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Friday, August 16, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
A Personal Cry
Read Ps 27:7-9 and see what David said, because I am
going to give you my interpretation of David's prayer:
"Hear me, God, as I cry out to You.
Answer me in a way that I can hear You.
I'm doing what You told me to do.
I am seeking You!
Where are You?
Are You angry with me?
Have You cast me away for some reason?"
David has gone from the impersonal third person to
the first person and his words are the words of a
desperate man, who is in a desperate place where
he feels alone and abandoned. I have read this psalm
many times but this is the fist time I have noticed that
the man is having a hard time and expressing it.
David has gone from a place of worship, a declaration
of who God is, to crying out as if he has no hope--
all in the space of a few verses!
Dear reader, do David's words mirror your heart cry
today? This is the normal Christian walk. You are in
good company.
going to give you my interpretation of David's prayer:
"Hear me, God, as I cry out to You.
Answer me in a way that I can hear You.
I'm doing what You told me to do.
I am seeking You!
Where are You?
Are You angry with me?
Have You cast me away for some reason?"
David has gone from the impersonal third person to
the first person and his words are the words of a
desperate man, who is in a desperate place where
he feels alone and abandoned. I have read this psalm
many times but this is the fist time I have noticed that
the man is having a hard time and expressing it.
David has gone from a place of worship, a declaration
of who God is, to crying out as if he has no hope--
all in the space of a few verses!
Dear reader, do David's words mirror your heart cry
today? This is the normal Christian walk. You are in
good company.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Suddenly!
Last week contained a series of unwelcome sudden events.
The beginning of the drama occurred on Monday evening
as Glen was walking Jake around the lake. They stopped to
hang out a bit with a couple of small dogs and then continued
on their way. By now it was dusk. Suddenly a dog that was
off leash discovered Jake and made a bee line over the 40 or
so yards that separated them. She was a dog with a mission as
she crashed into Jake, got her teeth into his skin about mid-thigh
and then pulled ripping the skin off of the leg down past the
knee and around the leg-- almost 360 degrees. Glen went ballistic
as the dog circled around for another try. Somehow he got them
separated and we got Jake in the car and headed for the ER.
Our plans for the evening were suddenly re-arranged. Jake
was sedated and then operated on the following day. It took two
hours to clean and sew his skin back on. He is pretty much crated
for the next three weeks and we had a few rough days after we
got him home. The skin is tight where it has been re-attached.
Jake is sneaky about wanting to run upstairs and crawl under the
bed but even so the areas sowed together are beginning to heal.
The episode reminded me of just how quickly our lives can change.
Paul speaks of this in 1Thessalonians 5:2-3:
"For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying
'peace and safety,' then sudden destruction will come upon
them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they
will not escape."
"Peace and Safety" seem to be much in the news these days. Can it
be that we are nearing the end of all things? Can it be that the rapture
is just around the corner. The persecuted Thessalonian church was
so concerned about these things that Paul wrote two letters to them
which are centered around the Day of the Lord and the return of our
Lord. It will happen suddenly.
Reader, are you ready to meet Jesus face to face?
The beginning of the drama occurred on Monday evening
as Glen was walking Jake around the lake. They stopped to
hang out a bit with a couple of small dogs and then continued
on their way. By now it was dusk. Suddenly a dog that was
off leash discovered Jake and made a bee line over the 40 or
so yards that separated them. She was a dog with a mission as
she crashed into Jake, got her teeth into his skin about mid-thigh
and then pulled ripping the skin off of the leg down past the
knee and around the leg-- almost 360 degrees. Glen went ballistic
as the dog circled around for another try. Somehow he got them
separated and we got Jake in the car and headed for the ER.
Our plans for the evening were suddenly re-arranged. Jake
was sedated and then operated on the following day. It took two
hours to clean and sew his skin back on. He is pretty much crated
for the next three weeks and we had a few rough days after we
got him home. The skin is tight where it has been re-attached.
Jake is sneaky about wanting to run upstairs and crawl under the
bed but even so the areas sowed together are beginning to heal.
The episode reminded me of just how quickly our lives can change.
Paul speaks of this in 1Thessalonians 5:2-3:
"For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying
'peace and safety,' then sudden destruction will come upon
them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they
will not escape."
"Peace and Safety" seem to be much in the news these days. Can it
be that we are nearing the end of all things? Can it be that the rapture
is just around the corner. The persecuted Thessalonian church was
so concerned about these things that Paul wrote two letters to them
which are centered around the Day of the Lord and the return of our
Lord. It will happen suddenly.
Reader, are you ready to meet Jesus face to face?
Thursday, August 8, 2013
His Martha
Luke 10:38-40 is a familiar passage. Jesus and his
disciples have been on the road and they stop at
Martha's house where the conversation and food
is always good. Martha welcomes Jesus, then she
goes into the kitchen to make a favorite meal while
Mary stays behind to listen. Martha is a marvelous
hostess! Nothing wrong there until her expectations
kick in and her anger rises. She blurts out:
"I am drowning in all this work and Mary is loitering.
Tell her to come help me!" (My paraphrase)
Jesus tells His Martha--he loves her so much--
that only one thing is really necessary in life. Mary
expresses the heart of David as she sits at the feet of
Jesus and gazes into his face.
Mary is hungry.
I want to be like Mary and David, but I have to confess
that often Martha takes center stage. It is hard for me to
be at rest when so much needs to be done, and then
there are the weeks, like the past seven days, when all
sorts of things pop up, consuming both time and energy.
Even in the times of seeming failure, I am still His
dearest and He is still my Life!
disciples have been on the road and they stop at
Martha's house where the conversation and food
is always good. Martha welcomes Jesus, then she
goes into the kitchen to make a favorite meal while
Mary stays behind to listen. Martha is a marvelous
hostess! Nothing wrong there until her expectations
kick in and her anger rises. She blurts out:
"I am drowning in all this work and Mary is loitering.
Tell her to come help me!" (My paraphrase)
Jesus tells His Martha--he loves her so much--
that only one thing is really necessary in life. Mary
expresses the heart of David as she sits at the feet of
Jesus and gazes into his face.
Mary is hungry.
I want to be like Mary and David, but I have to confess
that often Martha takes center stage. It is hard for me to
be at rest when so much needs to be done, and then
there are the weeks, like the past seven days, when all
sorts of things pop up, consuming both time and energy.
Even in the times of seeming failure, I am still His
dearest and He is still my Life!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Loitering
...to behold or gaze upon the beauty of the Lord,
and to meditate in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
God wants me to loiter which means, "slow in
moving, to delay, to be dilatory, to spend time idly."
God wants me to be lazy? Hardly. He wants me to
give Him time. He wants me to gaze upon his beauty.
(gaze: to look steadily, earnestly, eagerly on the
beloved.) In Psalm 27, David begs God to give him
the ability to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
Seeing is not a cut and dried thing. We cannot see
Him with physical eyes. So, how do I see Him?
I meditate in the living Word and as I ponder the
words or word I am reading, Jesus begins to come
into focus. I begin this process in a quiet place, but
the Lord continues to give light on the scriptures as
I go about my day. I am the temple of the living God
and it from there that God speaks, God reveals.
Dear reader, have you heard his voice? Has He
come into focus?
and to meditate in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
God wants me to loiter which means, "slow in
moving, to delay, to be dilatory, to spend time idly."
God wants me to be lazy? Hardly. He wants me to
give Him time. He wants me to gaze upon his beauty.
(gaze: to look steadily, earnestly, eagerly on the
beloved.) In Psalm 27, David begs God to give him
the ability to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
Seeing is not a cut and dried thing. We cannot see
Him with physical eyes. So, how do I see Him?
I meditate in the living Word and as I ponder the
words or word I am reading, Jesus begins to come
into focus. I begin this process in a quiet place, but
the Lord continues to give light on the scriptures as
I go about my day. I am the temple of the living God
and it from there that God speaks, God reveals.
Dear reader, have you heard his voice? Has He
come into focus?
Dwelling
"...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all
the days of my life..." Psalm 27:4
Over the past several days I have meditated on
the word "dwell." (dwell means to linger, loiter,
abide, remain.) In this case I speak of dwelling
intimately with our God. We as Believers are
in Christ. Now that it intimacy! As we linger in
this truth, we can actually access intimacy and it
becomes life to us. In John 15 Jesus says this:
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
me." (John 15:4)
Look at Psalm 91:1: "He who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow
of the Almighty."
What we have in Christ is even better.
Dear reader, the dwelling, abiding begins in the
quiet place, but does not end there. Our dear Papa
wants us to abide in Him all day, everyday. Jesus
would not have given his disciples an impossible
command! It is possible to rest even in the midst
of stressful situations--simple but not easy.
Do you know Him?
the days of my life..." Psalm 27:4
Over the past several days I have meditated on
the word "dwell." (dwell means to linger, loiter,
abide, remain.) In this case I speak of dwelling
intimately with our God. We as Believers are
in Christ. Now that it intimacy! As we linger in
this truth, we can actually access intimacy and it
becomes life to us. In John 15 Jesus says this:
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
me." (John 15:4)
Look at Psalm 91:1: "He who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow
of the Almighty."
What we have in Christ is even better.
Dear reader, the dwelling, abiding begins in the
quiet place, but does not end there. Our dear Papa
wants us to abide in Him all day, everyday. Jesus
would not have given his disciples an impossible
command! It is possible to rest even in the midst
of stressful situations--simple but not easy.
Do you know Him?
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Seeking
Here I am wanting to quickly jump to the next
psalm, or even another verse. There is a check
in my spirit and then the soft words of the One
whose voice I know:
"What is your rush, Jane? Linger awhile with Me
in this verse."
So, I write: "One thing have I asked of the Lord
and that will I seek after..." To seek is to endeavor
to pursue that which has great value.
Papa, only one thing is worth pursuing? But there are
so many good things crying out for my attention. I
don't know how to focus. How do I do this? But,
this is my desire; this is my quest. Please help me.
psalm, or even another verse. There is a check
in my spirit and then the soft words of the One
whose voice I know:
"What is your rush, Jane? Linger awhile with Me
in this verse."
So, I write: "One thing have I asked of the Lord
and that will I seek after..." To seek is to endeavor
to pursue that which has great value.
Papa, only one thing is worth pursuing? But there are
so many good things crying out for my attention. I
don't know how to focus. How do I do this? But,
this is my desire; this is my quest. Please help me.
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