194 - "The Lion Has Roared" Amos 1-3; Acts 15:22-41

Another prophet in the picture.

While Isaiah is dealing with his strongholds, Amos is saying this:

The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”

Amos 3

So speak to to those strongholds.

They must go.

They have no hold on me.

Wrestle well.

You know what is right to do.

O Father, may we hear your Voice saying this is the way walk in it.  May we grasp a little more deeper this day that You are roaring in our lives for goodness, for justice, for love.

PHOTO:  Santa Rosa Island.  In those quiet moments today, may we move to do away with the strong holds on all our lives.  Those strongholds that stop the very blood flow of life to us.   

193 - ”Don’t Miss The Grace of God”

 

                                     

Who am I that you take care of me?
Who am I that you think of me?
The God of all Goodness and Grace.
Always doing us good.
Even though we may not see it today.
If we are following God,
we will be influenced by that Goodness.
We will resolve to follow further, deeper in.
But it's not just a decision!
It is Grace!
May we not miss the Grace of God
in all our little big problems.
Those times when a whale swallows us.
May we pray like Jonah to resist the idols
and receive the Grace & Goodness of God!
Jonah 2:8 who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Jonah 2:8. 

The basis of the spiritual life is humility. Not the haughty attitude that I know what is right and I am going to let you know. May we not distance ourselves.  May we not miss Your Grace & Goodness! Even in the belly of a whale.  And that's about the toughest circumstances around.  No light.  No exit.  No advocate.  No explanation.  No way out.  Unless God does something.  And He did.  

PHOTO: Pensacola Beach where I have spent the past summers of my life with family.

192 - "Evil Hides Itself in Necessity, Morality, Goodness, Reasonableness..." 2 Kings 13-14; James 5

A man passing through died and they threw him in a grave.

It was the grave of Elisha.

When the dead man's bones touched the bones of Elisha, 

he was raised to new life.

II Kings 13:22

When we read the Bible, the Bible actually reads us.

What stirs in you as you listen?

These prophets dealt with their souls & never let go of God.

Elisha assured King Jehoash to depend on God's Power not his own.  With trembling hands over Jehoash's hand, the dying prophet symbolically shoots an arrow out of his window.  His dying words leave this king with the hope that Divine Providence holds us in His quiver.  "Evil hides itself and does its destructive work slowly, beneath the disguise of necessity, reasonableness, efficiency, pragmatism, even morality, even goodness." 66LL.  This is the line of David and God will preserve them and the power of evil will not stop God's purposes.  We must recognize and deal with the evil in our own hearts.  There is no peace in sin.  Is our heart right with God? 

So much talk about giving thanks and focusing on the positive. But, are we really just trying to change our behavior? Sin is relational not behavioral. It's deep. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working, James 5:13. So pray ...

James 5:9 ~ "The Judge is standing at the door."  What is at my center?  I can live self-centered being good or being bad.  Neither works for righteousness.  The Judge is always at hand.  So, let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no so you may not fall under condemnation.  

PHOTO: Credit: Stock Photos. A grave. 

191 - "Is Your Heart Right, As My Heart Is With Your Heart" 2 Kings 10-12; James 4

These kings!  Ruthless.  Out-of-control.  Massive murderers.  Yet, they did exactly what they wanted to do.  I just read a quote from C.S. Lewis:  "In each of us, there is something growing up which will of itself be Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.  It's not a question of God 'sending' us to hell."

It's all about who we make covenants with.  2 Kings 11:17 "Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord’s people. He smashed the altars and idols to pieces.  And the whole town became calm.  

May righteousness stir within us all. 

Jezebell asked the question to Elijah in 2 Kings 9 and so did others:  "Have you come in peace?"

Elijah didn't answer them, the perpetrators of evil.  He let them be. Had no mercy on their wicked ways.  

Such a telling thought to throw a woman out of the window to her death.  God moves and works in ways we don't understand.  Wondering what they thought of this story in that day?  Wondering what we think of this forcible forthright dealing with sinful natures.

May we not take lightly the things we do.  

Maybe, we think that we are doing all the right things.

Ministering.  Missional.  Madmen. 

How do we know we are right?

How do we know that what we do this day is really for God?

Jehu was anointed by God.  A madman ran in and told Jehu ... and ran right out.  Sometimes prophets are called a little out of their mind.  Jehu's life tells a compelling story---he destroyed the house of Ahab---so zealous for God. But there's so much more than living a zealous life, a successful life, a missional life.  We are here for God, not to build our do-good world.  There's a telling verse about Jehu, II Kings 10:31, reveals "Jehu wasn't careful to walk in the law of the LORD with all his heart."  Oh, how this makes me want to finish well.  Sin is never the way of peace ~ Isaiah 57:21.  

And the verse I take away from this passage and will hold dear:
It's a quote from the life of Jehu desiring to walk with his friend in unity.
It's a question we must ask ourselves.
“Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?”   II Kings 10:15

They bowed to starry hosts.

God never intended for us to worship nature more than Him.

They followed the practices of their peers.

God never intended for us to look sideways for direction.  Look up.

They even sacrificed their sons and daughters.

We may look very religious but are we doing it for ourselves?

In secret, they did things against their Lord, their God.

Things that were not right.

Do we?

Am I?

God, change us this moment as I reflect on what I do in secret.  Thoughts that may turn wild in motion, against the grain.  May I bring them captive to You.  May I look to You first, not my peers, never sideways.  Take these widdershin thoughts of mine and make them smooth as iron.  May I find You in this these 10,000 moments.  

Image:  Library of Congress. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.07478

190 - "Nothing Is Out of His Knowing" 2 Kings 7-9; James 3

What are the chances of seeing a total solar eclipse in your lifetime?  

What are the chances of walking in on a King having a conversation about your son?

And you haven't lived in that town for 7 years.

God eclipses our story for Good---outshines, outlasts, outdoes.

There is nothing said in this life that God does not hear.
There is nothing done that God does not know.
Our Advocate may be silent or storming. 
His Eyes, His Ears are here today.  

The Shunammite woman took Elisha's advice in the midst of famine.
She sojourned in the land of the Phlistines for seven years.
Went to the familiar for help, for food, for life.
She took her son restored from the dead.
Nothing out of God's Knowing.

Upon her return, she appeals to the king to inquire about her house.  
She enters and the King is talking with Gehazi about Elisha.
Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.
She speaks up: Elisha restored my son.
And so the king restores her land.
7 Years Worth---here it is.

There are no insignificant events in this life.  
A simple conversation can turn into a deep blessing.  
A mundane moment can produce holy hope if God is in the midst.
So keep on ploughing in reverence and in repentance.
Be present. Nothing is out of His Knowing.

James 3:14 ~ If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. There is hope for jealousy, ambition, pride, selfishness.  There is hope for sin.  My hope is not securing God's pleasure by my faith and works.  Rather, my hope is to go deeper in my Christian walk and advance God's Kingdom here on earth.  

"When your faith leads to a consuming desire to love Me & others at any cost,
When your faith is accompanied by a consistent pattern of good works,
Your life in this world will not be wasted!"                   66LL

189 - "But I Thought" 2 Kings 4-6; James 2

But, I thought.

But, I thought it would happen this way.
But, I thought it should look like this.
But, I thought.

Naaman did not like the way that the prophet, the man sent of God, spoke.  2 Kings 5:11
Naaman thought Elisha should wave his hands and call upon the name of the Lord on behalf of Naaman's monstrous condition---leprosy.  The drama wasn't enough for Naaman.  The ordinary wasn't enough either.  Sure, he wanted to be cured.  But, he thought it had to look a certain way.  And don't we default every day and balk that God has not answered or performed a healing His Way. 

If only we could see what others see.
If only we could see what God sees.
And if only we could see what true love is.
And if only we would treat others to bread and water, not the strikes or put downs. 2 Kings 6:20-22             

In 2 Kings 6:16-17 - Elisha commented on the predicament he was in --- being chased down by evil.  They wanted his head, but he says:  "Don't worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side ... and, Elisha prayed, 'O God, open his eyes and let him see.'  2 Kings 6:20. The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!"  

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

Show your faith by your works. ~  James 2:18

PHOTO:  California. But, I thought things would be different. But, I thought life wouldn't end this way. But, I thought God would heal me but not like this. But, I thought. 

188 - "Where Is The God of Elijah?" 2 Kings 1-3; James 1

He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.  2 Kings 2:14

I'm beside myself with the evening Christian news.  Woe and behold if you focus on "sin."  People seem to want entertainment more than holy living. May we focus on what is true and right and holy.  

As we strike the waters to walk on dry land, may we call upon the Sovereign, the One Who sustains and carries us, even to our old age.  I won't see my children as mature adults in this world.  But I can pray for them this very day that they find the God of Elijah.  May the cloak fall on all of us as we read this holy Word.

God Who owned Elijah owns you.  The God Who provided for Elijah provides for you and yours.  The God Who loved Elijah loves you.  And He is near to you.  The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in Truth.  Psalm 145:18.  Keep on calling.  Keep on praying.  And Elisha prayed to God to fill the valleys with water overnight.  2 Kings 3:17.  God did just that.  May God fill all your valleys.

The inscription of this book is James, a servant of God.  It could say who James really was.  The Prime Minister.  But what it highlights is what James prized.  Being a servant of God.  In this celebrity society in which we live, may we not seek to be the master, the mentor, the magnificent.  May we live serving others, servants of God.

PHOTO:  At an Ironman triathlon with a sun creeping up to start a new day. I have been given miracles from the King of Kings. What will I allow to take away that peace this waking morning of how those miracles are being delivered? Something is going to happen. Something is going to try. Find rest in this power of the rising sun, my soul.

187 - "Who Will I Be Today---Not What Will I do?" 1 Kings 21-22; Acts 14

          

Either we are moving toward good, toward God, or away.                                                                           

All these kings.  May we see how we are taking matters into our own hands.      

These chapters show the intentions of their hearts.  That Still Small Voice from yesterday, Today.  May we move toward Goodness.  The Lord longs to be good to each of you.  But if we do not want His Goodness . . .  What do we really want?  

Jezebel admonished her husband, the king who was sullen over a failed business deal. 1 Kings 21:7. The king who possessed no natural force of character as to move to openly rebel and seize the land. This landowner meant no disrespect---he followed his conscience---he couldn't sell his inheritance. Yet. This is not how we act as king, the obdurate Queen Jezebel derided.  Cheer up!  It's all good, as they say today.  Be positive.  And she goes on to say:  I'll take care of it and seal the deal, even if it means killing someone over it.  And Jezebel seals her ignominous fate. Yes, she did---Jezebel took a life.  And her king husband responded to Elijah's stern rebuke over such evil.  And God deferred the punishment to the children.  Oh my.  What do we want?

PHOTO: Who will I be today---not what will I do? As the sun rises on my story, will I be the obdurate queen?

186 - "He Could Call Down Fire & Rain, Yet He Wanted to Die" 1 Kings 19-20; Acts 13:26-52

He was the prophet who called down fire and rain. He knew. Yet, he hurt and wondered and just wanted to die n midst of glory and ministry.

And Elijah records: I have had enough, Lord. 1 Kings 19:7.  And I feel the same.  Problem is my testy circumstances matter in no kingdom.  

May I care about those things that touch Eternity. 

“I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” I Kings 19:10

And God responds: “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

And this spent an, this seeking prophet finds his God in a gentle Whisper. God will do His Work in his time by His Spirit, a sweet and gentle blowing of the Spirit of God. Whisper by me. 

 The news was dismal.  The King of Assyria was lethal.  Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.  And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. 2 Kings 19:17. 

This so moves me.  Take the letters of your life.  Take your Instagram posts.  Take all the words you hear that don't move you.  Take the bitter biting silence from your family and friends.  And spread that letter of life.  Spread it out on your bed.  And don't wail from your bed.  Just cry from your heart.  It's the Living Lord listening. DEAR GOD, PLEASE CHANGE ME IN ONE, JUST ONE MOMENT THIS DAY: Oh God! Open our ears this day. Im spent.  a long time in the 3rd year, the Word came to Elijah.
You know, sometimes the Word doesn't fall as we wait, expect, hope.

But He always comes.

And He is always asking:

What are you doing here?

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. I Kings 19:12. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

What am I doing here?

186 - "Finding God in the Low Whispers" 1 Kings 19-20; Acts 13

 My testy circumstances matter in no Kingdom. May I care about those things that touch Eternity.

 

Elijah listens to God - I Kings 19:13 
And, Elijah found God in the "low whispers."

The common natural way of providing for the earth---rain.
It dried up.
The uncommon Providential way of providing for Elijah---ravens.
Never dried up.

Do I realize that the Providential Hand of God is moving in uncommon ways in my life this very day?

The vilest of creatures took care of Elijah, not the kings.
And Elijah was on a shelf for more than a year
The man who could breathe life into sons.
Patiently waiting on a Good God!!!
Eating from mouths of birds.
Trusting God's timing.
Under the Care.

Such a moving story to know God uses the lowly widow. She took Elijah at his word even before feeding her own family in famine. And that one act opened the jar for Elijah to feed the widow's family for more than two years. 

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

He was the prophet who called down fire and rain. He knew. Yet, he hurt and wondered and just wanted to die in midst of glory and ministry.

And Elijah records: I have had enough, Lord. 1 Kings 19:7.  And I feel the same.  Problem is my testy circumstances matter in no kingdom.  

May I care about those things that touch Eternity. 

“I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” I Kings 19:10

And God responds: “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

And this spent seeking prophet finds his God in a gentle Whisper. God will do His Work in his time by His Spirit, a sweet and gentle blowing of the Spirit of God. Whisper by me. 

But He always comes.

And He is always asking:

What are you doing here?

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. I Kings 19:12. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

What am I doing here?

PHOTO:  I heard an audible Voice one day as I walked this 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.

185 - “Holiness Over Effective Management” 1 Kings 16-18; Acts 13:1-23

1 Kings 16:26 Empty-headed, empty-hearted lives...not true hearted.  Oh! to be truehearted!  The lessons to be learned from these wicked men:  "Leadership without a priority concern for personal holiness over effective management at best produces only outward success.  It fails to engage the real battle in the human soul, between losing your life for Me or gaining your life without Me." 66 LL.  

I love the story in I Kings of Elijah meeting a woman whose son died.  I cannot imagine what she was going through.  Elijah lies on top of the boy and asks God "Why have you brought this terrible thing on this widow...why have you killed her son?"  It's so amazing to me that God responds to our requests.  We can ask for the impossible.  God had already told this widow that her jars of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil never empty until she needs it no more.  The woman hung on tight to her life lessson, close to her bosom.  Elijah took the widow's only son and asked God to put breath back into the boy.  God did!  And this mom's response:  "you're a holy man, Elijah."  For all that is dead in our lives, may we hear God's voice.  Come

Acts 13:16 ~~~ Men of Israel, you who fear God, Listen!

These words are not just idle words, this Word of God is your very life. Deut 32:46-47.

If nothing matters more to us than following God and honoring Him, are we truly listening to the Word spoken?  The Written Word?  The Living Word?  In this passage lies the power in their present lives.  Petrified Peter.  Self-Righteous Saul.  No More!  They have received the Spirit of God and so have you.  So have I.  We have an Advocate, Another Counselor, an Ever-Present Power.  Women of God, you who fear Him so, Listen this Day!

PHOTO:  Walking the beaches of Rockport. The real battle of life is within your soul. 

184 - "Tell Me My Good Fortune Rather Than My Faults" 1 Kings 14-15, Acts 12

King Jeroboam, full of contempt. 

A dad with a dying child. 

Disguises his wife and sends her to the blind prophet. 

"Will my child die or live"? 

Wait. 

What about this---what about saying: 

How could I help my child, dear man of God? 

Will you pray for my child, dear man of God?

How could I deal with my own heart as I sit in a lonely frigid dark chamber?  

"It would have been more pious if he had desired to know where God contended with him.

It would have been more pious if he had begged the prophet’s prayers, 

more pious if he had cast away his idols.

Maybe the child might have been restored to him---as his hand was. 

Some people would rather be told their good fortune rather than their faults or their duty." 

I Kings 14:4

The king in Acts 12 was no better. King Herod saw how much his popularity ratings with the Jews skyrocketed when he went after the church members in Acts and murdered James. Then, King Herod went after Peter and arrested him to kill him before the people. The church prayed and God answered. He sent an angel to Peter's side.

PHOTO: 2-year-old tiny twins with a future ahead of them. We will pray for you. Walk humbly into your duty. Deal with your own hearts always. There's an angel by your side.                                                                                                   We will help you and pray you find God on your path. May those closest to you tell you the truth.

183 - "Look After Your Own House" 1 Kings 12-13; Acts 11

                                                              

 Look after your own house. I Kings 12:16

The theme of today's reading drives me 'back home' to the place where we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  It is when kings and paupers are not in the places where they should be.  It is when kings and paupers long for what they have not.  We are not in charge of any of this.  Just subordinates living for a King and a future world.  Just passing through here.  Leaving our mark be it success or silence.  Taking care of our own business.  Letting ambition go.  Living for another country.

Oh that I may truly know a little deeper that I am living for another country, another kingdom.  I am far too entrenched in what I see and touch and hear and feel.  God, please move in my own life.  Help me take my eye off of what I see; what I want.  Help me to look after my own house.  

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Hearts changed forever.

Hand of Providence. Hand of Love. Hand of Wisdom. Hand of Power. 

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

PHOTO: The flower; A fragrance of Beauty.

182 - "The Answer Is Not Holding Your Tongue But Holding On To God" Ecclesiastes 10-12; Acts 10:24-48

Before the years draw near.
Before the sun and the light and the moon and stars are darkened
Before the clouds return after the rain
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble
Those who look through the window are dimmed
And the earth returns to dust as it was.
Before all that happens, know this
Vanity of Vanities.  All is vanity.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments.
And God records this to show us the reality of our days.

Cast your bread upon the waters.
Even 7.  Even 8. 
Even when it seems to be spent for nothing, not much.
Give freely!  Give your money away; Give your time away.
Eccl 11:1

So, let's pay attention to what really matters, first things first
Come to the Creator before He becomes Your Judge of every secret thing.
The end of the matter.  It's our whole duty.

Father, help us to see with spiritual eyes today what is in front of us.
We all will face judgment.  May I be way more concerned this day
with coming to You and loving You and leaving my life in Your Hands.

Eccl 10:14 The answer is not holding your tongue but holding on to God.

Eccl 11:6 So
Sow your seed in the morning.
Sow your seed in the evening.
You never know!

Words multiply.
People divide.                                             

Amid all the noise of this celebrity society in which we live,

to Whom am I listening?
I find myself still trying to change people.
And I find people trying to change me.
I see the look of disapproval, of disdain.
And my default goes to defense.
Oh God! Help me to repent in the moment I hear.
May we all go back to the conclusion:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Fear God and Keep the Word.
Draw up that Empty Chair and listen to the Voice so Dear

Dear Father, I am so defensive---and so are the others.  But I can do something about me.  Help each one of us with our desires for righteousness to really listen for Your Voice today.  Love covers a multitude of sins.  So, when I cannot get over the grievances, the gestures gone awry, then let me realize it is Your Voice calling me to repent.  Those times when people annoy, disrupt, condescend, and get away with it.  May I let it go for it is in Your Hands.

PHOTO:  The setting sun found me sitting alone under a bridge at dusk.  Today is our 44th anniversary. Kind of hard to believe. Kind of wonderful we made it together for Him. Waiting for the Empty Chair to be taken.  And it was.  And there is never an empty chair at home with Bob by my side---my everything in this life.  

181 - "Redress All Those Hurtful Things That Have Happened to You and Arm Yourself" Ecclesiastes 7-9; Acts 10:1-23

Redress all those hurtful things that have happened to you and arm yourself against the "mischief" that you could run havoc with. It is the Eternal Counsel Who will work good out of this in your life.  That's what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:  Take care of your own reputation; avoid all dangerous extremes; be mild and tender toward those who have been injurious to you; and lament your own sin as that which is more vexatious than anything anyone has ever done to you.  Amen.

Why can I not listen to my own words I write this day?  I am way too quickly provoked in my spirit and the anger resides in my lap. Eccl 7:8-9.  "Do Not Say: Why were the old days better than these?" It is wise not to ask such questions.

Do not be overrighteous. Eccl 7:15.  It is good to avoid all extremes.  There is no one who does what is right and never sins. 

"DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY WORD PEOPLE SAY or you may hear your servant or your kid cursing you----for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others." Eccl 7:20-21.

That's it.  Anger in my lap.  Overrighteous on my mind.  Hanging onto every word friends and family speak.  Why can I not stop it?  Romans 7 is why.

PHOTO:  The Bob Goff Weekend in California with 32 cancer victims.  Rather incredible to hear the stories and how God intervened and looked after.  Mike Slayman is still going through it.  Trying to find the Wonder in the adversity of it all.  Saw so much inside through these days----such healing from God.

180 - “Heavy On Mankind” Ecclesiastes 4-6; Acts 9:23-43

 

Do we have the power to enjoy what is going on in our lives?  God grants it.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind:  a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them.  Eccl 6:2

Oh! God, as Bonhoeffer once wrote:  There is no more significant moment in humankind than this present moment.  

What is it that we cannot control? 

What is it that we canot understand.

What is it that we cannot do to live in the present?

COME BOLDLY:  Timeless Prayers

Father, somehow I have this "enjoyment" thing turned upside down on its head.  We pray that half of what we are exposed to this day, sinks deep into our repentant hearts.  Psalm 51:6

PHOTO:  Quarries Lake.  A little guy trying to catch a fish.  This present moment.

179 - “Be Even in the Events of Life” Ecclesiastes 1-3; Acts 9:1-22

 

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.o

Eccl 2:24 - Enjoy the good of your labor.  Be even in the events of life---not leaning in hope that this will make me happy nor sinking in despair that this has happened.  Walk into the events of this day on purpose expecting God.  There is a time for every event under heaven. Eccl 3:1. God has put the event of Eternity in our hearts. Eccl 3:11. Solomon penned these words in his event search, his trial of every commodity, every experience, every person. All Futility. Nothing new under the sun. No new words either. There is a Season. And a Time. We cannot cover up the emptiness of our existence, if it be so, and live with the illusion of satisfaction. Today.  "Emptiness is covered by distraction. Loneliness is numbed with sociability. Futility is denied in activity. Premature and superficial satisfaction with the good things of life prevents My people from grasping the incredible news that My reality of joy, community, and meaning has invaded theirs." The ultimate good is living for God's Glory but the words run cheap. 

May we only be satisfied with seeing Your Likeness in our lives and the lives of those we touch.  Help us to see through the thin veneers varnished on our events.  Illusions exposed.

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

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

No eye has seen.  No ear has heard.  Never entered our minds.  All You have for us!  

Commons listened to the Word of the Lord.  I Kings 12:24. But then, this son of Solomon, put a greater yoke on the people.  The kings listened to the Lord until it didn't work for them.

PHOTO: Sunset. Darkness closes every day. Wake up tomorrow with expectancy that God is in your every circumstance.

178 - "We Move To Live This Day Either God-obsessed or Self-obsessed" 1 Kings 10-11; Acts 8:26-40

Solomon may have been the wisest person to ever live but he wasn't holy. "Effective Management trumped holiness." L. Crabb 

                                                              

Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever live, the one who people all over the world came to speak with, the one with 700 foreign wives and 300 concubines.  How could that be?  And the Word says that the women led him astray.  That's a lot of influence on one man.  How could he even remember their names?  1,000 names.  Now, who are you again?  And he built high places to detestable gods.  Oh my.  And God replies in I Kings 11:11 --- "since this is your attitude, and you have not kept your covenant, I will tear your kingdom away from you..."  How could this happen in the midst of infinitesimal wisdom?  What about in my own life?

IKings 11: 9-10  "God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God's orders."  Solomon was obsessed with women and power and managing his kingdom. Maybe Solomon had wisdom, but he wasn't holy.  66LL "Effective management trumped holiness." God never intended for us to be obsessed with anything but Him!  We all deal with the depravity of man. Every one of us is obsessed with something or another person at different times. Yet, He is knocking on the door of our hearts, Rev. 3:19-20, offering us this moment an opportunity for Him to come in and fellowship with us as we repent from our lives "curved in on ourselves."  

Every day we move to live and love either self-obsessed or God obsessed!                                                

He is always about the beauty of detaching us from anything that we have come to depend on for our life, our joy, our peace.  

He is attaching us to Himself if we don't abandon Him in our minds, our motives, our management.  He is freeing us up from demandingness and that's so good!  When we made our big move to Austin, a friend gave me a "Me & Ro" necklace that is inscribed with the word "fearless."  It's from Phil 1:20 in the Moffat version.  It's my prayer for you this day.  My hope is that you not feel ashamed but that you may honor your Christ in your own person with "fearless courage."

One Day, the heavens and earth will pass away.  

White-hot stars will melt to a crisp, 

the stunning shimmering sun will melt forever. 

And it will happen in a blink. 

Another lovely generation of generations passes away.  

PHOTO: The sunrise over our heads today as generations pass on.

177 - "His House is High---No One Is Out Of His Reach" 1 Kings 8-9; Acts 8:1-25

It's a Grand House.

The Berth and Beauty still holds a judgment.

We cannot escape the Eyes, the Heart of the God Who is and is to come.

God hears Solomon's prayer and responds: "I have consecrated this House" in I Kings 9:3. Only God can make a place holy. Only God can make our hearts holy. Living temples. He puts His Name, His Eyes, His Heart there perpetually. How beautiful is that to know this day.

And Solomon, "If you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, then I will establish your throne." I Kings 9:4. God knew. He perceived. He saw Solomon's heart.

And we know the rest of the story that Solomon would not repent (like his father did) of what is drawing him away from God---the love of this life. His father, David, broke in half when confronted with his sins...and David repented with great sorrow over the wrongs done before a Holy God. David did not live in guilt although forgiveness never took away David being a murderer, an adulterer. Forgiveness took away David's sentence, his guilt.

This "house is high"---I Kings 9:9--- but not out of reach of the Judgment of God. We will all give account. No one is out of His Reach. The grandeur, the splendor, the beauty cannot save the day. C.S. Lewis once said that prostitutes see a little more clearly, more quickly, than the proud and the mighty, the arrogant. Was Solomon full of himself? Am I? What's my bent? Bent on doing what I want to do. Bent on living like I want to live. Bent on being what I think is right.

Image: "Solomon's Stables Under the Platform" - P217, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

176 - "The Fabric of the Temple Rose and Tugged" 1 Kings 5-7; Acts 7:44-60

176 The fabric of the Temple was all built in silence. No hammers. No chisels. No iron tools. it Rose like an "exaltation"---so we too live our lives in quietness and confidence. 

The Temple was built in silence. 
No hammers | No chisels | No iron tools were heard.

I Kings 6:7.
It rose like an "exaltation," says one commentary.

"No hammer fell, no ponderous axes rung.
Like some tall palm the mystic fabric sprung." Reginald Heber

The fabric rose in silence in the Old Testament. I Kings 6:7.

The fabric of the Sanctuary - roof, walls, floor. 
The fabric tugged in silence in the New Testament. Mark 5:27.

The fabric of the Savior Himself - his robe. 

We are to live out our lives in quietness and in confidence. Isaiah 30:15.
Thy Kingdom Come. 

Never an Observer. Always a Participator.

But that still small Voice.
The One we hear behind us, saying, this is the way. Walk in it.

And the commentary speaks to me:  "Don't mistake notoriety for spiritual progress."                                  The Kingdom went unnoticed by the Caesars and the philosophers of the day.                                                       The commentator said it grew silently like a baby in the womb, unheard, unnoticed, unknown.                   But this New Kingdom.  

Changes people 

in degrees, 

radically, 

publicly, 

inches. 

This new humanity was not so sudden.

“Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you." No better thought. No better plan.

PHOTO:  I have tugged at His fabric for as long as I can remember.  Even as a Catholic school girl.  Sacred Heart was my first invitation to the Savior.  But the real tug came when I was in my junior year at LSU and wild as the winds of a tornado.  I knew there had to be more.  A whole lot more than what I was experiencing.  And I found Him. And I turned to a whole new life. And I raised up a generation of kids offering them the Truth I found. Trying to live it out my troubled past before them every day. This is a grandkid.

175 - "I Became In His Eyes As One Who Finds Peace" - Song of Solomon 6-8; Acts 7:22-43

                                                             

No more significant hour than this present moment.

To find Rest.

To find Peace.

To Worship our Maker.

Who plants us by His Written Word.

Song of Solomon 8:10 ~ I became in His Eyes as one who finds peace.  Am I looking for peace in this world, a slice or even a sliver of happiness here?  It's all illusions!  The only true happiness in life is found in Him, the only True Rest.

"I love you.  I delight in you.  I will do whatever it takes for you to enter into the exquisite, life-defining pleasure of the communion My Son and I enjoy.  I invite you into the feast of love."  66LL

We have heard from the prophets trying to wake us up. We've heard from Job in deep suffering. We've heard from Solomon, a wealth of wisdom.  Now, God is awakening, stirring, arousing the desires He has put in our hearts to know Him fully, in abundance.  He is providing Hope that we will be satisfied. Otherwise, apart from Him, we will live in hell---maybe not in this world, but the next one.

God is inviting me to so much more even in the midst of pain.  All these Scriptures we read---they did not know the Savior, only a promise.  We have Him now.  Let us all stand in awe of the Hope we have in Him that He will continue to draw us to Himself.  Finding a little more rest this day than I have ever known before----how?  Through repentance and worship and reality.

May God's Word become "the joy and rejoicing of my heart."  Jeremiah 15:16
Psalm 19:8 Father, May your Word enlighten our eyes this morning!  More than anything else!

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

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

Wake up, o my soul. 

PHOTO:  Planted. Roots go deep. Scripture interprets Scripture.

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.