Side by Side Hand in Hand

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

It’s going to be a good day… Isn’t that the ONLY kind of day the Lord would make?

One would think, especially if one does not know Him, that making everyday wonderful is God’s job and His only reason to exist. If the day goes to hell or does not satisfy my criteria for a “good” day, then I… the one to whom the day belongs… judges the existence and/or power of my higher power.  Because… it IS all about… ME!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 

Yes… It is about me… and you…

But we suck at “DOING” (planning and making) our day!

This is the day… We have two switches, I need and I want. Both are left in the “on” mode unless we are asleep. And both are equal in intensity when our inner warning bell its sounded.

Our criteria for our today shows is want and need. In most of our storylines there is no distinction between the two, with one we justify and with the other we demand.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it… there is no (nor will there be) gladness and joy unless our demands are met!

Here’s the problem…

No matter how many declarations of independence we create, tantrums of civil war we threaten, imaginary kingdoms we set up… we are NOT in control!

Perception IS NOT reality… Truth is reality whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not, or whether we like it or not.

Jesus said…

Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. 

We didn’t/don’t create God… He is! Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

His advice to us…

Psalm 48:10 Cease striving and know I am God

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. 

KNOW Him…“Who do you say I am?”

As the actor of your Today Show, this question will determine your reaction to the script of today.

Will you… issue a disclaimer? The views expressed in the making of this film…

Will you… fight the producer/director at every scene, making it last beyond its shelf life of value?

Will you… flee and make believe your today is under your complete control?

Will you… trust and obey, knowing your producer/director wants victory and success way more than you do or ever could?

My favorite line of all times is from the movie “God’s Not Dead”…

“God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!”

 

If this is my foundation for all the days of my life, then there is none… NOT ONE day… that I cannot rejoice in!

I have an enemy… but he is NOT God. 1 Peter 5:8-10 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for  a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

Exodus 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, BUT GOD meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

Isaiah 49:16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.

THIS is the day… The Today Show!

That the Lord has made… I give Him creator/producer/director rights to all of it!

Then… I will rejoice and be glad in it… Today!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

 

 

 

Luke 8:16 “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lamp stand, so that those who come in may see the light.

I have a feeling that 2016 is going to be the year of Aha moments for me! Just in the last week, I have had so many…  every time I have read God’s Word.

It’s not that I haven’t understood the Word before. Nor is it that I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with it. These moments have been bolts of lightning that shoot to the core of my soul and say, “Mary, this one’s for you!”. These moments refuse to let me just smile and nod as I have become accustomed to in my procrastination and laziness.

I have found this week that I may have been reading God’s Word with an attitude of seeking what it means for everyone else… not for judging purposes, mind you… for purposes of encouragement… should it be needed.

This week… I read all through the parable of the soils and the explanation of them. I heard Jesus say NOT to cover the lamp. But I did… for a moment… using my smile and nod technique. Then He spoke to my soul…

Luke 8:21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

It is sooooooooo hard to smile and nod at Jesus! He looked directly into my eyes and spoke! Aha!!

I come from a fairly large family… (5 brothers/3 sisters) and there have been MANY TiMES that this “baby of the family” used her technique. Earthly parents and siblings are easy given that they WANT to believe you are their good little girl and they DO NOT WANT to deal if you are not.

Not Jesus… He believes we are His little girl/boy and He wants to make us good… He wants us to look like (bear the family resemblance) Him.

How does He do it? Through His Word… He is the Word”…

Aha!

Luke 8:11-15 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. 

Father God… forgive my absent heart. Brother Jesus… forgive my rocky heart. Holy Spirit… thank you for wiping the smirk off my face, calling out my Pharisaic agreement to head knowledge, and sending Your power to prepare the soil of my heart to HEAR… the word in an honest and good heart… to HOLD… it fast… to BEAR FRUIT… with perseverance.

Not just to show off my giftedness… but TO BE CHANGED!

Then… and ONLY then… will my lamp be lit and worth being seen… no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lamp stand, so that those who come in may see the light.

I love God’s Ministry of Encouragement. I love being encouraged and encouraging others. I don’t want to lose it or have it stolen by the enemy!

Luke 8:18 So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

Aha! Unless my smile is due to the light of Jesus in my heart, and my nod is in agreement to my total need for Him, my technique will no longer be honored in this heart… smile and nod, indeed!

2016… my year of Aha moments… bring it on!

Here I am, Lord…

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

Matthew 8:23-26 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He *said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. 

We ARE all in the same boat! Some boats may be rocking or some may be perfectly calm at this moment but…

John 16:33 In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Even if you don’t believe Jesus, we are all in the same boat.

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 

So… when we ask, “Why me?”, the answer is… “It is your time”…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. 

And… might I just add… A time to choose! Who you gonna call? Who you gonna ask for help from?

As an encourager, I’ll come if you ask me to. But, and though it might be helpful for a moment, I am limited to band aids and sympathy. I can’t make the boat stop rocking! I can’t stop the storm.

Who you gonna call?

Might I suggest we do as the disciples did…

They woke Jesus… who by the way was there in the boat with them… SLEEPING, not disturbed by the storm!

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

But Mary, if God cared about me… if God could take away the suffering… if God wanted to help…

We think the best thing He could do for us is take this tribulation away.

Revelations 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

The BEST thing… no the GREATEST thing He can do and does for us is… BE WITH US!

We are all in the same boat…

If your boat aint rocking right now, it doesn’t mean you are safe from ALL the storms of life… it just might mean you have dry docked your boat and are hold up in storm cellar carefully crafted to keep out any and all chance of suffering. The problem is, it has to keep out the blessings too…  along with the people who might bring trouble with them.

I am often accused of believing in a myth… a fairy tale… The evidence that is used to accuse me is twofold. The fact of suffering and the fact that it isn’t removed by God. To me, the thought that WE decide our own destiny and therefore should be allowed to determine the right and wrong way of all things great and small on our earth is more wishful thinking than my belief. This may be what we WANT but when it comes to things that harm the body, soul, and spirit… every one of us is vulnerable… especially to death. Death is the ultimate myth buster!

I don’t believe in a god who promises heaven on earth! I think those who are pursuing heaven on earth are attempting to keep the wolves at bay and suffering to a minimum. If that doesn’t work, we either pretend (head in the sand) we never suffer or we blame someone/everyone else so we do not have to admit we are weak and fragile just like the rest.

I don’t believe in a god who is remote and waiting for the opportunity to strike us down. I don’t believe in a god who is at our beck and call. I don’t believe in a god who tells us lies to make us worship him.

I believe in God… who created us to be perfect like Himself… and gave us the only true gift of love – free will. I believe in God… who, when He was grieved by our rebellion, came, received, and paid the wages of our sin.

I believe in God… who continues to pursue relationship and fellowship with us… right here (in the midst of the storm)… right now (in the midst of the pain and fear and doubt)… Until the time of storms pass… the right time because He wishes none to perish!

We’re all in the same boat… It’s just that some of us know the One who controls the boat, calms the seas, and speaks to the storms… some of us know Jesus!

if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

I believe in Immanuel – God with us.

Open the door… this is your Captain calling…

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

 

And he (Santa) isn’t the only one…

John 14:2-3 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 

He came… the GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY.

Emmanuel… God with us.

He lived… He suffered… He died… He was buried…

Some believe this to be the end of the story, our hope denied. Some believe His death proves He was no more than a childhood myth, created in the imaginations of millions of crazy people who cling to fairy tales and such.

But… God is NOT dead… the tomb is empty!

 

John 14:4-6 And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 

GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY… the WAY, and the TRUTH, and the LIFE is coming back!

I will come again and receive you to Myself

Tis the season… Come Lord, Come!

May this year be filled with our pursuit of Jesus.

May we know our ABBA, Father and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

May we know the height, width, breadth and depth of God’s love for His creation.

May we know Jesus… and may all the blessings of God be ours… pressed down, shaken, full, and overflowing.

Merry Christmas!!

 

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

 

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

Every so often (more often than I care to admit) the Holy Spirit reminds me to “tune” my instrument before joining the orchestra in making music. In my case, He uses words and their definitions to sound the alarm that I MAY BE just a little off – key.

I have this bad habit of telling people what they want to hear even when I do not fully believe what I’m speaking. My mom used to say, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all!” But the problem was (and is), silence speaks VOLUMES! So, a little compliment here or a minimization of a problem there… “a little sugar” so to speak. I kinda sorta like them so I can STRETCH it into love… right? It’s not a lie if YOU believe it… it COULD be true!

I would think, “What does it matter anyway? They don’t need to know what you REALLY think! Besides, most people interpret everything through their own very complex language translation which tells them what you must have meant!”

Truth be told, not only do you NOT want to know what I think, it is of little value to your well-being. So… what does it matter? And it wouldn’t matter, IF you and I were the only ones listening…

But God…

Where you and I hear “nice”, He hears a clanging cymbal. You and I “feel good’ with the thought (after all, it’s the thought that COUNTS!) and count it “music to our ears”, God hears a noisy gong.

When the Holy Spirit reminds me to play the correct song, He is not talking about tone or lyrics. He is talking about the heart… my heart… from which all my treasure flows… Matthew 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

Am I playing sharps with just a touch sarcasm, or am I playing flats with no motive or passion but to say something/anything. I can’t hide it… no matter how much sugar I add to the spoon, it won’t make a sour note turn sweet. And… no matter how many nods I get as I’m singing the sour notes, they remain sour without my heart changing the music. And I can’t change the music without God changing my heart!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; 

I would just add that love can’t be faked. It is what it is!

When the Holy Spirit is cautioning me, He is never telling me to change my tone (or tune). In fact He is not even talking about the words of my song… He is telling me to let Him play. He is letting me know that I have once again taken over the orchestra. I have become the musician, the instrument AND the conductor. “No worries. I’ve practiced this piece for years!”

When I am playing my own music, the only love I’m singing about  is for myself, and even it is love gone wrong.

1 Corinthians above is not a list of legalistic notes that we are expected to play with daily practice. This Scripture can and should only be played if it is being played by God, Himself. Whether practicing for or playing for the saints, we need to be filled up, pressed down, shaken and overflowing with Him and His music .

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

If I sense the Holy Spirit’s caution, and I listen for the discordant notes He hears (rather than hide them like I am prone to do) in my words and reactions to other’s words, I will be able to sincerely ask for and be given God’s song of love!

God doesn’t tell me to shut up if I don’t have something nice to say. He doesn’t tell me to stop the music if I can’t play the right song.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t slap my knuckles with a ruler (like my piano teacher used to do) every time I play a sour note. No, everything He does is for training, NOT punishment… victory NOT humiliation… relationship NOT a solo!

I am being taught to play and sing and dance to the music of heaven…

Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth… because these don’t come from heaven

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

In a word…

LOVE… the music of encouragement…

Word!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible

2 Peter 1:5-8 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whenever I see this Scripture I am reminded of the exercise  of stair climbing.

And this week putting up Christmas decorations has REMINDED me of exercise! I have been up and down stairs to get everything I need in one place, I have been up and down ladders to put things in place, and I have been doing squats and weight lifting and stretching to fill the places … and now… I have the painful reminder of muscles that are not trained nor kept in condition.

I have also been reminded that I EXPECT exercise to produce PERMANENT results! How dare my body betray me by causing me pain and anguish when I have given my all to make me happy, healthy and wise! Well.. happy for sure… some other things just aren’t worth the pain in order to gain!

Hey! Don’t get all judgmental on me… y’all make your choices too!

As I was whining to Nikki about the pains of the seasons… she reminded me (thanks girl!) that I was the one who DEMANDED (did not… did too) to have Christmas at my house. Ok… OK! I get it! Anything worth doing is worth the cost… after all… it is a law of nature that there is cause/effect for everything under the sun. And because we, mankind, decided our self was the most important “god”… ALL of creation groans! NO pain – NO gain!

Well… if God loves us… why doesn’t He just…

Fill in the blank, but the real answer we want is for Him to make us happy, healthy and wise NO MATTER WHAT! Give us this day… our way. Make our mistakes go away and let no evil consequences befall our life plan. Build our kingdom right here, right now! Amen…

But God…

Proverbs 22: 15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

Proverbs 13: 24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

We look at the rod of discipline as punishment… but it is NOT! Discipline is always… ALWAYS… training… for the purpose of GROWING UP WELL. One might say that God is in the business of being our perfect PERSONAL TRAINER along with our perfect CREATOR who knows us to the very number of the hairs on our head. Our most avid fan who stalks us with the perfect love of our perfect PARENT (Parent Wannabe until we give ourselves to Him through Jesus) who wrestles with us even when we are at our most rebellious. Never punishment… only training to grow into the most awesome, unimaginable, radical gift of FREE WILL… a gift so powerful that it is used to choose life or death.

We don’t have to earn it… it is ours at birth. We can’t lose it… no matter how many obstacles are put into place. It isn’t a “right” it is the irrevocable nature given to every human.

Whereas we try to limit the use or consequences of the use, (much like gun-control) God trains us up. (Maybe instead of our “quick fixes” of taking away we should consider relationships that train up in the way we should go… oh I forgot… we are taking all of that out of our society because we don’t like the SHOULD, we hate the PERFECT SOURCE of all the should that should be, and we really just want to DO IT OURSELVES!)

Anyway… here we are… full circle.

I was reminded of all of this when I woke up after Christmas decorating, with muscles that I had forgotten to use all year-long…

Training… Exercise… Endurance building… sometimes called GROWING UP!

Not my favorite happy dance… but absolutely necessary… especially in my life because I love easy. I love procrastination. I love “been there, done that”. I NEED Peter’s exercise plan… the stair steps to dance up and down…run up and down… or… crawl up and down.

Jesus did the work that I couldn’t do… paid the price required for my misuse of my free will… the wages of sin is death… but He didn’t take away the gift. He gave us the opportunity for abundant life… to live as CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. When we give our heart to God through Jesus who is… the Way, the Truth, the Life… we CHOOSE God as our FATHER with all of the authority and power and will of the position. Along with that choice, comes training… we are the child… God is our Father!

And sometimes… no, most times… training produces pain and strain and scratches and bumps and bruises and brokenness and dirty clothes and stumbles and… sometimes… no most times… triumph and victory!… For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No pain… no gain?

Some pain… ALWAYS gain!

(BTW… the decorations are beautiful… at least I think so!)

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible

 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven… Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow, which has become our man-made appointment to give thanks… so… I begin today to prepare my answer for the after dinner, around the table declaration, of what we are “thankful” for.

I admit in my natural state, I have never been REALLY grateful. As a child I knew the right words to say, but I was more focused on the next thing to get than understanding that everything, including life itself, was a gift and not owed to me or anyone else. Not thinking of my response to my benefactor, I, like my first ancestors thought ONLY of the effect/impact to ME… when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise…

For a lot of years, my eyes have been on myself and the GOOD effect/impact, and only ask for and be grateful for more of the same. It’s not all my fault… after all I inherited the sin nature… lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life… from the first couple. No, it’s not my fault… but I sure took to the idea like… bees to honey, an addict to a drug, a baby to a nipple.

But… today… after being in rehab for some 30 + years (It is taking me a LONG time to grow up!)… my mind is being renewed and transformed by God.

Thank You, Jesus… for being me benefactor!

Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Thank You, Jesus… for being my benefactor even before I knew You!

Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified

Thank You, Jesus… for taking me farther than I could comprehend!

Isaiah 49:16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;Your walls are continually before Me. 

Thank You, Jesus… for writing me on Your hands and on Your heart!

Psalm 100:1-5 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations. 

Thank You, Jesus… for showing me the way and leading me to Your kingdom!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 

Thank You, Jesus… for the REAL deal!

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

No, I am not there yet… fully aware and grateful… if I were I would never get up from the full body, face down on the ground, worship of my Life Giver… but someday…

Isaiah 55:12 “For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 

Thank You, Jesus… for my future!

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 

Thank You, Jesus… for communion… our dinner!

Our dinner conversation…

Psalm 139:13-18 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.When I awake, I am still with You. 

Our dinner music of praise and worship…

Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

And the after-dinner effect/impact…

Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

What then shall we say to these things?… Thank You, Jesus!

Romans 8:31-34 If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 

Thank You, Jesus… for praying for us!

Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray, then, in this way:‘Our Father who is in heaven,Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come.Your will be done,On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

Thank You, Jesus… for teaching us to pray!

Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 

Thank You, Jesus… for helping us to pray!

John 10:27-30  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Thank You, Jesus… for giving us this day and our family… Your family!

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Yes, I will still sit at the Thanksgiving table I am privileged to be a part of and I will declare my thanks for every one of the people sitting there and those who are not able to be with us in person but will be brought to our table by our loving thoughts of them. I will declare that it is NOT things I am grateful for (though the food will be decadent and wonderful) but the fellowship… the fellowship of love…

It is indeed the Lord”s day!

For this reason… Ephesians 3:14-19 I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

You tell me Lord God that… Isaiah 55:11 (Your) word which goes forth from Your mouth will not return to You empty, without accomplishing what You desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which You sent it. 

Thank You, Jesus… when spoken into my life it has accomplished and is accomplishing all that You desire.

I pray You will send it out over the whole earth!

Thank You, Jesus…

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible

Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

A friend of mine texted me that she was weary and heavy-laden last week. I texted back and an emoji in tears and prayed for her. But… I was angry at her… she is a wonderful child of God and has NO BUSINESS showing anything less than happy happy!

Did you catch that… “showing”… I’m what you might call a Show Girl! When someone is going to all the trouble to help, I expect to be lied to and told how wonderful it is to suffer “for the Lord”. As I put on my clown makeup, I practice my show… whatever it takes to exchange laughter for sorrow, create cheat sheets for avoiding the sweat of life, and mask the fear of the truth of tomorrow.

But this week… I got caught AND trained up!

Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

Take My yoke upon you… been there, done that… I AM an ENCOURAGER in the ARMY OF THE LORD!

Oops… forgot the “learn from Me”…

Encouragers are strong in empathy. We can SEE the pain and even when we can’t FEEL the pain, we HATE the pain! But sometimes, (I’m not accusing anyone… BUT ME) we are weak in discipline. We want to run into the burning building and be the hero… AND… we want to do it our way and we want you to be GRATEFUL, dangnabit!

I am a chameleon, so I can convince you that I am all about you and your needs. Really! And for the moment I am…

But then… the game I am playing becomes exhausting and unsustainable. And I become… angry!

I SHOULD be reprimanded… I SHOULD be wearing sack cloth and ashes in shame… I SHOULD be defrocked from my armor and demoted to less than a fighting soldier. Maybe errand girl… or sit in the corner girl… or bound, gagged and hidden girl.

Isn’t our Jesus amazing? He didn’t do any of those things I definitely deserved (according to the accuser of the brethren). He said… “Come to Me”!

Come to Me… not “Go to your room”… or “I don’t see your remorse”… or ” I can’t use you when you’re like this”… or… “you are only good enough (and sometimes not even then) to be seen and not heard!” Not even ONE of the things I have done, would do, or plan to do to the person who crosses and/or disappoints me.

I was caught this week… and called out. But not by Jesus. He let my own game, my own plans, my own heavy, heavy bag of stupid catch and call me out. He let ME grow weary and heavy laden!

And then… I watched Him work… on me!

Just when I thought I was done for… But God… (whenever I see these words… But God… I become unglued with indescribable, call it heavenly language, of so full of excitement I could burst praise)

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

This week He said, “Come” but He also said “Sit with Me and learn”… in the heavenly places!

Stripped of my commission in God’s army? Demoted? NOPE… raised up and seated!  My problem… sitting still! Thus learning is somewhat fragmented. I read the instructions and think I’ve got this one!

But God…

Did you see what He did? He put His arm around me and said, “Darlin, come and sit with me… in the place I am preparing for you. Ohhhhhhh My God!

Matthew 11:30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. 

If all I ever do is put my butt in the seat and watch Him, I have accomplished ALL that He desires of me. If I am so focused on “doing”, I miss the “done”! If I insist on the exhausting work of “impressing to please” I am stuck in my own head and selfish heart and will reap only anger and bitterness.

But God… John 5:19 Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

Yoke… family! Burden… being His kid!

He said “Come”… “Sit with Me and learn from Me”… and finally “Hook up with Me”.

And you will find rest for your souls… AND A CALLING!

Ephesians 2: 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Send in the clowns… and someday the clowns will realize that they are NOT clowns but children of the Great I AM. As they learn from His first Son, they are being sanctified and made whole. As the training goes on, they put away their childish masks and costumes and long to be revealed as a chip of the “old” block… like Father, like son/daughter!

This week Jesus leaned over and whispered, “Now that your here… sitting with Me… learning from Me… hooked irrevocably to me… What’s your dream? My little wonderful girl, if you could be anything you wanted to be, what do you see dimly in the looking-glass that you long to see clearly?”

I’m still working on my answer…

In the mean time… please forgive me if I’m sometimes “Clowning Around” instead of Encouraging… Just like you, I’m a kid in training. But I’m encouraged! I’ve read the end of the book… God Wins!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB  version of the Bible

 

Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ 

A future and a hope…

But we don’t see future too well. We see the here and now, the right this minute. And most times we don’t like what we see! In that moment our nature and our brain determine that there is NO hope for our FUTURE… in other words there is NO FUTURE! And if… there might be a future… I fear that it will not make me happy and therefore, I HATE it before it even happens!

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. 

Our biggest fear of all… we are not in control! Every moment of every day we are confronted by this truth. As we spoke last week, we can deny reality and build our dream world that appears to prove our power and authority, but as Ecclesiastes says, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” Our lust for power and authority is all fairy dust to convince our PERCEPTION that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. We can argue all day long about whose fault it is when our world explodes around us, but it never diminishes the fact that our life is vulnerable, up to and including being taken away, to a myriad of people, places, and things that can and do cause mayhem in their wake.

Whose fault it is may give us a target for our anger, but will do nothing to ensure that we are never vulnerable. Because, the truth is, we ARE vulnerable… and weak… and powerless to overcome evil (and if you don’t like the word evil then we can just as well substitute “the uglies”) Even atheists and agnostics have to submit to their god of chance… chances are that their life is or will be effected by things they wish they could avoid but cannot.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Watch out in 3 – 2 – 1… pandemonium will break out as every one of us throws our hissy fit when we realize that we are not exempt from suffering AND will never be exempt as long as this life endures. EVERY one of us will react… we ALL hate suffering! Suffering is NEVER PRETTY!! Suffering is NEVER FUN!! Suffering is NEVER EASY!!

But… ALL of creation groans… Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now… groans and suffers.

So…

If I am human… with the ability to reason and think…

If I am NOT all-powerful and in control…

If I am at the mercy of all of creation as it groans and suffers…

What are my options?

To pursue the One who promises a future and a hope? Or give up and give in to “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”

Call me crazy… Crazy Mary…

I choose Emmanuel – God with us. Not just a god but THE God, who cares for us. Not a god who remains aloof and unrelenting, but My God who says to us… Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 

Now who’s talking imagination? You hear His voice? Yep… and not only that… I dine with Him.

AND… in all these years… He hasn’t lied to me yet! Unlike MY imagination that makes things up to please myself or make me FEEL safe, He tells me the truth because He IS the truth.

No, this life isn’t always pretty… in fact, it is always challenging!

I choose to pursue a future and a hope with the One who can and does deliver…

Psalm 139:13-18 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful  are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You,When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 

A future… Isaiah 55:12 “For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

A hope… Isaiah 49:16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. 

When life is nothing more than ugly (bordering on evil) and I can do nothing but gasp for breath, I do not lean on my own understanding, my own perception… I trust in the LORD with all my heart… Proverbs 3:5

Isaiah 30:19-21 O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 

When “Life Ain’t Pretty…” Pursue God! John 8:32 “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible