Little Things

I love it when Jesus does things that are so obviously His work. It's like He gets great joy out of surprising us with unexpected things.

I was scheduled to speak at our church and as I was studying in preparation, I needed to locate a particular verse.  I could not recall the location of the verse so I took out my iPad to search for it. I opened my Bible app and stared at the list of Bible books.  I asked Jesus which book I should start with. Thinking it must be in Galatians or Ephesians, I went to click on Galatians, but my little finger accidentally pressed 2 Timothy.  So I paused and thought, Okay, I’ll try 2 Timothy. But which chapter?  I randomly chose the third chapter.  But now the iPad wanted me to select the verse.  I started with verse 1.  

And there, on my lit-up screen, was the very verse I was aiming to search for.  

It gave me chills to think that the God of the universe was so intimately connected with what I was doing that He decided to hand-deliver the very verse I needed.  I’m sure I would have eventually found the verse, so for some it might seem like such a little thing to have it pop up right in front of me.  But that goes to show, that with God, there are no “little” things.  

8/31/2016

Treasures To Gather

Patterns, patterns in Autumn's tree,

sun and shade play in the rhythm of the wind.

Colors in harmony upon the distant hill,
once brilliant, subtly fading in evening light.

Bringing honor and grace to the whispers
Of God's breath upon the canvas of life.

God's love language dances through
forest and glen creating moments to cherish.

Gather them as wood for warmth.
Gather them as reminding treasures for winter's frozen hours.


8/27/2016

Of Today

How can God speak to us of today?

When our worry is left from yesterday?

And our dread is for tomorrow?

8/28/2016

Blessing

May the wings of the Almighty shelter you.

May the words of the Almighty speak to you.

May the arm of the Almighty protect you.

May the vision of the Almighty direct you.

And may the love of the Almighty surround
you and give you the assurance of tomorrow. 


8/22/2016

Unrequited Holy Love

When Jesus stopped at the crest of the hill, overlooking the city of Jerusalem and the grandeur of the temple with golden pinnacle glistening in the rays of the setting sun, He was overcome. With cries and moans that shattered the joy of what seemed to be the inevitable crowning of the long-awaited promised one, Jesus sat rocking back and forth in agony of spirit. Everything stopped. every song was silenced, every hallelujah and homage to the king came to an abrupt halt.  The only sound that now wrenched the air was the sound of grief and loss. In that moment of unrequited holy love, Jesus cried out:

"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets and stoning those who were sent to you! How often I would have gathered your children together as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused!"  (Matthew 23:37)

Why, "oh Jerusalem"? Why not, "oh people of Jerusalem"?

Because, God chose the temple in Jerusalem as His dwelling place. God's chosen, God's ambassadors to the world, God's blessed people refused Him entrance into their hearts. The temple which He Himself had chosen in order to be with His people, He now would leave desolate, empty and void of His presence.

We, too, are the temple of the Holy Ghost. Chosen ambassadors to the world, blessed above all His creation, we wander about as sheep without a shepherd. 

Save us Lord!  Save us from our miserable selves. Save us from the hardness of our hearts. 

Come and dwell in this earthen vessel that you have chosen.

Amen 

  

What We Cannot See

The glorious wonders of nature we see. But do we see the wonders that are invisible to our human eyes? 
 
Do we see the heart that catches a glimpse of the goodness of God for the very first time?
 
Do we see the mother's prayer making its way to the listening ears of our Father?
 
Do we see the flight of angels hastening to the one bowed down in discouragement?
 
Do we see the intensity of the armies of God in battle against the forces of evil on our behalf?
 
Do we see the hand that gently lifts the fallen from guilt and shame to a new morning?
 
Do we see the tears pouring forth from Jesus' eyes as He grieves for our blindness?
 
Oh, so many things we cannot see that takes place everyday for you and me. 
 
Wonder of wonders, behold the love He proffers!

Making Sence Of God

If I could wrap my head around the concept of infinity, where there is no beginning or end, to the existence of God…

If I could grasp what it means for God to be present everywhere at the same time…

If I could comprehend His omniscient ability to know everything past and future… 

If I could...then I wouldn’t end up with a headache every time I tried to make sense of such divine concepts.  

I’m not the only one, you know.  Many people continue to search for answers to all these unanswerable questions, as if it were even possible to scientifically reduce God into a standard formula or definition.  So many people want to know the things God knows and want to be able to do the things God does.  It kind of makes you think that most of the world would be happy if they could just be God. 

Being God seems to be a popular aim since every religion (outside of those that serve Creator God) direct their followers to find the source of power within their own self-guided existence. 

But for me, the greatest blessing of all has been to know and experience the one and only God of the universe.  Allowing Him to be God, and not me, has freed me up to reflect on the awesome revelation of His character.  And with Him as my God, I can rest in the knowledge that I don’t have to play God.  Besides, I’m capable of giving myself enough headaches!  Why would I want to take on His holy purpose, as my own, as well?


8/04/2016