Eccl 12:13 and Acts 10:30 "We are All Here in the Sight of God" (June 30)

I was more interested in watching Leave It To Beaver than the evening news on our black & white TV as a young one.  But the evening news on November 13, 1960 shook my parents to their core.  They wouldn't allow me to attend my little elementary school the next day---I was home for a few days.  Federal Courts had ordered Orleans Parish to design plans for desegregation.  New Orleans chose to integrate a public school in the questionable Ninth Ward---Frantz Elementary.  And a 6-year-old Negro, named Ruby Bridges, walked her pigtails into the history books while I shivered at home about the same age and for the same reasons---riots occurred all over our prejudiced city.

I grew up in fear within my house and beyond the white picket fence.  I sat at Kress lunch counters in the "whites only" section.  I never walked to the back of any bus.  I only drank from water fountains or visited restrooms that were labeled "whites only."  There were no Negros at my school, ever. We were of meager finances, but we had a Negro who ironed all of our clothes on Tuesdays.  And that's where I sat behind closed doors, and a story of beauty begins.  Maud loved me.  I'd sit by her ironing board every week and she delighted me with her stories, her heart.  The rhetoric all around me concerning Negros was frightening, appalling, shocking, confusing.  Yet, Maud was a friend to this little pig-tailed girl from a decent parish. Why would the color of someone's skin evoke such hatred in New Orleans?  People I knew really believed the Negro race was wicked and weaker.  Oh my!  The courage of African-Americans (no longer called Negros) like Ruby and Maud blended the color of the landscape in the 60's.  And this little girl dealt over the next decade with her own heart of prejudice.

Do we see a clear call on our lives?
Do we know our whole duty?
"Fear God and Keep His Commandments."  Eccl 12 - That's the end of the matter!
And what does He command but to love!

We see a call to serve in Acts 10:30 and it holds no prejudice.  Peter responds to the Gentiles---a place where Jews did not go.  I love that Cornelius called up all his friends to join him in hearing God speak through Peter.  Someone once said: "We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone."  Matthew Henry.  It is with great humility and kindness that Cornelius invites a roomful.  Even if it is just one.  And that's why I am so motivated and delighted to do this blog to join with you in this daily Divine Appointment. I sense a calling on my life to speak, whether it be to just one of you listening , or more.  Acts 10:33 says:  We are all here in the Presence of God to hear all that God has commanded. I am here because I know there is someone, every day, even if it is one, who comes here in the sight of God, to hear Him, draw near to Him.  You are ready to hear what is commanded and that is beautiful to me (Psalm 50:2).  And from the very first day that you set your minds to gain understanding, to humble yourself, your words have been heard, just like Cornelius'. (Daniel 10:12)

Fall on us, Holy Spirit. 
Speak, for your servants listen under your Watchful Eye. 
Thank you for hearing, how humbling. 

Acts 10:22 "How Do You Roll" (June 29)

Acts 10:22 - Cornelius was spoken well of by a whole nation.  What an admirable, beautiful, generous, humbling thing to have said about you.  No one in the "How Do You Roll" would have guessed that I had any class about me, today.  Oh, to live in wild repentance.  I melted at the sushi bar in the middle of a California roll that cost me $10.  But my ranting on the inside and the words that spilled out had more to do with the unrest in my heart this day from some disturbing news.  God is a prayer away.  May our love run so much deeper for God and man---and then, others will speak well. 

Acts 9:30 Dependence (June 28)

Some commentaries say that it took Paul 3 years before he made it to Jerusalem.  He took the time to get grounded in God.  Do we take the time that we need to go deeper?

 Of all of the verses in Ecclesiastes that we have read, 6:3 jumps off the page into my lap. "If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, ... I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

Acts 9:3 "Suddenly...Strength from the LORD" (June 27)

Paul looked into the face of Stephen as he drew his last breath and lay lifeless at Saul's feet.   What was Saul thinking about?  Any truth to what this Stephen guy just died for?  Any truth in my life to what is dying around me?  Saul is still breathing threats and murder WHEN suddenly, "a light from heaven shone around him."  Acts 9:3  "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"  And the answer always gets me:  "Who are you, Lord?"  LORD???  Saul must have been thinking about God when Stephen was stoned, when followers were bound.  Now, Saul really is thinking about God---3 days of silence, blindness, and no refreshment from food or drink.  Saul was praying to our God for the first time in his life.  And God sent a frightened Ananias to restore Saul's sight and deeply encourage him and strengthen Saul.  What a turn of events.  What hope in the midst of a no-win situation.  I'm sure the Freedmen could not believe their eyes or ears.  I am in such a no-win life situation but I am pensively aware that my God has won this Battle.  I hurt.  I struggle.  I wrestle.  I wonder.  I trust.  I depend.  No solutions, just a Savior Who shows up like on that road to Damascus and saves me from myself.  Suddenly, He shows up to turn a curved-in life right-side up and strengthen like never before. 

I Kings 10:2 and Acts 8 "Ask Not to Be Prevented from Suffering But to Preserve the Self" (June 26)

What stirs in you?  Rise and go south, says an angel to Philip.  And Philip finds a Royal Official sitting in a carriage, reading Isaiah, needing guidance to understand what the words really mean.  Is God prompting me to do something?  Do I move on it?  If there is any good thing that stirs within, it is authored by a Sovereign God. 

The Queen of Sheba is stirred to pursue Solomon. With great "retinue," she leads an entourage to the holy city of Jerusalem to test this king with hard questions.  She ends up telling him all that is on her mind.  Who stirred Sheba? 

The stirrings are for the Glory of God not comfort on earth.  This weekend, a friends sat next to me to explain a little deeper that God is not only preventing my cancer but He is saving me from myself in the midst of tumor markers and present tumors. I have a white-hot desire that I have never had before in the midst of pain to beseech my God to detach me from what brings me joy more than Him.  The words of Oswald Chambers go like this:  "My attitude as a saint to sorrow and difficulty is not to ask that they may be prevented, but to ask that I may preserve the self God created me to be through every fire of sorrow." My pain is overwhelming right now and that's a difficult statement to hear if you are going through a fire.  God give us all the grace to ask from broken humbled hearts that You would draw out of us the men and women you created us to be.

I Kings 8:26 and Acts 8:1 "This Present Hour" (June 25)

Saul approves of the execution of Stephen. Acts 8:1. He didn't stop it.  Is there any hope for this young ambitious murderer? Would we pray for him to repent?  Would we view him as  I Kings 8:58 ~ Not one word of God has failed.  Not one.  I may not see it.  His truth prevails.  Pay close attention to the way you take.  I Kings 8:26 ~ "Pay close attention to your way, to walk before me as those before you have walked before me."  So very grateful to God for our children and spiritual children who make decisions every single fresh new day to walk before God with a clean slate.  Just as the sun comes up this morning brank spanking new, may your perspective be pristine full of prayer.  Satan will tempt us to live in the past or in the future.  Live fully this present hour believing in those avengers whom God has brought across your path. 

Acts 7:58 "Casting Stones" (June 24)

Stephen infuriated the freedmen.  Those freedmen were "sawn in two" over Stephen's stunning soliloquy ~ Acts 7:54.  So very upset, yet, Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit.  How very Kind of God to give Stephen a Glimpse of the Opened Heavens in his dying hour.  A Merciful Kindness.  While the Freedmen stopped up their ears with their fingers and stormed this saint and stoned him cold.  Lifeless.  Asleep, but so alive in Him.  They may take his body but God has his soul forever.  Stephen will wake up again.

The witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul (Acts 7:58) who will remember this day for the rest of his life.  Saul was one of them there.  Casting stones.  Saul was dead, too.  He is about to wake up.

Wake up, o my soul. 

Song of Sol 8:7 and Acts 7:22 "Costly Love" (June 23)

Stephen was "mighty in his words and deeds," (Acts 7:22) just like Moses.  The rhetoric of Stephen and Moses are so "telling" of their heartfelt pursuits. "Many waters cannot quench their love"~Song of Sol 8:7.  Not the Jordan.  Not the Red Sea. Not this Gallery of Persecution. What quenches my love for my God? Circumstances where I end up on the short stick.  Conversations where I am left out, shut out, misunderstood.  Character, that is lack of it, in my own life---as I try to be good, I see more off the depths of what's wrong inside of me.  
Deuteronomy 32:47 ~ These words are not just idle words, they are their very life~this was the song of Moses even though he knew he would not cross over the Jordan into Canaan. They were crossing the Jordan to take possession of the land without him.  And here's Stephen explaining all of this from his heart.  How long has Stephen been studying about Moses?  He knows the story by heart, every step of the wilderness.

This evil Gallery of men hear the truth that if they shut their eyes to the Light of the World, they will never know the God who longs to care for them.  A fate far worse than the slavery of Egypt awaits this Gallery of vicious, "sawn-in-two" furious men. The Gallery may have sealed their fate but until their last breath, there is hope, no matter what has been done.  Stephen offers fearless courage and glad hope as he breathes his last air of the holy city of Jerusalem. Psalm 25:14 ~ The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him---Stephen feared God not a Gallery of men.  What's your secret?

"I will give myself in Costly Love, and I will love even if the other person never does." Lloyd Olgivie.  Maybe it's your husband who loves you little, maybe your own child whom you gave birth is pulling away, maybe it's your lifelong friend forever distancing themselves from you.  Let's pray for each other this day, this season, that we may give ourselves in Costly Love and stand on the shoulders of a man named Stephen. 

Song of Sol 5:1 and Acts 7 "Drunk With Love" (June 22)

Furious.  The word in the Greek means "sawn in two."  The gallery of men who Stephen faces overflow with furious hate, grinding their teeth, for this follower of the Son of Man. Acts 7:54. And it is that "Son of Man" who is at the very center of Stephen's life.  Look how he expounds on being a son of Abraham and presenting his case to those who call Stephen an apostate, a blasphemor.  Stephen knew the Story. This follower compared Israel's repeated disobedience to the very present rejection of the Savior of the World.  He knew the answers that God had been giving from Genesis to Malachi.  A scholar and a servant and a struggler.  What is at the very center of my life?  What is my center? 

"Are these things so?" Acts 7:1 asks the High Priest.  Absolutely.  Stephen was prepared to die for the Truth.  He had allowed that Son of Man to use his life for His Glory.  The man was "drunk with love." Song of Sol 5:1.  Charles Spurgeon writes:  "We must be made meet here" on earth because there is no sanctifying in heaven, no squaring with affliction, no pruning us with suffering there.  God is making us ready on earth.  Spurgeon said:  "Our afflictions cannot sanctify except God uses it to His End; our prayers and efforts cannot make us ready apart from God who fashions our hearts aright."  So be it.  Amen.  Amen. 

Song Sol 1:1 and Acts 6 "Draw Us Up and In" (June 21)

Stephen was full of grace and power---oh, to have that kind of reputation.  Yet, the Freedmen (at least that's what they called themselves) disputed Stephen, secretly instigating others against him.  They stirred up the elders and seized him to face the Council, to take his life based on perjury and hate~Acts 6:12. Stephen is one of the first martyrs after the Resurrection and many stand on his shoulders.  Like my friend, Cyd Mizell, who was kidnapped and murdered along with her Afghan driver---January 2008.  No confirmation of deaths was ever provided.  Her face shines like an angel in my memory.  Cyd taught English to high school students in Afghanistan and helped women learn income-producing skills, food-for-work projects, irrigation, rehabilitation, and health care.  Hebrews 11:38 ~ Men and Women of whom the world was not worthy.  Even in the face of danger, they served their God.  Their love was so initimate with their Father.

Song of Solomons 1:1 - the greatest song of all.  Our God proclaims His Love for His church through amorous intimate imagery. "I sought Him whom my soul loves." 3:1. And the foxes in verse 2:15 represent the difficulties that threaten our relationships.  How true, it is the little foxes that spoil the vines every single day. May His Love not my loss be my center.  May Christ draw us all up and further in. 

Prov 31:25 and Acts 5:29 "Scholars & Strugglers" (June 20)

"Study the text not only as a good scholar but also as an honest struggler. First, ask what questions God has bothered to answer in the Word. Only He is wise enough to know which questions need answering. Then, study His answers for the rest of your life." True Spiritual Community, Larry Crabb

Christ's first questions after the Resurrection that come to my mind:
"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" John 20:15
"What is this conversation that you are holding as you walk together." Luke 24:17
"Children, do you have any fish?" John 21:5
"Simon, do you love Me more than these?" John 21:15
"Peter, if it is my will that he remains, what is that to you?" John 21:22
"By what power or by what name did you do this?" Acts 4:7

And that last question brings us to this passage. The disciples were strictly charged not to teach in This Name yet they filled Jerusalem with His teachings.   Acts 5:29 ~ "We must obey God rather than men." The Saducees decided to let them go, only after a fierce beating.  What would we say to that kind of punitive treatment?  Would we describe in detail the injustice, the horror, the pain?  The response of the disciples is staggering:  "They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for The Name" - Acts 5:41.  The officials could not stop the disciples from preaching and lifting up The Name. 

You are studying the answers God has given through men who once knew the depths of despair.  Rejoice when you are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for The Name.  By the power of the man from Nazareth!

Whether it is Peter betraying his LORD or Bathsheba breaking her marriage vows, we are studying answers given to broken people from a Sovereign God.  Strong's Concordance says that Lemuel is the name for Solomon.  Solomon's mother was Bathsheba whom God chose to bring forth the lineage of Jesus Christ. The once-unfaithful Bathsheba is the contributor to Proverbs 31.

Joseph was from the lineage of Solomon; Mary was a descendant of Nathan---David & Bathsheba's other son.  God made no mistake when He chose Bathsheba to be the foremother of Joseph and Mary.  And He makes no mistakes in choosing you, either.  Proverbs 31:25 You are full of Strength and Dignity if you walk with Him.  He sees your frame, your ways.  He knows.  And His Magnanimous Mercy prevails.  Study His Answers for as long as God gives you breath. 

Prov 27:1 and Acts 5:3 "Ambition" (June 19)

What causes you to keep back for your own interest?  Others are not going to take care of me, so I will take matters into my own hands.  Keep back a little here, a little there.  God sends a potent message in this story of Ananias & Sapphira who were filled with ambition to be the best disciples, the ones who looked devoted.  Meanwhile, just in case God was not going to provide for A & S, they kept a small stash of provision.  What drives our decisions?  When we are left in the lurch, do secure our own stash?  Here is the new face of Peter who used to care about what others thought of him.  Not so.  He orders the men to carry out the dead bodies of A & S.  A powerful message in our reading that God will not honor our intentional (there's that word again) gaze on our comfort here on earth.  None of us knows what a day may bring, Proverbs 27:1, and we are to live toward the Intentional Gaze of the Author of our lives.  If God leaves everything in our lives alone, will we still follow?  The words of Oswald Chambers come to mind: "My goal [ambition] is God Himself.  Not joy nor peace nor even blessing, but God Himself." 

Prov 25:2 and Acts 4:29 "What Causes This Change?" (June 18)

What really causes change in our hearts?  Giving thanks?  Sure thing, thanks will alter our perspective but will it change our life?  Obedience?  Absolutely, but does it come from a heart that is obedient for the right reasons?  What makes us wake up a different person this morning desirous of a life of love in direct contrast to the hate I experienced last week when I was betrayed and put down and left for dead.  David and Bathsheba knew.  Judah and Tamar knew.  And today's reading:  Peter and John and James know.  The last we read about Peter, he was dodging neighbors who were accusing him of being a friend of Jesus.  The inscription on a church in Israel reads:  He is not my Friend.  Weeks pass by and, somehow, Peter repents ~ Acts 2:38 ~ and receives the Holy Spirit and the Wind of God blows wildly over Peter and company.  Now, Peter is praying Acts 4:29 to speak the word with Boldness while God stretches out His Hand to Heal.  This is a new place for Peter.  Boldness.  What is God's Spirit blowing over our lives? Seek a Word, Prov 25:2.  What really can cause us to change in our hearts this day, this place. 

Prov 24:12 and Acts 4:13 "Perception: They've Been With Jesus" (June 17)

How many times we all say, "I didn't know about that."  Well, do we have to know about everything?  I sense such a push on me to be well-rounded and in the know.  Is that me or is it my world?  Proverbs 24:12 says, Behold, we didn't know this.  Doesn't He Who keeps watch over your soul know it? In the context of the crippled man, in the midst of our own crippled hearts, what comfort to know He watches over our mangled hearts.  Be not envious of evil men, Prov 24:1.  Be Bold, Acts 4:13.  For when they recognized the boldness of Peter and John, who were no longer distancing themselves from the Risen LORD, but embracing His mission---They Perceived Peter had been with Jesus.

Prov 19:21 and Acts 3:4 "Heal Our Crippled Hearts" (June 16)

Am I intentional in my ministry?  Peter and John were.  They stopped at the Beautiful Pool and directed their gaze toward the crippled man who had been there decade after decade at the Ninth Hour expecting to be healed ~ Acts 3:4.  May I move with that kind of intentionality this day. 

Peter spoke to the cripple: "What I do have, I will give to you...in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Acts 4:6. The cotext of this passage awakens hope in me for I am crippled in so many ways.  In the Name of the One in Whom we rely on for strength, heal our hurting hearts.  

We make our plans in our minds but it is Your Purpose that stands ~ Prov 19:21.  Weigh our hearts not our weighty minds ~ Prov 21:2.  We wait, O God, heal our heavy hearts.

Prov 16:9 and Acts 2:25 "What Shall We Do?" (June 15)

Gathered in no ordinary place, the disciples and company wait for God to move in the Presence of those who took the life of Jesus Christ. Boldness. One recalls the words of David: "I saw the LORD always before me, He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken" ~ Acts 2:25. Unbelievable. The betrayal of David by his royal father-in-law and his very own son strikes a note in each of us as we face our very own struggles. Somehow, David pushed through his murder, his adultery, his own jealousy and betrayal, to find God. None of the scenes of David's life took vacation from his mind. Every day he lived with the brokenness and betrayal. Every day he started with a blank slate and found his God. So much so, that scores of years later, they are still talking about this holy man with a flawed resume, whose flesh dwelled in Hope. And there is a Living Hope in that no ordinary room. Make us glad with Your Presence, as you did that day. Cut to the core, they asked Peter: "What shall we do?" Repent. This word is for you and for your children. Repent. And awe came upon every soul. May we never lose the awe. Prov 16:9 ~ The heart of a man plans his own way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Whether we have been murderers like David or betrayers like Peter, (and we all have in our hearts), may we see the LORD ever before us, this day and forward.

Prov 15:3 and Acts 2:2 "Freighted Words" (June 14)

Suddenly.  They heard the Voice of Heaven.  Suddenly.  Can I really prepare to listen, to search, to find His Voice.  Doesn't it appear suddenly, sometimes when I'm least aware.  A memory.  A look.  A prompt.  A thought.  A sound of Heaven.  Acts 2:2 And they were filled with the Spirit of God.  And seventeen or so languages came out of their mouths, giving Glory to God, not solving their multitudinous problems, but giving honor to the One Who is Worthy. 

Just boarded a slow train back to Austin. Tears stream as the steam from the engine propells me back home. What I hold in my heart is not the news people want to hear---Aloneness in the midst of Life, Love and Laughter.  Most people don't want to hear Freighted Words on this train of life:  Proverbs 14:10 ~ The heart knows its own bitterness. And I find comfort in Proverbs 15:3, "The Eyes of my LORD are in every place, keeping watch over the good and the evil."  Keep Watch, Dear God, over what brews in this heart of mine.  Keep Watch this day!

Prov 10:12 and Acts 1:8 "Love Covers All" (June 13)

Scripture interprets Scripture.  We don't pull out one verse from the Bigger Story.  It's in a Bigger Context of Great Love.  From the Wedding of Adam and Eve in Genesis to the Wedding of the Bridegroom in Revelations awaiting His Bride, the Church, it's a Love Story.  So, Proverbs 10:12 ~ Love covers all offenses ~ is a beautiful statement of what we are to do with the motivations of our hearts---or lack of that motivation.  Find in your heart to offer Love in the face of pain, rejection, betrayal, distance.  Cover with a blanket of dignity what comes from those dark places. Just like Noah's sons walking into their drunk naked dad's bedroom with a blanket to cover up his offense.  Cover it well with Strength and Kindness and Power---the Energy that only God can give us ~ Acts 1:8 ~ You will receive Power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 

Prov 8:22 and John 21 "Possessed" (June 12)

How is it that the disciples did not recognize the Risen Christ?  They knew that Christ was b-a-c-k.  Didn't they suspect something?  The disciples decided to do what they could do best---go fishing.  Don't we sometimes revert to the familiar in times of duress.  But the familiar turned fatal for them for they spent the night on the sea and caught nothing. Nothing to feed their families.  Not a pound to sell, either.  Not a good score for professionals.  Dawn is breaking and a voice careens across the waters, encouraging the pro's to throw the net on the other side.  I mean, didn't they already try that?  They had been there all night long.  And the disciples listened to the random voice and haul in 153 fish.  I wonder if this day, I could listen to what's in my way, what's in front of me, what I consider a failure---and find 153 fish.  May we all keep our eyes on the road ahead of us.  Put on those blinders that easily entangle.  And don't give thought to what's going on in other people's business---"What is that to you? You follow Me."  We are possessed people, from the beginning of God's Work, Proverbs 8:22.

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

Prov 6:21 and John 20:16 "The Living Word Watches Over Me" (June 11)

My son, keep your father's commandment,


and forsake not your mother's teaching.

We are all so needy.  I am at a desperate place.  And this is good.  Trusting in the midst of confusion.  God has me in a tight place.  He is the God of the Tight Places.

With one word, the Resurrected Christ opened Mary's eyes and hearts.  Oh, that I may see the Risen Christ this very day in the midst of my circumstances.

Take Truth.
Proverbs 6:21-22
Bind the truth on your heart always
Tie it around your neck
When you walk, they will lead you;
When you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.

Listen to how you talk to yourself.
Pay close attention to what you say "yes" to.
Pay close attention to what you say "no" to.
And you will hear the curvature of your heart.

Prov 3:25 and John 19:26 "Ponder" (June 10)

John 19:26   Last words are signatures emblazoned on hurting hearts.  I am sitting here weeping over the tenderness of the last words of our LORD, the Living One whom Pilate thought was really the "King of the Jews."  The One of whom Pilate said:  I find no fault in this man.  Then, why on earth wouldn't you hail and protect the King of the Jews? 

Jesus' Last Words were to his mother:  Woman, behold your son---John.  And in very short script, thin narrow letters, the One whose life couldn't be contained in all the books in the world, that One left this earth in a few succinct sentences.   And the mother of Jesus went home with John for all her days.

What is in all these signature moments written on our hearts?  What happens when I face the reality of my life this day?  I cannot get away from June 2nd MUFHH entry.  Am I haunted by this Jesus who died for me?  Or can I go through the experiences of life with little thought of Him in that moment.  Oh, to live haunted, consumed, kept, grasped.  Oh to be more fully alive in this present moment.  More of Him.  Not more of this life.  Not more out of my experiences.  More of Him.  Why do I think I need a little more here on earth---more in relationships, more in success, more in finances.  No, I don't need more of anything but Him!

So, can I call out for insight?  Can I make my ear attentive to wisdom?  Can I incline my ear and raise my voice for understanding?  If you do, and whatever that means, whatever that looks like, you are going to find the Knowledge of God.  Oh my!  Prov 2:2  God is watching over your way.  And then you will understand the equity---every path is a good path. Prov 2:9.  Oh my!  "Don't be weary of His reproof," Bev.  Don't be weary.  And, Proverbs 3:25, don't be afraid of sudden terror---well that is right smack dab where I am with my health issues this weekend.  Terrified..  God, may I ask on behalf of all my friends, would You be our confidence.  May we not hold our confience in the presence of life's experiences going well.  Just "let your eyes look directly forward."  Proverbs 4:25.  Learn to ponder, just like Mary did.  Proverbs 4:26 - "Ponder the path of your feet."

Prov 1:2 and John 19:21 "Ask What I Shall Give You?" (June 9)

What if God said to me:  You can have what you want this one time?  What would I choose?

I Kings 3:5 "Ask What I Shall Give You?"  What would it be?  Would I ask for good health? I received some shattering health news this morning and have to wait until Monday for clarification.  Oh my!  Would I ask for unbelievably good relationships?  The kind where there is no loss, ever. 

David has gone the way of all flesh.  A disturbed distressed sincerely successful ruler who was not controlled by his loss in relationships with his dad and sons.  One of David's sons writes in Proverbs 1:2:

To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;

What would I ask? 

John 19:21 Who do you say that I am?  Pilate knew in his heart.  He is the King of the Jews.  It's not that He says that He is.  He truly is.  Pilate knew.  What do we do with this Jesus? 

Questions:  one day, He will come and ask us the Ultimate Question

I Kings 1:2 and John 18:27 "Unresolved Loss" (June 8)

John 18:27 Peter is warming himself by a fire and denies that he even knows Jesus.  The rooster crows.  And the question our LORD is asking Peter and you and me is this:  Do you love Me?  Do you love Me?  Do you love Me?

Circumstances do not make or break us but reveal what is already resting in our hearts.  We want to be warm by the fire, literally.  Safety.  Comfort.  A life free from pain of rejection, pain of betrayal, pain of loss.  Jesus did not organize his life around his losses.  No unresolved loss for our LORD even in the midst of the most horrendous suffering.  Oh, to live a life free from my loss.  I so default to the mentality:  What's in this for me?  God doesn't want me to better manage my loss, He wants me to let the loss go.

David did not organize his life around his immense loss.  As he draws in his knees to breathe his last breath, David commands his son, Solomon:  “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways..  David's own children brought him great sorrow yet he was controlled by a Bigger Story.  Forty years on the throne and David could tell stories of betrayal and loss that most men never face.  May our stories be lifted up into the Higher Story of our life. 

Psa 145:14 and John 18:11 "Put Your Fight Away" (June 7)

John 18:11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” Peter's response to the Betrayal of all times: Cut Off Their Ears! I will do something big. I will stand up for my LORD and I will not take this without. a. fight. We all so want to rid our lives of pain and problems. And God is at work through it all. He is near to all who call on Him in truth ~ Psalm 145:18 ~ the preposition "in truth" is what truly matters. Living in the present moment, not in denial. And s

What is the truth about the situation we are in? How did we get to that place? Are we taking matters into our own hands, cutting off ears. The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down ~ Psalm 145:14.

"The LORD is good to all. His Mercy is over all that He has made." Psalm 145:9. May His brand new spanking clean m.e.r.c.i.e.s. be all over you this day in whatever you face. Call to Him. The truth is that He has already been calling you.

Psa 139:5 and John 17:5 "Praying Forward" (June 6)

We have the honor of listening in on a prayer that was spoken two thousand years ago by Christ Himself. And He even prayed for you and me sitting at our computers this very day. John 17.


What did He wish forward for us? The health of our soul. He didn't pray for everything to work out well on earth. He says we are not of this world. He prayed for me and you that we would be kept from sin and strengthened to further His mission. John 17:5. May your soul prosper.

And this so speaks to me in our financial loss. Prosperity of my soul trumps prosperity of my home. Like you, I am hemmed in behind and before. Lay your Hand upon our heads. Psalm 139:5. We are searched and known people. Psalm 139:1

I am wondering this night what God thinks of the ways we respond in the midst of our difficulties.  Do we take matters into our own hands, like Peter did in these verses?  Do we rush to try to solve the problem so there will be little pain?  Do we distance ourselves from the real issues at hand?  What does the God of the Universe think as He knows this frame of our life this night?

John 16:7 and 16::33 "Take Heart" (June 5)

There is Nothing I face that my God cannot give me a better heart.  Seems that so many deal with changing behavior.  I am no longer at that juncture.  This is about the issues of the heart. 
Take heart, Bev.

John 15:33 Take heart.  In this world you will have tribulation.  Take heart, Bev.  I have overcome the world.  And He has sent into our world this very day Another Helper, our Counselor. And it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Not my job.  We are called to love people not change people.   Hang on tight in this tight place, Bev.  That place where you cannot even verbalize the tribulation of your soul. 

Take Heart.  He has overcome the world!  So what does that mean for me this day?

Psa 103:14 and John 15:15 "Knows My Frame" (June 4)

Where am I in my walk with God?  This Holy God.  Am I His Friend?  Am I His Servant?  Am I His Lover?  John Eldredge in "Ransomed" writes about the ascending metaphors God wrote about in His Word.  We read about one of those metaphors today:  John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. I command you, so that you will love one another.

The 6 metaphors Eldredge refers to:
* The Potter and the Clay - Awareness of His Sovereignty
* Sheep and A Shepherd -   Knows My Name
* Master and Servant - Inside His House
* Father and Child -  Part of God's Family
* Friend to Friend - Walking Together
* Bridegroom & the Bride - Lovers Delighting in each other

I remember a friend telling me that we so get stuck in the Master/Servant relationship.  Trying to figure out all the activities we can do to please God.  Checklists.  Formulas.  Milestones.

"Bless the LORD, O My Soul,
Who Forgives All My Iniquities." Psa 103:1

"He Knows Our Frame."  Psa 103:14
And wherever our frame is frozen, the Carpenter is thawing us out!
He is so thawing this frozen still sea of my soul. 
May we all wear new frames this year. 

Psalm 86 and John 14:6 "Unite My Heart" (June 3)

People do not have pity on you if you are weak and needy.  Society views you as less of a person.  No room for any margin of error or mistake or failure in this life.  But Who is the Measuring Stick?

Psalm 72:13 - God has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the helpless.
John 14:6 - I am the Way.  I am the Truth.  I am the Life.

We may look like a failure in the eyes of this world.
What matters is what we look like in the Eyes.
So, here's our prayer from Psalm 86

Dear God,
Incline your Ear and answer me
for I am poor and needy
Preserve my life, for I am godly;
Save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.
There is none like you...
Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
Give your strength to your servant,
and
Show me a sign of your favor...

Psalm 61:2 and John 13:34 "Still My Roaring Soul" (June 2)

The disciples (before Pentecost) were a mess just like me and you.  Peter thinks he will lay his life down for Jesus.  And Jesus' reply:  You'll deny me before the rooster crows 3 times, John 13:37.  The disciples are uncertain of whom would betray Jesus from their dinner table of friends.  Did they just not know Judas that well that they didn't suspect him?  Or were their own eyes blind to the sin of others---you look pretty good to me.  That puzzles me.  And Jesus evens gives away the secret of whome the betrayer is---and they missed it.  How? 

I've been thinking long and hard this week in the midst of a betrayal about Jesus' words in this chapter.  In the midst of His own betrayal, He gives this admonition to His closest followers:  Love One Another.  John 13:34.  The pain ever before me has ushered me into a fresh new face of love that only He can put on us. 

So lead me, God, to the Rock higher than I ~ Psa 61:2
Still the Roaring Sea of my soul ~ Psa 65:7
I shall not be shaken ~ Psa 62:2

Psalm 57:21 and John 13:5 ""Christ Uses the Ordinary not the Spectacular" (June 1)

Why does the next worship service have to be better than the one before?  Why does the next song need to be more powerful than the last?  Why are we always trying to outdo ourselves?  Jesus wrapped a coarse everyday towel around his waist.  He dipped His Hands in a worn porcelain water basin and poured water. John 13:5. He spit in the dirt to stir up some mud to spread on a blind man.  He didn't use the spectacular.  He used the ordinary to reach, to touch, to give life. May I not be caught up in thinking I have to have the next best book or song or experience.  Seek Truth not the blessings of this life.

Psalm 55:2 - The LORD looks down from heaven to find those who seek Him
Psalm 57:21 It's my friend, my companion who taunts me:  His speech was smooth as butter yet war is in his heart.  His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.  What to do?  Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you.  The One Who judges on the earth.  The One Who uses towels and dirt and water and 5 loaves and 2 fish to make a difference.  Not the dramatic nor the flamboyant.  God doesn't try to outdo Himself, does He?  We're the ones who think the next show has to be so much better than the last.