Let the darkness lift, oh Lord,
for you are the God who saves me.
Hear my cry for deliverance,
You whom my heart loves.
You will not turn your face from me,
for I am your beloved.
I trust in your love to save me and shelter me.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Outside or inside?
"BEEP,BEEP".
I heard the door just as I rammed two containers of motzerella cheese under the makeline. Of course, the top container got stuck, and my visitor heard a muffled greeting as I fixed it. As I straightened, I smiled at my somewhat bashful customer.
He was a young man in his mid-twenties, with a lean face and pinkish blond hair that snaggled its way out from under his black baseball cap. He had a ratty black shirt on, ripped jeans, and a downcast face. When I took his order, he barely looked me in the face. Very unusual. I try to make eye contact with everyone I meet, so when I finally got him to look up from the counter, he seemed surprised that I smiled at him.
After that, he relaxed. Given his appearance, he had a very polite demeanor and a ready wit. He asked if we were hiring yet, and I remember my boss' boss telling her to hire anyone who was dressed well. I replied, "No, not yet". I was struck by the fact that to the world, this man looked like a loser. But I heard the Holy Spirit say, "This is how one looks before Christ changes him".
Wow.
I heard the door just as I rammed two containers of motzerella cheese under the makeline. Of course, the top container got stuck, and my visitor heard a muffled greeting as I fixed it. As I straightened, I smiled at my somewhat bashful customer.
He was a young man in his mid-twenties, with a lean face and pinkish blond hair that snaggled its way out from under his black baseball cap. He had a ratty black shirt on, ripped jeans, and a downcast face. When I took his order, he barely looked me in the face. Very unusual. I try to make eye contact with everyone I meet, so when I finally got him to look up from the counter, he seemed surprised that I smiled at him.
After that, he relaxed. Given his appearance, he had a very polite demeanor and a ready wit. He asked if we were hiring yet, and I remember my boss' boss telling her to hire anyone who was dressed well. I replied, "No, not yet". I was struck by the fact that to the world, this man looked like a loser. But I heard the Holy Spirit say, "This is how one looks before Christ changes him".
Wow.
Untitled
It had been a long day. A long week, for that matter. Yet again, my life had changed almost overnight. Too many things were bombarding me, and my spirit yearned for a rest.
I heard His voice, and I answered, entering the room where my Daddy was. I climbed onto His lap, wearied from my earthly burdens. He put His arms around me and pulled me in close to His heart. Its comforting beat resounded in my ear as I laid my cheek against His robe. We sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company.
Finally, I spoke.
"Daddy? Did you see what's happ-?"
He squeezed me and said, "Beloved, I know". With those words, all of my fears were eased. Of course my Daddy knew. With that, I was content.
Sometimes, when life gets to be too much, we simply need to go to God and have Him tell us He knows what's going on. We just need to spend a few moments in His arms to know that all is and will be well. We need not worry about anything, but simply know that He knows.
I heard His voice, and I answered, entering the room where my Daddy was. I climbed onto His lap, wearied from my earthly burdens. He put His arms around me and pulled me in close to His heart. Its comforting beat resounded in my ear as I laid my cheek against His robe. We sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company.
Finally, I spoke.
"Daddy? Did you see what's happ-?"
He squeezed me and said, "Beloved, I know". With those words, all of my fears were eased. Of course my Daddy knew. With that, I was content.
Sometimes, when life gets to be too much, we simply need to go to God and have Him tell us He knows what's going on. We just need to spend a few moments in His arms to know that all is and will be well. We need not worry about anything, but simply know that He knows.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Psalm 29
A few years ago, my pastor encouraged us to pray through the Psalms. It's a great way to kick off your day, or get to you motivated when you're feeling disconnected from the Lord. When you speak the Word out loud, your soul will come alive, and you will find that the words flow naturally. Here is Psalm 29 in my words, using the Amplified Bible:
We, the sons of the almighty, will ascribe to You, O Lord, we will ascribe to You glory and strength. We will give You the glory due Your Name and worship You in the beauty of Your holiness.
Your voice, O Lord, is upon the waters; You are the glorious God who thunders upon the waters. For Your voice is powerful and full of majesty, and Your voice breaks the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon.
For You make them skip like a calf, Lebanon and Mount Hermon like a young, wild ox. Your voice splits and flashes forth forked lightening and makes the wilderness tremble; You shake the wilderness of Kadesh.
Your voice makes the hinds give birth and strips the forests bare. We, in Your Temple, are crying, "GLORY!"
For You sat as king over the deluge and You, O Lord, still sit as king forever! For You will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to Your people; You will bless Your people with peace.
We, the sons of the almighty, will ascribe to You, O Lord, we will ascribe to You glory and strength. We will give You the glory due Your Name and worship You in the beauty of Your holiness.
Your voice, O Lord, is upon the waters; You are the glorious God who thunders upon the waters. For Your voice is powerful and full of majesty, and Your voice breaks the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon.
For You make them skip like a calf, Lebanon and Mount Hermon like a young, wild ox. Your voice splits and flashes forth forked lightening and makes the wilderness tremble; You shake the wilderness of Kadesh.
Your voice makes the hinds give birth and strips the forests bare. We, in Your Temple, are crying, "GLORY!"
For You sat as king over the deluge and You, O Lord, still sit as king forever! For You will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to Your people; You will bless Your people with peace.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Being choosy
If you could sum up the Christian life in one word, what would it be? Why?
I love that question.
It's easy to give the same answers that everyone else gives-"love", "peace", "joy", etc. All of those are good answers. Jesus showed (and still shows) the love of Our Father. His peace is better than the world, (much longer lasting, too), and the joy that comes from a relationship with He who loved us enough to bear our sins on that cross. I used to use those until I found my own word: choice.
When we accepted Him as our Savior, we made a choice. We chose to follow Him wherever He led, to allow Him to mess our lives up, and completely rattle us to show us His amazing love. A life lived with Him is never empty, but filled to the brim. It's a daily choice to "take up our crosses and follow". This commitment needs to be renewed daily, because we would turn away without it. How do we do it? By following what He taught, what He leads us to, who He sends across our path, and so on. John the Baptist said, "He [Jesus] must increase, and I must decrease". Jesus is our path to God, there is no other. Following Him must be the most important decision that we make throughout our days.
Some choices are immediate, others, one can think about. We make dozens, if not hundreds through the day. Recently, a friend invited me to go with him and a few others to a worship service out of town. I was excited, because I loved the people I would get to hang out with-they are so cool! And worshipping God-count me in! It nearly killed me to tell him no. Problem was that I had to work, plus the day after the service was Mother's Day. Mother's day would be long, because of family commitments and work.
I was torn-take my mom out for dinner and go to church the next morning, or spend a wonderful time with God, then suffering the next day. What do I do, what do I do??????
I asked God what I should do. He was quiet. Circumstances changed, and I found myself off early enough to get showered and changed and across the river to our meeting spot. Excited, I asked the Lord if I could go. My mom would understand, I reasoned.
God answered, impressing upon me that I needed to stay home. So I stayed in town. Did I miss that time with God? Not exactly. We had a good time here at home. He showed me that honoring my mom was important to Him. He loves it when we can hang out. It was a tough choice, but then God showed up the next day at my mom's church. The Presence of God was there in a new way. That more than made up for my staying home the night before.
If I had been sleepy from the night before, I would have missed it. I would have allowed something major for me trump something that He wanted to do for others. If I am to follow Him and stay in fellowship, I must decrease and He must increase. End of story.
It's hard to know what God's up to sometimes. He asks us to do some weird things, crazy even. But the blessings that come from resting in and obeying Him are amazing.
So, do you die daily, or live "normal" life? It's up to us to decide.
I love that question.
It's easy to give the same answers that everyone else gives-"love", "peace", "joy", etc. All of those are good answers. Jesus showed (and still shows) the love of Our Father. His peace is better than the world, (much longer lasting, too), and the joy that comes from a relationship with He who loved us enough to bear our sins on that cross. I used to use those until I found my own word: choice.
When we accepted Him as our Savior, we made a choice. We chose to follow Him wherever He led, to allow Him to mess our lives up, and completely rattle us to show us His amazing love. A life lived with Him is never empty, but filled to the brim. It's a daily choice to "take up our crosses and follow". This commitment needs to be renewed daily, because we would turn away without it. How do we do it? By following what He taught, what He leads us to, who He sends across our path, and so on. John the Baptist said, "He [Jesus] must increase, and I must decrease". Jesus is our path to God, there is no other. Following Him must be the most important decision that we make throughout our days.
Some choices are immediate, others, one can think about. We make dozens, if not hundreds through the day. Recently, a friend invited me to go with him and a few others to a worship service out of town. I was excited, because I loved the people I would get to hang out with-they are so cool! And worshipping God-count me in! It nearly killed me to tell him no. Problem was that I had to work, plus the day after the service was Mother's Day. Mother's day would be long, because of family commitments and work.
I was torn-take my mom out for dinner and go to church the next morning, or spend a wonderful time with God, then suffering the next day. What do I do, what do I do??????
I asked God what I should do. He was quiet. Circumstances changed, and I found myself off early enough to get showered and changed and across the river to our meeting spot. Excited, I asked the Lord if I could go. My mom would understand, I reasoned.
God answered, impressing upon me that I needed to stay home. So I stayed in town. Did I miss that time with God? Not exactly. We had a good time here at home. He showed me that honoring my mom was important to Him. He loves it when we can hang out. It was a tough choice, but then God showed up the next day at my mom's church. The Presence of God was there in a new way. That more than made up for my staying home the night before.
If I had been sleepy from the night before, I would have missed it. I would have allowed something major for me trump something that He wanted to do for others. If I am to follow Him and stay in fellowship, I must decrease and He must increase. End of story.
It's hard to know what God's up to sometimes. He asks us to do some weird things, crazy even. But the blessings that come from resting in and obeying Him are amazing.
So, do you die daily, or live "normal" life? It's up to us to decide.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
When God asks "Why?"
"Why?"
I froze for a split second. I had been wrapping a pizza for a customer. She had a cast on her leg, and I had just blessed her pizza and asked God for healing. Still in shock, I asked if she needed help to her car.She declined, and I was left to ponder why God said "why".
Has God ever asked you that? I mean, the Maker of heaven and earth, who "knows the plans he has for you", and clothes the sparrows of the field, asking you that word.
(It works for God. Toddlers, not so much).
Over the next few days, I heard that word a lot. It wasn't a bad thing, I soon realized. Asking why is an important part of discovering new things. It is also good for examining motives and honing what you already know. Examples included:
"Why are you going there?" (On my way to buy something I didn't need.)
"Why are you thinking that way?" (Frustrated by a self-perceived lack of growth.)
"Why are you here in this place?" (Motive-was I trying to reach God, or impress man?)
It also made me ask myself why I did things or thought a certain way. It opened up a new avenue for us to get to know each other better. I'm still learning to hear from Him-like David in Psalm 139 verse 17, His thoughts are precious to me. I want to hear and see everything He has for me. He's my Father. My Abba watches over me. Like a father teaching his child, so the Father is with all of His children. He wants us to see Him in all his wonder.
I'll end with this "note" from our Father:
May I bless you and keep you,
(I do.)
May my face shine upon you,
(It does.)
May I look upon you with favor,
(I do. :) )
May I grant you my peace.
(As much as you want-just ask.)
I froze for a split second. I had been wrapping a pizza for a customer. She had a cast on her leg, and I had just blessed her pizza and asked God for healing. Still in shock, I asked if she needed help to her car.She declined, and I was left to ponder why God said "why".
Has God ever asked you that? I mean, the Maker of heaven and earth, who "knows the plans he has for you", and clothes the sparrows of the field, asking you that word.
(It works for God. Toddlers, not so much).
Over the next few days, I heard that word a lot. It wasn't a bad thing, I soon realized. Asking why is an important part of discovering new things. It is also good for examining motives and honing what you already know. Examples included:
"Why are you going there?" (On my way to buy something I didn't need.)
"Why are you thinking that way?" (Frustrated by a self-perceived lack of growth.)
"Why are you here in this place?" (Motive-was I trying to reach God, or impress man?)
It also made me ask myself why I did things or thought a certain way. It opened up a new avenue for us to get to know each other better. I'm still learning to hear from Him-like David in Psalm 139 verse 17, His thoughts are precious to me. I want to hear and see everything He has for me. He's my Father. My Abba watches over me. Like a father teaching his child, so the Father is with all of His children. He wants us to see Him in all his wonder.
I'll end with this "note" from our Father:
May I bless you and keep you,
(I do.)
May my face shine upon you,
(It does.)
May I look upon you with favor,
(I do. :) )
May I grant you my peace.
(As much as you want-just ask.)
Monday, April 27, 2009
A Supernatural Love Story
For God so loved the world...
Our Maker created something out of nothing-our world. The moon and stars were carefully set in place (Psalm 8:3). He spoke life into the skies and the seas, earth and animal. He looked, and saw that it was good. Then, He scooped up a handful of dirt and began to fashion "adam". God gave him ears to hear and a mouth to speak His instructions to all of His creation. He also formed a partner for Adam so His joy would be doubled. Though sin had not entered the world yet, our Father had a plan in place.
That he gave his one and Only Son...
Man's authority was traded to the enemy of God, a fallen angel. The Divine redemption plan was then set in motion. God's enemy was wary, knowing that this New Man was coming. This New Man was Jesus, sent by His Father to rescue the world from the enemy. By living perfectly, Jesus redeemed man through his blood. There was no "Plan B", and He knew it. He refused to let distractions keep Him from what His Papa would have Him do.
That whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life...
Jesus died a horrible death so that those who believe may have eternal life. This divine exchange calls for laying down our lives that we had before and taking up His plan for us(Matthew 16:24). In the days of the Tabernacle and Temple, only the best sacrifices would do for God. As our living sacrifice, Jesus took on our sins to redeem us from the enemy. For those who believe in him, the enemy has no hold over us. Jesus came so that we can have the best of life-a relationship with the Father who loves us more than we could ever imagine.
It's easy to quote the above Scripture and ignore what it says. It's a message that we as believers need to remind ourselves of and tell a dying world.
Our Maker created something out of nothing-our world. The moon and stars were carefully set in place (Psalm 8:3). He spoke life into the skies and the seas, earth and animal. He looked, and saw that it was good. Then, He scooped up a handful of dirt and began to fashion "adam". God gave him ears to hear and a mouth to speak His instructions to all of His creation. He also formed a partner for Adam so His joy would be doubled. Though sin had not entered the world yet, our Father had a plan in place.
That he gave his one and Only Son...
Man's authority was traded to the enemy of God, a fallen angel. The Divine redemption plan was then set in motion. God's enemy was wary, knowing that this New Man was coming. This New Man was Jesus, sent by His Father to rescue the world from the enemy. By living perfectly, Jesus redeemed man through his blood. There was no "Plan B", and He knew it. He refused to let distractions keep Him from what His Papa would have Him do.
That whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life...
Jesus died a horrible death so that those who believe may have eternal life. This divine exchange calls for laying down our lives that we had before and taking up His plan for us(Matthew 16:24). In the days of the Tabernacle and Temple, only the best sacrifices would do for God. As our living sacrifice, Jesus took on our sins to redeem us from the enemy. For those who believe in him, the enemy has no hold over us. Jesus came so that we can have the best of life-a relationship with the Father who loves us more than we could ever imagine.
It's easy to quote the above Scripture and ignore what it says. It's a message that we as believers need to remind ourselves of and tell a dying world.
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