Sometimes, when I don't know what to say or write, this says it...
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
5 You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can't even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn't I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and
lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
hope & promise
For God is not unfair.
Just some words of hope & promise from 2 of the passages I'm holding on to in 2015...
He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him
& how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other Christians,
as you still do.
Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts,
in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
Hebrews 6:10-11
And when you are old,
I will still be there,
carrying you.
When your limbs grow tired,
your eyes are weak,
& your hair a silvery gray,
I will carry you as I always have.
I will carry you & save you.
Isaiah 46:4 (The Voice)
Just some words of hope & promise from 2 of the passages I'm holding on to in 2015...
He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him
& how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other Christians,
as you still do.
Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts,
in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
Hebrews 6:10-11
And when you are old,
I will still be there,
carrying you.
When your limbs grow tired,
your eyes are weak,
& your hair a silvery gray,
I will carry you as I always have.
I will carry you & save you.
Isaiah 46:4 (The Voice)
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
read the Bible, every day, without fail
I remember a season in my life when God making me restless, a sure sign for me in my life that change is coming.
For about 4 months He spoke to me through the Bible as I got up early to read it & listen out for whatever He wanted to say.
(yes,that was a shameless plug for getting up early & reading the Bible, every day, without fail! ;-) )
After a little over 4 months, it certainly seemed that one night in early May, He started dropping thoughts in my head as to what I was to be & do.
It was more than a bit scary, & I was sure I couldn't pull it off under my own steam.
(a sure sign it was God's will!)
So I said yes to what it seemed God wanted me to be & do - I've NEVER regretted saying yes.
Now, for those previous 4 months God had just been making certain scriptures stand out what seemed like every single day, especially in the 4 - 6 weeks prior to that night in May.
So you can imagine my anticipation that next morning when I got up to read. I figured God was gonna just make something stupendous stand out in the chapters I supposed to read that morning.
I was slated to read Psalm 73 that morning.
Now I'll just tell ya that Psalm opens up with what at the time was a long rant about how the wicked seem to prosper.
I was not impressed.
After spending over 4 months of God pushing me (thru the Bible) to be willing to change, whatever that mean, I was something less than a little cranky being hit is with a rant by Asaph about how the wicked seem to prosper.
Well, let's be frank here - I was pretty pissed.
And then, I got to verse 24...
Here's what I read...
You will keep on guiding me with Your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
MY health may fail,
& my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.
Psalm 73:24-26
Yeah, I felt pretty stupid at that point.
You can imagine how bad I felt that I'd gotten all cranky & pissy that morning,
& then God clearly seemed to say He will keep on guiding me.
I've carried those verses in my heart ever since.
Verses 24-26 is one of the passages I feel like God has given me for this year, 2015.
I've said it before, I'll say it again, & I'll keep on saying it...
Read the Bible, every day, without fail.
For about 4 months He spoke to me through the Bible as I got up early to read it & listen out for whatever He wanted to say.
(yes,that was a shameless plug for getting up early & reading the Bible, every day, without fail! ;-) )
After a little over 4 months, it certainly seemed that one night in early May, He started dropping thoughts in my head as to what I was to be & do.
It was more than a bit scary, & I was sure I couldn't pull it off under my own steam.
(a sure sign it was God's will!)
So I said yes to what it seemed God wanted me to be & do - I've NEVER regretted saying yes.
Now, for those previous 4 months God had just been making certain scriptures stand out what seemed like every single day, especially in the 4 - 6 weeks prior to that night in May.
So you can imagine my anticipation that next morning when I got up to read. I figured God was gonna just make something stupendous stand out in the chapters I supposed to read that morning.
I was slated to read Psalm 73 that morning.
Now I'll just tell ya that Psalm opens up with what at the time was a long rant about how the wicked seem to prosper.
I was not impressed.
After spending over 4 months of God pushing me (thru the Bible) to be willing to change, whatever that mean, I was something less than a little cranky being hit is with a rant by Asaph about how the wicked seem to prosper.
Well, let's be frank here - I was pretty pissed.
And then, I got to verse 24...
Here's what I read...
You will keep on guiding me with Your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
MY health may fail,
& my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.
Psalm 73:24-26
Yeah, I felt pretty stupid at that point.
You can imagine how bad I felt that I'd gotten all cranky & pissy that morning,
& then God clearly seemed to say He will keep on guiding me.
I've carried those verses in my heart ever since.
Verses 24-26 is one of the passages I feel like God has given me for this year, 2015.
I've said it before, I'll say it again, & I'll keep on saying it...
Read the Bible, every day, without fail.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
covered
"Here on earth you will have many trials & sorrows.
But take heart,
because I have overcome the world."
John 16:33b
This is Jesus speaking here, to His disciples, on the way to Gethsemane, on the night before He died.
He was telling them His "final instructions" before they all deserted Him & He died a heinous death.
Jesus wasn't messing around when He talks to the disciples that night.
He was telling them things to hold on to after He's dead.
Now, think of all the tough stuff that's going on in our life.
all those things that just drive us crazy, or worry us, or mess us up.
Then think about all the things that make us sad...
no, not the fact that our latte wasn't like you like yesterday morning.
I'm talking deaths of family or friends,
divorces,
lives thrown away,
sicknesses,
injustices,
tragedies,
traumas that we will carry around in our hearts because they are the awful things in life.
Jesus says to hang on - He has overcome all of those things - all of them.
iow, He's got us covered in all the crap that goes on in our lives.
Think about that - the sheer magnitude of that statement.
If it is true, how then should we live?
But take heart,
because I have overcome the world."
John 16:33b
This is Jesus speaking here, to His disciples, on the way to Gethsemane, on the night before He died.
He was telling them His "final instructions" before they all deserted Him & He died a heinous death.
Jesus wasn't messing around when He talks to the disciples that night.
He was telling them things to hold on to after He's dead.
Now, think of all the tough stuff that's going on in our life.
all those things that just drive us crazy, or worry us, or mess us up.
Then think about all the things that make us sad...
no, not the fact that our latte wasn't like you like yesterday morning.
I'm talking deaths of family or friends,
divorces,
lives thrown away,
sicknesses,
injustices,
tragedies,
traumas that we will carry around in our hearts because they are the awful things in life.
Jesus says to hang on - He has overcome all of those things - all of them.
iow, He's got us covered in all the crap that goes on in our lives.
Think about that - the sheer magnitude of that statement.
If it is true, how then should we live?
Monday, May 4, 2015
vines & branches
Sometimes I write dates in my Bible - they indicate that a verse
particularly spoke to me, or maybe it was a promise I felt God was
giving me, or any number of other reasons.
I have 9 different dates in the first 17 verses. I don't think I've dated another area of the Bible as much.
Some dates are right before or right after some really dark days in my life.
Others are dates during times I was trying to figure out what I was supposed to be or do.
And some dates are from times when I was so clueless I just held on to what I knew, not what life seemed to be.
I hope this chapter comes to mean something to you are you read it.
It's got a lot in it - read it slowly, read it more than once.
This is Jesus speaking here, walking to Gethsemane with His disciples, a few hours before He was arrested.
I'm sure he was trying to jam as much into the disciples' heads as He could, knowing what the next 3 days would hold for them.
John 15
1 "I am the true grapevine,
and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit,
and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.
4 Remain in me,
and I will remain in you.
For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,
and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 "Yes, I am the vine;
you are the branches.
Those who remain in me,
and I in them,
will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.
Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.
This brings great glory to my Father.
9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.
Remain in my love.
10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love,
just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy.
Yes, your joy will overflow!
12 This is my commandment:
Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves.
Now you are my friends,
since I have told you everything the Father told me.
16 You didn't choose me.
I chose you.
I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last,
so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.
17 This is my command:
Love each other.
18 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.
19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.
I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.
20 Do you remember what I told you?
'A slave is not greater than the master.'
Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you.
And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.
21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.
22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them.
But now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.
24 If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty.
But as it is, they have seen everything I did,
yet they still hate me and my Father.
25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures*:
'They hated me without cause.'
26 "But I will send you the Advocate, the Counselor - the Spirit of truth.
He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
Now, go back & read it again...
I have 9 different dates in the first 17 verses. I don't think I've dated another area of the Bible as much.
Some dates are right before or right after some really dark days in my life.
Others are dates during times I was trying to figure out what I was supposed to be or do.
And some dates are from times when I was so clueless I just held on to what I knew, not what life seemed to be.
I hope this chapter comes to mean something to you are you read it.
It's got a lot in it - read it slowly, read it more than once.
This is Jesus speaking here, walking to Gethsemane with His disciples, a few hours before He was arrested.
I'm sure he was trying to jam as much into the disciples' heads as He could, knowing what the next 3 days would hold for them.
John 15
1 "I am the true grapevine,
and my Father is the gardener.
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit,
and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.
4 Remain in me,
and I will remain in you.
For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,
and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 "Yes, I am the vine;
you are the branches.
Those who remain in me,
and I in them,
will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.
Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.
This brings great glory to my Father.
9 "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.
Remain in my love.
10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love,
just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy.
Yes, your joy will overflow!
12 This is my commandment:
Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves.
Now you are my friends,
since I have told you everything the Father told me.
16 You didn't choose me.
I chose you.
I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last,
so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.
17 This is my command:
Love each other.
18 "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.
19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.
I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.
20 Do you remember what I told you?
'A slave is not greater than the master.'
Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you.
And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.
21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.
22 They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them.
But now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.
24 If I hadn't done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty.
But as it is, they have seen everything I did,
yet they still hate me and my Father.
25 This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures*:
'They hated me without cause.'
26 "But I will send you the Advocate, the Counselor - the Spirit of truth.
He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
Now, go back & read it again...
Sunday, May 3, 2015
last minute words
Here in John 14, Jesus is talking to his disciples the night before He was crucified.
Who among us, if we knew we were going to die the next day, wouldn't try to tell the people closest to us all kinds of things?
Needless to say, Jesus was trying to jam as much truth in those last hours.
He kept trying to tell them things that would keep them during the dark hours right before, during, & especially after his death.
These are some of the verses I've underlined in my Bible.
But the whole chapter has a lot to say about a lot of things.
Read these words for what they are - some of the last words Jesus said right before His death...
...think of the portent they housed for Jesus to a group of men He knew & loved so much.
John 14
1 "Don't let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God,
and trust also in me.
6 Jesus told him (Thomas), "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him!"
9b Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!
12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done,
and even greater works,
because I am going to be with the Father.
13 You can ask for anything in my name,
and I will do it,
so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
15 "If you love me,
obey my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor,
who will never leave you.
17a He is the Holy Spirit,
who leads into all truth.
18 No, I will not abandon you;
I will come to you.
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.
And because they love me, my Father will love them.
And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them."
23 "All who love me will do what I say.
My Father will love them,
and we will come and make our home with each of them.
24 Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me.
And remember, my words are not my own.
What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.
26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27b ...the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives.
So don't be troubled or afraid.
Who among us, if we knew we were going to die the next day, wouldn't try to tell the people closest to us all kinds of things?
Needless to say, Jesus was trying to jam as much truth in those last hours.
He kept trying to tell them things that would keep them during the dark hours right before, during, & especially after his death.
These are some of the verses I've underlined in my Bible.
But the whole chapter has a lot to say about a lot of things.
Read these words for what they are - some of the last words Jesus said right before His death...
...think of the portent they housed for Jesus to a group of men He knew & loved so much.
John 14
1 "Don't let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God,
and trust also in me.
6 Jesus told him (Thomas), "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him!"
9b Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!
12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done,
and even greater works,
because I am going to be with the Father.
13 You can ask for anything in my name,
and I will do it,
so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
15 "If you love me,
obey my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor,
who will never leave you.
17a He is the Holy Spirit,
who leads into all truth.
18 No, I will not abandon you;
I will come to you.
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.
And because they love me, my Father will love them.
And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them."
23 "All who love me will do what I say.
My Father will love them,
and we will come and make our home with each of them.
24 Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me.
And remember, my words are not my own.
What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.
26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27b ...the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives.
So don't be troubled or afraid.
Friday, May 1, 2015
trust
John 12
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it.
Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
26 Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me,
because my servants must be where I am.
And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
Jesus is recorded to have said this more than once.
We have to let go of our lives if we want to find real life.
It's just that simple...
...but not that easy.
We want to be in charge, we want to be in control.
But that's not the way it works.
It is only in releasing control that God is able to implement the life He planned for us.
It's all about trust.
Do we trust Him with our lives?
Do we trust Him with ourselves?
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it.
Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.
26 Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me,
because my servants must be where I am.
And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
Jesus is recorded to have said this more than once.
We have to let go of our lives if we want to find real life.
It's just that simple...
...but not that easy.
We want to be in charge, we want to be in control.
But that's not the way it works.
It is only in releasing control that God is able to implement the life He planned for us.
It's all about trust.
Do we trust Him with our lives?
Do we trust Him with ourselves?
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