Recognize...

Webster says "To recollect or recover the knowledge of.."

I read (or heard) somewhere once, that you can't know what you don't know.  Duh..

While it is true that we can only know what we know....it is also true that we CAN know MORE than we know.


It may seem that I'm talking in circles or riddles.....but looking at the events of John 6, I see that Jesus' disciples did not 'recognize' Him.  I wonder...how often is it that I too, do not recognize Him?  

Did they not recognize Him because they did not expect Him to show up?

Or did they not recognize Him because He appeared in an unexpected way?

When the circumstances are stormy, am I frightened and unaware that it is Him approaching?

How do I expect Him to show up in my storm?

 And are those expectations broad enough to recognize Him in whatever way He chooses to show Himself to me in the middle of my own storm?

 "....they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid."
Then they were willing to take him into the boat..."(John 6:19-21)



 I purpose to know more than I know now....I want to know Jesus so intimately, that in whatever frightful situation I face, I will recognize Him in it, that I will know His Presence even before I see with my eyes or understand with my mind.

How thankful I am that His character and nature is one of love and assurance, that even when I do not recognize Him, He calls out to me at just the right moment, comes on board with me in my situation, and comforts me with His Presence.

Hallelujah.

Force...

Jesus could have forced anything He chose.

He could have forced the crowd to leave Him alone to rest. But He chose to calm them, difuse the situation, and feed their bellies.

He did force His disciples into a boat and onto the Sea of Galilee at night.  He told them to go to Bathsaida, and He went back up the hill for the quiet time with God that He had wanted before the interruption of the crowd.

After such compelling instructions, the disciples did as they were told.  Well, maybe...scripture says they set off for Capernaum.  (John 6:17) The two cities are near each other.  Maybe close is good enough....  ?

As I read thru all the gospel accounts of this event, I see that Jesus sent them off, didn't go with them, but saw them from where He was.  "He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them...."(Mark 6:48)

Were the disciples rowing hard in the wrong direction, not headed exactly where they were sent?


I can't know, either way.  But I realize from pondering on this story,  that when I am not in complete obedience to God's instructions, very often I find myself straining against a strong and forceful wind in my own life.

Perhaps the wind was sent to maneuver them back on track in the right direction.  Perhaps not.
Does He send a force of 'wind' to encourage me to stop going in the wrong direction?  I think so.

I know this... My will is mine. God can and will not force me. My choices are mine to make.

But I do well to accept the truth that He is always, always, always right. Whether I like it, agree with it, or understand it....He is right.

I purpose in my heart to go exactly where He instructs, exactly when.....and know that He is watching, always aware of my situation, and will show up at exactly the right time.

He is always, and ONLY, good.














(Mark 6:44-51)

Multiplied....

We learn in the first few years of school what it is for a number to be multiplied.

We learn in Sunday school how God instructed creatures to multiply. Noah unloaded the ark on an earth that had been flooded, and again, God said "...multiply, and fill the earth.." (Genesis 1:22 and Genesis 9:1)

Jesus disciples must have wondered why He didn't cash in on the opportunity to multiply His followers. He was, after all, Messiah...why would He not take advantage of this situation and build up an army of men to help Him bring victory to Israel? Jesus could easily multiply the number of followers...many times over.

But instead of rallying people to that cause, He keeps them quieted and calm, seats them on the grassy field, and multiplies....

Fish. And bread.

"Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish." (John 6:11)



It was Passover season...and Jesus knew that He was the perfect Lamb of sacrifice. He knew what was ahead. He knew the time was getting short. There would soon be another Bread being broken and multiplied.

His Body.




I purpose today, to get involved in breaking that Bread of Life in the multiple opportunities He sets before me.

Jesus asked those with Him that day, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5)

He speaks to me this moment, thru scripture....."I Am the Bread of Life." (John 6:48)

And as He spoke to Peter, He speaks to me....

"Feed my sheep...." (John 21:17)

What I have is less than a fish and a hunk of bread.... But in whatever situation I face, whatever I have, placed in The Hands of Jesus....will be multiplied.

He will make it more than enough.

Hallelujah

But....

When you see that word, look out....you usually see an excuse next.

I continue in John 6:9 this morning...

After being disturbed by a crowd of hungry people, Jesus' asks the disciples where and how these needs could be met.

 "He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." (John 6:6)
He knew the answer before He asked them...but they didn't know, they may not have even considered the needs of these people who had chased after them.

(I'm afraid I'd have been in that mindset...probably just annoyed at the interruption.)

But Jesus causes them to consider other people, so their thoughts begin to turn....and they see the limitations. 

Phillip thinks about the amount....and he thinks in the terms of money.  "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (John 6:7)

Andrew thought about the amount...and he thinks in terms of quantity. "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9)

Both are valid trains of thought... EXCEPT when Jesus is involved.

It is frustrating to face a daunting task when we look at it from a human, practical viewpoint.

We do well to remember that our God is not human. 

I purpose to place my meager little fish in the Hands of Jesus, and trust Him to use what little I have.

No excuses.  No buts...

Interruptions....

Interruptions are annoying.  Our internet is acting up and just when the Netflix show gets exciting....interruption. 

As I begin to study John 6, I wonder how the interruptions were not annoying to Jesus.  Certainly his disciples would have been troubled by the ups and downs of following after Him....the constant conflict with the religious world, the crowds...

Some two years after the wedding in Cana, Jesus has grown quite a following.  A lot of them followed Him just for the novelty....maybe they would get to see Him perform...( a miracle).

Some thought He was indeed the Messiah.

Mark 6:31 tells us that sometimes there was not even time to eat.

I don't know about you, but when my tummy gets really empty, I get impatient.  And grouchy.

As John 6:1 begins, we see Jesus going up a mountain, away from the crowd, taking His disciples with Him for some peace and quiet.  A time of rest...

But they were interrupted.

I imagine how I would have responded.  Tired. Hungry. Emotionally and physically spent.  Finally found a quiet place to just sit with Jesus....personal one on one time.  And here they come, you can easily see them from up the hillside were they sat....coming. 

Picnic and naptime is over.  No more resting.  Jesus looks down at them coming their direction.

 Interruption.

 And instead of looking for an out, maybe slip away somehow, Jesus thinks about the needs of these people who are seeking Him out.

And He sees a teaching moment for His disciples. 

As a disciple of Jesus myself, I don't like interruptions when I have time alone with Him. I love finding a quiet place and just sitting with His Word, prayerfully taking it in...

Interruptions come.

People need to be fed.  People need to know Him, not just me.

He is big enough for the crowd.  The crowd of the entire human race...

The only time Jesus is recorded to have asked His disciples advice, and He asks them how to solve an impossible situation.  How to feed this huge crowd.

He asks us to feed the crowd.  Not with fish...

"Feed My sheep." (John 21:15-17)

What will interrupt my doing that task?

Empowered....

It seems such a simple thing to just 'stop' doing the thing that we should not be doing. We are told in scripture to ".... throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles..."(Hebrews 12:1)

Even when we have the knowledge of the evil, even when we come to fully understand the reasons God has for saying 'don't' .....it is not a simple thing to just 'stop it'. It is not easy to 'throw off' those sins we are entangled in.

So, are we just in a situation that is hopeless? When we try and try....and fail....do we just resolve ourselves to it?

From the story of John 5:1-15, Jesus demonstrated the answer to humanity's dilemma.

We can't just 'stop it'.

If we could, the simple list of ten rules Moses brought down from the mountain would have been humanity's answer.

We don't have the power within ourselves to stop the cycle of sin that started in The Garden.

It takes the Word of God. It takes Messiah Jesus speaking to us. It takes the Presence of The Holy Spirit of God within.

Jesus asked the invalid man, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6)

He still speaks. I echo His question, do you want to be whole?

Do you want to be strengthened, do you want the weakness removed? Do you want to walk on your own power? Do you want to stop depending on the strength of others?

Rather than answer Jesus' question, this man offered Jesus an excuse. Don't we do the same thing?

When He asks me if I want some situation changed, isn't my first response an excuse for being in the situation itself?

As I reflect on this passage, I hear Him say "Connie, if you want things to be different, hear Me....listen for My Voice, and when I speak....get up and walk. Don't wait for someone else to lead the way, don't wait for someone to carry you or lead you by the hand....when I say you can walk, you can walk."



How easily I forget.... What Jesus Christ says, simply IS.

I do well to know what He says, believe what He says, and respond in obedient faith to what He says.

Hallelujah.

Stop......

My son refers often to some comedy he watches where a doctor of some sort councils with his patients to 'just stop!!' the behavior that causes them to suffer.

It's a simple concept.  If something causes you to be sad or be sick....stop.  Just stop it.

It's not always easy to do, but we do have the option of exercising our will and doing just that...

...stop it.


In John 5:14, in His own way, Jesus says 'stop it'.  A man had been cured from something that must have been the result of some lifestyle or behavior.  Maybe he fell down during a drunken state, maybe it was a sexual disease that caused his illness, who knows. 

What strikes me this morning is that Jesus said 'stop'.  "...Behold, you are made whole. Sin no more lest a worse thing come to you."(John 5:14)

All sickness is not necessarily a result of personal sin. You can read thru the book of Job and clearly see that truth. 

While sickness is not always caused by sin, sin always causes sickness.

You sin, you suffer.  Maybe not immediately.  Maybe not physically. But when we choose to go outside the standard that God has set, we WILL suffer.

From this simple lesson I want to take one thing this morning....

...when Jesus heals me in a certain area, when He makes me whole again in some splintered or shattered area of my life, I want never to repeat that mistake again.

Accomplishment...

"....whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." (John 5:4)

The word 'after' in the verse above has to do with an accomplishment.

 The passage talks about a pool of water that occasionally had a 'stirring'...thought to be done by angels.  The phrase about the angels is thought to be a quotation, but even if it is not....even if the water was literally stirred by angels, this thought strikes me....you had to be first.

 You had to accomplish some accomplishment, be the best, the fastest, get there first.

 If you failed, you had to try harder. And harder. 

It was up to you.




As I begin study of John 5, I am thanking God that it is not up to me.

There is not one single thing I can accomplish to get myself cleansed.

 It's not a competition.  It's not about do more, try harder. I don't have to be 'first'. It is simply about Jesus.  He comes to us.

....and when He does, we must offer no excuses...

We must simply trust what He says, and make active steps of obedience.

Relate 2.....

Now I reflect on how Jesus handled the situation of the royal official's request and how he related to this father, and even family who were not directly involved. (John 4:46 ff)

The man's son was sick.

This was a man who had some authority to wield. He was a nobleman either by birth or because of holding some office of the court.

This official knew something about Jesus, and he traveled about a day to get to where Jesus was. His intention is clear...his son was sick and he wanted Jesus to intervene.

I wonder what it was that made him think Jesus could heal his son. It is remarkable that he didn't just send someone to get Jesus.

He left a sick son, and traveled at least a day, to speak to someone he had just heard about. He didn't wield whatever authority he had, he didn't assign the task to someone else, he did it personally, not commanding...just simply requesting that Jesus help.

But he thought Jesus’ physical Presence was the key.

Do I ?

At first, Jesus’ response seems harsh….. "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." ( John 4:48)

Jesus wasn't talking just to this father but to all of them. (..and us.)

Isn’t it like us to want to ‘see’? Don’t we all have the tendency to be in doubt and disbelief until we do?



Jesus’ simple Word is enough. More than enough.

Upon His say-so, it IS. Whatever He says….IS.

I don’t have to see or understand.

I don’t have to believe it for that matter…my belief doesn’t change His power or His character. My belief only changes how He is capable of relating to me.

Jesus said ‘Your son will live.’ This man accepted that as truth and returned to find his son alive and well.

The son had a remarkable turn toward health at the very same time the father had been speaking with Jesus.

"...So he and all his household believed." (John 4:53) 
The family who might have wondered why God would take a precious son too soon, now rejoiced...

Not just over returned health…but rejoiced because they had cultivated within themselves a new and exciting relationship with Emmanuel…God With Us.

Had the son not been sick, the father would not have gone to Jesus, and the entire household may never have been brought to faith in Messiah Jesus.

And I would not have considered this morning that Jesus’ simple ‘say-so’ is all it takes.

His Word, IS. Period.

I do well to know what He has said.



　

Relate....

When I look that word up, the definitions are all about connections.

If you are related, you are connected. 

We can be related by bloodline.  We can relate by similar experiences. We cultivate RELATionships....and when we don't choose purposefully to do so, there is not much that connects us!!

Jesus was a Master at connecting with people....relating.  I see some interesting examples of that in my study of John 4.

Jesus related to the Samaritan woman at the well by talking about water. 
Jesus related to the royal official by demonstrating that just His 'say so' would be enough.

In both of these circumstances, Jesus took time and made deliberate effort to relate to them on familiar ground, drawing from their individual lives, things to use as teaching tools.
I first consider how Jesus related to the Samaritan woman.....

She  had come to the well to get water, and in the heat of the day....a very unusual time to come, (most likely because she wanted to avoid the other women who would be there in the cooler morning or evening times). 

It was a daily task, this getting water.  Water wasn't piped into the kitchen sink...and it had to be replenished daily.  (...you know what happenes to your dog's water in a couple day's time?...)

Jesus talked to her, which was huge....( any other Jewish man would have avoided contact, and in fact, Jesus' disciples might just have done that, as they probably passed her on the road as she was coming....see Luke 4:6-8...). 

Then, Jesus drew her into a conversation about water. He says something about water that will permanetly get rid of thirst.   She would be glad to find a way around coming to that well every day for water. But she didn't quite get what Jesus means with His talk about 'living water'.

Jesus continues to cultivate a way to relate to her Who He is.

Rather than accuse or condemn the wrong lifestyle He knew she was in, He presents an opportunity for her to confess to Him the wrong choices she had made and the wrong living situation she was in.

Oh boy...is that uncomfortable !  When Truth pricks thru, how do we respond?

Often, just like this woman.  Change the subject !! 

"Well, I went to church when I was growing up, but I never did like the preaching..." 
"Well, my family went to XYZ church, my spouse was raised ABC, we couldn't agree where to go..."
"Well, we went to church where we lived, but then we moved and just never found a church home...."

She took the focus off personal sin and turned it around to focus on religion.

 God and church have never been the same thing. Truth is not defined by religion. And religion does not change truth nor gaurantee truth.


Mere religion leaves us constantly thirsty, needing to drink and drink...trying to satisfy that horrible thirst that is the symptom of our sin-sickness. But if it relieves the dryness of soul at all, it is short lived.

You know ....

...the church-going habit for a while
... the 'I'm going to quit ___________' (fill in the blank with your own self-improvement issue)
... the list of good things we devote ourselves to doing.

All of it, a futile attempt to water ourselves from that well and relieve our dry parched spirit.


Jesus Christ tells the Samaritan woman (and US) that HE is The Living Water.

His mere Word does more to satiate our need than any denominational badge you care to wear. All the self improvements we can accomplish leave us as dirty as 'filthy rags' at best. (Isa. 64:6) All the good deeds and pew sitting we can manage won't do it.

Only Jesus. The Living Water.


Have you gone back to the old watering hole? Do you try to satisfy your need, over and over and over....with water that you labor over pulling up out of a man-made religious hole?

Or do you have the continuing bubble and flow of Living Water within?

 And with that ever present flow, do you take that life-giving water to share with everyone in your realm of influence? 

Do you have it with you Monday thru Friday, all day Saturday, AND Sunday when you assemble yourself with the family of God, whatever denominational badge that may be?

I echo the Samaritan woman...I leave my old method and come to tell you...

Friend, don't just labor at the well, don't settle for stagnant, temporary sustanance. 

One Word.  Jesus.



"....leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
  "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did." (John 4:29)

I've drank from that well. 

I now drink from the "...river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb." (Rev. 22:1)

No more stagnant welled up water for me...




 

Following....

I don't presume to be Jesus, but if you like my Reflections, will you go to the Blog site and 'Follow' me? 

Outburst 2.....

.… Get ready here it comes. Unrestrained expression of emotion.

I am so blessed to have such solid support and encouragement from SO many people!!!

I left a business today with absolutely no concern about ANYthing, because I have people there who have my back.

I had about a dozen clients who had appointments today who were so willing and eager to change their schedules to accommodate this necessary day off.

I have sales reps who do the leg work for me when I can’t.

It never crossed my mind to wonder if everything was ok. I know they are all capable and dependable. And I know they would turn flips if I asked them to. (…but I don’t !) Some are family by blood, all are family. And they are part of the reason I love my job.

　

　

Today, I ….
drove a brand new vehicle…..

A vehicle with OnStar turn by turn directions to a place I’d never been to before in Dallas …..

I drove straight thru with no missed turns or questions about where the place was located…

to a hospital, that was organized, timely, and informative…..

where we were cared for by a staff of people who were real and treated us like people, not objects…

where within an hour, my husband’s hand was operated on repairing some damaged tendons and ligaments…

We had the benefit of all the current technology to feel connected to all those who love and care for us…

Cell phones and social networks do away with the miles that separated us, we never felt alone or isolated..

Prayer warriors have been on the battlefield all day, praying over us…

Offers from dozens of people to come along with us, or help here at home in any way…

Call after call to Kerry from people who are concerned and want to hear from him that all is well…

Text messages, one after another….some light-hearted, jesting, boosting our spirits and bringing smiles and even a few LOLs (Laugh Out Loud s)

Comments on social networks from friends who have moved away long ago, but are still really connected to us….

God, thank You for the blessings You have shown me thru this trial. You are so good…

Outburst...

…. an unrestrained expression of emotion

I had one yesterday. Unrestrained. THAT is the problem. It’s not the emotion. It’s not the expression OF the emotion. It’s the unrestrained part that causes the problem.

I was reminded this morning that even Moses had one. I daresay I’d have had one waaaay before he did. Forty years is a long time to keep a restraint on emotions. He’d been dealing with this mass of people for a long time, the griping, the quarreling, the blatant disobedience…..the doubting God, the fear of their unknown future.

Moses had been obedient to God. He had followed His instructions, seen God’s miraculous Hand at work in delivering this people…a people designated to be free…a people designated to be the bloodline that would bring freedom to me.

And you if you choose….

I feel for Moses. In a moment of frustration and probably pride, he had an outburst of unrestrained emotion.

　

"Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff….. (Numbers 20:10-11)

Not such a bad thing really. Except it was NOT what God had instructed him to do. And….it might have been a bit of grandstanding on Moses’ part.

I regret my outburst. But I won’t wallow in the guilt. I’ve spoken to God about it, and He says ‘…learn from it and let’s move on…’

At least He didn’t invite me up on a mountain to never come down !!

(…which, by the way, I think was more kindness on God’s part than punishment…..Moses didn’t have to continue to deal with those people anymore. He got to retire ! )

Captive....

 ..taken by force by an enemy…

“…..we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

My thoughts are not always my friend. Often, they assault me. Wrong thinking is an enemy to my spiritual health.

I don’t like some of my thoughts.. But try as I might, I can’t rid myself of them completely.

I can’t will myself to NOT think. My humanity shows itself. At times, it is not pretty. And the devil grabs every opportunity to promote wrong thinking.

Again, I am reminded of the phrases from my brother Paul.

Take captive your thoughts…

Obedient to Christ….

Fight…

Wage war…

Weapons…

Divine power…

　

Obedient…..I do want to be obedient. How thankful I am for His help in doing just that.

So I take up my weapons, the ones He has provided.

I wage war with His divine power.

And I stand. And fight.

Not with another human being, but with sin.

I again ask my Father to give me courage and strength.

I ask for discernment.

I ask that He reveal both my enemy’s lies and His Own truth…that I not be deceived.

I ask that He redirect my thoughts and bring them in line with His will and purpose.

I ask Him to remind me BEFORE I sin, that only His approval is important.

And I repent with Godly sorrow for disobedience already committed, knowing He puts my sin as far as the east is from the west.

"Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” (2 Cor. 10:17-18)

I want to be approved by Him above all else. Nothing else really matters in the eternal scope of things…..

Retaliate...

Webster says it is to return like for like.

We all know the golden rule, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. (Mt. 7:12)

Often, we choose to understand it as ‘Whatever others do to me, that’s what I can do to them’.

We want to justify our own desire to retaliate.

Life gets difficult. Relationships get complicated. People are people…with sin natures. We live in a fallen world, with fallen people. Some of them redeemed, some not. People don’t always do the right thing.

I don’t always do the right thing.

But I am not given freedom to retaliate. If we were, where would it end?

It can end with me. Right here. Right now.

I continue to seek, to listen and to hear, then follow the Holy Spirit that is within. I am assured that He is there…“God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5, Joshua 1:5)



“ Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”(Rom.8:5)


I resolutely and repeatedly set my mind on Jesus, moment by moment choosing to believe His way and choosing to obey.

Constantly, I am on the battlefield of flesh vs. spirit.

Fruit...

In the course of our discussion Sunday morning, a question was raised about trees and fruit. We were reading the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 6, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.” (vs. 43,44)

The whole idea of fruit inspecting bothers me. I don’t relish the idea of anyone inspecting my fruit. Yet I am to bear fruit.

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…..This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”(”(John 15:2,8)

Each tree is recognized by the fruit it bears.

A peach tree will always have peaches on it, if there is any fruit.
Never apples. Never blueberries. Never acorns or pine cones.

But the peaches may or may not be great quality or quantity. There must be a lot of work and attention given to a peach tree in order to pick good peaches off of it.

Pruning, water, fertilizer, correct sun…
Frost can destroy the chance of fruit.
Bugs can ruin any fruit that grows.
Birds and worms can beat you to the taste test.


“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”(John 15:4,5)

Immediately after Jesus talked about the fruit bearing tree, He said this about the heart..
“ The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (vs.45)

I am reminded not to trust my own heart. “ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.”(Jeremiah 17:9)

Only God can change a human heart.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”(Ps. 51:10)

Only God can enable me to bear good fruit.
“…Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”(Luke 15:4)

Albert Barnes had this to say, “The Saviour gives the proper test of their character. People do not judge of a tree by its leaves, or bark, or flowers, but by the fruit which it bears. The flowers may be beautiful and fragrant, the foliage thick and green; but these are merely ornamental. It is the “fruit” that is of chief service to man; and he forms his opinion of the nature and value of the tree by that fruit. So of pretensions to religion. The profession may be fair; but the “conduct” - the fruit - is to determine the nature of the principles.

Lord, help me to bear good fruit. Prune even though it may be painful, protect from what might destroy or disable fruit bearing, and keep me ever attached to Your lifegiving Vine.

Poor...

In preparing for Sunday morning Bible class, I read again what is often referred to as The Beatitudes. These verses of scripture record teachings of Jesus that seemed to be such a list of contradictions.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(Matt. 5:3)

How can you be blessed by being in an obvious negative situation?
How can you be happy by being spiritually poor? And what does it look like to be poor in spirit?

It is a common thing to find the Christian way of life in complete contradiction to that of the natural world. Spiritual and natural rarely, if ever, follow the same course.

Eternal kingdom values and temporary worldly values are so very different.

The kingdom of God is nothing like any kingdom of this earthly realm. Wealth and power are important in our world. But what we consider wealth and power are only deceptions. ANY amount of prosperity here fails to measure up to the hope and joy found in utter dependence on God, rather than any outward circumstance.

The way of the world says ‘feel good about who you are, be confident, be assertive…even aggressive”.

Jesus’ way is to embrace the truth about who I am, a spiritual beggar incapable of fixing what is wrong deep within my spirit.

In accepting that truth about myself, I find myself blessed beyond measure, called a daughter of The Most High God, a citizen of His kingdom, and standing as an heiress of the eternal kingdom of heaven.

The more I know the character and love of Jesus, the more I realize the absolute poverty of my own spirit. How merciful He is to extend such grace to this spiritual beggar.

Hallelujah....

The word hallelujah is a command to praise the Lord. The word is derived from the Hebrew words hālal and Yah .

Yah is a pronoun for God, a shortened form of Yahweh, which is often translated "LORD."

hālal is a verb that means to praise, to commend, to boast, to shine. The word most often means praise and is associated with the ministry of the Levites who “…were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening.”(1Ch. 23:30)

The Levitical priests were God praising, worship leaders.

You and I are not Levites, but we too are …. “ are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

We should be God praising, Jesus loving, worship leaders.

And, Jesus Himself said, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. “(Mark 16:15) The Message reads: “Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all.”


Hallelujah. Let’s praise God. And let’s speak His praises to any and every single person whom will listen.

Alētheuō....

.....It's a Greek word.


Paul uses the word in his letter to the Ephesians in talking about the nature of the Christian church and again in his letter to the Galatians, challenging and correcting them in some of their conduct.

In both cases it is translated into our English word ‘truth’.

Eph 4:15 “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

Gal 4:16 “Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”


It is hard to speak the truth in love. It is easier to speak it in anger. I’ve done both so I speak from experience.

Speaking truth in anger has no care for the damage it may do.

Speaking truth in love is concerned about the healing it might bring.



I have friends who will speak the truth in love to me. Sometimes, it’s not easy to hear it.

I have friends who hold back from speaking the truth to me. Sometimes, it’s not easy to speak it.

I am thankful for those friends who don’t want to hurt me with the kind of truth that is not fun to hear.

But I am doubly thankful for those few who will speak the truth to me in love, and challenge me to change a wrong attitude or action.

And when they do, I want to respond in the same way. In love.

Intend...

Webster says “To mean; to design; to purpose, that is, to stretch or set forward in mind.”

As I have my quiet time this morning, I have come across the same theme, the same message.

Nobody intends to screw up their life.

Nobody means to have their once wonderful, romantic marriage turn sour.
Nobody means to become financially destroyed.
Nobody means to become addicted to drugs or alcohol.

The list could go on and on and on. Nobody means to be a sinner.

I don’t mean to be one, but try as I may, I am one.

Thank you again Lord, for your forgiveness, for your outstretched Hand, Your Spirit within me that enables me to learn from those things and move forward. Thank You for Your amazing ability to bless me even out of my own poor decisions and wrong attitudes….when I truly repent and turn AWAY from them, and TO You. Thank You for the amazing way you have used those things to grow my faith in You. How I love You for that.



The book of Joshua gives an example of provisions and protection that God put in place for people who had ‘didn’t intend to’ things in their life.



"A person shall escape for refuge to one of these cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate, and lay out his case before the city's leaders. The leaders must then take him into the city among them and give him a place to live with them.
"If the avenger of blood chases after him, they must not give him up--he didn't intend to kill the person; there was no history of ill-feeling.
He may stay in that city until he has stood trial before the congregation and until the death of the current high priest. Then he may go back to his own home in his hometown from which he fled." (Joshua 20:4-6)



God’s Heart has never changed. No matter what wrong thing has happened to us, no matter what poor decisions we have made, no matter how devastating the consequences of those choices, His Heart’s desire is to restore us, heal us, and use even the wrong thing.

He is God. And He can do it. WANTS to do it…

But we have to make the move. We have to turn and go to Him. He is our city of refuge.
He is our Healer.

Truth...

"....the truth will set you free."

The words of Jesus, recorded in John 8:32.



There are many ways to be enslaved.

There is only one way to be truly free.

There are often very difficult choices to make, often many hard things to admit and deal with. The enemy is always on the scene to accuse and shame.

Satan offers many counterfeit choices. He is the father of lies. He encourages us to live in his lies...he shames us, encourages us to hide the ugly truth. As if that changes it somehow....



Jesus never shames. His Hand is always extended. His desire is that we live in truth. In freedom.

But He will not accept anything but absolute truth from us. He forces us to be truthful with Him....and with ourselves.

" So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

What lie do you hide? What shame do you live with?

Will you be free today?

Future....

Do you wonder about it? Ever wish you could see into it?

There are people who claim to do that, and people who pay money to hear what they have to say.

I think most of them are just great con-artists, people who have formulated some general scenarios to spout, most of them pleasant of course…

But I think some of them may have some power. Power from a power source that is certainly not of God. Evil in fact.

Scripture has quite a bit of advice about this kind of thing. Simply put… just don’t have anything to do with it. If it is not clearly of God, just don’t go there….

God has given His Word, divinely inspired and recorded, preserved and kept thru the ages.

He has given His Spirit to aid in understanding it, recalling it, and applying it. He reveals His truth to us, layer after layer, if only we go to Him with an open and honest heart, asking and expecting.

We pay no price. He has paid the price, and it was great.

Oh I’ve heard the argument… “I don’t really believe it, it’s just fun…harmless fun.”

Well, maybe you think so. But God seemed to take it pretty serious….


“….. he consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.” (2 Kings 21:6)

……serious enough to be in a list like this: “ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD..”(Deut. 18:10-12)

Make no mistake, God is God. There is no other.

But Satan is real, and though his trump card of death is defeated for the child of God thru Jesus Christ, he is real and he is dangerous.

He is not harmless.

And he is not fun.

Don’t fall for the deception that dabbling in his realm is recreational. He intends to steal, kill, and destroy you. (John 10:10)

Fathered....

One of Webster’s definitions is ‘he who creates’

Today, I went to a baby shower. My nephew has fathered a child. We are all excited, my sister especially. This will be her first grandchild. It is a boy. My nephew and his wife are anxious to see and hold this new creation. They are to be the parents, not just children of their own parents.

Fathering doesn’t stop there. Planting the seed is the easy part. It’s the rest of the story that is challenging. In fact, the rest of the story is the most vital part.


Those of us who follow Jesus call God our Father.

God most certainly created. Everything. You. Me. And little Eli, yet to be born from his mother’s womb.


"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”(Jer. 1:5)

And He continues in fathering us.

Just as little Eli will be nurtured, so does God nurture us.

Jesus Christ ushered in our birth….our new birth. The most vital birth.

“…what counts is a new creation..”(Gal. 6:15)

“ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17)


Being born a human child starts the process. Our parents love us and guide us along the way as we grow up, teaching, mentoring, correcting, disciplining.

Being re-born and becoming a mature child of God is also a process.

In a perfect world, human fathers always do the right thing. (…sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world, not since Eden.)

“ Flesh gives birth to flesh…….

but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”(John 3:6)

“ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”( 1 Peter 1:23)

Thank You Father…..for continuing to father me. For nurturing, teaching, mentoring, correcting, even for the discipline.

And thank you for this new life coming into our family. Bless these young parents, give them wisdom and guidance as they take responsibility for this tender new life.

Opposition...

In my study this morning, I read about some of the events recorded in Acts about the life of our brother in Christ, the apostle Paul.

This phrase in the reading material of my study caused me to stop and reflect…..

“ The positive response to Paul’s teaching stirred up opposition to him.”

The positive response?!? Brought opposition?!? Man, that’d make you want to quit wouldn’t it?

When you have some success at what you are attempting to accomplish, it’d be nice simply to not have to listen to negative responses, much less be faced with resistance and obstacles.


Human nature is ugly so often. And our enemy doesn’t miss many opportunities to make trouble.



At one time, Paul had been passionate about stamping out the movement of what was known as ‘The Way’…the way of Jesus Christ.

Passionate, but dead wrong.


Then he met Jesus.
Then he found out how horribly wrong he’d been.
Then he began the mission of his life....

……to tell anyone he could get to listen, that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of The Most High God. Jesus was the remedy and cure for the cancerous sin nature in mankind. The sin nature that Paul himself struggled with. (Romans 7 records Paul’s testimony about that very thing)



God had equipped Paul for all this. He had the best of education. He was a talented communicator. He had some political advantages, he was a Roman citizen.

He had lots of success.
He preached the story of salvation all across his world.
He convinced lots of people, made lots of converts, trained lots of other people to do the same.


But it was never easy. It didn’t begin easy, and it never got any easier.

There were opposing voices even within the believers who loved him.
There were attempts to stop him. Permanently.

I thank God right now that he wasn’t.



I thank You Lord God for recording and preserving these stories in scripture. Thank You for showing me that even Paul had to bear up under opposition….opposition even from within the circle of friends. Thank You for showing us how he met struggles and overcame them. Thank You Lord that you never left him without Your help and the assurance of Your Presence with him.




I am so very thankful for these words our brother Paul penned….

“ So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1Cor. 10:12-13)





I think Paul knew what he was talking about. I think he probably gives us some great advice here.

Anyone is prone to fall.
Everyone faces difficulty.
Each of us has to choose good over evil.

And God will never leave us alone in a situation.
He is present.
He sets a boundary around us.
He offers an escape.



“…All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.”
(1Cor. 10:13 The Message)

Breath...

Breath… Ever feel like you can’t breathe? Feel like you are suffocating? ….like the air you breathe in just isn’t enough somehow, and you find yourself sighing over and over?

I often find myself doing that.

I just don’t always breathe right. Don’t breathe deeply enough. Breathe in the wrong stuff…

When God formed the first human, Scripture says “He breathed the breath of life into him. And the man became a living person.”(Gen.2:7)

“The heavens were made when the LORD commanded it to happen. All of the stars were created by the breath of his mouth.”(Ps. 33:6)

God created life and every facet of our reality.
God sustains life and every facet of our reality.

Don’t be fooled. You don’t do it.

Government doesn’t do it.

Education doesn’t do it.

A wealthy economy doesn’t do it.

Medicine doesn’t do it.

Not even religion does it.

He does.

“When You turn Your face away from them, they are terrified. When You take away their breath, they die and turn back into dust.”(Ps. 104:29)

A look into history will show that when the blessings begin to be withdrawn, when things get tough and the tough can’t seem to bring about restored blessing….people begin to pant and search for God, begging for help.

Time and time again, He has brought restoration and healing. How I praise Him for His mercy, and the perfect love He offers. My human nature is incapable of that perfect love, I am slow to extend love to those I deem undeserving.



Thank You Lord God that you do not have a heart like mine. And thank You Father that you have said, “I will not find fault with my people forever. I will not always be angry with them. If I were, I would cause their spirits to grow weak. The very breath of life would go out of the people I created.”(Isa. 57:16)



The breath of life within me is more than the oxygen my lungs process for maintaining this flesh. The real breath within me is what He breaths out.

Some days, I choose not to breath it in.

Some days I choose to ignore the breathe He provides, and choose to choke and spew on whatever is available. And be assured, the enemy of my soul provides alternatives to the breath of life from God.

Today, I choose life.
Today, I choose to breath in, what He breaths out.

“ God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching me what is true. It is useful for correcting my mistakes. It is useful for making my life whole again. It is useful for training me to do what is right. By using Scripture, I can be completely prepared to do every good thing”(2 Tim. 3:16-17 personalized by me)

Call me a Bible banger. Call me a religious finatic. Call me a Jesus freak.

Call me whatever you like.

He calls me friend. (John 15:15)

I breath oxygen and have a heartbeat and pulse because He created human life, a life so very different from plant and animal life, because of His breath.

I breath the breath of God as I inhale what He has said, what He has done, and as I “Receive The Holy Spirit… that He breaths on me …” (John 20:22 personalized by me)

Don't be satisfied with anything else than the life made available and sustained by the very breath of God.