Saturday, January 30, 2010

Psalm 51:10-13


Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.

Psalm 51:10-13

Friday, January 29, 2010

Transformed by Beholding

"We all, with unveiled face, behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image..." 2 Corinthians 3:18

The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person's life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord's own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it-something good, but not what is best.
the most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God.........

From My Utmost for His Highest
By Oswald Chambers
January 23

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

In Honor of a Life Well Lived

"Droop half-mast colours; bow, bareheaded crowds,
As this plain coffin o'er the side is slung,
To pass by woods of masts and ratlined shrouds,
As erst by Afric's trunks, liana-hung.

"'Tis the last mile of many thousands trod
With failing strength, but never-failing will,
By the worn frame, now at its rest with God,
That never rested from its fight with ill.

"Or if the ache of travel and of toil
Would sometimes wring a short, sharp cry of pain
From agony of fever, blain, and boil,
'Twas but to crush it down, and on again!

"He knew not that the trumpet he had blown
Out of the darkness of that dismal land,
Had reached and roused an army of its own
To strike the chains from the slave's fettered hand.

"Now we believe he knows, sees all is well;
How God had stayed his will and shaped his way,
To bring the light to those that darkling dwell
With gains that life's devotion well repay.

"Open the Abbey doors, and bear him in
To sleep with king and statesman, chief and sage,
The Missionary come of weaver-kin,
But great by work that brooks no lower wage.

"He needs no epitaph to guard a name
Which men shall prize while worthy work is known;
He lived and died for good — be this his fame:
Let marble crumble: this is Living-stone.

This was written in honor of the great missionary to Africa, David Livingston, upon the occasion of his death.

There is an entry in his journal, written upon the last birthday but one of his eventful life, and it reveals at once the motive and the earnestness of his whole career: "My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All, I again dedicate my whole self to Thee."

This speaks of the motive behind this great pilgrim's life! From strength to strength indeed!

Monday, January 25, 2010

From Strength to Strength

God, your faithfulness and your strength have carried me through the Valley of Baca.

When the heat threatened and I thought I would die of thirst, living water from your streams of love sustained me.
When the journey sapped what little strength I had and I thought I couldn't take another step, you carried me in your arms.
When my hope was gone and I couldn't see anything but darkness, you brought a glimmer of light to keep me going.

You have lifted this weary pilgrim from strength to strength and there is no doubt that you, O Lord, are the living Christ!
Your have renewed my heart day after day and year after year and I have confidence that when my journey ends I will stand before you in Zion, radiant and unashamed.

Ps. 34:4-5 I sought the LORD and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Dance


It was hard to not notice the tie in between Mark Foreman’s message this weekend and our lesson. He spoke about the gem, the treasure, the crown jewel of our faith as believers. We become part of God’s beloved family! And He becomes our dearly loved Father, Daddy. This is so amazing isn’t it? We can hardly get our minds around it! This is what all of mankind is looking for, whether they know it or not. It really and truly is the treasure that we seek.

So in our study we are learning of this too! God Almighty, our Creator loves us and wants deep intimate relationship with us. He wants us to dwell with Him and find our refuge in Him.

Mark read about this intimacy from John 14:23. Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Our heart’s desire is to be home with the Father. Dwelling with Him, living fully and intentionally in Him, in the shelter of His wings.

And so the dance. We join Him in the dance. It is all family so we can let loose and dance with abandoned joy! The dance of transformation. He leads we follow. As we begin to follow, we learn to dance better than we ever thought, or even imagined, we could! Our hearts become of one mind. His. We dance to the tune of His song. And what a beautiful song it is.

So did you do your homework this week? Did you crank up the music and dance with joy?

Saturday, January 23, 2010

My Prayer to the Lord

My Prayer to the Lord

Please forgive me for my unspoken sin and judgment of myself and others, your precious creation. Take my suitcases; I lay them at the foot of the cross and humbly ask for the ability to hear and accept your will for my life. I trust you know what is in store for me and only have plans to give me hope. I don’t deserve it, as an imperfect human being, but I know you want to bless me anyway. I am so grateful to have you as my Heavenly Father and am in awe of your desire to be my best friend and my “Daddy.” Thank you for your eternal presence and convicting my spirit by knocking at the door to my heart. I love you with all that I am. Amen.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Thoughts on Psalm 42:1-2

As I have been reading and meditating for our study this week, I have been greatly moved with the idea that, in God, our souls find their home. In Psalms 42, the psalmist tells us, "As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." I remember a few times I've been pretty thirsty and how that first sip of a cool glass of water brought me great pleasure. Why don't I have that kind of zeal in my spiritual life? Today when I read that psalm, I prayed, "God, why is it that I lack that passion to chase you?" The Lord replied, "It's in there." I felt that what He was saying is that we all have a passion to dwell with the Lord, but we perceive the sensation of the lack of an intimate relationship in different ways. I think it's the emptiness that we try to fill with food, drink, love, money, shopping....that is actually our desire to dwell with God in a meaningful and intimate way. Our daily devotion to Him, time spent in prayer and meditation can bring us closer, but I'm not sure we will ever fully achieve that wholeness until we enter in with Him into the place He has prepared for us. In John 14, Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for us, that he would come again and receive us unto himself so that where he is, we may be also. He said we know where he's going and how to get there, and we do, don't we?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

From C.S. Lewis

Quote from C. S. Lewis
"These poets (the psalmists) knew far less reason than we for loving God. They did not now that He offered them eternal joy; still less that He would die to win it for them. Yet they express a longing for Him, for His mere presence... They long to live all their days in the Temple...Only there can they be at ease, like a bird in the nest (84:3). One day of these ' pleasures' is better than a lifetime spent elsewhere (84:10)"

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Outwitted

Just is case you wanted to read the poem Wendy shared on Tuesday...here it tis!

Outwitted
By Edwin Markham

He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Dwelling under His Canopy

I had a dream … I was in the desert, and yet there was a beautiful garden blooming all about me. I smelled a soft fragrance of flowers on the cool breeze which stirred the green, lush leaves. Then I realized I was being lifted up in a swing. I looked down and all about me was a beautiful garden of flourishing plants and trees and flowers. To my right was another swing which had my sister on the seat, she was a bit closer to the ground than me. I yelled at her, “This is so beautiful and we are in a hot, dry desert, but here in the midst is this beautiful garden”. She replied, “Yes, under the canopy, even in a desert, the plants can grow and flourish.” I looked up and saw a green soft canopy covering the place we were in and I woke up. God spoke to my heart, “Yes, even in the desert, if you are under the canopy, a lush garden can grow.”
I shall never forget this dream.


Deuteronomy 32:10 “In a desert land He found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him, he guarded him as the apple of His eye.”

Keep me Jesus as the apple of thine eye…hide me under the shadow of Your wings!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

He Is My Rock and My Refuge



In You,
O Lord,
do I put my trust


and confidently take refuge;
let me never be put to shame or confusion!
Deliver me in Your righteousness and
cause me to escape;
bow down your ear to me and
save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge in which to dwell,
and a sheltering stronghold to which I may continually resort,
which You have appointed to save me,
for You are my Rock and Fortress.
Psalm 71:1-3 amplified version

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Redemption Stories

Definition of redemption: the action of being saved from sin, error or evil; the action of buying one's freedom

We all love stories of redemption. These stories make the best movies and the best books. On Tuesday, Bible Study resumed and Jan shared a wonderful overview of God's amazing plan of redemption for all of mankind. And then, in our groups, we shared stories of God's redemption in our own lives.

It is a blessing to see how God sought out Adam and Eve even though they chose to disobey Him. Right from the beginning, He called out to them. He made provision for them as well. They were not comfortable in their new state. They felt naked and ashamed. This was not God's plan for them. So He gave them what they needed to cover their nakedness and their shame by making them clothing from skins . He himself, God Almighty, made the covering for them. Genesis 3:21. Such a tender, personal, intimate scene from the pages of scripture. Ultimately, it is Jesus who clothes us with total redemption (and again, blood was shed-His precious blood). Galatians 3:26. God's love for us is so amazing, so complete and yes, so undeserved.

So Bible study has begun. And God's redemption stories abound. We share so many of the same struggles and heartaches. I am so glad we can come together to encourage one another with our stories of hope and God's grace and unfailing love.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Bringing Out to Bring In

I can say ‘no’ in nine different languages. Using English alone I can say ‘no’ in more than twenty ways and that’s without adding hand gestures. With toddling grandchildren and the steady traffic of teenagers through our house, every synonym of that word is ever ready. That is not a boast so much as a survival technique. Sometimes I worry that I use it too often so I have been purposely saying yes a bit more emphatically when I get to use it. But like a recalcitrant teenager myself, I sometimes think God says no to me all the time. More often than not, also like said adolescent, I’m just not paying close enough attention to His words or expressions.

It is true there are some thou-shalt-nots in our walk of faith, but there are also loud and hearty’ yes’ and ‘amens.’ When we sing “Only a Sinner Saved by Grace” it is easy to follow that up with all that Jesus saved us from, but He also is saving us to something. As it says in Deuteronomy, “ . . . He brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great strength . . . To bring you into their land to give it to you as an inheritance . . .” (Deut 6:37-38) He brings us out to bring us in.

God has promised us a home in heaven. Jesus is getting it ready. “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (Jn 14:2) In the meantime, Jesus is bringing us out of the world and into His earthly tent or tabernacle. He doesn’t take us out of the physical world so much as washes the smudges or singes we get along the way and pours into us the attitude and ambiance of His dwelling.

I am forever telling my teenagers, “When you say yes to something, you say no to something else.” With Jesus the reverse is also true. When He says no to us, it is only because He is saying yes to so much more. In our study in the Psalms on God’s house we will see not only the Inn He provides for us on our journey through this world, but we will get glimpses of those “many rooms.” We will see what God is saying yes to as He redeems us.