174 - "You Have Captivated My Heart With One Glance" Song of Solomon 4-5; Acts 7:1-21

This Grace of God is simply overwhelming. 

 If there is any good in our lives, it is God's Grace. 

 If we do any good in His Power, God's Grace is the origin,

 the altar, the watercourse, the fountain, the conduit, the Source of it all. 

As long as we relate primarily to each other's wealth, health, stability, intelligence, and soul strength, we cannot develop true community.  Community is not a talent show in which we dazzle the world with out combined gifts.  Community is the place where our poverty is acknowledged and accepted, not as something we have to learn to cope with as best as we can but as a true source of new life." These two are so full of connection but it's called communion.  She is mine and I am hers.  Do I know in my heart today that I am His.  He is mine, no matter what. 

"Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful!" Song of Solomon 4:1

"You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes." Song of Solomon 4:9

It's clear from this love letter that the happy couple has found true love.  But is God committed to our happiness if we don't have this splendid kind of love?  "You're not committed to our happiness, at least not for now and certainly not on the basis of having all the blessings we want.  If you were, You would be doing a better job." Larry Crabb

"I AM committed to your happiness but only to your happiness in Me  There is no other kind, not now, not later.  Only counterfeits." 66 LL.

St. John of the Cross wrote that the Holy Spirit cannot walk by an empty heart without filling it with Himself.  Am I allowing  God to empty my heart of those things, good things, that give me temporary bliss, momentary relief, a picture of what I think I need to have?   "God is claiming every corner of our hearts, crushing every lingering hope of satisfaction apart from Him."  66 LL

PHOTO:  The altar waiting for the sacred moment that the beautiful couple will exchange their vows before the God of the universe.  They did.  And they have lived out those holy vows.  Still are.  

173 - "God Welcomes Us to His Banquet Table" Song of Solomon 1-3; Acts 6

   

Scripture interprets Scripture.
There is no mention of God in Song of Solomon.
In reality, some of the things read unmentionable.
So, what is the point for me of this metaphor, this parable?
Psalm 50:2 says that it is a Beautiful God Who pours out of each of us.
Perfect in Beauty is the God Who pours out day after day.
That is, if we let Him and let go of what entangles.
Like the eunuch being questioned
Do you understand what you
are reading?  Acts 8:30.

Matthew Henry talks of the many people who have served as guides for the understanding of this book.  "It appears to be a very bright and powerful ray of heavenly light, admirably fitted to excite pious and devout affections in holy souls, to draw out their desires towards God, to increase their delight in him, and approve their acquaintance and relationship with Him."  Matthew Henry

Do we really understand what we are reading?  Would you send someone our way to unfold your word and make it clear what it means to love.  We can say we want Christi till we are blue in the face.  Our actions tell us what we really want.  So, expose these hearts of ours, O God.

Eccl. 1:1 - It's smoke!  Spitting in the wind.  How does Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, amass silver and gold and the treasure of kings and refuse his heart no pleasure (2:8)...and arrive at the conclusion:  I hate life (2:17).  Smoke.  Chasing after the wind.  What was Solomon missing in all his stockpiled wisdom and knowledge? Why was his heart not stirred with hope?  Is my heart stirred this day with hope or despair over my circumstances?  Solomon was desperate for what?  He couldn't get answers to his questions, could he? Maybe it wasn't the answers that the wise Solomon wanted.  "Until you stop running from real darkness into artificial light, until you hear the bad news that life is empty, that you are empty, you will not hear the GOOD NEWS My Son came to bring...I lower you into the depths of despair to lift you into the heights of joy.  The way up is the way down.  There is no other way.  You will not hear My song of love until you hear no other music."  66 LL.  What music am I listening to that keeps me from hearing His Song of Love?  It could be literal music or music to my ears or music to my heart or music to my eyes that keeps me from hearing His Song of Love. "Every moment of your life is a perfectly tuned note in the Eternal Harmony."  That is if I have ears to hear.  Let those scales fall off my eyes.  Let me hear the music of heaven.

PHOTO:  The Galaxy.  Photo Credit to Flickr: Smithsonian Institute. Copyright Free.
Do you understand what you are reading?  Someone can guide you through this galaxy.  A consternation of support if we just ask.  God waits to welcome us to His banquet table.  Song of So. 2:4

172 “Live Until Your Words Run Out” Proverbs 30-31; Acts 5:22-42

  

What verses linger with you from Proverbs?  

I want to reflect on what it means to try not to figure out everything on my own but to run to God (3:5), to guard my heart (4:23), to write His Word on the back of my hand and awake and get ready for Him each morning (7:4), to not explode in anger but shrug off insults and stop lettingt people know they annoy me (12:16), to know that I can laugh yand ache at the same time without hypocrisy (14:13), to remember that God doesn't miss a thing (15:3), to overlook an offense and bond a friendship (17:9), to see a Powerful Advocate at work every day (23:11), to not work myself into the spotlight (25:6), to not call attention to myself (27:2), to know what it means that my face mirrors my heart (27:19), to never whitewash my sin (28:13), and to live clothed with strength & dignity and face tomorrow with a smile.

The unexamined life isn't worth living.  These verses strengthen my resolve to want to be holy There is so much hope for our sin.  "With God's help, I shall become myself."  S.K.  "Continue asking your questions. They are good. But stop demanding answers. Live those questions long enough in My Presence until you run out of words. You will then catch a brief glimpse of who I AM that will seal your lips." 

Are my lips sealed?  There is only a God-shaped life (Prov 11:28), "a narrow road that exposes foolishness, crushes arrogance, whets appetities for holiness, releases love, and fills with hope."  66LL.   There is so much hope for our sin.  Deeply encouraged as we close the pages of this book on this Narrow Road.

PHOTO:  Zekey comes to visit us this summer.  Or, rather, I went and got Zekey to come back to Austin to visit us and Pops delivered him back home.  I hope oh so many words from the Bible linger in every single person reading this!  It is your oxygen.  Live it til you run out of words.. 

171 - “The Word Is My Counselor” Proverbs 27-29: Acts 5:1-21

 

"Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring."

Proverbs 27:1

We can prepare for tomorrow,

we just cannot presume upon God and his moving.

We just can't promise that we will be here. All we know is that we have to rest tonight. The sun will go down. We have no info about tomorrow for good reason. To-day, while it is called, To-day, hear God's voice. We know not what is in the womb of time until it's born. Then, the One Who closes the books on To-day, the One who has kept us in the dark is the One who readies us for every second, every day.

This string of pearls reads me, counsels me.

I've never gotten over Psalm 119:24:

Your Word is my Counselor.

Things like.

Proverbs 28:1

"The wicked flee when no one pursues,

but the righteous are bold as a lion."

Be Bold in what you face.

Here lies counsel on how not to live the life of a fool.  

Here lies the aloneness of the Christian life --- for others sometimes do not want what we have to give like rebuke which is better than hidden love.  Sometimes they do not want my presence.  But under these starlit beautiful skies, You always do.  You want us more than what we can manage to do.  May we trust and bring You Glory this day, always.  

PHOTO:  Quarries Lake.  From the very first break of dawn's light to the starry sky night, may we remember You O God and fight for what is right in our own souls and for those we love.  May we not presume on tomorrow but may we prepare to live this day.

170 - “What Steals Your Peace?” Proverbs 25-26; Acts 4:23-37 .

 

Through patience a rulercan be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Proverbs 25:15 Why is it we think that the force of our words wield victory? It is the motive of our words that w break the bank. And the motive must be patience and mildness to hear others out, and wait for the occasion to present. Patience ~ Bear the heat of the conversation, without becoming heated up and wait for an opportunity. Mildness - Speak softly, mildly, humbly. No lightning words which can't even pierce the skin. Soft words melt the flesh. Through patience and a gentle tongue. The plumb line of the Word of God is the most important measure in your life. Proverbs 25:28 says: "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control." This text paints the picture of the state of our society when the walls are compromised. Defenseless. It is a metaphor of human nature as it is today; human nature as it can be in Christ; and human nature as it will be in heaven. Whatever the cost. I pray that we will all be controlled by self-control.  The right way.  Defend that city of your soul. 

We put ourselves forward
Cause we are curved inward.
We covet, we need what we see.
We hold, won't let go, let things be.

What steals your peace
and lets your city doors fling open?
A robbery in broad daylight.
We won't give up our things, our plans.
Let us give up ourselves to the Holy God.
Let us ask Him for Col 1:29.

This day, something or someone will steal my peace?  It should never be but my struggle is not with flesh and blood but with powers of this world.  May we give ourselves over to You from the first flutter of the opening eye to the closing of the same.  It is the Energy of Christ that is so powerfully at work in each one of us.  Come, Lord Jesus, be our Peace and Power causing us to walk in Your Word.

PHOTO:  A desolate spot way out far where no one lives.  No walls to this city.  It's the spot in the road where I fainted last summer and spent 1 1/2 hours laying at this crossroad before I was rescued.  When we're not prepared, not giving ourselves up to God, thieves steal and destroy.  

169 “Well Beloved Is A Good Goal” Proverbs 22-24: Acts 4:1-22

 

Here are two beautiful things to desire more than money: 

A good name and good favor. 

 "A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, 

Favor is better than silver and gold."

Proverbs 22:1

A good name opens doors to a person's heart where riches only meet their physical needs. To be well beloved is far better than the gain of gold. Just love this. It speaks to a need deep within me that it is all right to want to be beloved for the right reasons. 

And God says, "Incline your ear" and hear these words of the wise and apply your heart to His Knowledge. Prov 22:17.

Father, we give You our heart. Let our eyes observe Your Ways. Prov 23:26. 
Oh! That our trust may be in you, O LORD, always.  
This event. This moment. This day.  
For You say in 22:19:

You have made this known to us. Today. Even to me. Help us find this word.

PHOTO:  Lampasas.  It's a tiny Texas town.  Everyone knows everyone there.  No matter where you live, it's not about your estate, it's about your name and your legacy. 

168 - “God Will Stay & Settle the Rough Waters” Proverbs 19-21; Acts 4

 

In the Lord's Hand, the good and bad kings' hearts are like rivers of water that God turns. Proverbs 21:1. 
The kings who hold all the power of our government.
The kings who wield the mightiest knowledge.
The kings who boast supreme importance in our world.
If God can turn their hearts,
God can turn mine and those over me.
He did it for Barrett on the first day of college. Pr 21:1.
He will do it for me on the last days of my career.
All of our hearts are in His Hands. We just don't know it, don't live it.
My God will stay, will settle, will steady the force of water
flooding like Florence out of control in my life.
He is the Great Gardener making the channels of water turn.
Turn, I pray! For Your Glory!
Take the forces of water in my life this day, O God,
overrule,
and bound those rivers of water to flow great pleasure, great profit,
full of goodness, and grace, and clemency, and kindness.  Amen.

PHOTO:  Bob and Barrett doing the Gravel Locos. 160 miles for Barrett and 60 miles for Bob.

167 - “Becoming Myself” Proverbs 16-18; Acts 2:22-41

 Proverbs is the Shame of Exposure or the Appeal of Wisdom.  I'm being haunted or hunted.  "With God's help, I shall become myself."  Soren Kierkegaard.                                        

Proverbs 16
   ¹ Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word. 
   ² Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. 
   ⁷ When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand. 
   ⁹ We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.

"To humans belong the plans of the heart,
but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans."

Proverbs 16:1-3

I am not sufficient in my own strength, my own plans, my own voice to think that I can do life on my own.  It is the renewing grace of God that gives me hope to move in His Sufficiency.  My current burdens are way too heavy.  The word "commit" means "to roll" those monstrous loads right onto Him.  Here goes. 

Proverbs 17
⁹ Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

 ^{The eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." Proverbs 17:24.}

²⁷ The one who knows much says little; an understanding person remains calm. 

  
Proverbs 18
   ¹⁵ Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights. 
   ²¹ Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose. 
   ²² Find a good spouse, you find a good life—and even more: the favor of God! 
   ²⁴ Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;

so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Proverbs 17:14

"What danger there is 

in the beginning of strife! 

Resist its earliest display; 

and leave it off, 

if it were possible, 

before you begin. M.H.

How have I missed most of my life the Truths I now see much more clearly. My experience was like the verse in Mark 8:24 where a blind man sees for the first time---but he sees "trees walking" and so did I. Alive but frozen in some ways. But, now I see. Yes, I really see.  "Place no hope in the experience of satisfaction now.  If you do, you are shifting away from the hope held out in the gospel of Jesus Christ." Larry Crabb

Where are my eyes? Do they seek satisfaction on this earth? Or do I live for another world? If I separate myself in any way, any kind, I seek my own desire.  

 "Do you ponder all I have created and recognize a wisdom you lack?  Do you observe life and see your God whose Sovereign Power shuts your mouth, whose uncompromising Love opens your ears to hear Me speak?  If not, you have no fear of Me.  You have not even the beginnings of wisdom?"  66 LL.  Do I really fear God?  Is my hand over my mouth? 

166 - "The Omniscient Watched from His Watchtower" Proverbs 13-15; Acts 2:1-21

The eyes of the LORD 

are in every place

keeping watch

on the evil

and the

good.

Proverbs 15:3

Somewhere, I've picked up the notion that I have to keep an eye out for myself, my kids, my world.  Make sure we are all being treated like we are supposed to be treated.  Entitlement---we deserve good, better, best.  

It is freeing to take a step back and recognize there are eyes in every place keeping watch.  The verse deals with not just over things but over people---evil and good.  We are "kept" people.  And every single person we deal with has been thought about in great detail and designed by God just the way they are.  Maybe not in all their redeemed state.  But always a marked person created by God.  And God will use the evil and good in our own lives. 

Behold.  The Omniscient and Omnipresent Jehovah watches over this day as though He is looking down from a tower---so, the verb intimates.  A Watchtower with a God Who knows all, sees all, and is very present still, moving into our lives.  Hallelujah!

 Proverbs is the Shame of Exposure or the Appeal of Wisdom.  I'm being haunted or hunted.  "With God's help, I shall become myself."  Soren Kierkegaard.

Acts 2 - 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:  This UT tower means something to me.  And the thought that God beholds our lives as though watching high from a tower is just beautiful to me.  Provision.  Care.  Presence.  Jehovah God keeping watch over all that falls.

165 - "Fools Show Their Annoyance At Once" Proverbs 10-12; Acts 1

I'll admit it up front. 

I'll apologize for a lifetime of this fault. 

I'll own this one.

"Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult." Proverbs 12:16

Even this day, I have several insults getting to my goat.  I wonder why.  Why can't I let them go?  By His Power.  Drive out the foolishness.  Build in that wisdom.  Overlook the insults.  This isn't about behavior modification.  This is about a change of my heart to the way that I look on what is happening to me---most of it has to do with losing money or being denied money.  Help us, God to see "for me to live is Christ" and not the solution of my financial problems. 

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. It's what I need to draw on in my annoyance.

 

"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. 

PHOTO:  I had to share my photo on this post cause I am way too easily annoyed by anything and everything, especially if it has to do with demeaning me or proving me wrong or distancing me or dealing with my pocketbook.  Oh dear me!  

164 - "I Raise My Voice to All Mankind" Proverbs 8-9; John 21

                                            

Proverbs 8:1 "Does not wisdom call out? Does not undertanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: I raise my vloice to all mankind." "The word of God is two-fold, and, in both senses, is wisdom; for a word without wisdom is of little value, and wisdom without a word is of little use." Matthew Henry. Get wisdom.

Christ in the Word.
Christ revealed in you.

And you will know all the loveliness of God.
And His Love will be shed abroad in your hearts.
And you will have all the counsel in rough patches.

Wisdom calls out to you:

“To you, O people, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.
You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish,

Set your hearts on Wisdom. Proverbs 8:6

PHOTO: One of the most telling places I've visited: Chambers Bay, Washington on the Puget Sound. Windswept thoughts as I walked these dunes. Fescue grasses surrounding my story. A masterpiece with all the hidden secrets and unspoken thoughts my heart holds. May we lay bare before our God all that I am. May the Great I AM meet us here. 

163 - "It Is By Loving, Not By Being Loved" Proverbs 5-7; John 20

Treasure up my commandments within you.

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Blessed is the one who listens.

Waiting daily at my gate.

Fear the LORD.

Beginnings.

Wisdom.

Holy.

He.

Proverbs 7:3

Where we are enmeshed with the happenings of this world, would You grant us Your Power to move in love. The quote of George MacDonald comes to mind:  "It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest to the soul of another."  Oh, dear Father, help us move this day to love by treasuring, writing, listening, waiting, watching, and fearing You not what's happening to us.  Make us a little more holy this day than we were yesterday.  Where we struggle, please help us to listen long and deep.

PHOTO:  View from 37,000 feet in the air where I tried to listen long today.  This vast expanse, God You suspend us all.  You keep.  You grasp.  You make this world work.  Make our hearts work today.  Your Words on the tablets of our hearts.  Unless You do it, we cannot.

162 - "Holiness Trumps Management" Proverbs 2-4; John 19:23-42

Don't be weary of God's reproof.
The Lord reproves those whom He loves.  
Sickness. Trials. Testings. Temptation

Matthew Henry puts it this way:  
"Should the Lord visit us with trials and sickness---let us not forget that the exhortation speaks to us as to children, for our good. Bind them around your neck."
"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a father the son in whom he delights.   Proverbs 3:7
Henry goes on to say that those "who know themselves" find a lack of understanding like a bruised broken reed.  God will never break us beyond measure. 

So, what's the point?

What to do?
Scripture interprets Scripture.  What is God saying to you through His Word?
Holiness weighs in more important than management.  

Write His Words on the tablet of your heart so you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  No bruised reeds here. May our holiness trump any kind of management involving our lack of understanding.  

Proverbs 3:3-7  Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. 
   Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well 
   in God's eyes and the eyes of the people. Trust God from the bottom of your heart; 
   don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do,    
   everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. 
   Run to God! Run from evil! Honor God with everything you own; 
   give him the first and the best. ... No need to panic over alarms or surprises.

I have lived a frenetic life at times---that's my default mode.  Someone please help me.  Someone please rescue me.  There's Only One Who can Rescue us from darkness.  May we be more concerned about being rescued from darkness than rescued from pain.  It doesn't come from a good place in my heart when I try to ease my pain, minimize my pain, silence my pain.  I've so wanted answers for my panic.  And here is my God saying:  Don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God's Voice."  Am I listening this day for His Still Small Voice?  Or am I trying to figure out life on my own?  Everything.  Everywhere.  Listen for His Voice today in the mundane and marvelous.  And go be Prov 3:29---God's Hand to someone this day.

PHOTO:  View outside my window.  That time when none of my kids had any kids and we went to Buena Vista, Colorado.  Young Life Camp.  And I break out in a Veggie Tale song about water buffalo.  Longing to live more concerned about holiness than management of this one life of mine.

161 - "Empower Us With The Energy that Stirs Within" 1 Kings 3-4; Proverbs 1; John 19:1-22

He loved the LORD, only this...
Can it be said of us. Only but this one thing. I Kings 3:3.

Let's lay aside that "only" one thing and run the race before us.

Solomon knew that God showed great favor to his father, David.

"Ask what I shall give you."  I Kings 3:5.
"Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” I Kings 3:9

This pleased the LORD that Solomon didn't ask for himself but for his calling. 
May this very day, we see through what "only" we can do.

And David ends with a prayer for Solomon. Psalm 72:6. May he be like rain falling on the fresh mown grass. An answer to the drought in so many lives.  

Father, cause us to live like rain failling on a parched land.  Empower us today with the Energy that stirs so powerfully within.

These proverbs are written by the wisest of men.  

Yet, even Solomon had to wrestle with Wisdom.

It wasn't poured into his head through a sieve, through a spout.

It was delivered by His Maker, through his work.

Gaining wisdom.

Understanding words.

Receiving instruction.

Doing what is right and just and fair.

Giving prudence to the simple.

Giving knowledge to the young.

Adding learning to the wise.

Giving guidance to the discerning.

Understanding proverbs.

Proverbs 1:1-6

Wise words from a wise man seeking this all of his life.

There is Someone greater here than Solomon.

There is Christ found in these proverbs.

Christ is The Living Word.  

Breathed on to this page.rain.  Falling in the Hill Country.  Let Him fall all over me. 

160 - “When Your Desire to Succeed is Greater than your Desire to be Holy” I Kings 1-3; John 18

                                                                     

Last words: Be Strong. Show what you are made of. Do what God tells you. Keep an eye out for the signposts.

I Kings 2:1-4  When David's time to die approached, he charged his son Solomon, saying, "I'm about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you're made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you'll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go." 

Last words make you so want to listen to what they have to say about real life. No formulas from David, just beautiful rhetoric from a man who lived a dangerous, courageous life with a heart for God. I wonder what David thinks at the end of his life about his failures to trust God.  

66LL says about this book of I Kings: "Your desire to be effectiver, to depend on biblical principles for success in your family, church, career, and friendships is legitimately strong." Okay, stop right there.  I would say that my Christian life was spent depending on biblical principles and it was legitimately strong. 

But.... keep reading this:  "But when that desire is stronger than your desire to be holy and to depend on My power for becoming more like My Son, whether you succeed or fail in other ways, then you will not advance my plan...." 

Okay, that makes me so want to stop and evaluate. I think there was sin in my life---distance from people, jealousy over other's success, being so hard on myself I was really unkind to myself, and the laundry list goes on...---my heaviest point is that there was relational sin I overlooked all the time cause I couldn't straighten it out with my family or friends.......... nor could I walk out or walk away from the relationships I was in.  I never really took a look at how I came across to people nor did people really tell me. I was more focused on how they treated me.  I thought everything in life was okay until 18 years ago when I hit a crisis I couldn't overcome. The Great Divide. I hadn't been naming my evil.  Really didn't know how.  I was more interested in succeeding and I was in most ways. I've been an overcomer my whole life.  But success is not the signpost that everything is all right.  "Success is not greatness."

159 - "Give From Trusted Fulness" Psalm 143-145; John 18:1-18

"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, 

and there are few who find it." 

Matthew 7:14.  

Sin has locked us out of that gate.  Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repentance opens the gate wide to a narrow way.  Enter.  Live.  Work out that salvation with fear and trembling. 

"Give from trusted fulness rather than 

Grasping for demanded fullness."

How do you come forth when you are in the midst of hard times and troubles, a rough patch? 
Set a guard over my mouth.  Not behavior modification.  But repentant living.  So that we may not be drawn to do what is wrong.

May I be enlightened with the Knowledge of Your Will. "A good man does not ask the way in which is the most pleasant walking, but what is the right way." May I deal with my own sin in all of this. 

 There is way more that we don't know than what we know.

This.

This, we do know.

Our hope is in the Lord, our God.
Our help is in the God of Jacob.
Our trust is in no human.
Psalm 146:3-5.

His pleasure is not in the strength of a horse or animal.

His delight is not in the legs of a warrior husband.

His delight is in those who put heir hope in His Unfailing Love.

Psalm 147:11

He is sending His command to this house.

His Word runs swiftly.

He is sending His Word and melting our hearts.

Psalm 147:15, 18

Unfailing Love not failing circumstances.Some people in this generation commended your works, O God.  The country of the Gadarenes implored you to leave with your miracles.  I will meditate on these works.  I will think about how you leave John the Baptist in trouble and go to Capernaum instead.  You are not here for our glory.  "The eyes of all look to You..."  Psalm 145:10, 16

158 - "Hedged In Behind & Before" Psalm 139-141; John 17

 

The LORD will accomplish what concerns me. 138:8

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me. 138:7

LORD, You have searched me and known me. 139:1
You understand my thought from afar. 139:2
You scrutinize my path & my lying down. 139:3
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me. 139:5
If I would count your thoughts, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

O the Wonder.
O the Awe of it All.
BB Warfield in a famous sermon delivered in 1911 said:
"Familiarity with the things of God will cause you to lose your awe."

Have we spent so much time in strategic local church ministry planning that we have lost our wonder at the Sovereign Planner Who guides our every minute. 
Have we spent so much time unpacking the theology of Scripture that we have forgotten the end game of personal holiness.  Have we spent so much time in discipling others that we are no longer amazed at the reality of having been chosen to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  [Paul David Tripp]

Psalm 139:3 Make each of us bold with strength in our soul.
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Jesus prayed for the disciples that they may be made holy. Sanctifying Grace. And that Sanctifying Grace comes through Truth, the Word. May Your Hand go with all of us. A living faith. A working faith. And if the way we think about life has no sanctifying grace effect on us, there is no Divine truth Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Oh God, let us receive this living faith, this Divine sanctifying workNot for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. John 17:20

PHOTO/ My heart has fallen into this ocean so many times. My God is always accomplishing what concerns me. 

157 - "Unspeakable Comfort" Psalm 109-110; Psalm 138; John 16

Psalm 109 - GOD'S HAND IS IN THIS.  Does my world recognize Your Hand is in this...

and if yes, then how do I respond to that?  My God, don't turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer. 

I'm at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.  Save me through your Wonderful Love.  Then they'll know that your hand is in this.  I so believe you wrote this psalm for me.  In some ways, I am at my wit's end but I believe your hand is in this.   It would be really good for me, I think, if others knew Your Hand was in this.

Psalm 109 UNSPEAKABLE COMFORT
If God is for us, it matters not what those who are against us, ignoring us, stiff-arming us---it matters not what they do. For it is done. No one can undo His Love. Psalm 109:4 - For my love, they are still not with me. But, I give myself to prayer!

Psalm 110 THE PRIEST KING
Never before had any one royalty held two such offices of priest and king. Only God. And may we This Day, Every Day, know that THIS is Your Hand---whatever happens. "The Lord is at your right hand." Psalm 109:27. He will shatter kings.
"May the Spirit who spoke by the man after God's own heart give us eyes to see the hidden mysteries of this marvellous Psalm 110, in which every word has an infinity of meaning." Treasury of David

Psalm 138 ANGELS LISTENING                                                                                                                            Angels listen as we say Our Thanks. They are cheering us on. Psalm 138:1

John 16 UNSHAKABLE AND ASSURED                                                                                                                                                                                                             Take heart. Trust. You will be deeply at peace in a godless world with continuing  difficulties.                                                                                                                                                                 

PHOTO: Falling Stars. Things are Different than they Look. Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institute. Copyright free. Flickr. Community.

156 - "When Will You Come To Me, God?" Psalm 101. Psalm 103 Psalm 108. John 15

                        

"When will you come to me?" Psalm 101:2
Such an intriguing question.
Some commentaries think David penned this psalm
when he finally took the throne after waiting 25 years.
The psalm fits a "good magistrate" and a "good master."
When, God?
This is the householder's psalm. For all the places we lead.
No matter what our outward condition is---joy or sorrow.
Keep these words in your mind.  On repeat.  
We must sing this psalm in our world. 
This is how David would walk in his own house,
for he was still under the watchful Eye of God.

Our greatest goal in living in our homes is this.
That God may dwell there all our days.
We invited Him from the day we moved in.
Sometimes I feigned soul amnesia and forgot He was there.
Most days I knew it, breathed it, lived it.
It's over.  The last child flipped over the calendar.
I've thought much about what we left there in that home.
Thought much about what God did there.
I can't take it back and I wish I could in ways.
But we gave the best we had from where we sat and walked.
And all I can do is ask today:
When will you come to me, God? And a tear falls.

All those days brought me to this tear.  I want Him so.
So, what's the point:  Walk circumspectly under the
Hand of Providence, under the Watchful Eye of God. There are beautiful souls still living in my house. All are worthy of utmost respect.

One of the most unbelievable experiences I have had was when II Corinthians 1:8-10 happened to me.  I was burdened excessively, beyond my strength, so that I despaired even of life.  A troubled childhood, violence, gang rape, addictions, miscarriages, and then it happened---burdened excessively.  January 13, 2006.  "Indeed [I] had the sentence of death within so that I would not trust in [myself] but in God Who raises the dead."  II Cor. 1:8-9,  He did! He raised me up from the dead.  I didn't think I was going to make it through.  Oh! Make no mistake, He raised me up to life that I've never known.  More alive than I've ever been.  More aware of the sin within than ever.  It's called "The Great Divide." [Oswald Chambers] I have set my hope on God, not on this world.  And He will YET deliver me even more. 

"God produces a providential crisis where we have to decide---FOR or AGAINST, and from that point the "Great Divide" begins.  If the crisis has come to you on any line, surrender your will to Him absolutely and irrevocably."  Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest January 1.

PHOTO: The Quarries Lake where I often ask "When will you come to me, O God?"

155 - "May God Be To You Like Falling Rain on Fresh Mown Grass" Psalm 68. Psalm 72. Psalm 86. John 14

And David ends with a prayer for Solomon. Psalm 72:6. May he be like rain falling on the fresh mown grass. An answer to the drought in so many lives.  

Father, cause us to live like rain failling on a parched land.  Empower us today with the Energy that stirs so powerfully within.

154 - "Love Pays Any Price to Bless Another" Psalm 61-62; Psalm 65; John 13:21-38

This is a rough patch that I am in. I came to the Word today so needing a word. And ai read …  Ps 62:1 . "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him." Ps 62:8 The Living Word longs to meet us. I'm way too wrapped up in what's happening here. God spoke once; Twice I heard this: Power belongs to God. Lovingkindness is His. Ps 62:11. Immaculate. Immutable. Invisible. Incomprehensible. God doesn't need to speak twice. He speaks once and things happen. He commands a world and it stands fast every single day. We speak and sometimes we do not have much to say. God speaks and it is done. In Latin, the meaning for twice means "uncertain." We hear again and again the sound of God's Voice through Creation, Sovereignty, Providence, The Word. May we keep on hearing this One Word: God is powerful and full of love. May His thunderous Voice echo again and again and again both of these truths. PHOTO: All 4 of you children have heard God speak once. May you hear Him twice. My prayer for each one of you loves is that His Lovingkindness will meet you.

Circa 2015

153 - "The Lot You Were Assigned" Psalm 53. Psalm 55. Psalm 58. John 13:1-20

 

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22. But as for me, I will trust in You. Psalm 55:23. Cast your burden on to the Lord. In the Hebrew, it means the "lot you were assigned" by God Himself. Some say it is David's words but the meaning of burden in the Hebrew is "gift." Even the cup of sorrow is a gift. Cast it on Him and He will never allow you to be moved more than you can bear. 

152 - "Equal Footing At the Cross" Psalm 39-41; John 12:27-50

David finds some difficulty in Psalm 39 to rest in the Lord and wait patiently. It's easy to hand out the advice and much harder to follow it. When our sin stands in the way ...

My foot stands on level ground when I am forgiven. There is no penance that we dare do to pay for our sins. I waited patiently for the Lord

Some seasons, we can't work ourselves out of what we are in.  All we can do is wait patiently---never in vain.  We know God hears us.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Give us this day a "settled peace of conscience" that we may wait rightly.  And how did the Hebrews do it?  Through a metaphor. Psalm 40:7 - they dug out their ears filled with audio. They listened with their eyes.  I come to Your Word.  It is written of me.  

God's Kindness and Truth is David's comfort on his sickbed as he faces unkindness and treachery of family and friends. Psalm 41:1

John 12:27 - Jesus' soul is troubled. He was shaken by what just happened. "What should I say?" His question refers to the choicest of words to use when we face difficult. The response from God to his question: A voice from Heaven itself. John 12:30. And Jesus says, the Voice is not for me but for you. Follow!

PHOTO: As the sun sets today, let's sing Psalm 41.

151 - "A Sojourner, A Stranger" Psalm 36-38; John 12:1-26

I want this world to be perfect in every which way: family, friends, relationships, home, car, circumstances, money, job, entertainment, lifestyle, and oh, I could go on. Maybe not perfect, just complimentary. Really?

What speaks to my heart this day? What makes sense to me as I move into my world? Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart. It is transgression that flatters us in our own eyes. Psalm 36:1-2. We can have the good life here. We deserve better treatment than what we are getting. We make people want to pay for what they are doing to us. We have ceased being wise and doing good; we plan evil upon our bed. Not Good! Psalm 36:3-4

Do not fret because of those who are evil.

Do not envy those who do wrong.

Because.

Like the grass, they will soon wither one day.

Psalm 37:2

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Take delight in the Lord

and He will give you the desires of your heart.  

Trust in Him and He will do this.

Psalm 37:3, 5

This is a sermon, says the commentaries.
"Calculated not for our devotion, but for our conversation."
It is Maschil---a teaching psalm.

Fall Forward in Faith.

No matter how bleak.

No matter how black.

It shall be "well with the soul of those who fear God." 

Do I despise evil? Or do I tolerate it? Do I dismiss it like a $5 parking ticket for my bicycle. 

Don't fret.Don't be envious.
God will do it!

God will bring forth your righteousness, Psalm 37:6
as the light and your judgment as the noonday. 

All of our serving and sharing and ministering
does not make us right with God. 

Rest in the LORD. Wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7  

Maybe, what makes sense to your heart is not right. 
He is our strength in time of trouble. Psalm 37:39. 

Rebuke me, O LORD, Psalm 38:1
for Your Hand presses down. Again. Psalm 38:2

Mourning. Sighing. Aloof. Afar.
I am a stranger. a sojourner.

PRAYER FROM PSALMS

And now, LORD, 

for what do I wait?

My hope is in You. Psalm 39:7

Not in my success or systematic theology or 

achievement or accolades or validation or victory.

I hope in You.  Psalm 38:15

150 - Like Lazarus, Awake My Soul" Psalm 31, Psalm 35, John 11:30-57

Is there ever a prayer that is unanswered. No. God answers all of them---it's just that maybe the answer we hoped for; or it is not the one we receive;the timing we require is revealed to be our will not His. In John 11:41 ~ Jesus lifts up his eyes and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Did anyone really believe that God would bring him back to life? If we ask, He will answer. Don't be silent. Please be near to me. 

Psalm 35:22 Please hear my voice as I cry for mercy. Psalm 31:22 Just like Lazarus, awaken my soul to see life again. Just like Lazarus, send people my way to unbind what I cannot. Thank you, God, for the invitation to pray without ceasing. 

PHOTO: Eatonville, Washington. The street where the Morgans and Brandons once lived.

149 - "We Know Not What's Born in the Womb of Time" Psalm 27-29; John 11:1-29

David's cruel and perfidious enemies assaulted him. They encompassed him. David gropes for words to express the impression his thoughts have made on his life. He gropes for words to express how desperate his condition would have been if he had not been supported by faith in God's promises. Even the best saints are subject to faint when their troubles become grievous and tedious; their spirits are overwhelmed, and their flesh and heart fail; but then faith is a sovereign cordial! Faith keeps us from drowning under our burdens; it keeps us hoping, and praying, and waiting; hope maintains in all of us honourable thoughts of God, and an expectation of relief in due time. But what belief was it that would keep David from fainting? That he should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living — not only a continuance of the mercy and grace of God to his soul which he already possessed, but that he should outlive his troubles. David longed to see and enjoy in this life a deliverance from his enemies. The Land of the Living---David desired "this" mercy in "this" life not because he placed his portion in things but because he placed his whole life in truth and God's glory. That's it. I have been longing to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. O God, have mercy on me. Psalm 27:13-14 has been the biggest verse tugging on my heart for the past 52 years since I became a Christian. 

So...

"Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring."

Proverbs 27:1

We can prepare for tomorrow,

we just cannot presume upon God and his moving.

We just can't promise that we will be here. All we know is that we have to rest tonight. The sun will go down. We have no info about tomorrow for good reason. To-day, while it is called, To-day, hear God's voice. We know not what is in the womb of time until it's born. Then, the One Who closes the books on To-day, the One who has kept us in the dark is the One who readies us for every second, every day.

PHOTO: It's just me. Longing to see God's Goodness in the Land of the Living. Life's been hard. God's been good.

148 - "No One Can Snatch Me Out of the Father's Hand" Psalm 24-26; John 10:22-42

Blindness doesn't co-exist with pretense.

 "How long will you keep us guessing if you are the Messiah?"  John 10:25-32 - Jesus answered, "I told you, but you don't believe ... You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice....They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand."

"Many turned away when they realized what He was saying was "hard."  Like so many today!  The word hard is a translaton of skleros:  offensive not merely difficult.  "To love with nails in Your Hands and to love those who put them there captures the essence of what it means to really live!"  66 LL.

John 10:29  "No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand."  It's a verse God gave me years ago when I lived in dreaded fear of being harmed.  Safe in His Hand, whatever that means.  Not free from harm and hurt, just free to be His.  And that will never change!

We have been in the Providential Hand of God before the foundation of the world, and even before we were in "the loins of Adam." Everything about us is under God's care, protection, and power.

147 - "Come Quickly! Between a Rock and a Hard Place" Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22; John 10:1-21

                         

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
    but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
    Answer us when we call!
                Psalm 20
The news came unexpected today.
It's over our heads.
We're between a rock and a hard place.
We know not what to do.
Overwhelmed.
We will rise up.
We will stand firm.
By Your Mighty Power.
Because it is not within me to move forward on this.
This is David speaking.
He knew what it meant to embrace loss.
And we have lost something really big today.
Rise up, o my soul.
Stand firm, and see the salvation of God redeem my heart.

DEAR GOD:  PLEASE CHANGE ME IN THIS ONE OF 10,000 MOMENTS THAT MUST NOT DEFINE ME.  Help me to let go of how I think things should be, how things should fall, how things should play out. Give us Grace to face this rough patch.   not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

Psalm 22:11

My heart melts like wax. 

Do not be far from me. 

You are my strength. 

Come Quickly!

PHOTO:  A rising Texas sun over all our rock and hard places.