104 - "Something Worse Than Suffering" Judges 1-3; Luke 12:32-59

#104  Something Worse than a difficult life. Something Worse than all this pain & suffering.

Something Worse than all the bad things that happen to us. Am I more afraid of losing the blessings or losing my relationship with God? 

The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?" Judges 2: 1-2. We are no different.  Do we want God or do we want the good life here on earth?  

There is 

Something Worse than a difficult life.  

Something Worse than all this pain & suffering.

Something Worse than all the bad things that happen to us.

Insecure.

Invisible.

Inadequate.

Is that the worse?

Losing all life's blessings?

Is that the worse?

God is re-defining the word "love" for me.

What is my greatest good in this life?

Is it God?

Am I any different than the people in Judges?

Am I more afraid of losing the blessings or losing my relationship with God?

A telling verse: Luke 12:56 How is it that you don't know how to interpret the present time? Your present self?

PHOTO: Hawaii. Thinking about life's greatest good.

103 - God Puts To Flight A Thousand For You" Joshua 22-24; Luke 12:1-31

 #103 Last Words! Love the Lord your God and walk in His Ways and cling to Him with all your heart and soul. God Himself puts to flight a thousand for you. Joshua 22:5-6   

                                                             

Joshua is about to go the way of all flesh. It's his last words that make my heart stand up and scream stop to my world and listen long. What will this servant leader say that could make a difference in our lives? "Love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways and keep his commandments and cling to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” And Joshua blesses them and sends them home. Joshua 22:5-6.

You have seen what the LORD your God has done for you. I sit tonight in the exact same seat I was in over a decade ago when my world crashed in on me. Never in my wildest hopes did I think I could walk out of the depression that immobilized my heart and soul. Not only did I walk out, I have flourished and flown in freedom more than I could have ever thought. If you knew my circumstances right now, that's not what identifies me and makes me stable and successful. It is the LORD, our God Who has been fighting for me. And as I sit in this memorable moment, Joshua 23:10 takes hold of a deep place in me: "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He Who fights for you, just as he promised you. He did! He has! He is! He will! God Himself pushes them out.

What's the price of the bird on the steeple? Luke 12:6. God never overlooks one of them. How much more does He pay attention to you? You are worth more than a million birds. 

Dear Father, As I sit in the spot where I spiraled years ago to depths of despair that were never meant to be, I find You, a Good God turning the watercourse whatever ways You will---Proverbs 21:1. With blind trust, I surrender this present moment. Help us all find a little bit more rest than we had yesterday.

PHOTO: A little bird landed on the cross just as I clicked the camera of this little country church that I passed a thousand times in my life in Fort Worth. Used to live smack dab across the street from this little country church. It's a Beautiful God Who has done an incredible work in my heart as I remember the thoughts I had when I would pass this little country church. And those thoughts are no more.

102 - "Groundswell of Hope" Joshua 19-21; Luke 11:29-54

#102 Joshua 21:44 is a groundswell of hope to this very age. Not only did God give rest from 40 years of wilderness travels, He gave them rest from the fatigue of the battle against the Canaanites. He gave them rest from the pressures and thoughts and emotions they battled within. God gave rest on every side. This recorded experience stands my hope and ground, my confidence in You, Oh God, and what You will yet do for us this day.

This verse, Joshua 21:44, is a groundswell of hope up to this very age.  Not only did God give them rest from 40 years of wilderness travels, and rest from the fatigue of battle against the Canaanites, but also rest from the pressures and thoughts and emotions within where they battled too.  All the days of Joshua.  God gave rest on every side.  

Oh God!  You write these verses as a ground of hope and confidence to me this very night.  Give me rest on every side.  I've spent decades following You and have sought a rest from the physical labor and the woes of life.  This recorded experience stands my ground, my confidence in You and what You will yet do.  In due time. 

The crowd swelled in Luke 11:29 and Jesus told them they are looking for "proof" before hope. All looking for something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracle. The only proof we will ever get is the Jonah-proff given to the Nineties---looks like no proof at all. 

PHOTO: Rest on the horizon.

101 - "Can I Just Believe While in the Situation I Am In" Joshua 16-18; Luke 11:1-28

#101 - Can we just believe while in whatever lot the Lord has apportioned for us? Joshua 17:17

Can we just believe in whatever lot the LORD has apportioned to us

As we cross the bridge from one circumstance to the next?

Believe right in this very place where we stand.

I grew up with little wealth compared to US standards. Same today. What will I do with what I have? Why do I demand God's Love show me more? Why do I wrestle with what the world thinks of people who haven't really made something big in life. A preacher told me one time: "If you succeed, then you'll know that this was the right thing. If you fail, then ... there ... there's your answer. No one will respect you." Funny the things people say to us that stick.  Why do I hold in my heart what the world thinks of me?  And a tear, maybe two, rolls down my cheek.

Joshua spoke to the House of Joseph who complained about having only one lot. Joshua 17:17. I'm giving you one lot and a mountain full of woods to work. Brooks and creeks. Corn and wheat. Cows and pasture. Dare we deserve a handout without any sweat? This Word of God is not about putting Knowledge in our Heads. It changes us to make us want to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Makes us want to work very hard at the job where we are. Transformed to believe and trust and wait in whatever wilderness, whatever lot, whatever circumstance we are in. Not hoping for an end but hoping for Peace Himself to break through in the midst of a broken world, full of Canaanites and broken people. Not to use Canaanites for our ends but to honor what's in our possession and work out love for those with less.

God gives out plenty and want---it is all for our good and simply amazing that He does anything for us, wishy-washy demanding people, deserving of what?  We cannot define the Goodness of God by what we have or do not have.  We define life by the Love from the Eternal Word, Who is always doing us good in lonely fields & forests, in friendly cities & comfort.  What we long for is really Him, the Beauty.  Not the counterfeit of thinking that we have it all here, storing up treasures for whom? 

PHOTO: Image:  Keene Public Library www.flickr.com

100 - "Good Enough Christianity" Joshua 13-15; Luke 10:25-42

                                                                     

I don't think I could enjoy them anymore.  Flew up to Kansas City to pick up Zekey for Ezri's 6th Birthday Party---and flew him back to KC.  Whirlwind trips to the museum, trampoline park, and gargantuan indoor playgrounds.  This won't last forever for me.  I am growing old. No one knows the time.  I will give you everything I can til the day God calls me home.  

“You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over." Joshua 13:1.  God reminds us all, that for those of us who still can, we must finish the work He has given.  He brings others along to put on the top-stone.  He expects Joshua to count where he is.  He expects all of us to number our days and present to Him a heart of wisdom.  Don't lock the door yet.  No bar on the door until it is locked forever.  Remind yourself to rise up to the occasion to fight the good fight of faith and never dismiss the battles all around me---but I must also engage in the battle going on in me.  If I don't, I'll just live in "good-enough" Christianity.  We all need to know how to navigate our way through the battle within and find the true "rich fare." 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 1027.

PHOTO:  Ezri and Zeke at the Bullock history museum in Austin. February 2023

99 - Sun Stand Still — the Lord is fighting For You” Joshua 10-12; Luke 10:1-24

 #99 Surely the Lord is fighting for you. Joshua 10:14. He made the sun stand still at your request.

  

The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua at Gilgal:  Don't abandon us! Help! All of the Amorite kings have joined forces against us.  Joshua 10:6

Joshua gathered his best fighting men and marched up all-night from Gilgal and surprised them.  But it's what the LORD says to Joshua that trumps everything:  "Do not be afraid of them.  Not one of them will be able to withstand you."  Joshua 10:8

Joshua and the Israelites completely defeated them.  And the LORD hurled huge hailstones down on them and God gave the Amorites over to Israel.

And right smack dab in front of Israel, Joshuau said:  "Sun, stand still.  And you, moon." Joshua 10:13.  Until the jnation avenged itself.  Never has there been a day like this, before or sincel, when the Lord listened to a human being.  "Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel." Joshua 10:14.  

Surely, the Lord is fighting for you.

98 -“A Sword in Christ’s Hand” Joshua 7-9; Luke 9

  

As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until ythey had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no ylonger any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. Joshua 5:1. They lost hope. And so many this day have lost hope and shifted their attention away from God to live the good life here. How could this ever be all there is? And the wrath of God advances then, now. What will we do with what God is stirring up?

And the peoples hearts melt again---became as water when their neighbors were killed at Ai. Josh 7:5. And Joshua falls on his face. And God says, "Get up!" Go do the work, Joshua. There are "devoted things" among them that are not devoted to God. Consecrate the people.

And God Himself appears to Joshua with a sword drawn in his Hand. He appears as a warrior. Christ will be to us what we need. Joshua needed this picture to encourage him to keep on fighting the daunting road ahead. God promised Joshua that he was not Alone. What do you need to see in God's Face toward you this day? I so need His Mercy. Beleaguered over here. Like Joshua, may we move on by God's Presence and Power. Col 1:29.

PHOTO:  Outside my classroom window, a dismal day packed with hope for our sin.  

97 - "The Sea Saw and Fled" Joshua 4-6; Luke 9:18-36

                                                                             

Now, the undaunting Joshua leads Israel to cross the Jordan River on dry ground. He saw it happen once before. And that same God is with Joshua and the men from the 12 tribes. 

 “Be strong and very courageous.

Joshua saunters in faith across the floor of the Jordan---the place where his Redeemer will be baptized.  No way for Joshua to know that.  The only history they have is of Moses and Egypt and the Red Sea.  And a very Present God with Moses ---     Who will now be with Joshua.  A Very Present Power promising His Presence and Strength. 

Mark the occasion.

"What do these stones mean?" Joshua 4:21. Tell your children when they ask:
Symbols of twin promises:
Your God is all powerful.
Your God is to be feared.

The stones. 

Recognize how strong God's rescuing Hand is.

Recognize your need to hold God in solemn reverence always. 

Each person who crossed had to answer the question from Luke 9:30 himself. "Who do you say that I am?" The most important question we will answer in our life. 

PHOTO:  Looking down from 34,000 feet to the rivers and oceans. Parting the Jordan River in my mind and seeing the tribes of faith crossing from one bank to the other. When you are smack dab in the middle of the crossing, There is nowhere else to go but to Trust. 

96 - "God Is With You in the Midst of Your Confusion" Joshua 1-3;

                                                                   

Oh! The Wonder of a Beautiful God moving through history, our story, to move us into holiness. Oh! The enormity of what He is doing in our lives. “Be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. … This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.” Joshua 1:8.  “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you or forsake you.” Joshua 1:5.  So, right where you are fixed with all emotion and involvement and commitment and confusion---God is with you in the midst of your mess.  But make no mistake, you’re a beautiful mess. 

5 Loaves and 2 Fish. Luke 9:14. That's all we need. 

Oh, Friends, do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful whatever you have inherited. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” How can we grasp an ironclad hold on this?  

How did Joshua rise above to receive an invitation to cross the Jordan and lead his friends to the Promised Land?  The flood banks of the Jordan are overflowing.  Crossing this river is an impossible adventure.  Not for Joshua.  He believes God's Providential Hand is in this.  "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you."  No one will be able to stand up against you.  So, why is it when I was stiff-armed that I thought that God wouldn't help?  His Power & Presence equal this event of mine.  A promise of the Presence of God Himself.  Simply amazing.  Moses knew what it meant to walk with God in the midst of his own infirmities. Now Joshua.   God tells us not to be discouraged over our sins but to trust the Captain of our salvation.  We're enlisted followers.  What could I better say to you than I will pray that the Presence of God will be so very real in this next event of yours---where He promises His Power and Presence.  Joshua had no idea how hundreds of thousands could cross the Jordan River and live.  It was in Joshua 3:13, when the priests first put their big toe into the water, that heaps of water stood right up and invited them across a path on an ocean floor where no one had ever walked before. 

PHOTO:  Taken 30,000 feet in the air. God is with us above, beyond, sitting right next to us.

95 - "Your Strength Is Equal to Your Day" Deuteronomy 32-34; Luke 8:26-56

                                                                        

Oh my! God's Word Deeply Touches this heart of mine.  This day.  These events.  Your strength is equal to your day. This event. Why have I never seen that verse before---Deut 33:25.  These are the words of Moses, a song that sinks deep in our storied lives. “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark "Let my teaching drop quenching this thirst of my needy heart."  Deut 32:2.  

O! Moses, the 21st Century hears your words:

Your teaching drops as the rain,

distilled as the dew,

like gentle rain.

Dt 32:2

So! Take to heart these last words of Moses:

Tell them to your children so,

they may do the Word.

It's your very life.

Dt 32:47

With eyes undimmed and vigor unabated:

Moses blesses those he leaves,

Remember this every day:

There is none like God

Dt 33:26

He rides through the heavens to your help

Through the skies in His Majesty.

The Eternal God is your

Dwelling Place.

Dt 33:26

Three Verses from the mouth of Moses

that have carried me through.

His words have been 

Life to me. 

Scores and scores of years and years later.  And these words of Moses fall like rain on me this day.  It's been a tough week.  It's not over.  I've struggled more than usual.  No answers.  Trust in this darkness.  

The Day of all the Year has come. He is Risen. 

So, Keep On Grasping for the hem of His Garment.

So, Keep On Believing. Luke 8:50-51

PHOTO:  And painted on the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is that beautiful story from Genesis to Revelation.  We are, indeed, a Beautiful mess in this Broken world of ours.

94 - "Oh, Eternal Word of God" Deuteronomy 30-31; Luke 8:1-25

                                                                 

There is no other God like this God of Israel!  Every single day of our lives He supports us, undergirds us with His Everlasting Arms.  He rides across the heavens to help us in these events we face this day.  Not to punish.  Thank you God for deeply caring, undergirding, carrying us, all the days of our lives.

Praise the LORD, for each day He carries us in His Arms. Psalm 68:19

 “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you." Deut 31:26.

"Nothing more important than love and obey.  

It is Moses' last sermon. The last words of one of the greatest men who followed God. Take the Word with you. Nothing more important.  The Eternal Word of God.  Written for Moses.  Written for you and for me. This very day, forward.  Leaning forward on the Word of God.  

Leaning to the New Testament ... Jesus says: "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the Word of God and do it. Luke 8:21. Where is your faith Luke 8:25? 

PHOTO: FLICKR. Copyright Free Images.

93 - "A Blessing Rests On You Wherever You Are" Deuteronomy 28-29; Luke 7:31-50

What would it be like to have been there and hear this blessing from God.

Standing on Mount Gerizim to bless the people:

Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

No Moses.  No Aaron.  

Blessed shall you be in the city & blessed shall you be in the country.
Blessed shall be the offspring of your body,
and the produce of the ground,
the increase of your herd,
Blessed shall be all your flock,
Blessed shall be your basket and your bowl.
Blessed shall you be when you come in & blessed when you go out.

We must ask ourselves every time we read the Word of God: "What's the point?"  

Here, blessings shout out from the top of one glorious mountain followed by curses delivered from the peak of doom mountain. 

Wherever we go in life---
dwelling in the country or the city, 
leading our little ones, 
gathering our food for the day,
working hard at what we do,
living life whether it is coming in or going out.

Wherever we go...
Wherever you are, there is a blessing that can rest upon you---if we follow God.
Doesn't mean that everything will work our way, no!
Means that everything will be considered and cared, 
re-directed or re-created by the Providential Hand of God.
Take Courage.  The Good Hand of God is on you to bless you today and always.

Deut 28:3-6

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven.  Nor is it beyond the sea.  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. Deut 29:11-14. I hope all the words you've ever heard help you to truly live. 
When you call to mind what you have done . . .

Then...in the New Testament. Luke 7:38. The blessing rests on the woman in the city who came to the house of the Pharisee because she knew Jesus was at the Pharisee's table. A sinner came to the table. The unnamed woman washed Jesus' feet with her tears---I wonder what her tears were for? And she dried His feet with her hair---I could do that. The bottle of fragrant oil cost an exorbitant wage. She gave it all to Him. Extravagant love. 

PHOTO:A blessing from the mountaintop.  How can we live this out is the real question.

92 - “The Human Side” Deuteronomy 26-27; Luke 7:1-30

…

"Your corpses are going to litter the wilderness---every one of you twenty years and older who was counted in the census, this whole generation of grumblers and grousers." Eugene Peterson. Only Caleb and Joshua will enter this Promised Land along with the children of those grousers. Moses and the priests instruct those children who are now 59 and younger:

"Keep silence and hear: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.” Deut 27:9-10.  

Keep your silence, Bev. When the rivers rage; when the deserts dry up; when the bridges blow up in your soul, forget not his benefits. Remember the LORD your God.

Are you the One?" An odd question for one of the top ten prophets of all time to ask? It so shows the human side of all of us. John sits in prison pondering the scenario---why am I at this place in my story? Luke sets the stage: The story of the famous Gentile centurion over 100; the poor widow of Nain holding a lifeless child; and now John the Baptist's perplexing question as he sits in jail.  Luke nails it:  So what will be my response to Jesus, and why should we respond to him? At this point Luke zeroes in on the real question. This section's dominant theme is faith. It's all about the presence of faith or doubt in the Presence of God. And Jesus doesn't reply "yes."  He replies:  "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."  Luke 7:20-23. Jesus really didn’t answer John’s question. 

PHOTO: Flicker. Copyright free.

91 - "Don't Bring Sin Upon Your Family" Deuteronomy 23-25; Luke 6:27-49

                                                              

“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”  Joshua 24:27.  The last words of Joshua---do not follow foreign gods.  Even the rocks have heard your testimony.  Joshua's face was set like a flint determined to guide the people to the Captain of their Soul and no other.  

The Living Word! Some of us end up in marriages that we would not have chosen had we not been swept away by the moments of our youth ~ #nofavorintheireyes. Deut 24:1.  Maybe it was the Providential Hand of God that He placed you in the marriage you are in---like Hosea, who married beneath him.  Maybe it is our own sinful choices, lustful choices, even ignorant choices that landed us where we lay our heads this night. Don't bring sin upon your family ~ Deut 24:4.  Whether it's Providence or our own sin, we all have opportunity to bear our own burdens rather than give in to sin.  We can find a rest we know not, no matter the circumstance.  God's Divine Power enables us by Grace Upon Grace to sanctify the crosses we bear.  God's Matchless Grace supports us---Underneath are His Loving Arms.  God's Comforting Spirit teaches and reproves and provides the way for us to better learn how to obey in the midst of distance and difficulties.  God will make this marraige more tolerable---He changes us, not just our spouse. We have the Written Word of God.  We worship the Living Word!  

Even in Luke 6, we find: If you love those who love you, what credit is that? Love your enemies and do good, hoping for nothing in return. Luke 6:32, 35

PHOTO: Egypt. Circa 2010. 

90 - "God Assures Us in Sustenance Not Solutions" Deuteronomy 20-22; Luke 6:1-26

                                                              

Dear Ones, When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. Deut 20:1. God assures us not in solutions but with sustenance, His Presence.  

And what will happen, as you read this Good Book, you will begin to see Deut 20:1-2 in greater measure: "when you see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt. So, let not your faint! For the LORD your God is He Who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory. Oh my, do I ever need to know this today.

Dear God, Help me to not be afraid or dismayed by reason of this great horde against me. Help me to believe down deep that the LORD shall fight for me and I need to hold my peace. Psalm 60:12. 

PHOTO: The Lord is with you to fight for you against those mountains you face.

89 - "May Your Heart Not Be Lifted Up Above Others" Deuteronomy 17-19; Luke 5:17-39

As the sun sets on this day, 

May I be persuaded & swayed a little more deeply,

that My God is watching from daybreak to the end of the day.

The LORD shall fight for me.  I need to read the Book and live it out and hold my peace.

Read this Book all the days of your life that you may learn to fear the LORD, your God, by carefully observing all the words here, and that your heart may not be lifted up above your fellow man, and that you may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left. Deut 17: 19-20. What turns us aside: riches and recognition, pleasures and pride. 

The power of the Lord was present in Luke 5:17 present to heal. So, men lowered their paralyzed friend down through the tile roof. From the Rooftop. Jesus saw their faith. 

Does He see my faith tonight?

PHOTO: The sun sets. 5-4-3-2-1. Hold your peace. 

88 - "Don't Waste Your Work" Deuteronomy 14-16; Luke 5:1-16

"Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates." Deut 16:21 - What is it that we do with this one life of ours?  What set-ups have I placed before my God?  What have I done with the kind of bewilderment Moses must have hinted at in his feet not touching promised ground.  The beautiful point in all of Moses' last sermon is that he looked life square in the eye and looked right past Promised Lands into the eyes of God.  He begged to enter his dream.  He let it go.  Not in just a second or passing thought.  He let decades of dashed dreams disintegrate.  Moses learned to trust in deepest of loss.  May we live our dreams like Moses did.  With open hands, open hearts.   

Deut 14:1-2, Moses recants three distinguishing privileges: 

ADOPTED AS HIS SON~

"You are the sons of the LORD, your God," because you need a father.

CALLED TO BE HOLY ~  

"You are a people holy to the LORD, your God," because you are not.

CHOSEN BY GRACE ~

"The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His Treasured Possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth," not because of who you are, because of His Grace all over you.

"Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul." Matthew Henry.

Professional fishermen---yes they were.

They knew how to fish.

Grace ~ It fell from Him. Still falls on our hearts. 

So, put your nets out into deep water, says the Carpenter, not a Fisherman. Luke 5:4.  It's a miracle.  

These seasoned fishermen know how to fish.  Only God could have pulled this one off.  And grace falls in one of those daily moments where they spend hundreds of hours earning their way.  We never know when a Divine Visit, Words of Grace, will fall on us at work. 

So what's the insight here?  Christ tells Peter to apply himself to this secular calling of his.  Don't waste your work.  Time spent there is never a hindrance, it's holy.  When we have been with God, true joy will result in our work.  "We must not abruptly quit our callings because we have not the success in them we desire." Own ourselves as sinful men, redeemed.  Don't view your work as a vehicle to prepare for ministry.  Work is your ministry.

PHOTO: Lake Travis. Spent almost 2 decades in Austin. Such an unusual time full of deep hurt and much joy. They live juxtapose to each other, you know.

87 - "Get God's Word Deep Inside of You" Deuteronomy 11-13; Luke 4:31-44

                                              

It was not your children who saw the discipline of the LORD:
His Majesty
His Mighty Hand
His Outstretched Arms.
No, it wasn't your children, No.

It was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done." Deuteronomy 11:7
And what will you do with this God of yours?
What will you take away and live forever?
Can we ever ever be the same? No.
How He has overwhelmed us.
Walking floors of oceans.
40-year old shoes.

Miracles!!!Deuteronomy 11:18 - "Get the words deep inside of you."  I must preach the Kingdom of God Luke 4:43.

Deut 13:4 - "God is testing you.  Hold on to Him for dear life." Cling only to Him and His Word---let everything else slip through your fingers.  I thought all yesterday about Deut 8 - God led you on this road for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you and showing us what's in our heart whether we will obey Him or not---my sin has so surprised me today.  Wonder if Moses continually dealt with sin over not entering the Promised Land.  He seems to have dealt with his disappointment in such a beautiful way!  Moses knows this is his last sermon forever.  He's been with these people for 40 years. God tells him they won't make it after he dies. How does this pastor deal with their unresponsive hearts?  He is looking into their faces. No one has ever seen their own face. Listen when others speak who read your face every day.  

66 Love Letters:  "I brought you out of something bad to bring you into something good before you experience that something good. Then, your love is sustained by confidence in My Character, not by enjoyment of current blessings."  He brought us out to bring us in - Deut 6:23. Moses last words send a message that even in his own disappointment, Moses never stopped looking to God Who did things differently than Moses wanted. Moses sang His Praises even while disappointed:  "Through It All, I've Learned to Trust in Jesus."  What am I doing with my disappointments in life?

PHOTO: A Grandmother with her 5 grandkids. May they all get His Word deep in their hearts.

86 - "Truth Rises Up in Us When We Know What's In Our Hearts" Deuteronomy 8-10; Luke 4:1-30

                                                            

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 40 years! The journey was less than 15 days in distance. What happened? Deuteronomy 8:2.  What's the point here? How do we live like this? God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Held Ezri at 2 weeks old and wondered this very same thought. The darling girl wil soon discover that man does not live by bread but by every Word out of the mouth of God.

God had the power to make it a very brief journey in the wilderness. And the same with "change" in our own lives. But how else is character formed? Overnight? How else can we come to see ourselves for who we really are? A C.S. Lewis quote comes to mind: "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good." They had to try awful hard in a wilderness---so do we. And what does it reveal? Humility and dependence or self-knowledge and arrogance. When we come "to know what is in our heart," that knowledge rises up---that's what the word "to know" means in the Hebrew. The truth rises up in our hearts of the Power and Patience and Presence of God---and our total dependence on Him.

PHOTO: Our total dependence on Him to move our mountains that we may “know.”

85 - “We Pass On What Is On Our Hearts” Deuteronomy 5-7; Luke 3

 

The Lord heard when the Israelites spoke to Moses.

The Lord hears when I speak this day to my leaders.

Oh! That our hearts would be inclined to fear God and 

keep His Commands always, so that it may go well with us.

Deut 5:28-29

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength.

These 10 commandments are to be on your heart.

Talk about them 

when you sit at home

when you walk along the road

when you lie down

when you get up.  

Write them on the doorframes of our homes.

Deut 6:4-6

And here is the secret for living and loving.

PHOTO:  It's a secret place I go to when I'm really in trouble. It's actually the campus where I used to work. God heard

 me here.  Yet, he hears me if I'm in my closet, in my bed, in my car.  Talk, Bev.

84 - "Moses Lived for Another Kingdom" Deuteronomy 3-4; Luke 2:25-52

So, Moses stayed in the valley.
So intrigued by the way that Moses "let go" of what he had held onto for decades.  A Promised Land.  And your feet will feel the bottom of the ocean floor but no promised land.  And your shoes will never wear out and they will never sashay the soil of the promised land.  And your wilderness steps will turn into bold confidence but not in a promised land.  Your heart is fixed on Another Kingdom. And in Luke 2, Simeon and Anna and Mary all lived for Another Kingdom. 

Moses begs, one last time ...

“Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand.  Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.”  Deuteronomy 3:24-25.

And the answer is "no."

Take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children— how on the day that you stood before the Lord, He answered.  Deut 4:9-10

 

May Your Sovereignty grip my life, my heart.  Your Greatness.  Your Strong Hand.  You will never let go of us, no matter what.  We can never ever express our Gratitude for what You have done!

PHOTO:  Stay where you are planted. #sovereignty

83 - "God Knows Your Going & Coming---Demand Nothing Here; Expect Everything There" Deuteronomy 1-2; Luke 2:1-24

                                                          

God knows your going and coming in your wilderness. Deut 2:7. He knows.

I am stunned that Moses knew he wouldn't enter the land of Canaan, the promised land. Yet! Moses carried on. And he encouraged the people he led saying: "The LORD your God Who goes before you will Himself fight for you." Deut 1:30. This is Moses' last sermon and he knows it. And Moses still does not falter. He faces his grave disappointment with dependence.

Larry Crabb said it this way:  "Demand nothing here.  Expect everything there.
Surrender all rights to justice, to loving treatment from others, to fulfilling ministry,
to all the good things of this life and you will be given tastes of the good things to come.
That is how you taste the LORD and discover that He is good.  
It is those tastes that fill you with sustaining hope until you're welcomed to the banquet."

Moses' final destination was heaven not Horeb, an eternal home not an earthly one. His view of success did not include the conquest of Canaan. His ministry was to people not places. So, he kept on keeping on. Just like that young servant in Mark 5:36---keep on believing no matter what the circumstances show. There is an untold unseen unfolding Story.

"There is no better evidence and earnest of God's favor than His putting His Law in our hearts." Psalm 147:19.

PHOTO:  It's a tree in the wilderness outside of my window.  And in this wilderness in which I sit, God orchestrates my story.  I no longer live for success but for Him! 

82 "Live for God's Glory, not Promised Lands" Numbers 34-36; Luke 1:57-80

                                                                          

"If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides." Numbers 34. Israel must drive out the Canaanites or they will be driven out themselves.  The Israelites could still stay in the Promised Land with barbs in their eyes and bristles in their sides.  We may succeed in the eyes of this world that we live in, but are we succeeding in God's eyes, God's commands?  We cannot allow evil to take root in our spiritual communities, in our churches, without dealing with it.  We must always start with ourselves. 

Luke 1:68 - God has set the power of salvation in the center of my life to the day I die. Justification. Sanctification. Glorification. The center of my life.

PHOTO:  Standing with my community walking through this unspeakable hand-wrought beauty.  Thinking about how much I want to succeed in the eyes of the world and have not. Why do I want to live for this world Yearning with all within to live for God and His Story---not for promised lands.

81 - "Consider the End of Your Sin" Numbers 31-33; Luke 1:39-56

       #81 The Israelites fell back to old ways of making life work for them. Moses fell forward on God. He cared more about the people than the Promised Land. Will we make today about striving with the Energy of Christ so powerfully at work within?  Will I live in the wonder of the whiteness of my life? That's enough. It's all about the white as snow.

                                                                 

Can I live in the wonder and awe of the dazzling whiteness of my life?  That's enough.  It's not about the turmoil; it's all about the "white as snow." 

Moses cared more about these people than about the Promised Land. He spoke the truth constrained by the Love of God. Ought we not do the same? Carry the cares of our world for the spiritual success of those we love.

 

"If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it." The Israelites fell back to old ways of making life work for them. Moses fell forward on God. Will we strain ahead today with his Energy so powerfully at work within. 

God's mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him. Elizabeth & Mary are about to find out In Luke 1:56 all about this Wonder. Tonight, my friend Holly wrote about the time captured by Elizabeth and Mary: Time set apart before Time began...preparing the Way of the Lord ... the Way, the Truth, the Life.

PHOTO:  Stood overlooking this creek. Snow falling. Perceiving my end.

80 - “Moses Disqualified Himself” Numbers 28-30; Luke 1:21-38

                                            

Appoint someone else.  Moses disqualified himself.  I have no defense before The Almighty.  Moses and Aaron both didn't treat God as holy before the congregation of believers.  Just like the eleven limp forward to fulfill the Great Commission, Moses tips his hat to another.  May we not miss what God has for us this day, this chapter of our lives.  Our God is no respecter of persons.  Just take a deeper look at Mark 8, the feeding of the 4,000, primarily Gentiles.  He is the Bread of Life for all of us, even today in our divided nation, two Americas.  And the overtones of This Wonder for Gentiles and Jews and Whites and Blacks requires all to see in this Person who sits in front of them on a grass knoll that He Himself is God.  And what will we do with that today?  

These people with whom you are dealing---I brought them up and out of the Land of Egypt, just like you.  Live rightly.  Live just.  Live fully.  

Please change me in one of these 10,000 moments. You brought us to this place. You will do us good here. You will bring us out. Help me honor you here in this lonely place. 

PHOTO: The moon outside my window. Little movement in my life. Empower me to trust in the dark. Even when my moon stands in silence.  

79 - "Half of a Million People Never Looked Deep Enough Into Their Hearts" Numbers 26-27; Luke 1:1-20

#79 God let every male over 20 years old wander for 40 years and die. 603,548. Gone. They never looked deep enough inside to see what was terribly wrong in their own hearts. Caleb and Joshua walked away from a wildersness—-what did they see that half a million people did not see. Divine Power. Hope. Move forward and occupy. Numbers 26:65. 

                                                      

This is scary to me.  Numbers 26:65 ~ God let them die in the wilderness --- every male over 20 years of age.  Wandering for 40 years.  They died.  All 603,548.  Numbered. Gone.  Forgotten. 

But wait, Caleb and Joshua walked away from this wilderness.  Can we look at how they all lived their wilderness lives? What did Caleb and Joshua see in the wilderness---same thing as half a million dead people. Yes, they all said it is a land flowing with milk and honey.  But, the people said: No hope---we can't defeat the giants. Only Caleb and Joshua believed there was Someone bigger than what they saw. All the while---Numbers 13:30. Presumption on the part of the wanderers! "They never looked deep enough inside to see what was terribly wrong in their own hearts." 66 LL. But, Caleb and Joshua found Divine Power in their wilderness to believe for greater things than living as grasshoppers. Let's move forward and occupy.  Shouldn't we do the same in our impossible wilderness?  

I love the call of the next chapter to pray for future generations.  Matthew Henry puts it this way: "We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. God appoints a successor, even Joshua; who had signalized himself by his courage in fighting Amalek, his humility in ministering to Moses, and his faith and sincerity in witnessing against the report of the evil spies."  Oh, God, appoint us to find this Spirit of Grace to raise up the next generations to whom you have entrusted us.  Numbers 27:16

PHOTO: 

78 - "Daily Praying For More of This" Numbers 23-25; Mark 16

"Your dwelling place is secure,
your nest is set in a rock;
yet you Kenites will be destroyed
when Ashur takes you captive.”  Numbers 24:22

Balaam cursed a man, not the church itself. 
Someone once asked:  do we, in knowledge, experience, or profession excel Balaam?

"Simple dependence on the Redeemer's atoning blood and sanctifying grace, cheerful submission to the Providential hand, and constant endeavors to glorify God and benefit His People, these are less splendid but far more excellent gifts, and always accompany salvation... . The feeblest believer has something of them, and is daily praying for more of them." 

That's it.  Daily praying for more of Him.  He must increase; I must decrease.  

PHOTO:  The Ancient of Days.  Far more excellent gifts from Him to live this day by His strength.

77 - "An Angel Stands In Your Path" Numbers 20-22; Mark 15:26-47

                                                        

I remember the McDonald's I was sitting in when I read this same story in February 2006.  It was the lowest point of my life, and I couldn't climb out of it.  The Great Divide.  Maybe this was God standing in my way.  What will we do with His interruptions of our plans.  I certainly never understood for I loved where we were.  But God wanted to do something in my heart for Eternity.  So be it.  Numbers 22:31 "Then, the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in his path with a drawn sword in his hand.  Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship."  Kneeling low tonight!

God is holy.
How do we do that? How do I live like that? Am I asking the right question? Do I fear the One Who will ask the right questions?

Mark 15:30. The high priests and religion scholars stood in Jesus' path and charged Him as "King of the Jews." And that interruption of His life saved the entire world. God did something for all Eternity. Kneeling low tonight!

PHOTO:  Standing on the beach. Thinking about the Providence of God in our lives. Sovereign steps.  

76 - "Counterfeit Holiness" Numbers 17-19; Mark 15:1-25

                                                                

It's the work of heaven.

No man planted seeds; no man watered the grass; no man tended the flowers; no man grew anything.

"Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds." Numbers 17:8

The only prince of the 12 tribes who budded, blossomed, and produced fruit.  Not at the hand of man.  Moses couldn't make a stick grow overnight with such a trichotomy.  They don't exist together on a branch.  And the Israelites saw that it was a miracle.  A calling that produced fruit that only God can do.  Are we patient in our own pursuits, knowing God is producing fruit in our endeavors for Him. It is the blessing of heaven.  

 "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:  It's the view outside my classroom window as I think about counterfeit idols.

75 - "Remember" Numbers 15-16; Mark 14:54-72

#75 The whole 2 million people in the community forgot what they just read. Numbers 16. Forgot the feeling of the ocean floor they just crossed. 

You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Numbers 15:39

Then you will remember to obey all my commands. 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’”                                                                                

The whole community wailed all night long. Numbers 16. What!?!  Two million people wailing for the sake of food. A collective cry. All but two: Joshua and Caleb. I look around every day and hear the ways people talk to each other, talk about others, talk to themselves. Where are the Joshua's and Caleb's. If it is true that God is on our side, and it is true, then what does Josh and Caleb know that we don't know in our hearts. Two million people "missed" the grace of God.  forgot what they just read.- You shall die if  you defile God's tabernacle.  He is a Holy God.  Serious Business of Heaven.  And we are no longer under law. We live under grace.

This debt of ours is paid. We defile the Tabernacle we live in every day. The frays of our heart are  covered with a Blanket of Grace. 

No chasing after the wind.  May we sail the seas of our story chasing You Alone.

PHOTO: The seas of our story.      

74 - "Caleb Had A Quiet Heart" Numbers 12-14; Mark 14:27-53

Numbers 13:30 - Caleb quieted the people because Caleb had a quiet heart.  Oh to live amidst the noise in quietness and confidence.  Isaiah 30:15

The people complained in their wilderness.  Do I allow my circumstances to reveal what I am really saying about what God has done or not done? 

"Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands."  Return, O LORD, to us, ten thousand thousands across this spacious land of ours who call upon Your Name today.  May we press in hard and humble to find You in our million midst. 

O God, help us today to trust not like a Hobab but like a Humble Traveler in this story of ours.  The brother of Moses' wife planted his feet firm like a toddler spouting:  "I will not go.  I will depart to my own land to to my kindred."  Moses pleads with him:  "Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good..." And they moved on in Numbers 12.

Sometimes, we'll invite people into our lives and they just won't come with us.  Even family.  I think the problem lies with me when, actually, the problem is their own heart.  Their problem is not me, it's God.  I'm just an agent at the ticket station.  May we let God use us as He will and not play the Holy Spirit in people's lives. 

I need to find my own Rest this day.  "Rest with us, God.  Stay with us." 

"For without You, what am I to myself but the Leader of my own destruction?" Augustine

Return, O God, to us all. As I read Mark 14, I may need to return to God. It's the distance

In Mark 14:72, there are two words I have never seen before:  Peter swore.  It's not something we are proud of when we breathe those hackneyed humphs.  My default mechanisms swore all-the-time when I was really young and didn't know the LORD.  But---this---this Peter is a follower of the Christ.  Wonder why Peter distances himself so much from the One he has been so attached to, every-single-day, for one thousand+ days, seeing with his own eyes one miracle-after-another. Watching Tabitha healed back to her mother's arms, witnessing demons cast out-of-control into a herd of pigs, seeing a blind man see for the very first time, hearing the scream of the Widow of Nain whose son rises from the dead,and on and on and on ... .  Unparalleled.  Unprecedented. Unbelievable. Yet, Peter swears to prove his piddly point.  And, really, what point am I trying to prove this day?  That I'm right?

And what happens as the rooster crows---Peter remembers.  Remembers what?  The words of his very own Christ---you will deny me and leave me.  It was Peter who pulled away, just like me and you.  God is always waiting wide-armed open.  We are all holy Sabbath breakers picking up sticks (Numbers 15:32).  A high-handed act in the middle of community---do I do the same things?  Playing it safe, distancing ourselves from life because the pain is too overwhelming.  

     "Recipe theology, that collection of practical biblical principles that tell us what to do in every situation, treats confusion as something to be solved rather than entered. It reduces the mysteries of life to things we can manage."                The Silence of Adam p. 66

PHOTO:  My good friend, the art teacher, painted this picture in 15 minutes in Chapel.  She actually painted it vertically then turned it horizontally when she was finished.  So poignant.  Jesus paid a price for us to truly live.  I must learn to live.  Live that quiet life apart from the noise.  

73 - "Never Live On Old Manna" Numbers 9-11; Mark 14:1-26

#73 Never try to live on old manna or replace it for better. Nor seek help in Egypt. “All must come from Jesus or you are undone.” Spurgeon 

                                                                         

The rabble!
Craving other things.
Numbers 11:4-6.
"If only we had . . . "
"We remember . . . "
"But now . . . "
Lost my appetite
Never see anything but manna.

Here's the truth . . .
"Never try to live on old manna, 
(and never try to replace it for better),
nor seek help in Egypt.
All must come from Jesus or thou are undone."  Charles Spurgeon

More than ever, I want to move only when my God tells me to move.  Live on what He has provided. Just like the woman who poured the extravagance over her LORD, Mark 14:6---"She did a beautiful thing for Me."  My world may not recognize the beauty but my God loves it...and He says to my world:  "Leave her alone."  Yes, leave me alone, o world of mine, for I am taken up by a Good God Who loves me so.  So taken up with His Beauty!

PHOTO: A photo I took of my version of the rabble. 

72 - "God Matched Their Offerings with His Audible Voice" Numbers 7-8; Mark 13:21-37

#72 The Lord matched their magnanimous offerings with his very own Audible Voice. Buechner says: If I see you, I experience you as an object in space. If I hear you, you bring me into the innermost secrets of who you are. 

                                                                          

In Numbers 7, every tribe brought magnanimous multiple offerings alike to dedicate the altar.  Whether the tribe was large or small, they brought the same equal weight, equal size, to show their acceptance by God was not based on the quantity of their sins but the quality of the sacrifice. Silver plates; shekels numbering in the hundreds; sprinkling bowls galore; sacrificial livestock proud.  And the Lord matched this grandeur with his very own Voice.  Audible words from The Living Word.

If I cannot see you and can only hear you, you exist for me not in space but in time where hearing happens. If I see you and can walk around you, I experience you as an object—-I can inspect you from all angles. Buechener says something of extraordinary importance occurs when I more fully take you into myself by hearing you. “Hearing you speak brings me by the most direct of all routes something of the innermost secret of who you are.”  Buechner, Frederick Whistling in the Dark

Stay Awake.  Mark 13:27.  Jesus is coming back to gather His elect from the four winds.  What we do matters only inasmuch as who we are.  We can outserve everyone but if it is not coming from a good place in our heart, it's clanging cymbals. Stay Awake becoming the person God created you to be. 

PHOTO:  I heard an audible Voice one day as I walked this very beach.  A young lady stopped my stroll and said:  "I came up to this beach to read my Bible.  And God just told me to stop you and tell you that this thing you are going through is from Him.  He is with you.  You are going to be okay."  She could have never known.  I faced the biggest crisis, the Greatest Divide, of my life.  And matching the grandeur of the skies and sea, I heard an audible Voice from a mouthpiece of God. More than a match.

71 - "Put God's Name on Every Face" Numbers 5-6; Mark 13:1-20

#71 Put God's Name on every face you meet. Numbers 6:24-26. The Lord bless you and keep you. Covers all your work here on earth. No conditions. May God lift His Face on you: a gracious movement of God toward you. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                          

This.  The words to bless your people, to put God's name on their faces.

Say this.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His Face shine on you and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn His Face toward you and give you peace.  Numbers 6:24-26.

The blessing is for every journey of life.
Israel prepares to leave Mt. Sinai and journey through a wilderness.
It's the story of our lives. 
"Bless us where it counts" - the word "bless" covers all the work here.  No conditions attached:  both physical and spiritual health.
"Keep us safe" - the word "keep" focuses on concerns for safety in our travels.  God will shelter us well.
"God's Face" - the word "Face" - The Light of God contrasts the darkness not far from our view.  We will see so much darkness.  May we see the Shining Face of God on all we meet on this journey.
"Lifting Up" - the word "Lifting Up" is a gracious movement of God toward us; and it's God gracious moving through us.  Lift up your Light and shine on this world here.  And give us all peace.  And God says:  "I will bless these people." 
"Put God's Name on the people" - the word "putting God's name on" comes supremely by means of the Word of God.  May we wear God's Name so that all we meet will see and believe.  And may we put the Name of God on every face we see for you carry His Name. Mark 13:10. You are placed in front of that person as a sentinel of truth. The Message has to be preached. 
For all our days.  

PHOTO: Our church. At The Arboretum. Putting God's word