324 - “Grace Grows Greater” 2 Thessalonians 1-3

 

That sun will rise and grow brighter by noonday.

Just as that grace will increase and grow greater.

Grace isn't planted just one time and left alone.

The God of Peace Himself grows Grace this day.

In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul gives thanks for the increase of grace. Where there is grace, God will increase it even more. "The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Pr 4:18. Shining more and more unto the Perfect Day. "We are as much indebted to God for the improvement of grace, and the progress of that good work, as we are for the first work of grace and the very beginning of it...we have as much dependence on the Grace of God for increasing the Grace we have as for planting Grace we have when we had it not." Matthew Henry.  Dependent on Grace for our next step not just the first step.  May God multiply Grace upon Grace to you this weekend. 

"May the Lord of Peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.  The Lord be with you all!"  II Thes. 3:16.

We constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.  We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Thess 1:11-12.  This is "owing" not to any sliver of worthiness in our lives.  It is all owing to God.  Just like the unworthy tax collector, Zacchaeus in all of us---the "free" grace of God counts you and me and Zacchaeus worthy.  The good pleasure of His Goodness wants us to live fulfilled.  All those desires for goodness---He wants them filled.  And that work of faith with power---Matthew Henry writes that it is not only an "operative grace," but it is a work of God.  His operation that He works in me and in you.  What an operation we are a part of!  And the Author of it all will be the Finisher---by His Mighty Power.  "The same hands which laid the foundation of it, raise it up, carry it on, and give the finishing strokes" to all of our desires, all done by the power of God.

PHOTO:  Quarries Lake where I go to pray. Rise up Grace! Grow Greater!

323 - “God Is Tender Toward Suffering” I Thessalonians 1-5

                                                   

I Thes 1:1 - Paul says grace to you. Oh, this day, may grace abound in the pounding of our hearts. "For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you...your faith toward God has gone forth." 

 I Thes 1:8. Is there any other way to truly live? 

 May the words of my mouth this day, 

this urgent matter at hand, 

may it be the Word, 

may my faith be known, 

not my dilemma.

For we have all turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God. And wait for Him. I'm not waiting on any man. I Thes 1:9.  Not waiting on any report.  Those are just words on a paper.  I have the true Word, the Living Word. 

And we accept this Word for what it truly is. The Word of God. Not the word of man.

Hope for a new chapter.  Hope for a better me.  Hope for new strength.  

I Thes 4:11 that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business ...

"It is very desirable to have a calm and quiet temper, and to be of a peaceable and quiet behaviour. Satan is busy to trouble us; and we have in our hearts what disposes us to be unquie; therefore let us study to be quiet." 

I think about this verse like every day. Am I moving quiet in my mind? Am I living quiet in my heart?

The news came swift on that day —- December 13, 2013 —-  and as sudden as the day closed, a newly diagnosed tumor. I was prepared for it as I went through the door of the oncologist's office. I knew. I'll visit a surgeon today. I did. The surgeon says it is nothing to be concerned about. That was exactly 10 years ago. I'm still here.   

PHOTO: Walked this pensive Pacific shore. Make it my own business to lead a quiet life.

322 - “God Knows Your Address” Acts 17:1 - 18:18

 

                                                                       

In Acts 17: 16 Paul enters the pinnacle city of religious commitment, Athens. The place where scholars long to be. But, Paul isn't captivated by what he sees. He calls it as it is: idols. God isn't calling us to improve ourselves and he shoots down their mistaken philosophy. And Paul calls it what it is: sin. The service of idols. Rather than the service of the one, true, God. That's the good work Paul came to do in Athens, the center of philosophy. May we lay down our philosophical talk today and serve the Living God. 

Acts 17:26.  It's the verse God gave me on the day my first daughter was born.  This God is not served by human hands.  He gives life and breath and everything to you.  And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.  He determined your allotted periods and the boundaries of your dwelling place.  That you should seek God!  And feel your way toward Him and find Him.  She will wherever on the face of the earth she is.  He is not far from each of us.  In Him, we live and move and have our being.

PHOTO: Here I am with my firstborn girl’s little one. God gave life and breath and determined all of this.   Beyond beauty of what I knew. 

321 - “Trust Truth Not Your Experiences” Acts 16

 

I love Acts 16:15!  It is the LORD Who opens hearts.  We rush around our Christian hearts trying to pry open our shiny veneer.  We end up doing penance for even trying too hard  "The Lord opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul." 

May God open each of our hearts, this day, to pay attention to what God is saying to us.  

Acts 16:12 "The Jews received Paul's message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said." The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonicans!  Oh to be known for nobility.  

The beauty of Berea is incredible.  Yet the true beauty of Paul's life was not honored here.  Standing in Herod's House where Paul was persecuted and thrown into jail.  The palace and surroundings is beyond compare.  Only Paul's life is beyond comparison and he was persecuted for real beauty.  

Acts 16:23 - The idolatry in Athens so angered Paul.  He told them:  "You take your religion seriously.  I found one idol inscribed: 'To the God Nobody Knows.'  Well, I'm here to introduce you to this God!! The God Who made the world and everything in it!  He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him!  He is calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right."

As I sat on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee, hearing the words "Blessed are the Meek..."  I still ponder that moment and all the Followers both living and dead who have clung to those timeless words.  Larry Crabb, my counselor and friend, opened his mouth and God filled it on this Mount...Psalm 81:10.  There is one Truth from Larry that will stay with me for a long time.  One thought persists.  If I had to sum up in about 10 words what God has been doing in my life to grow me so much over the past four years, well here’s the powerfully short sentence.  “You must now trust Truth, not your experience or your blessings.”  Larry Crabb

320 - “A Mist of Problems” Acts 15

                                                         

God opened Lydia's heart to obey the things spoken by Paul.  Her tears held deep emotions.  Her tears held the cognizance of a new life.  Her tears tell hope and courage and faith.  May we truly listen to the Word of God.  May we hear the stories our tears tell. 

The apostles spoke so plainly, so pure full of concern for souls. People knew their success was attributed to God not their expertise. Not so today. It's too much about how good people are in speaking, teaching. These plain pure men proved the Spirit of God. May it be said of those of us who are nondescript in obscurity. It is God in our lives willing and working on our behalf. 

Our God has opened the door of faith wide open to all of us who were once strangers. I turn 74 today. It was on my 21st birthday that I went to the Catholic chuirch on the LSU Campus and fell on my knees sobbing that my search was over. I wanted to wholeheartedly follow God. But there was a nagging question. Who was right?  The Catholics or the Baptists or some other religion. How do you really know? 

Well, I found out how you really know and here it is 53 years later and I am still following, still standing, still in love with my First Love.

So, according to Acts 15…

Rend your hearts not your behavior. And we will know what we really care about when we are snubbed and dubbed and can walk away rejoicing we were counted worthy to suffer. 

Let us bury our past——all the injuries and insults. 

Father, Lead us this day to rend our hearts to You alone. Not to change our behavior to fit the occasion. But would You change our lives this day. 

 

PHOTO: Wide open spaces. A wide door of faith. Open. Help us to walk through the mist. 

319 - “That Christ Be Formed In Me” Galatians 4-6

 

The fullness of time came\\\
And! We were all adopted///
We are all known by God\\\
Galatians 4:5 *and* 4:9///

Oh!Oh little children\\\
I am again in travail ///
until Christ is formed\\\
in you.Galatians 4:19///

The deeds of the flesh, well obvious\\\
So, crucify the flesh passion & lusts///
Let nothing interfere obeying Truth\\\
Galatians 5:7 *and* Galatians 5:24///

Let nothing interfere ~ If all we care about are the results of our prayers and the results of our obedience, then we are effectively making that “result” our God, rather than God Himself  (paraphrase from "Miracles" by Eric Metaxas).

Dear Father, Oh that Christ be formed in each of us a little more this day than yesterday.

318 - "Don't Fear the Frowns" Galatians 1-3

"Am I NOW seeking the favor of men,
or of God?"
Or, am I striving to please men. Gal 1:10.

My ambition must be
to make known This Gospel of Grace
that is not according to man.

These verses are all about God, not man.
Preaching the Gospel to bring people to
The obedience, not of men, but of God.

Do not be confounded by the people's faces,
no fears of the frowns of men; no curryfavoring.
This is fresh revelation from the mouth of God.

It is not all this learning that leads us to Christ.
We can search endlessly
It is the very breath of God on us all.

Galatians 1:6 - They turned to a different Gospel.
I wonder if we turn without even being aware that we are following a gospel written by man.  This Gospel is written not by human hearts but by the will of God.  This Gospel. 

Sorrow and surprise both at what Paul sees.  So quickly.  They turned.
Amnesiacs.
I’m right out of surgery.  Have a little anesthesia left in me.
But, I’m tethered to the true Gospel.  Forever.
Whatever sin or suffering or dilemma or distress comes my way.
To Whom else shall we go?
It is the One True Gospel of God. 
And I will not walk away.   

PHOTO:  Sending hearts to God, not man.  Stained-glass window at the Browning Library in Waco.

317 - “Not A Checklist But A Waitlist” James 1-5

 James 1:2 ~Count it ALL JOY when you encounter trials of all kinds.

Fearless Courage rather than 
Mindless Submission.

Mark it down with Sincerity of Heart.
Not a Checklist but a Waitlist 
with accounting marks.
Waiting for a Good God to show up.

I think I have life backwards at times---
that Joy is "no" trials.
Wonder if we will not know deep Joy
until we endure through trials? 

‘

James 2:1, 5 ~ Show no partiality as you hold the faith....make no distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts.  God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom.  Love as though your life depended on it because it does (I Cor 14:1).

If you see someone lacking in daily food spiritually/emotionally/physically, don't just say: "Peace to you. Be warmed and filled." Show your faith by your works. ~  James 2:18

316 - “Kept People” Acts 12-14

                                                                  

Peter knew he was "kept" by God. Each of you are "kept" people. Kept in any situation you are in. For Peter... Kept in prison. Acts 12:5 Meanwhile, his friends, hiding in houses, prayed in secret, in groups, relentlessly. Waxing and waning in prayer. Time was about to run out for Peter. Time for their prayers sifted through the hour glass. The very same night Herod was to seize him and those prayers sent up remained still unanswered. "And when Herod would have brought him forth" God moved. He kept his disciples waiting long for this. What about you and me? Is He keeping us waiting? Do we deserve better treatment than the church of God? Rescued from the clutches of a man's hand. Acts 12:11 And Peter knew it was God. "Such, however, is the law of God's procedure." Deut 32:36 The Lord will vindicate and relent concerning his servants when He sees their strength is gone. May every person who reads these thoughts, especially those whose strength is gone, may you know deep inside that you are kept even in this.

PHOTO: A sultry sunset over Santa Rosa Island contemplating what it means to be a kept person.

315 - "Brought To Christ's Feet With These Words" Acts 9-11

                                                                  

"And the Hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed." Acts 11:21.

 

The persecution of the church, the harm hurled through threats and brutality---it was meant to destroy and kill the followers.  But this.  The very first preachers of Good News.  Dispersed.  All because of persecution.  What others mean for harm still works for good then and now.

 

And the work of conversion works on all of us, then and now.

 

And the hand of the Lord---God showed them His Favor.  Manifest in Miracles.  

Hearts changed forever.

"Not only his Hand of Providence, which brought them thither, and protected them; and his Hand of love, grace and mercy, which was upon them, and supplied them with gifts and grace, and everything necessary for them; and his Hand of wisdom, which guided and directed them; but his Hand of power, the same with the Arm of the Lord, which when revealed, and made bare, the report of the Gospel is believed."  John Gibbs

Seeing the face of Christ dazzled Paul to the things of Another Country. It took his eyes off of this world and what he was doing to make this world work. Dazzled by the Holy One. Blinded and offered eternal hope. And Paul cooperated to the fullest extent with the One Who held his hand. Acts 9:9

Every one of us has to answer the question:  "Who are you, Lord?" Acts 9:5
Such a wonder that Saul found Him.
Such a wonder that we find Him today.
God can draw aside the blindness.
God did for me. And He has for you.
"Who was brought to Christ's feet with those words?" M. Henry
I'm praying we all will be.

PHOTO: The Hill Country today. Thinking about His Hand. 

314 - "One Hour In Heaven" Acts 7-8

Does it lead to life and godliness?
Like Stephen, who lived the singular life.
Acts 7

Does it make me more alive?
Does it give me hope that heaven will make amends
"for all the difficulties and inconveniences of the road.  
Life and godliness are put together. 
The gate is strait and the way narrow and up-hill,
Matthew 7:14
but one hour in heaven will make amends for it." 
bible commentary

PHOTO: The heavens. 

313 - "IF God Is The Author" Acts 4-6

                                                         

If.

If this is from God. 

If. 

Then you won't be able to stand. 

"If God is the 'Author' of this religion. From this it seems that Gamaliel supposed that it was at least possible that this religion was divine. He evinced a far more candid mind than did the rest of the Jews; but still it does not appear that he was entirely convinced." John Gibbs

How could a witness to a Resurrection not stagger our life?

How could a lame man of 40 years walking into the Sanctuary not bewilder us with wonder? 

How could an angel unlocking a cell to free the apparent innocent not shock unlocked?

The Almighty is Here. 

Oh Father. Help our unbelief. 

PHOTO:  No one can raise a sun, a body, the crippled, the broken. Only Him. 
A Resurrection. A Healing. A Breakthrough. 
Only explained in terms of God. 

312 - "It is Enough" Acts 1-3

                                                                                 

You will receive power. Acts 1:8

It is a specific energy only from God. 

For time and eternity. 

We are made new in strength. 

 

"This energy would be given in such times and seasons, and in such measures, as should appear best to the infinite wisdom of God." John Gill

It is Enough in this life that God has spoken to me through His Word. 

It is Enough in this life that God has given to me the strength to live what He has brought my way. I would not have made it otherwise. 

It is Enough in this life that God has given me power to be His Witness. "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority." Acts 1:7 Then and Now. We are to live what is before us. When trifling about how life has left me lonely and empty, Look to the Northern Sky. He is coming Again. 

There was a rushing great and mighty wind that fell on the whole town, on that singular waiting room.Acts 2:1-4. That city felt the supernatural touch of a Powerful God. They had to know Something was happening in their midst. And the wintry blast of that Holy Wind prepares 11 souls and their close friends for the Gentle Gales of a Good God. 

That Gentle Flame of Fire on each head signifying the Spirit burning up the dross of our lives and kindling deep devotion in our souls and filling us with Himself. That Holy Spirit, like fire, melts our hearts. Isa 6:7.

PHOTO: Live in this present moment. The Holy Spirit can give you what you need to face this day, this circumstance.   Walk circumspect. Look up. To another world. 

PHOTO: Washington State. Remembering the trifling as I ascended these rest stop stairs. The Northern Sky is the backdrop.

311 - "Live for The World Where He Went in Your Unuttered Questions" Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 14; John 20-21

                                                                        

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you... Matthew 28:5-7. 

This Risen Christ. 

A hope & joy to his followers. 

A confusion & terror to his enemies. 

"We do not read of any words as spoken by the women, but the words which they now heard were an answer to their unuttered questionings and fears."

I hold unuttered questions, unspeakable fears. And I don't have to verbalize anything to this Risen Christ Who is no longer here. He knows. 

Just live for the world where He went. 

Lo, I am with you Always. Matthew 28:20

PHOTO: Full Moon over all our unuttered longings. 

310 - "The Real Battle Is Within Me" Matthew 27:32-66; Mark 15:21-47; Luke 23:26-56; John 19:17-42; Psalm 22

The priests couldn't heal. All these regulations. How could they even remember. 

But, Henry says: If we apply this to the spiritual leprosy of sin, 

it intimates that when we withdraw from those who walk disorderly, 

we must not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brothers. 

And I just love that thought.  The leprosy of sin---I've been made to feel that way.  Like a leper.  May I never count them as my enemy but treat them as a friend---and a friend gives admonishments, too.  

Matthew 27:51 "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom;

 and the earth shook and the rocks were split.  

The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs." Would they believe now?  He was born in silence.  He died in a silence that shook the world & reverberates to this very day.  Satan stripped of all power.  Deliverance from a Domain of Darkness.  Transfers to a New Kingdom.  Temples torn in two.  The walking dead going back home.  Empowered to serve God's Kingdom.  

"That means that the real battle now is within me, between my own urge to grasp after whatever seems necessary and the desire to give, to love others like Jesus does." 66LL

PHOTO: Standing on the brink here. Remembering C.S. Lewis' words: "Where did all of this beauty come from?" Will I believe now? Even looking at the leprosy of sin. Delivered from that domain. And when I withdraw from the disorderly, what do I do with them?

309 - "Counterfeit Holiness" Matthew 27:1-31; Mark 15:1-20; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28 - 19:16

 "Do not desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’”  Think about the priests in Jesus' day.  "All the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor” (Matt. 27:1-2).  They took counsel.  The error of the chief priests and Pharisees has been perpetuated and refined from Leviticus to this century. This error has to do with a false perception of holiness.  What does holiness really look like?  The chief priests?  Counterfeit holiness. What about today.  Are we a holy people?  God is most concerned about making us holy. Is that my major concern in any given matter?  Are we dealing with the Truth?

PHOTO: Browning's sanctuary. You shall know the truth and it will make you free. And God will make you holy.

307 - "Releasing Beauty" John 16 - 17

They sat on a make-shift dock, watching Jesus row alone into the sunset to go pray.  John 16:6 Sorrow fills their hearts because the disciples now know that Christ is going to die.  He never told them before now. But they are about to experience more joy than could be imagined. And what He will do for them---He will send a Helper. John 16:7.  We experience suffering and joy unbelievable in this life.  Crabb says it this way in 66LL:

"Understand this:  To commune with Me in this life is to live like My Son with His Life alive in you.
Believe this:  Communion with God leads to an eternal experience of God and unimaginable blessings from God on earth and in heaven.  [And communion is not defined by an experience of Me.  Nor does it depend on blessings from God.]  To really live is to release Christ through any circumstance, no matter how you feel; to relate as he related, giving when no one gives back, loving when no one returns love, forgiving when no one deserves forgiveness... ."

I don't know. . . if too many more things go wrong in my life, I don't know that I can stand it.  Yet, I have the promise of an Advocate.  I have the power of Another Helper.  That changes everything for me.  I have more joy in my life in the midst of more mess than ever. And more questions than ever.  And more peace enveloping me.  I don't know how to explain it except to say, it is Christ's power that draws me out to live beyond my circumstances and keep on going on.

Psalm 50:2 - Perfect in Beauty is the God who pours out of all of us. If there is anything good about our lives, dear God, it is You.  Help me to continue to offer Beauty where there is distance, Love where there is arrogance, and Kindness where I am invisible.  

PHOTO: A make-shift deck where I have sat with unanswered prayer many a days, many a years.

 

306 - “Continue In Love” John 14, 15

Continue in my love. Keep up your love to me, and then the troubles you meet with will not be overwhelming, but love made seven years’ hard service easy like Jacob. "Let not the troubles you meet with for Christ’s sake quench your love to Christ, but rather quicken it." Let his joy remain in you, and fill you. "You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain." John 15:16. And where that Love is not possible, pray like your life depended on it for Something is always going on. "And when we pray (for Love), Something of Heaven comes down." Jim Cymbala

PHOTO:  Two miracles in the middle of this photo. Four miracles, truly. God holds our next breath in His Hands. We are chosen. Appointed. Go and bear fruit. Pray for Love. 

305 - "Do You Love Me?" Matthew 26:1-5; 26:14-35; Mark 14:1-2, 14:10-31; Luke 22:1-38; John 13

 

Matthew 26:10 Out of extravagant love, this woman did something wonderfully significant for Jesus.  How could she have known it would be so significant to Him?  Wonderfully significant!  It was done out of gratitude.  And out of the extravagance of her pocketbook and heart.  It was worth a year in wages for that day.  A lot of money poured out.  Did Jesus care how much money she spent on Him?  May we live out of extravagant Love this day doing something significant for Him.  Wonder what that could be?  Maybe forgiving someone.  Maybe giving what???  I don't know.  What does it mean for me to follow Him today?  I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place but may I be more concerned with loving God and loving people.  Do you love Me more than the money in your pocketbook?

Matthew 26:34  "Don't be so sure," Jesus said. "This very night, before the rooster crows up the dawn, you will deny me three times, Peter."  Do you love Me more than playing it safe with your own life?

Matthew 26:35  Peter protested, "Even if I had to die with you, I would never deny you." All the others said the same thing.   Do you love Me more than keeping a good reputation?

Matthew 26:41 "There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."   Stay alert; be in prayer.  They couldn't stay awake to pray with Jesus!  Do you love Me more than protecting your sleep time?  Even Jesus in 26:44 went back the third time to pray...do I go back 3 times???

Matthew 26:50  Jesus said, "Judas, my friend, why this charade?" And the disciples cut off the ear of the Chief Priest.  Do you love Me more than holding on to your own anger and control of situations?

Then all the disciples cut and ran.   Do you love Me more than running in your fear?

Matthew 26:69  Peter slipped in and mingled with the servants, watching to see how things would turn out for Jesus.  All this time, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard. A servant girl confronted Peter and he denied knowing Jesus.  Do you love Me, Peter, more than playing it safe?

Matthew 26:71  As Peter moved toward the gate, someone else confronted him and he denied ever laying eyes on Jesus.  Do you love Me, Peter, more than your life?

Matthew 26:73  Bystanders approached Peter---your accent gives you away!  Peter swears he doesn't know the Christ.  And a rooster crows.  And Peter remembers!  Do you love Me, Peter?  Peter went out and cried and cried and cried.

Followers of Christ in this chapter knew so little surrender.  They cut off ears; they fell asleep in prayer; they denied even knowing Jesus.  What do I want more than the Love of my Christ?  His Words ring in my ears this day:  Do you love Me?

PHOTO:  The Word of God. Speak. Listen. Attach to His Word not to any man or any thing. 

304 - "Love Grown Cold" Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21:5-38

Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.  Matthew 24:12.  

Isn't that our world today---such decline of morality, true religion.  

So much love grown cold.  

May we be vigilant...watch and wait for He is coming back for me, for you.  

Meanwhile, if God opens a door of escape, take it. Too often, I want to make it harder and pay for my sins.  "We ought to make our escape, otherwise we do not trust God."  Matthew Henry. Unthaw this freezing heart of mine.  May our love never stay cold.  

Because One Day this will all be over.  All this worldly glory will be gone.

All these things we have cared about way too much.

See through the possessions and the physical beauty and the parades and the pomp.

See right through the facade to the Day we live for:

Falling Stars from the sky. 

Darkened Sun under head.  

Forgotten Moon failing to turn on the light. 

Powerful Heavens shaken to the core.

Appearing Son of Man---in the Sky.

Mourning Tribes of the earth.

Watchful Eyes see Someone coming on the clouds.

Sending Angels to gather His Elect from the 4 winds.

PRAYER FROM PSALMS

Psalm 83

Keep not your silence; hold not your peace; be not still, O God.

That everyone we know may know that Your Name is Jehovah.

PHOTO: The freezing Mount Rainier.

303 - "We Are All A Slow Thaw" Matthew 22:15 - 23:39; Mark 12:13-44; Luke 20:20 - 21:4; 13:31-35

Here comes an entangling question from a Pharisee.
And it's all about judgment.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see."  Matthew 23:2-5

Who do Pharisees prefer--- Jesus?  One would think Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, would choose God over their own loves.  But the point of this passage is this---who do I prefer by the way that I live today? 

There are some folks whose minds I cannot change, cannot even make a dent.  Do I prefer God more than success. 

DEAR GOD, PLEASE CHANGE ME IN MY 10,000 MOMENTS OF BEING OFFERED LIFE AND PREFERENCES.  What I choose today reveals more about my character.  May I love You with all my heart, soul, and mind more than my loves. 

PHOTO: It's a place where I stood that I didn't know that what would happen to us would be reversed.  Doesn't matter what happens to us but "in" us.  And God has been so good to us!

302 - "Jesus is Our Brother, Our Sister, Our Neighbor" Matthew 21:23 - 22:14; Mark 11:27 - 12:12; Luke 20:1-19; John 12:37-50

                                                                  

Matthew 21: 31-32 "The tax collectors and the prostitutes will go into the kingdom of God before the Pharisees. For John came in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe Him. The tax collectors and the prostitutes believed Jesus. But even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe Him."  We always have this present moment to change our minds.  But life is more than making good choices and changing our thinking.  Even the Pharisees did that. 

The Pharisees did not practice what they preached. What did they fear more than they feared Christ and His Love?  They feared the crowds.

The Pharisees studied the Scriptures diligently because they thought that in them they had eternal life.What did they miss while studying the Word?  They refused to come to Jesus to have life.  John 5:39-40

"They were convinced that their wounds must be healed, their void must be filled before they could love." 66LL  With that conviction ruling within, they lived life in the flesh and became addicted to the experience of:
SATISFACTION
FOOD
SEX
MINISTRY
CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
WORSHIP TIMES
MEANINGFUL WORK
HAPPY FAMILY LIFE...
                              66 LL

What am I stuck in this blistery morn? 
Come Closer, He says.
We are all a slow thaw

"I'll set up my residence in your neighborhood." If we surrender, He is our neighbor. Oh!  

If we confess our sins...wait, when was the last time I repented of sin?  About 15 minutes ago.  I went into the living room to my husband to ask his forgiveness for being very rude to him, but you know what happened?  I sinned again right there cause I didn't like his response.  We have the awesome privilege of going into the Holy of Holies and living no longer curved in.  Repentance isn't just asking someone to forgive me but it's turning from it.  

66 Love Letters: "Think of holiness as relational energy that is more concerned with another's well-being than our own. Think of unholiness as perverted relational energy that is more concerned with our well-being than another's." 

PHOTO: Tax collectors. Prostitutes. Neighbors. Children. He set up His residence right here. 

301 - “My Wishful Thinking" Matthew 23;6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 11:55 - 12:36; Matthew 21:1-22; Mark 11:1-26; Luke 19:28-48; John 2:19-35

                                                    

Matthew 21:9 - "Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!"  And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is This?"

Hosanna, Save Now, to their King
but the King of Kings came as Prince of Peace

Descending on this Triumphal Swerving Road
Overlooking the Kedron Valley with Tears
Oh, Man of Sorrows

A Suffering Savior on the Path to Death
Refusing to play Conqueror of Conquests

Fearful Pharisees watching & exclaiming
The Whole World Has Gone after Him (Jn 12:19)

Palms of Victory for..."Who is This?"
Riding a Donkey, a Symbol of Peace.

50,000 Triumphant Cheers turn to Crucify Jeers
Death.  Doom.  Deliverance.
Messiah Deliverer.

The point is that a king would come riding upon a horse when he was bent on war; 
but he came riding upon an ass for he was coming in peace. 
This action of Jesus is a sign that He was not the warrior figure men dreamed of, 
but the Prince of Peace. No one saw it that way at that time, not even the disciples...
They were looking for the Messiah of their own dreams and their own wishful thinking.               William Barclay

Do I look this day for the Messiah of my own dreams, my own wishful thinking?  
Or do I embrace The Deliverer Who Has Come to Save Me and Set Me Free?

PHOTO: Walking the beach of Santa Rosa. Thinking about these questions. What is my own wishful thinking?

300 - "Wishing Forward...Come Home" Mark 10:32-52; Luke 18:31 - 19:27

The road we travel is full of invitations.

Only One is worth the price.

Christ is calling.

Come

Home

Someone asked me tonight about how I made it through losing our church of 27 years, the people where we had our babies and watched them grow together and lived a whole lot of wonderful life.  I thought for a moment and sensed deep within that it was not about anyone else's decision.  No, it's about me and my longing to love.  God has awakened my heart to things I never knew before and that's worth going through anything.  But, it's that longing to love that so grips me.  I don't want to miss this Grace of God, like Jonah once said in Jonah 2:8. 

Crabb says it this way:  "if you miss everything in this letter, don't miss this:  My Son wished forward...proseuebomai...which means to wish forward.  That is the core of human maturity in this life.  Christ had no greater desire than to carry out His part in God's Plan.  That is the center of spiritual formation, not more energy, not feeling more upbeat, but a clear awareness of the deepest truly human desire, a desire that releases resolve, an unflinching determination to follow the lead of Christ in bringing Heaven's Kingdom to earth, a longing to love."  No more important thought for me in the midst of a mess, in the midst of mega trouble, in the midst of loss. 

Luke 19:10 The Son of Man comes to seek...He invited Himself into Zaccheus' home.  He is inviting Himself into your heart, your longings.  Will we respond to the Son of Man or give into the loud echoes that linger all day long in our minds.  Constant echoes of how my life matters little to others.  Oh, don't let that echo reverberate.  Christ is coming to your home.  Giving you the gift of longing to love, learning to love.  Have mercy on us all, O God.

PHOTO:  The road less traveled in our day. Photo Credit: Free Images/ iStockPhotos. 

299 - "What Do You Really Want?" Luke 16:1 - 18:30; Matthew 20

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”  Matthew 20:21

Mark says it was the 2 brothers who asked.  Matthew says the mama asked for superior positions, right smack dab next to the heart of the King.  They thought Jesus would establish a Kingdom on earth.  So, why not ask for first dibs on the highest position in the land. 

What drives these people to pursue ambition? 
What drive my very own ambition as I approach sunset years?
Why did they want positions far above their peers?
Did the mom really think she could just ask and Jesus would nod "yes."

Jesus' replies about suffering.  Hmmm.  Why do we default to solving our problems and reversing life's tragedies.  God never intended for us to live on the throne.  He calls us to live in this present moment.  What do I really want?  What do my questions expose?

If I have love and great ambition for the Kingdom, I still have ambition.  Noisy clanging cymbals. 

DEAR GOD, PLEASE CHANGE ME IN MY 10,000 MOMENTS OF SINFUL AMBITION where I want to be recognized, validated, appreciated, loved here on this earth.  May I care more about celebrating You and Your Kingdom no matter where my place is.  You are the God of all tight places and we may have to suffer in this present world---why do we think we are exempt?

PHOTO:  I have talked to God about ambition at this lovely lake.  What do I really want?  What if God leaves me with "no show"?  What if God doesn't put closure on the suffering in our lives?  What if?  What do my questions really reveal?  Ambition.

298 - "Let Go of Your Worldliness" Matthew 19; Mark 10:1-31

                        

“Good Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Matthew 19:16. 

Life is not about "doing," all about "being."  

Being so in love that service flows out. 

It is not our service that God wants. Our hearts. 

Follow fully. The Gospel is the remedy for our sin-sick souls. 

G. K. Chesterson once said "We are all seasick together."  Just tell me what I have to do to obey you, God, and I'll work out a way to go do it.  I'll crawl on glass for you. I'll walk a tightrope.  Oh my.  We so want the Bible to be a road map to get us there. We silently scream: Give me the plan and we will do it. Along comes a very young wealthy ruler.  He kneels and addresses the Son of Man as "Good Teacher," a very respectable title.  Jesus' answer jolts me.  He didn't rebuke him! My mind goes to raising my children and how way-too-quickly I would rebuke them for what they said wrong, did wrong. Rather than love them by finding out what is really going on in their hearts. The Gospel of Mark says that Jesus looked and loved the Young Fella.  Oh for eyes to look and love not rebuke our young people.  Jesus looked past his measured dutiful obedience and asked the Young Fella to "let go" of his wealth.  Let go of your worldliness.  You see, the problem was not owning wealth but the ruler's demanding love of the wealth.  What is it that we cannot "let go" of?  What does God bring to our minds? We don't have to dig for it. Let's be more concerned about loving well than seeking out sin. Let Him speak to the recesses of our mind, the creases on our face.  What must I do?  Why do you ask about that?  

       You and I have need of the strongest spell 
       that can be found to wake us from
       the evil enchantment of worldliness which
       has been laid upon us for nearly a hundred years.               
                               C. S. Lewis The Weight of Glory

297 - "Find Pretense to Put off Attendance" Luke 14-15

                                                            

When you are invited to a wedding feast, do not sit in a place of honor. Humble yourself. We live in such a celebrity society. People long to be associated with high success. Drop that name. Squeeze into that friend circle. Believe that you have to have that friendship, that opportunity, that ministry, in order to feel good about your world. He who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 14:11. Free grace is always yours for the taking. Abundant mercy is ready to be delivered. "All found pretence to put off their attendance." M. Henry. Just put in your application while you put off the pretence and put on the attendance. Show up today. All in. Full force. Psalm 3:3. He is the Lifter of your head.

And Seek Peace. Peace on earth? Luke 14:51. Peace in your heart. I read tonight the book, "Peace Child." A beautiful story of courageous couples who moved thousands of miles away empty-handed with fists unclenched. Just to make friends with the Sawi Nation who held fast to treachery as an ideal. Matthew Henry said: "It is our interest to seek peace with God, and we need not send to ask the conditions of peace. They are offered to us, and are highly to our advantage." Seek Peace.

PHOTO: Standing on this shore. So many things wrong in my life. Didn't think I would end up here. Even today, a harrowing experience. But we need not put any conditions on the peace. He gives. And He gives good.

296 - "Discern the Face of Your Soul" Luke 12:1 - 13:30

                                                  

What do I give way to?
How people view me.
How many people follow me.
What others think of me.
What I have accomplished.
What I hold in my hand.

I wonder why the first things I thought about was not this>
What do I give way to?
Jesus, my best friend
What is the Word of God.
What is the Promises of God for me.
What is God doing in my life.
What does God think of me.
What is God's will.

Give caution to the winds of my sail.  Caution not to give way to the disquieting and perplexing cares of living life as an older adult.  Luke 12:31.  Take it as it is---don't pursue the necessary things of this world.  We are working servants but also waiting servants.  We wait for no man. Meanwhile. Take care of your very soul. 

 

How is it that you do not know how to interpret these present times? Luke 12:56.  May we be as wise in the concern of our very soul as we are wise in the concern of "outward affairs."  May we discern the face of our soul more than the face of the sky.  

295 - "Make Good Choices and the Piercing of Your Soul Will Be Found Out" Luke 10; John 10:1 - 11:54

                                                                         .

Martha was anxious and troubled about more than one thing. Jesus told her: "Only One Thing is Necessary." Mary chose the good portion. So, what's the good portion? If this is just about making good choices, we can "work" on our salvation but that's called works righteousness. The choices must come from a good portion, a good place in our hearts. It's about making choices for His Glory not mine, His Goals not my comfort. Our LORD reveals our motivations in our choices---the intentions of our hearts---and thus, even choices may look really good, but are we controlled by the Love of our Christ. I may choose to say a good word to you this day and sin horribly in the midst. Man looks on the outward appearances; God looks into our hearts. Only One Thing Necessary. 

PHOTO:  The eyes of man are never satisfied. We want our world to work, to be peaceful, to be safe. 

We want the world.  Make good choices from a good place in your heart and the piercing of your soul will be found out.  

294 - "8 Billion Know The Sun Lit Up The World Today" John 7-9

Eight billion people saw the sun light up the world this morning.

Christ is the Light of the World.
He lights 8 billion today
and all those who have ever lived.

A Metaphor.

"I am the Light of the World;
He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness."
Even in our darkest moments, Light shines.
John 8:12. 

There have been times … when I thought I could cry forever. But I haven’t done it … The living can’t quit living because the world has turned terrible … They can’t because they don’t. The light that shines in darkness and never goes out calls them on into life … into the world, into whatever the world will require.

Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

Indeed, Light did shine for the woman caught in adultery.
The Light of the World searches and shines
To show her Mercy
To show her accusers their sin.
She calls Him LORD.
Do we do that in our sin?

Continue in My Word,
and you will know the Truth,
and the Truth shall make you free.
John 8:32
Christ offers a freedom from the bondage of sin.
He has power, the Energy, to do this.
Today, in Chapel,
a POW spoke of that freedom from sin.
He said:
"To forgive is to set the prisoner free,
only to find out you were the prisoner."
                                                         Lt. Tim McCoy
The woman caught in adultery slipped away
Free from the shame.
Free from herself.
Free to follow.

PHOTO:  The Quarries Lake where I bring my darkness, my darkest days, to cast them on the waters that carry my tears. 

293 - "If Jesus Walked Into Your Room Tonight" Mark 9:2-50; Luke 9:28-56

                                                                        

The disciples don't even know the intentions of their own heart here.  How often does that happen in all of us on our way to do good?  They wanted fire rained down on those who didn't believe.  Jesus came not to destroy but deliver.  Luke 9:51

Christ is always doing us good.  He sees the crowd in need.  He never leaves us "straitened or stinted."  Love that God just doesn't straighten us out but gives grace, healing, joy.

Five loaves.  Two fish.  It's all He had to work with.  Every day, Christ makes it happen again in the midst of impossible odds.  But, He is not playing the odds; He controls them.  Luke 9:10. were to walk into the room right now where you sit, what would He say to you?  Am I too concerned about how others interpret my life?  I think my God would wrap His Loving Arms around me and have compassion on me right where I am.  You see, I am a mess right now, but make no mistake about what I say, I am a glorious mess!  My tears are hot and flowing and repentant.  And I cannot be more pleased with what I am seeing in my own life---how a Gracious God is allowing me to deal with what's going on inside of my heart when others are mistreating me. He is giving me a heart to move into their lives and so want to do it!  I need to deal with me and my doings not theirs.  Mark 9:24 ~ LORD, I believe, help my unbelief!

PHOTO: A scroll from a shop in Israel. The Word. The Living Word. Nothing matters more.

292 - "Move Forward" Matthew 17 - 18

                                                                 

Matthew 17:14-15 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before Jesus, said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly."  What anguish of soul for a Dad to watch his son t.o.r.m.e.n.t.e.d. physically by demons. LORD, will you do anything?  Jesus replies in 17:21: With a tiny grain of faith, say to your mountain: 'Move Forward,' and it will move!  Nothing will be impossible for you.  

The disciples just didn't get "it," did they?  (17:20) - 'You're not yet taking God seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." 

What circumstances riddle my soul this day?  Will faith be found among us?  The Kingdom is near!  I can wrestle with a Good God just like these disciples wrestled to find faith.  "I can live to give and not to grasp.  I can bring a taste of heaven to earth."  66 LL. 
A Son of Adam, bothered by Satan, not only spiritually (like us all) but also physically.  Followers of Christ, not able to do anything about it.  Do the things of God rest on our hearts with deep conviction? What am I truly convinced of? The Truth will set you free.  How can the Truth, which we know not from conviction, be instrumental in our own hands of becoming faith in others?  Help us all, dear LORD, to deal with our own stuff.  By our tiny faith, we will draw out from others the people God intended for them to be.  What am I drawing out of those closest to me?

PHOTO:  The mountains of the Northwest. Majestic. Move mountain! 

291 - "Lose Your Life" Matthew 16; Mark 8:11 - 9:1; Luke 9:18-27

           

"You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." Matthew 16:23-25

"The cross is here put for every trouble that befalls us...that is best which is appointed us, and we ought to make the best of it." Take up your cross today. He knows best Who has laid it in my path.   

PHOTO: Sunset in Dallas tonight. Who put these crosses here?

290 - "Curved In On Myself" Matthew 15; Mark 7:1 - 8:10

                                                       

Matthew 15:18 - "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander."   Incurvatus in se----Latin for "curved inward on oneself."  Romans 7: 18-19 - "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."  

       Augustine coined the phrase "curved in on itself."  
       Martin Luther expounded on the phrase by writing:  
       "Our nature, by the corruption of the first sin, 
       being so deeply curved in on itself 
       not only bends the best gifts of God towards itself & enjoys them 
       (as is plain in the works-righteous and hypocrites), 
       but rather even uses God Himself in order to attain these gifts, 
       and also fails to realize that it so wickedly, curvedly, and viciously 
       seeks all things, even God, for its own sake."

Thank you God, Col. 1:29, there is Greater Energy at work in all of us, powerfully at work!  What Energy is greater in me this moment?

PHOTO: A bridge over troubled waters. Troubles happen to all of us. But it is our arrogance in our hearts that wreak the most havoc. All because we are curved in on ourselves. Lose your life.

289 - "Focus on Power, Not on Problem" Matthew 10, 14; Mark 6:7-56; Luke 9:1-17; John 6

Sometimes, against all odds, we feel like “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. Matthew 14:17

Andrew asks the question of Jesus.  "What are they of so many"?  His focus was on the problem not the Power of a multiplying God.  What am I thinking about deeply?  Am I leaning in, trusting, that the God of all Hope will fill us with peace and joy as we trust Him, according to His Power.

I think what I have here in my hand is 4 loaves and 2 fish.  And it's not even reliable.  Nothing is off course.  Mighty Power is at work in me and you.

Help me to know what I deal with in my thoughts that stop the Sufficiency of Your Hand.  You can multiply to meet the needs of a football field of people.  Please take the 4 loaves and 2 fish in my hand and multiply---You have so done that for me through my depression.  You are Sufficient for what I face.

PHOTO:  What I see looks beautiful on the outside.  What I face inside looks dried and shriveled.  Impossible for anything to come of it.  Not with You!

288 - "Keep On Believing" Matthew 8:18-34; 9:18-38; Mark 4:35 - 5:43; Luke 8:22-56; 9:57-62

The. Time. Has. Come.

The last words of the prophet Malachi still ring 400 years later. Malachi alluded that "the day is coming that shall set them ablaze;" the Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. Here He is saying:

Don't let the world rule your life. "The worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:19. Instead, "hear the Word and accept it." Mark 4:20.

"Keep On Believing" no matter what you see. Mark 5:36. No matter if your world jumps in front of you when you're standing in line to talk to Jesus. No matter if your dreams die before you when Jesus is promising to move on your behalf. No matter if people give up on you and Jesus does not deal with them. No matter what, keep on believing.

The Sun of Righteousness has come to dispel the darkness, scatter the gloom, wipe off the oppression, take care of the injustice. He. Has. Come. and that changes everything. And we need to change our mind about everything. The Light of the World is here.

287 - "Tiniest Mustard Seed Will One Day Be Biggest Shade Tree" Matthew 13:1-53; Mark 4:1-34; Luke 8:1-18

                                       

Jesus told stories to invite them to come closer. Stories about how the tiniest Mustard Seed will one day be the biggest shade tree ever.  We can be a Psalm1 offering stability and shade to our friends. And how One Beautiful Day - Matthew 13:43  "The righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father."  That so stirs something within me!  There are longings in all of us for One Thing:  

       We are men & women in misery who want only One Thing
       Not relief from our misery (althought that would be nice)
       But HOPE ---
       Hope of Intimacy and Meaning and Joy Forever, 
       in Relationship with Our God
       Who is redeeming our story.                                       66 LL

PHOTO:  The sun peeking over the horizon. May its strength and beauty remind us of the Power within us. The sun rose this morning---there is your reminder.