“It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in”
~Is 40:22~
It is God. He sits above the earth. We are caught up in our own little world, with our to-do-lists, our crazy schedules, our overwhelming stress, our worries that rob our peace. But He…HE sits above our little circle of life. We must look like grasshoppers to The Almighty, like busy worker ants, always focused on our little hill, and never seeing the bigger picture.
God presents so many opportunities every day to re-focus us “up”. He lets us have to-do-lists so we can call on His strength & wisdom to accomplish them. He grants us health to keep up with our crazy schedules. Those crazy schedules remind us we have a home, a family, a job, and a life to be grateful for. When worry begins, we are reminded to pray. When stress comes, we remember WHO is ultimately in control of it all anyway.
He is above our little circle. He opens up the heavens & spreads out His presence like a tent for us to dwell in.
Dwell in the tent of His presence today.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tumbleweed
"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways"
~James 1:6-8~
As I colored with my 4 year old daughter Selah, I remembered how I loved to read the titles of each color printed on crayons when I was little. Each one sent my imagination on a journey. One of her crayons read: "Tumbleweed". My mind instantly thought of something dry, drifting about on the wind, without a destination, without a resting place; Unrooted, without access to life-sustaining water deep within the ground, no growth, no future.
Without faith, you and I are like that tumbleweed. When doubt overtakes us, we loose our vision and site of our destination. We drift aimlessly through life, without purpose, our calling unrecognized. We loose the deep roots that our faith provides, and begin to withdraw from the life-sustaining Living Water. Our spirit becomes dry. We quit growing. Our soul lacks a resting spot.
When these moments of doubt come, we do not have to give in to the enemy's schemes to take us from the peace of God's presence! We can cry out like the father of the mute son in Mark 9:24: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Go ahead, admit it to God! He knows when your faith is weak. Ask Him to strengthen you in moments of doubt. Rebuke the devil, refuse to be moved! Dig your toes in deep, stretch your roots to the Living Water deep within your soul. Tap into that life-sustaining salvation. Draw the strength of His instruction (the Word). Find the resting spot for your soul (prayer time in His presence). Grow through these dry moments.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"
~Heb 11:6~
~James 1:6-8~
As I colored with my 4 year old daughter Selah, I remembered how I loved to read the titles of each color printed on crayons when I was little. Each one sent my imagination on a journey. One of her crayons read: "Tumbleweed". My mind instantly thought of something dry, drifting about on the wind, without a destination, without a resting place; Unrooted, without access to life-sustaining water deep within the ground, no growth, no future.
Without faith, you and I are like that tumbleweed. When doubt overtakes us, we loose our vision and site of our destination. We drift aimlessly through life, without purpose, our calling unrecognized. We loose the deep roots that our faith provides, and begin to withdraw from the life-sustaining Living Water. Our spirit becomes dry. We quit growing. Our soul lacks a resting spot.
When these moments of doubt come, we do not have to give in to the enemy's schemes to take us from the peace of God's presence! We can cry out like the father of the mute son in Mark 9:24: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Go ahead, admit it to God! He knows when your faith is weak. Ask Him to strengthen you in moments of doubt. Rebuke the devil, refuse to be moved! Dig your toes in deep, stretch your roots to the Living Water deep within your soul. Tap into that life-sustaining salvation. Draw the strength of His instruction (the Word). Find the resting spot for your soul (prayer time in His presence). Grow through these dry moments.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"
~Heb 11:6~
Friday, January 15, 2010
New Beginnings
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~Jer 29:11~
One of my devotion books for 2010 is "Voices of the Faithful" by Beth Moore. It is written by over 300 missionaries across the world, telling only a small part of their story. The introduction to this book is powerful. It's about new starts. I've paraphrased some of it for you below...
You and I need new starts. God fashioned us to need them. Whether we need them because we find our self cycling back to a pit of sin, or we have been attacked by satan while doing God's will, we NEED new starts regardless. God knew we would.
God Himself came up with an annual New Year's Day when He ordered creation and gave the sun and moon their instructions (Gen 1:14). Think of how much we view segments of time in years. Here in January, as we enter a new year, I wonder what kind of year 2009 was for you? Were you glad to see it go? Did you bid it good riddance? Or was it a year of dreams come true and intangible prosperity? Did you conclude it defeated? Or simply exhausted? One way or the other, aren't you glad you have a new start? Isn't God brilliant?
God didn't think an annual new start was nearly enough. He who created the human psyche also compartmentalized those hundreds of days into 12 months. Every month we get another first. But 12 new starts were not enough, either. The very first verses of Scripture unfold a seven-day period of time we call a week. Think how we look forward to a "weekend" and a subsequent new beginning on Sunday.
Fifty-two new beginnings a year sounds like plenty, doesn't it? Ah, but not to God. He who configured our needy souls ordained the sun to rise every single morning and set every single evening. A curtain of darkness falls systematically on the scene of every single day, calling it history. Some days are just so bad, they don't get better, they just have to end and give us a chance to start a new one tomorrow morning. We can fall into the bed as night falls, pull the covers over our head and sleep off the exhaustion of the day. The next morning, the sun rises, just as God promised it would, and we can be renewed and ready to go at life once again. There are times I couldn't have waited for seven days for another new start. I need a new one that would come in only hours.
The Bible says that God gives us new mercies every morning (Lam 3:23). The first of those mercies is the new morning itself. Here we are, you and I, making a new start. A new year. Twelve new months. Fifty-two new weeks. And 365 glorious new days. What might make this one a little different from last year? I'm hoping a deliberately Christ-centered life. Once again...and not a moment too soon, the old has passed away. Behold, new things have come. ~Beth Moore~
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." ~II Corinth 5:17~
One of my devotion books for 2010 is "Voices of the Faithful" by Beth Moore. It is written by over 300 missionaries across the world, telling only a small part of their story. The introduction to this book is powerful. It's about new starts. I've paraphrased some of it for you below...
You and I need new starts. God fashioned us to need them. Whether we need them because we find our self cycling back to a pit of sin, or we have been attacked by satan while doing God's will, we NEED new starts regardless. God knew we would.
God Himself came up with an annual New Year's Day when He ordered creation and gave the sun and moon their instructions (Gen 1:14). Think of how much we view segments of time in years. Here in January, as we enter a new year, I wonder what kind of year 2009 was for you? Were you glad to see it go? Did you bid it good riddance? Or was it a year of dreams come true and intangible prosperity? Did you conclude it defeated? Or simply exhausted? One way or the other, aren't you glad you have a new start? Isn't God brilliant?
God didn't think an annual new start was nearly enough. He who created the human psyche also compartmentalized those hundreds of days into 12 months. Every month we get another first. But 12 new starts were not enough, either. The very first verses of Scripture unfold a seven-day period of time we call a week. Think how we look forward to a "weekend" and a subsequent new beginning on Sunday.
Fifty-two new beginnings a year sounds like plenty, doesn't it? Ah, but not to God. He who configured our needy souls ordained the sun to rise every single morning and set every single evening. A curtain of darkness falls systematically on the scene of every single day, calling it history. Some days are just so bad, they don't get better, they just have to end and give us a chance to start a new one tomorrow morning. We can fall into the bed as night falls, pull the covers over our head and sleep off the exhaustion of the day. The next morning, the sun rises, just as God promised it would, and we can be renewed and ready to go at life once again. There are times I couldn't have waited for seven days for another new start. I need a new one that would come in only hours.
The Bible says that God gives us new mercies every morning (Lam 3:23). The first of those mercies is the new morning itself. Here we are, you and I, making a new start. A new year. Twelve new months. Fifty-two new weeks. And 365 glorious new days. What might make this one a little different from last year? I'm hoping a deliberately Christ-centered life. Once again...and not a moment too soon, the old has passed away. Behold, new things have come. ~Beth Moore~
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." ~II Corinth 5:17~
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Safe Landing
"Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf!" ~Luke 15:25-27~
This is the grand story of the prodigal son. Most of us who know the story well, know that this older son was angry, jealous that the father threw such an elaborate party for a son who had been so wayward, so irresponsible, so careless, so lost. I think earlier in my life, I may have been more like that older son- a little more judgemental of folks that have made seriously sad mistakes. But the older I've gotten, and the more life experience has taught me, I see myself more like that prodigal son. I know I fall short. I know I make mistakes. I know I disappoint my heavenly Father so much some times.
Know what else I've learned? Most people that have found themselves in the shoes of that prodigal son deeply regret the choices they've made. They would give anything to erase them, rewind them, to get a "do-over". They need to know God hasn't put a big X on them, casting them out as unredeemable, unlovable. God has to remind me that there are no "big" sins and "little" sins...just SIN. And I'm guilty, too. I need a Savior, I could never have saved myself, and neither could you. We all need Jesus. The ground at the alter, at the feet of Jesus, is always level, His blood is equally available to everyone of us. And it took an equal amount of sacrifice for my sins, just like the worst sinner ever...it required His death.
I'm so glad when I've strayed, He kills the fatted calf for my return! I hear singing and dancing in your honor....won't you come home? Where repentance is, redemption always follows. There is nothing broken laid before the Father that He ever leaves unredeemed.
"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" ~Luke 15:7~
This is the grand story of the prodigal son. Most of us who know the story well, know that this older son was angry, jealous that the father threw such an elaborate party for a son who had been so wayward, so irresponsible, so careless, so lost. I think earlier in my life, I may have been more like that older son- a little more judgemental of folks that have made seriously sad mistakes. But the older I've gotten, and the more life experience has taught me, I see myself more like that prodigal son. I know I fall short. I know I make mistakes. I know I disappoint my heavenly Father so much some times.
Know what else I've learned? Most people that have found themselves in the shoes of that prodigal son deeply regret the choices they've made. They would give anything to erase them, rewind them, to get a "do-over". They need to know God hasn't put a big X on them, casting them out as unredeemable, unlovable. God has to remind me that there are no "big" sins and "little" sins...just SIN. And I'm guilty, too. I need a Savior, I could never have saved myself, and neither could you. We all need Jesus. The ground at the alter, at the feet of Jesus, is always level, His blood is equally available to everyone of us. And it took an equal amount of sacrifice for my sins, just like the worst sinner ever...it required His death.
I'm so glad when I've strayed, He kills the fatted calf for my return! I hear singing and dancing in your honor....won't you come home? Where repentance is, redemption always follows. There is nothing broken laid before the Father that He ever leaves unredeemed.
"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" ~Luke 15:7~
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Hungry?
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" ~Matt 5:6~
How much does my soul hunger for the Word of God? Does my spirit thirst for time alone with Jesus? Do I sit on the edge of my pew in church, ready with pen and paper to take notes during the sermon, craving a word just for me? That word to sustain my hope another few days. Do I look forward to the next church event, anticipating my own personal encounter with my Savior? Does my heart melt when I hear a praise song? Can I close my eyes from busy work for a moment of worship that carries me into the very throne room of glory with my King? Do I feel the Holy Ghost when He moves around me? Are my eyes open to recognize the hand of God around me? Do the tears of thanksgiving come often? Do the tears of repentance come easy?
Do I find myself complacent at times, growing weary, or common to spiritual matters? Do I let the devil convince me that my blessing won't come, that I don't deserve it, that I have nothing good to look forward to in my life? Do I let the enemy steal the hope of my future? Is my soul downcast within me...has my countenance fallen as the glimmer of my flame fades...
We do not have to lay down and allow the enemy to rob us of the joy found in our daily relationship with Christ. We can be renewed in spirit. We can be restored. "Keep asking, and it will be given to you, Keep searching, and you will find, Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" ~Matt 7:7-8~
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God..." ~Ps 42:1-2~
How much does my soul hunger for the Word of God? Does my spirit thirst for time alone with Jesus? Do I sit on the edge of my pew in church, ready with pen and paper to take notes during the sermon, craving a word just for me? That word to sustain my hope another few days. Do I look forward to the next church event, anticipating my own personal encounter with my Savior? Does my heart melt when I hear a praise song? Can I close my eyes from busy work for a moment of worship that carries me into the very throne room of glory with my King? Do I feel the Holy Ghost when He moves around me? Are my eyes open to recognize the hand of God around me? Do the tears of thanksgiving come often? Do the tears of repentance come easy?
Do I find myself complacent at times, growing weary, or common to spiritual matters? Do I let the devil convince me that my blessing won't come, that I don't deserve it, that I have nothing good to look forward to in my life? Do I let the enemy steal the hope of my future? Is my soul downcast within me...has my countenance fallen as the glimmer of my flame fades...
We do not have to lay down and allow the enemy to rob us of the joy found in our daily relationship with Christ. We can be renewed in spirit. We can be restored. "Keep asking, and it will be given to you, Keep searching, and you will find, Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" ~Matt 7:7-8~
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God..." ~Ps 42:1-2~
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