Surely Temple

"Within Your temple, O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love."

Psalm 48:9 (NIV)

"Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own." 1 Corinthians 6:19

     Over the last few weeks, the fire in this temple has needed kindling.  Sacrifices ran the temple grounds, unattended and unruly rather than bound and burned.  Dust gathered on the instruments of praise. I've tossed blessings in a dark corner rather than polishing and displaying them.  My love, attention and service grew unseasonably and unreasonably lukewarm.  

     The worst part is that I can't explain why.  No major changes in my life triggered a crisis of faith.  Terrible news didn't break my heart nor did "good" news leave me thinking I didn't need God. So when and why did I slip into spiritual apathy? Did I grow weary without a miracle? Is it too hot to meditate? Am I exhausted from praying about the same issues and fears? 

     I don't know whether God will  provide answers to these questions, but I do know that for whatever reason, I'm ready to respond to God's sweet, urging Voice to return to HIm, confess my apathy, bring out the bellows, sacrifice the false gods, invite the Spirit to blow through and remove the dust, display the blessings, dispose of distractions, and refurnish this temple with all that makes Him at home again. 

"God's beloved; God's permanent residence. 

Encircled by God all day long, within whom God is at home." 

Deuteronomy 33:12 (The Message)

"Take delight in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

Dance Like . . .Oh, Who Are We Kidding?

"Those who know You, LORD, will trust You;

You do not abandon anyone who comes to You."

Psalm 9:10 (GNT)

How many of us can really dance like nobody's watching when there are, in fact, other seeing beings around? Let's face it, no matter how confident we feel when we're alone, most of us become inhibited in the presence of people. Which makes me wonder, how relaxed will we be in heaven? Think of the effort we put forth down here on this globe, just to be "socially acceptable."  
How often in one day do we:

    *bite our tongues instead of speaking what we'd really like to say?

    *work to please employers, to keep our jobs, and to have what's expected? 

    *fret over the "theys" who tell us how to dress, think, and vote?  

    *strain to keep the boat steady? 

    *word what we say carefully to avoid discomfort?

    *pretend all is well when we're anything but well?

    *fib to skirt confrontation?

    *justify to allay guilt?

    *refrain from action to deflect rejection?

    *trim down and stuff in our unique qualities for the sake of fitting in with others?

    *keep our guards up, our secrets covered, our pride swallowed?

All this work to be socially acceptable exhausts the soul, and it's unnatural for believers  since we have One Who accepts us, maskless and without the frosting.  We, friends, have a Safe Place to be freely real and uniquely expressive. 

"to the praise of the glory of His grace, 

by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."  

Ephesians 1:6

We don't offend God by telling Him what He already knows.  We can't thank or praise Him in a "wrong" way. We don't wear on His nerves with our quirks and flaws. He won't fire us, expel us, eject us, shun us, avoid us, leave or forsake us.  We are "in" with Him and complete in Him.  

"And in Him, you have been made complete."

 Colossians 2:10

Trusting God, we bloom in His acceptance, dropping all pretense, formalities and self-consciousness.  In the freedom He gives, we can "make a joyful noise" of love and praise that pleases Him.  

"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, 

and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms." 
Psalm 95:2 (KJV)

Practicing trust, we diminish our efforts to please anyone other than Him, and we learn to dance, sing, live and love in the acceptance of the only One Who matters after all.  

In Plain Sight

We hid many of Nick's Christmas presents in plain sight this year. Every day for two weeks he walked by a scantily clad marshmallow shooter sitting on a shelf in the garage. His ukelele, head up and hushed, hid among tennis rackets. His new workout equipment lay in a bin by the door. Gifts exposed, but undetected.

A friend shared how the power outages from a recent ice storm here in Arkansas drove her three-year-old television-deprived child into her lap for a long conversation in front of the fire.  They quietly conversed and he fell asleep in her arms.  Mother and child, sharing the space of a house, yet driven close to be blessed by the chill. 

Romans 1 declares God "hides" in plain sight, yet people refuse to see Him, acknowledge Him, crawl into His lap, or even thank Him.

"The truth about God is plain to them.

God has made it plain.

Ever since the world was created

it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen.

I’m talking about His eternal power and about the fact that He is God.

Those things can be seen in what He has made.

So people have no excuse for what they do.

They knew God. But they didn’t honor Him as God.

They didn’t thank Him. Their thinking became worthless.

Their foolish hearts became dark.

They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves.

Romans 1:19-22



God, Immanuel, plainly present with us, should inspire our worship and gratitude. Sadly, we prefer to stay busily distracted. Our foolish hearts darken with overdoses of gadgets and lesser goals. Outside, stars wink God's love to us but instead of winking back, we move indoors to listen to the puny opinions of people who don't acknowledge Him or know Him. Trees raise their branches in praise to their Creator, yet we fail to thank Him for life. While Love waits to wrap us and rock us, we love what doesn't love back. 

Lord, don't let us miss what's in plain sight or waste another opportunity to see You, to praise You, to worship You, to thank You.  We lift our hands and hearts to say "Glory to the God of all that is - Who created gift after gift placed in plain sight."  Thank You for families, jobs, shelter, love, hugs, kisses, closeness, friends, working bodies, functioning brains, changes in weather, books, pets, covers, heat, windows, wood, taste buds, water, and babies. Just counting the blessings in plain sight lightens loads and opens eyes to see more of You. 

In the Name of Jesus, Immanuel!

Thursday, March 15, 2012 - Uncaged

But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple courts,

 "Hosanna to the Son of David," 

they were indignant.

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked Him.

"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,"

'From the lips of children and infants 

You, Lord, have called forth Your praise'?"

And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

    Julie told me Tuesday night she heard Addy's first sentence.  That sweet baby girl raised her hands over her head and with a twinkle in her eyes she said "Praise Jesus!" (although I imagine it sounded more like "aaaai e-uh"). Before this spectacular moment when I'm sure heaven applauded, Addy had responded to hearing the prompt by raising her hands, but at 10 months, she's adding words.  
     I can hear someone thinking, "She's only parroting what she's heard. She doesn't know what it means.  A parrot can be taught to lift his wings and say those words."  True, but Polly Parrot will never learn to follow up the words with meaningful responses and my sweet granddaughter will.  While Polly's brain only develops to the level of a three-year-old, Addy will pass that level all too quickly and she'll know why she's saying what she's saying and to Whom she's saying it.

    For the first few weeks of my new job, I find I'm parroting what others tell me to say to callers and visitors. It's going to take a while to get a handle on the process and terminology, but eventually these legal phrases and titles and what they mean will be second nature to me. 

    We learn to praise God first with our words, but we live caged lives if we don't pass the parrot and respond from the heart and head.  Jesus said,

"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." 

Matthew 5:20.  

Repetitious words and superficial actions cage us when Jesus came to free us. Lord, help us spread our wings to respond in true obedience, praise and worship. Don't let our praise stop with words or dutiful obligations. Empower us to praise You with lives broken and spilled out at Your Feet. Make praising You our natural response.

In the Name of Jesus Who praised You perfectly   

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - Biggest Losers Are Smarter than Stones

Rock speakers: some stones
are smarter than others.
 

"Praise the LORD!
I will thank the LORD with all my heart as I meet with His godly people.
How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! 
All who delight in Him should ponder them.
Everything He does reveals His glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
Who can forget the wonders He performs?
How gracious and merciful is our LORD!
He gives food to those who trust Him;
He always remembers His covenant. . . 


Reverence for the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.
The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey Him.
Praise His name forever!"  Psalm 111:1-5, 10


I love the title of the show "The Biggest Loser" since the biggest loser is, in fact, the winner of not only losing the most weight, but of changed habits and a changed lifestyle.  I have a feeling God will award on a similar basis: 
He may have a series of  "Biggest Loser" awards for those who lost themselves in:
* thanksgiving to Him for every blessing;
* wonder at His works;
* reverence at His holiness;
* praise for His faithfulness;
* His unconditional and unfathomable love.
* giving back to Him and to others;
* His Word to learn, teach and preach God's Will;


This Thanksgiving I want to lose myself in Him, knowing I'll find what my heart desires.
Father, You taught us through Your Son that if we want to keep our lives we must lose them.  Strengthen us against self-preservation and free us from holding anything back from You.  You deserve our thanks for every good gift. You deserve our praise for Your faithfulness, daily protection and guidance. You deserve our reverence because You are the One True, Holy, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God.  We owe You our love and service and can never repay what You've poured out on us.  Forgive us when we let mealtime blessings - even longer than usual Thanksgiving blessings - suffice for a relationship with You. Draw us into loving Your Word more with every reading and draw us into Your sweet, healing Presence more with every prayer.  
In the Name of Jesus Who said,  "If they (My disciples) kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise." (Luke 19:40) Make us smarter than stones, Lord.