He Sets Me On High

Psalm 91:14 says this in part, “I will protect those who trust in My name.”
The King James Version says it like this, “I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.”

It is the protection of God promised to those who know His name.
Those who know Him not just by reputation, but by close familiarity.  Those who know Him by the power of His mighty name.

Take a look at the phrase, “I will set Him on high.”

It might be easy to think that this means God will set us in a place where we will never experience pain.  He had just said it in a few verses earlier, “They (angels) will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.”  (verse 12)
Notice there is no promise that your feet will never ENCOUNTER a stone.
Only that you will not get hurt when they do.

So here, “I will set him on high” cannot mean that there won’t be danger… but that He will most certainly use the danger to advance us - to better us.  He would not have said, “I will deliver thee” had there been nothing to be delivered from!

Think through this.  The story of Peter in the boat with the other disciples being called out on the water by Jesus.

• Peter in the boat.
• Storm coming in.
• Jesus calls him on the water.
• Peter is deathly afraid.
• Peter hesitantly obeys - but goes out on the water.
• Peter begins to drown.
• But suddenly God thrusts him up out of the water and allows him to walk where Jesus is.
  

Ahh.. the water that was once a threat now becomes the very thing that “bears up under him” to actually support him and keep him alive!

It’s ALL about perspective of circumstances!

Now in light of this year… pandemic, riots, racial tension, heated election process… it’s been our storm, friends.

But it could be that He is using the very storm in our life to help to advance us.  Mature us.  Grow us.  Strengthen us.  Use us for Kingdom purposes this side of eternity!

How will we allow Him to “set us on high” where even the very storm we thought was designed to destroy us, is actually the storm that will develop us???

Be blessed today my friends!

You are stronger than you think!

You Will Sing Again!

 

Some days… more days than not… God absolutely blows my mind with something I see in scripture.
Some days I am brought to tears by the revelation of His words.
This day was no different.

Psalm 137.
A Psalm of Asaph.
And one that could be read with sad weeping if we didn’t choose to take a closer look.

In response to the pain of being exiled, the Psalmist weeps as he remembers Jerusalem.
In response to the aching he feels within his soul, Asaph sits beside the rivers of Babylon, weeping at the thought of his beloved city.
Better days they had left behind.
A former sense of glory in God’s country.

What once upon a time were songs of praise, now became tears that seemed to mirror the waters they now sat next to… as though they were also mourning the loss they felt.

Scripture tells us that they, “put away” their harps, “hanging them on poplar trees.”  (verse 2)
And when their captors demanded a song, maybe out of cruel mockery, or perhaps in honest interest, they communicate despondently, “how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?”

And truth be told, those feelings echo my own heart’s cry - from time to time.

Because this here… is not my home.
It’s not my permanent place of residence.

And some times living in a foreign land is hard.

When I first moved over 2 hours away from my hometown with my family just over a year ago, it was hard.  It still is in many ways.
And most days I feel as though I am, indeed, living, “in a foreign land.”

My heart sank when I read a little further.  
“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget how to play the harp.”  (verse 5)

It was the condition the Psalmist was placing upon his own memory.
In other words, “You are my forever home… the place I long for, yearn for… the place in which my soul belongs… and if I forget you, may my songs forever be silenced.”

But take a look back at verse 2:
“We put our harps away, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.”
So good.
Such hope.
Why?
Because it doesn’t tell us that Asaph sold his harp, nor does it say he destroyed his device altogether.  
He simply, “put it away” for a bit, “hanging it in branches of a tree.”

 

I don’t know what season of loneliness you’re going through at the moment.
In a crazy year filled with political upheaval, pandemic panic, and loads of uncertainty, it’s easy to see why there’s so much anxiety, fear, and concern.
But it’s equally as understandable as to why it’s heightened for the Jesus people.

Because this is not our home.
This is not the place our soul belongs.
And so as long as we are living here - in a foreign land - we will always feel a bit unsettled.
It’s normal.
It’s perfectly normal.

You may have, too, hung your harp up temporarily, but there’s music still to make!
There’s a joyful noise still waiting to be fashioned from your now idle instrument.
Why?
Because the best is still to come for those who know Christ, and have Him for themselves.

May our vision forever be set upon heaven - our ultimate destination.
I am only a visitor passing through.

You will play again - and the music will be beautiful!

As For Me

 

It’s a phrase that has been ringing in my ear for years now.
I remember the first time I saw it, or better yet the first time I recall “paying attention” to it.
It was on a card mailed to me by someone I love very much.
And the words written in it were this, “As for me, I will not behave that way toward you ever again.”

Those words, at that time, meant more to me than anything else that could have been spoken.
Because the pain had been great.
And the frustration had been intensifying.

And God, in His kindness, has not allowed me to escape those words in all these years.

As for me.

Because the truth is, so often we are so concerned about what “the other guy” is doing.
“Well - he started it!”
“I’m only doing to him what he did to me.”

And it’s just not the best way to think.  Or the safest way to live.
Ahh, yes, it really is about training our minds to believe differently so that our mouths behave differently.

And in a season of debate it’s challenging.
In a year of media blasts and social unrest and disfiguring violence, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain composure, let alone Christlikeness.

But what is it I just read… “See then that ye walk circumspectly (wisely, strictly, accurately, watchful, well-considered), not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  (Eph 5:15-16, KJV)

Redeeming the time.
And could it be that we can?
Redeem the time?
Redeem the year?

Redeem means this - to counter-balance some fault or defect, to compensate for deficiencies in quality.

And so can we… redeem the time?

It may not be a question.
It may be a command.

Because in this… the “days of evil” we must.

Because it’s the single most repeated thought that keeps me up at night…. “I have ones who are watching on and are learning the most about Jesus by close examination of my life.”

Jesus, too, had watchers.
Always looking to trap, trick, and ambush.
“Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men.  They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported… so he would be arrested.”  (Lk 20:20)

And if they did to him.. they will do to us.  

And so maybe it matters more than we could ever know.

Because what they see in us is what they should be able to know of Jesus.
And I fear, with everything in me, that I owe an apology for every definition of Him that has been misrepresented in the earth.

It might be time for the ones following Jesus to redefine Him to a world who has missed out on the real Savior.

It really, really, really matters.

And so I will continue to ask myself the questions necessary.
And I will fail again to get it right, I’m sure.
But I will keep trying.
Because the hurt in the watchers is too painful to ignore.

“Will what I’m getting ready to do or say bring any amount of discredit on my faith or any amount of dishonor on my Jesus?”

And the filter when communicating, “Is it necessary?  Will it benefit?  Will it add value?  Will it glorify Jesus?  OR Will it only add to the increasing noise?”

The questions… they matter.
Because how we are able to answer holds the largest amount of weight this side of eternity.

As for me… AS FOR ME… I will pray for the strength to live through this filter every day.

More Boldness, God!

 

Acts 4.
Peter and John standing trial before the council.
They can’t decide what to do with them, other than tell them that due to their teaching they have created quite an upheaval among the people, and they are to, “never again speak or teach in the name of Jesus.” (4:18)

And of course we know that the disciples… now apostles… cannot agree to that.
Their words in response are this, “We cannot stop telling about every we have seen and heard.” (4:20)

The council threatens them, but they release them due to the fact that there would soon be a riot if they continued restraining them any longer.

When the students… now teachers… are reunited with the believers, they told what they had experienced and in response the believers raised their voices in one accord.

It’s a beautiful image of unity and oneness in the Spirit.

And you can see the part of the prayer that displays a definitive shift. The words from the body of bold believers that changes the game.

Verse 29 tells us that these were the words, as a prayerful petition, from once-weary hearts turned brave, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us, Your servants, great boldness in preaching Your word.”

I stopped in my tracks when I read them.

Because I wonder if I could say the same.

Peter and John relay precisely what we need to imitate, yet it’s more difficult than we’d like to admit. “Now, God, hear what they have been saying to us and about it. Look at the way they’ve been mocking us, and threatening us because of our unwavering commitment to our mission. And in hearing them, will You make us more bold in our preaching?”

They didn’t ask for comfort.
They didn’t beg for the removal of danger.
They didn’t inquire to be discharged from their duty.

They asked for more boldness to continue the work.

Their prayer included grace to advance steadily in their responsibility regardless of apparent setback, rejection, or fear of man.

And in doing so, God gives them a greater degree of His Spirit.
Oh how we would miss the mighty increase of God’s strengthening power if we never surrendered to the need of His courage in the face of impossible challenges!

We receive in increase only that which we are bold enough to sincerely petition for.

It’s as though the brothers here are saying, “Give us more, God. We will go in the strength You provide along the way.”



It’s bold.
It’s brave.
It’s behaving like Jesus who endured a wooden torture device for you… and for me.

Peter and John were not only encouraged by the body of believers that surrounded them upon their high council discharge, they were enabled by the Spirit to do even GREATER works moving forward.

The word enabled means this = “set up; empowered; prepared; fitted; commissioned; qualified; conditioned; equipped for a specified extended or premium use! “

Wow!

Let’s not miss the chance to be enabled by the Spirit to do even more for Him.
Regardless of the cost.
Regardless of the pain.
Regardless of the difficulty.

Make us BOLD in our witness for You, God! It is my prayer with every breath.

Redefine

 

In my prayer binder, I wrote this. Something that came to me in the early morning hours this past Thursday.

 

It started out as a thought - and then became a prayer.

I heard the word - REDEFINE.

 

And I wrote it down on a sticky note:

“God help us to REDEFINE You in the land of the living.”

 

Redefine is an interesting word.

 

To “Define” means this = “to explain or identify in nature or essential qualities; to fix or lay down clearly; to make clear the outlines or forms of; to fix with precision.”

 

And the truth is that we are need of redefining of Jesus in the world.

 

Because for a long time now He has been falsely represented in the world.

 

Because we haven’t done our job of promoting Him in the best light possible.

 

And so I challenge myself to begin praying that God would help me to REDEFINE who He is to the world around me.

 

The one that is hurting without Him.

The one that deserves to witness the glory and the power of Jesus Christ.

 

God - help us to redefine you to the world. To explain You best, to identify Your nature and your character by displaying it in our own lives, to make clear with precision Your goodness and grace.

The Goodness of God

I was a bit sad yesterday afternoon as I drove home from the store.

It was an overcast day.
And I was missing my girl.

Sunday’s in our house for most of her life, were family days.
Church.
Lunch.
Maybe a nap.
A drive to the lake.
Prepping for a new week.

And just like seasons come… they go.
And in the blink of an eye we’re faced with a different season.
The rolling in of another change.
And they all seem to be coming faster and faster the older we get.

And I image we’re all feeling it this year.
Of all years.
We’re all experiencing, to some degree, an unsettling; an unrest.
A shift in the atmosphere.

And sometimes the remembering of better days, simpler times, is difficult.
But sometimes it brings life to our weary souls.

And it did for me on a Sunday night in late October.

We would sit down to watch our girl lead worship in a new place, in a new city, in this… her new season… and with tears streaming down both of our eyes, we would remember His goodness.

ALL. the. days. of. our. life.

ALL of them.
Not just the ones that feel good.
Not just the ones where things were going our way.
Not just the joy-filled, problem-free days.
ALL of them.

He has been abundantly faithful.
Good.
Merciful.
Relentlessly our Pursuer.
And He has given us more in this life than we could have ever dreamed up or imaged for ourselves.

And so, it is with confidence, that we sing alongside our girl 1,919 miles away, “All my life You have been faithful, all my life You have been so, so good!  With every breath that I am able… I will sing of the goodness of God.”

I would repeat the words I had repeated to a friend just days before, and now to my own heart, “Don’t cry because it’s over (whatever you find yourself grieving a loss for today in 2020), smile because it happened.”

I will worship Him for His glorious goodness… all. of. my. days.

The Company You Keep

 

Acts, chapter 4, is a great chapter.
It’s the story of two of Jesus’ disciples - Peter and John - who were standing trial before the council.
In the middle of their preaching, they were stopped, questioned, and subsequently arrested.

The leaders wanted to know how it was that these men had the power they had.  They asked them in verse 7, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

Peter, filled with Holy Spirit, responds to them by first saying this, “Are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for crippled man?”  (vs 9)
He goes on to say this in verse 10, “he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.”  

Oh and how you have to love verse 13 that says that the response of the members was pure astonishment, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.  They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Isn’t that the goal?
For all of us who love Jesus and follow after Him?
That we would be recognized as “having been with Jesus!”??

But even in their amazement, they still remained confused as to what to do with them.

After all, they spoke with such profound boldness and certainty.
And power.

They go on to warn the men - commanded them actually - to, “never again speak or teach in the name of Jesus.”  (vs 18)

They continued threatening the men, but finally had to let them go because they were clueless as to how to punish them without starting a riot.  Because the scriptures tell us that, “everyone was praising God.” (vs 21)

So they released the men.

Acts 4:23 tells us this, “As soon we they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.  And when the believers heard this report, they, “lifted their voices together in prayer to God.”  (vs 24)

Notice the words in verse 23, “As soon as they were freed… they returned to the other believers.”

The work forward - preaching the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus - was waiting… and the work was a necessity of their assignment… but so was the returning to the assembly of believers.  Like-minded soldiers.

They knew that in order to return to their posts of service, they had to retreat momentarily to their people of strength.  They were in need of prayer, encouragement, and perhaps even a confirmation of commission.

Oh how it matters the company you keep!

They returned to the ones they knew would lift them up to heaven and pray on their behalf.

My commentary says this, “In the Sanhedrin the air was dense with suspicion and malice, but here it was love, purity, and the peace of heaven.”

The Sanhedrin was the Supreme Court of Ancient Israel.
Ahh… but it’s also, in modern day, 109 million acres of wilderness in the state of California.
The Sanhedrin wasn’t adequate conditions for the servants of Christ - even though persecution was promised as part of the task (see Mark 10:30).

They had a great need to be in the body of bold believers who would not only usher them back on the road of duty, but would also usher them to the throne room of God - in where their help came from.

My commentary goes on to say this, “Courage is of the right kind when it seeks to sustain itself by breathing an atmosphere like this.”

And they were in need of being sustained.
Because the road is long.
The journey is exhausting.
The way seems all uphill.

And it matters the company you keep!

It may be time to return to the ones who can fuel you with love, purity, and peace… it may be the to breathe in the atmosphere of heaven…so you can resume your kingdom business.

I Carry The Name!

 

1 Samuel 17:45.

In this text, David says these words to Goliath (the one he would go up against despite the challenge of difficulty). “David replied, ‘You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies - the God of the armies of Israel, whose you have defiled.”

David is saying - “Look, you can come at me with whatever you have. Power, strength, an army, might, height… whatever… but what I come to you with is better than that - I come with the NAME of my Father God!”

In modern day terms that don’t include physical combat, but are important none-the-less, “Look, you come at me with what you have. Harsh words, anger, retaliation, fear-mongering, judgement, shaming, gossip, lies… whatever… but what I comets you with is better than that - I come with the NAME of my Father God!”

Now take a look at another verse I was just studying the other day that I connected to this one.

It’s found in Acts 3:6. It is the story of a lame man who was begging for alms outside of the Temple gate. When he saw Peter and John walk by he asked them for some money. And Peter’s response is this, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

Peter is saying - “Look, I don’t have what you have come looking for, but actually what you need that you might not even realize yet, is Jesus. I don’t have a lot - but what I DO have and am coming to you with is better than that - I come with the NAME of Jesus Christ. I carry Him into the environment and today I give Him to you. Get up and walk!”

In modern day terms that might be, “Look, I might not have what you think you’re looking for. I don’t have lots of money, a fancy title behind my name, or strategic power that could benefit you at all, but what I do have is Jesus Christ - and I can show you, too, how to know this Messiah who saves.”

Isn’t this good??


In both narratives there was a want and a divine solution.
One was the want of a good fight, and the other was the want of tangible provisions.
Both wants weren’t necessarily wrong, they just weren’t the “greater” or the “better” desire.

And in both scenarios, the NAME the individual carried superseded everything else.
The name of God!

And so I ask myself the question - Am I carrying Him Well into every environment I enter?
Am I offering Him to every person I encounter?

Sword, Spear, and Javelin I need not use…
Gold and silver I have not…
But what I will use and what I do have is the name above all names!!!
And that… is enough!

His Grace Is Enough

 

The truth is that they didn’t deserve the feet washing they received.
But they got it anyway.
Why?
Because they were His chosen men.
Because they were His friends.
The ones He chose to commune with.
Teach.
Pour into.

He was entrusting them with His Spirit to do the work of a global Gospel outreach.
And they were needing to be cleaned.
By Him.
For His service.

John 13 gives us the exchange.
“So He (Jesus) got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water out into a basin.  Then He began to wash the disciples feet…”  (verses 4-5)

But when He came to Simon Peter, Peter said to Him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  (verse 6)

Peter was appalled when Jesus answered in verse 7, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

“‘No,’ Peter protested, ‘you will never ever wash my feet!’”  (verse 8)

Peter didn’t get it.
He didn’t understand.
He thought he was honoring the Son of God, but he still didn’t have clarity on this Savior and why He had come.

The washing of the feet of these disciples was a necessary work for Jesus to do.
In order to prepare them for all that was in store for these students of Christ, they desperately needed this ceremonial foot washing from their teacher.

The qualifications for obtaining Jesus for themselves was being washed by Him.

And the same is true for you and for me.

And if this be true, then this means that the qualification is not one based on worthiness or merit on our part, but one of mercy on His part.  

We don’t earn His cleansing, we graciously receive His cleansing… His grace!

And so maybe today we can stop striving harder to earn, and stop shaming ourselves for all we lack, and simply accept His love and receive His free gift today!

His grace… is enough!

The Day I Almost Quit

It was the day I almost quit.

Gave up.
Surrendered.

Because in that season I was carrying around more loneliness than anyone knew.
Because in that season I was experiencing more heartbreak than most realized.

And I had almost forgotten.

The paper nearly popped to the surface among the others on a cold fall morning in late October.  The paper that had well documented - the day I almost quit.

The date was November 13, 2013.

And I had found myself frustrated with God.
Questioning His plan.
Contemplating my purpose.
Doubting my effectiveness.
Challenging my call.

I remember the day it happened.
Moreover I remember the night before.
It was a bible study I was leading at the time.
And everything about that night made me feel like a failure.
Low attendance.
Grumbling voices.
Unwilling participants.
Blank faces.
And one heartbreaking personal attack.

And I remember returning home in a tearful demeanor.
Riddled with weariness, sadness, resentment, and discouragement I was throwing in the towel.

I’d say it when my head hit the pillow, “Tomorrow… I quit.”

Because sometimes the assignment is too difficult.  And the burden seems unworthy of effort.

And then the morning came.
Ahh, yes, always the morning.

I’d find myself making bread for my family.
And in an attempt to remedy by soul fatigue, I’d listen to a podcast while working.

It seemed random at first.
But now I see that nothing is random in the Kingdom of God.
The message was being given by a young pastor.  Younger than me.  And much wiser.
The story was Joshua.  The warrior leader who was given charge over Israelite management, and would see to it that victory was achieved.

The story was familiar.
The walls of Jericho and the takeover of an entire city.

But the commission was odd.
Joshua was to lead his men around the walls once a day for 6 days.
Walking around the wall.  Just… walking.
No swords.  No shields.  No fighting.  Just… walking.
Then on the 7th day, seven times.
And victory of takeover was promised.

It was strange request for militant men.
But Joshua obeyed.

And you could imagine these men and their doubt.
“Are you SURE you heard the Lord correctly Joshua?”
“This doesn’t seem legit!”
“We’re soldiers, you know that, right?”

And when day 6 was closing up you can assume their frustration set in.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“This is crazy!”
“Tomorrow… I quit!”

But it wasn’t to be.
Because God - had a better plan.
He always does.
And that plan requires our obedience to be fulfilled.

And we know what happens.
Day 7 comes.  And victory is the outcome.

But it might not have happened if they had stopped on 6.
The promise missed if they hadn’t obeyed, “Don’t stop on 6.”

But wait…

I would hear the words on the November day 7 years ago and run immediately to the workbook I had been working through with my bible study class.  In almost a franticness I would look to recall the chapter of that study we were in.  YEP!  Just as I thought.  Week 6!  

And it would have been week 7 that I would announced my retirement.
I might have stopped on 6.
But God - had a better plan.
He always does.
But that plan required my obedience to be fulfilled.

I can’t stop now!!!

I’d almost scream it with excitement in an empty house on a Friday morning.
“I can’t stop now!”

So I ask you the same questions I wrestled with God to the ground about then,
“Will you do God’s will even when it’s not working?  Even when it’s hard?”

Because the truth is that we’ve gotta take the lap… make the turn… even when nothing moves.  Even when the promise looks unfulfilled… even if.  Even IF.  EVEN if.  Because He IS good and His plan IS better than anything I could imagine for myself.

God is telling you the same thing.
Before you quit!
Remember… Recall… Repeat.
Keep walking.
Even when it’s hard.
Even when it’s lonely.
Even when it doesn’t make sense.
Even when it doesn’t feel good.
Even when it’s not popular.
Even when it’s all uphill.
Even when other’s don’t go with you.

Don’t stop short of the promise of God in YOUR life.
Don’t quit now!
There’s so much better ahead for obedient, faithful, God-fearing people.

The best… is yet to come!!!

We Trust You In The Process

 

In John, chapter 13, Jesus had come to what He knew was the end of His earthly assignment.
And He knew there was a completed task that had to be done.
The full cleansing of the feet of His students.

Verse 2 tells us that, “It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, to betray Jesus.”

But Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and He would return to God. so He got up from the table, “took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin.  Then He began to wash the disciples feet.”  (verse 4, 5)

Verse 3 says, “Jesus KNEW that the Father had given Him authority…”
Jesus knew who He was.
He was the Son of God.
He knew His power.
He knew what He had within Him.
Authority.
And did you know - YOU do as well?
Luke 10:19 says this, “I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them.”
John 14:12 says this also, “I tell you the truth anyone who believe in Me (Jesus) will do the same works I have done, and even greater works…”
Authority (privilege, capacity, mastery, and delighted influence.)
Power.
It’s been given to you and I.
And we have an assignment to fulfill on the earth as well.

The rest of that same verse, 3, “… and that He had come from God and would return to God.”
Jesus - the WHOLE time He was here on this planet KNEW why He had come and fully submitted and surrendered to that assignment.
He could serve because He knew the end from the beginning.
He could love unconditionally because He knew from WHERE He had come and to WHO He was returning to.
He had His sights set on ONE mission: returning to the Father.

Where are our sights set?
Is our vision limited to 2020?
Are we saying, “This must be all there is” and live hopeless forever?
Are we refusing obedience because of our fleshly desires that are filled with pride and contempt?
Or are we staying focused on the assignment at hand?
Getting to see see Jesus and being with Him in eternity forever?
Can we do the hard things He’s asked us to do - because our vision is stayed on Him?

Now look at verse 7.
Jesus says this, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

This is so important.
Why?
Because we want to understand.
We want answers.
And some even use their demand to know as a condition for full service and surrender.

But Jesus says the same thing to you and me, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

“I know it’s hard now, but knowing won’t make it any better.  You must submit yourselves to Me.  And trust Me in the process.”

My commentary says this, “The physician gives medicine which is unpalatable, and which causes the patient sometimes to feel worse; this the sufferer cannot understand, and therefore he draws unhappy conclusions; but the power of the medicine does not depend upon the patient’s understanding.”

We think it’s so essential to know what God is doing.  BUT it’s so much better for us to trust, submit, obey, and to love than to know!

It’s like I’d tell a class of students this past February - just weeks before a pandemic outbreak that would challenge everything we were and every way we think.. “We must embrace the mystery.”

Some things we aren’t to know… yet… because the weight of them is too heavy.

And that’s okay.


God - we trust You in the process!

Write It Down!

 

Exodus 17:14-16.

 

There was a battle that had ensued between Israel and the Amalekites.

 

Under the direction of Moses, Joshua was commanded to, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army for us.” And while he did, Moses would be standing at the top of the hill, “holding the staff of God” in his right hand. (ves 9)

 

And as long as the staff in Moses’ hand was lifted high, the Israelites had the advantage.

 

But whenever it was dropped (due to fatigue from holding it up), the Amalekites gained the advantage.




Scripture tells us that Moses’ arms soon became tired and he could, “no longer hold them up.” (vs 12). So Arron, his brother and spokesperson for his assigned ministry, helped to hold his hands up for him, “steady until sunset.” (vs 12). And as a result, "Joshua overwhelmed the army in battle." (vs 13)

 

Then we read in verses 14-16, “After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, ‘Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said, ‘They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.’”

 

I love this.

 

And it goes beautifully with what I’m always saying… write it down! 

Remember… Recall… Repeat!

 

Moses was instructed by the Lord to write down (in permanent ink) a reminder that was to be read aloud to Joshua. Joshua… the one who would become his successor… the one who would desperately need to be reminded, often, to be “strong and courageous”... because the calling on his life was so great.

 

The order was this: Write it down, Moses! Because Joshua is going to need reminding. When things get hard… and they will… He will need to be reminded of this moment in time when overwhelming victory was his! Write it down, Moses! So he doesn’t forget. And even in the writing it, you will be reminded too!

 

Write down the victories and read them aloud!

Write down the things you’ve seen God do!

Write down the battles He’s allowed you success in!

Write down the provision He has granted!

Write it down… lest you forget!

As reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness.

 

Ahh… because sometimes we forget!!

Lower and Higher

 

John 13:1-20. 

 

It's the story of Jesus washing the feet of His beloved disciples.

The ones who would neglect to pray and keep vigilant watch.

The ones who would turn their backs on Him.

The ones who had pained Him in His travels.

The ones who were doubtful. Still.

 

And I don't think we will ever fully comprehend, even now, even us, the fullness of His love and the extent of His mercy and provision.

 

Because His work... it's lower than we dare to stoop, and higher than we desire to go.

 

Today I am humbled.

And grateful.

 

And my heart begs to know Him better.

To love Him deeper.

And to desire Him stronger.

Homesick

 

I would say it just last week to a good friend, “I’m so homesick.”
And because she loves me she’d respond, in part, with, “I can’t imagine how it is for you.”

And we would return to my home state over the weekend.  A one-day quick visit to the most beautiful place for years we took for granted.

And it is hard.
And it does hurt.
And we do ache for what was.

But I suppose it is the way it is for the one following Jesus.
Lonely.

I would say it to another friend who sympathized well with my analogy, “I feel like I’m on an island over here.”
Her too.

And I wonder how it is that God is in His kindness arranges wilderness seasons that seem unpleasant and yet somehow advance.
And grow.
And strengthen.
Ahh… because even those surrounded by plenty often experience desolation to some degree.

And I would feel anxious in wilderness at times.
But not to be confused with the desert.

Wilderness is this = "an uncultivated region, uninhabited, and a part of a garden set apart for plants to grow."
Desert is something different.  It is this = "a region so arid because of so little rainfall that is supports only sparse and wildly spaced vegetation, or none at all; an area where few forms of life can exist because of lack or water; barren; infertile."

And I take a breath.
And I see it as clear as day.
The wilderness is not the same as the desert.
Because in the wilderness, there’s an invitation to growth.
In the wilderness, I know I’ve been set apart.
In the wilderness, there’s great purpose and design.

And I think about Jesus.
The one who knew wilderness living at it’s finest.
And I wonder, was He lonely?
Because the way I see, He was.

But Jesus’ thoughts were fixated not on what He was missing, or lacking, or even escaping… but rather what He was obtaining by way of the journey.
He knew the end depended on the way.
And the wandering road was the uncultivated path full of revelation and discovery and improvement.
Jesus knew where He was going and was willing to trade in all of life’s conveniences for the sake of the treasure He always kept in view.
Every step took Him nearer to the day when He would say, “Glorify thou Me with thine own Self… with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”  John 17:5.

For Jesus, it was returning to the home He once knew.
And perhaps it’s why the heart that lives nearest to Him, is the one who lives with most homesickness in spirit.
Because we know, by familiarly, the home that awaits us on the other side.
Our soul cannot rest in this weary, dry land.
Because it is not the home our heart belongs to.

And so maybe it’s perfectly okay to be homesick.
And maybe this speaks to your lonely soul, too.

The question most asked, “Is this all there is?” gets answered by me, “NO!  Most certainly not!”

“When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”  (John 14:3)

Our home awaits.
And homesick we will always be until we see Him face to face.

Don't Copy.... Imitate!

Three John was a letter written by John to Gaius and Demetrius, who were two faithful church-going men.  The letter was a warning about a man named Diotrephes, who was improperly controlling the church and rejecting the apostle and his teachings.

The letter was to serve as a strict warning on how “not to behave.”

Verse 11 in the NLT says this, “Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you.  Follow only what is good.  Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.”

Take a look at it in the KWT, “Beloved, do not have the habit of imitating the evil, but the good.  The one who is in the habit of doing good is out of God.  The one who is in the habit of doing evil has not seen God.”

Now take a look at it in Passion Translation, “Delightfully loved ones, don’t imitate what is evil, but imitate that which is good.  Whoever does good is of God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

Take a look at the word “habit” in the KWT.  I pulled this one out because I LOVE this word!  Habit means this = "an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary; a dominant or regular disposition or tendency."

It has been my personal prayer conviction to move from voluntary to involuntary.  In other words… our bad habits often become involuntary actions.  Meaning - we don’t have to work hard at doing the evil - they come naturally.  We are human, after all.  But we have to change that.  We must shift from involuntary evil, to involuntary good.  Where we have been walking with Jesus and know Him by experience so deeply, that our habits of good behavior are simply…. involuntary.  We do good by habit without even thinking about  it!

Also, in the KWT, look at the words here and how it is written, “imitating THE evil.”  I found this to be really interesting.  It doesn’t just say, “do not have the habit of imitating evil”, but it says, “do not have the habit of imitating THE evil.”  What evil?  THE evil you see in other people.  In other words - people are not the one to be mirroring after.  Evil resides within them… and so the goal is to always look, instead, like Jesus.  We are not to “copy” what we see - THE evil in others, but instead, living like Jesus means making the habit of doing good - REGARDLESS of what others look like, what mistakes others make, or what evil surrounds them.

Now, Take a look at the words in the Passion Translation, “don’t imitate that which is evil, but imitate that which is good.”  According to my research, the Aramaic definition for this verse is strangely different.  It reads like this, “Beloved, don’t treat him with malice, but with blessing (good deeds).”


And this might just change the game for the entire verse!

We are not to copy what is evil or imitate behavior that is bad.
And our tendency, like here among these men in the church, is to look at the PERSON who has the evil with them, and treat them as though THEY were the enemy and with malice.  Which - in essence is giving them back the same evil that we’re looking to avoid in them!
And so, to be like Jesus, we don’t COPY bad behavior by treatment of malice…we actually COPY good behavior of Jesus and treat everyone with a blessing - - whether they deserve it or not.

1 Peter 3:9 says,  “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.”

So much richness…. God help us to be better!

It Is Finished

 

John, chapter 19, in part, is the devastating depiction of the death of Jesus.

Verse 29 says that, “A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips.”


And then verse 30, “When Jesus had tasted it, He said, ‘It is finished!’ Then He bowed His head and released His Spirit.”

It is finished.


What was finished?


The work He had come to do.

On the cross He was not a victim, but a servant, doing His Great Father’s bidding.


It was finished.

The sting of death.

The glorified work of salvation.

The sacrifice for us - the gift - was completed on the torture device that He willfully resigned to.

And in reading the hard words, I posed the question to myself… the one always looking to be better, do better, look more like Jesus.

What do I need to say, “It is finished” to?

And bow my head to?

And I would write it on a sticky note just following the question,

“Sometimes we have all manner of giving up this sacrificial life, and sometimes freeing ourselves from the hard work of ‘following’ seems the better choice. Ahh - but sometimes ‘bowing our head is best.’”

It is finished.

What do we need to say, “It is finished” to?

Maybe it’s:

• selfishness 
• comparison 
• arguing/fighting 
• complaining 
• gossiping 
• worrying 
• fearing 
• over-thinking 
• doubting

Whatever it is - you make the list for yourself.

And then perhaps at the top you write, “IT IS FINISHED.”

It can stop here.

It can end with me.

Ahh - What God Has Planted!

 

I remember the day I purchased these flowers.

It was a hard day.

In a challenging season.

And I was looking for something lovely.

Something that could help in the recalibration of my eyesight.

 

I saw them there in the greenhouse.

And honestly I chose them for the colors.

Bright orange and yellow.

Seemed like the perfect compliment to our home’s stone exterior.

 


But I have no green thumb.

I have no horticulture knowledge.

No skill in plant-life longevity.

 

But I had been looking for lovely.

And begging God to see clearer.

And the way He answers is nothing ever short of miracle.

And creativeness.

 

I would plant with slight skepticism.

But I would plant none-the-less.

 


And faithfully I would water.

Day and night I would water.

 

By 9 a.m. I could be found “tending”to my little garden.

And before 9 p.m. I could be found, again, nursing my tiny beds of golden goodness.

 

And I would tell friends as of late, “these little ones were my friends this summer. They needed me.”

And additional truth is, I needed them.

 


And I would see the fruits of my labor… the result of my investment, come to pass and over time.

 

Not right away.

But slowly.

Over time.

Sort of like the development of a soul.

The regeneration of a heart.

The transformation of a life.

 

Slowly.

 

Because the truth really is that we are so often impatient during the planting season.

 

Because it takes work.

It takes diligence.

It takes time.

And patience.

 


And in my case - risk.

 

But I was determined to not allow past failures in planting prohibit me from experiencing the joy of present progress or hope of future potentiality.

 

We cannot afford to look at present conditions and determine an unfavorable outcome.

We cannot afford to fixate on present sufferings and determine impending doom.

We cannot afford to focus on present circumstances and determine a threatening fate.

 

Oh that we would see - what COULD be.

 

With a little work.

A little patience.

A little love.

A little dedication.

 

And a lot of prayer.

 

An expectation that what God has planted… and what we have watered… will, in fact, produce a great harvest in you… and in me. (2 Cor 9:10)

 

These glorious blooms will soon succumb to the harsh element.

The wind will blow.

The temperatures will drop.

The snow will come.

 

But somewhere underneath all of them, ahh.. beauties now… will survive the hardest winter because the deepest of roots have been cultivated, and the strength supplied for an even larger yield come spring.

 

I’ll see you next spring, friends.

And when I do, I will remember the sacrificial work done in great faith, that made way for tremendous growth!

Let My Words Be Your Words Jesus

I was studying in Acts, chapter 19 when I came across a reference in my commentary to Matthew 10. This is Jesus speaking and He was talking to His disciples and says this in verse 16, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.” (vs 16)

He goes on to warn them about the dangers that were to ensue, and also of the great opportunity that would come in it all to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about Jesus Christ.

And then He says this in verses 19-20, “When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond to what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking, it will be the Spirit of the your Father speaking through you.”

There are SO MANY TIMES when I will be talking with someone and I will simultaneously praying that God would fill my mouth with the words HE wants me to speak.

Because the truth really is that I never want to be outside of His will for my life by the way I communicate.

Jesus only did what He saw the Father do, and He only SAID what He heard the Father say.

And so it must be with me.

As a follower of Jesus, I must pay close attention to the words I am saying.

• How am I communicating Jesus with my very life?
• Am I being harsh?

• Am I being unfair?
• Am I being accusatory?
• Am I being rude?
• Am I speaking truth in love?

Take a look back at the scripture (vs 19)… and think, ESPECIALLY, of the challenging times, “when you are arrested.”

• When you are taken advantage of…
• When you are treated poorly…
• When you are spoken ill of…
• When you are wrongfully accused…
• When you aren’t provided something you felt you were “entitled to”…

HOW am I speaking?

Am I demonstrating my faith in Jesus?

Am I conveying the heartbeat of the Father?

Oh how it matters.

Words matter.

And so it becomes each of us to ask this of ourselves every single day.

So not to be confused by hearers who can’t discern to whom we belong by our tongues.

Get Up!

 

I would happen upon it while I was sorting out old papers in my office.  A list of bible verses I had written down years ago… the early years when I was desperately trying to understand scripture.  I see it written with some degree of revelation… what was it God was trying to get me to see?

Ahh… yes… but just like I’d say it to a group I was speaking to recently, “Sometimes as we age things are seen best most clearly in the rear-view mirror.”  And still God uses the richness of my findings nearly a decade later to speak to a weary heart in a struggling calendar year consumed with uncertainty twinged with a bit of fear.

God spoke the words to Joshua just following the great success at Jericho.
It was after powerful strength was given to His tired, impatient, and overworked soldier, that it was needful to speak the words, lest Joshua fall prey to a setback.

The Israelites had violated the instructions of the Lord.  “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel.”  (Josh 6:18)

But even in their terrific success, they disobeyed.

Joshua and his men, now armed with certain complacency due to overconfidence in their abilities, marched on to what would surely be another success in defeating the enemies in a town called Ai, but were strangely defeated themselves.

And it was a shock to them.
I’m sure shear panic gripped them as they wrestled with this thought - How could this have happened?  Surely the Lord’s favor was upon them?  Surely they would be granted victory once again?

But abandonment of God and disregard of strict order were to blame for their now troubling times.  And in their grief, Joshua found himself crying out to the Lord.  “‘Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did You bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! Lord, what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies? For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?’”  (7:7-9)

And God’s response is simple.
“Get up!  Why are you lying on your face like this?” (7:10)

Joshua was the leader in charge.
Israel had sinned.
And now Joshua was paying the price.

The things set apart for destruction that were hoarded by a man named Achan of Israel, would now serve as the very reason destruction was being heaped upon all of the land.  “For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction.”  (7:12a)  And God says, “I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.”  (7:12b)

The command came once again in verse 13, “Get up!  Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow.”  And He continues, “You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.”

It was the purification of the people God was after.
To purify means to make pure from anything that pollutes, to make clean, and this… “to be unaffected.”

Wow.

And maybe it’s what God is saying to this nation now.
Purify yourselves.
You refused to remove the things set apart for destruction.
You’ve held too tightly to the things I’ve asked you to let go of.
And until you remove these things from among you, you will never be granted success over the power of your enemies.

It’s clean atmospheres that He’s after.
It’s reformed hearts that He’s looking to develop.
It’s sin among us He’s seeking to filter out of the ones He’s called His own.

And He just might be using the most unlikely of circumstances… the most unloveliest of leaders… the most inconceivable manners to bring about the most powerful resurrection of humanity the world has ever seen.

But maybe… just maybe the withdrawal of His very presence is necessary to, “wake us up from our slumber” (Rom 13:11), and bring healing… restoration… revival.. to our ever fatigued souls!

“If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed.  Our Lord, come!”  1 Cor 16:22