Sunday, August 7, 2011 - The Open Door

"It is God Who arms me with Strength and makes my way perfect."
 2 Samuel 22:33


"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; 
the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, 
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." 
Isaiah 55:12


"As you hold out the Word of Life -- 
in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." 
Philippians 2:16


"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. 
In this world you will have trouble. 
But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33


Father, what would happen if we turned ourselves completely over to a life of faith in You? What would change? 
     Peace would erupt from our spirits. Our hearts would release every barbed grudge. Our minds would relax under Your government. Our bodies would heal themselves of untold tensions from the chafing of fear and anxiety on our nervous systems. Joy would give us wings and Your Strength would lift our eyes to see the open doors of our self-made prisons. You would lead us forth in Peace, we would go out in Joy, and we would celebrate Your Victory over all we've allowed to hold us captive. 

     Help our unbelief and make us people of faith. Show us firsthand what can happen if we radically trust You. 
In the Name of Jesus, Who lived the life of perfect faith in You and radically changed the world forever!
Inspired by Live Loved, by Max Lucado
photos by yours truly (occasionally I get lucky with a camera)

Saturday, August 6, 2011 - Out of the Stands

"How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You,

which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You." 

Psalm 31:19

"In the day when I cried out, You answered me, 

and made me bold with strength in my soul." 

Psalm 138:3

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, 

for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is Your Faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, 

and send some to those who have nothing to prepare. 

This day is sacred to our Lord. 

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Nehemiah 8:10

     My parents were wonderful cheerleaders when I played softball. The first year I dropped the only ball that hit my glove and made it to first base twice (I think). They never fussed. I could hear them yelling in the stands "Go Big T, you can do it." (Since our last name was Trimble, we were all "Big T" when we were at bat.) I heard their excitement and laughter when I did well, and if they were ever disappointed in me as a softball player, I didn't know it.  And, I am proud to say, they never overstepped their boundaries by coming onto the playing field. They stayed where cheering parents stay: in the stands or pacing just outside the fence. Sometimes they passed a Coke through the fence into the dugout for me but they watched from their side of the fence while I played on the other side.  At home, Mama made me milkshakes to put some weight on me and Daddy practiced with me, but in a game, I was on my own, as it should be in girls' Dixie League softball.

     When Julie and Nick played ball, I discovered the restraint it takes to stay off the field, to keep your hands from around the other coach's neck, or to keep from taking your child's victories and defeats personally. Sometimes I hated the fence and sometimes I was glad it was there to keep me from jumping into a battle that wasn't mine to fight.

     Praise God, He has no boundaries when it comes to His children. All our battles are His to fight. He tears down fences and stays where He's supposed to stay as our God-Father: with us and in us as Coach, Commander, and Inspiration. 

     Thank You, Father, that these verses and promises don't say, "Go get -em, tiger! You can do it! I'm over here in the stands cheering for you!"  After all, that's the best most of us parents can do for our children. We stay off the playing field if we don't want to be kicked out of the game, or out of their lives, altogether. Not You - it's Your field, and Your Game. Every day You step in to prove Your Love to us and You fill and refill us like pitchers to pour out and refresh others with testimonies of Your Strength, Joy and Goodness.  

     You command us to cry out to You in every spiritual battle, to let You take the hits and provide the Strength as You stay near enough to whisper Your sure orders. You call us to rejoice as refugees who hide in Your Strength. May our joy in You bless You. May we not grieve You with our anxiety, our fear, our lack of faith. Don't let us live to be heroes but to heroically submit to Your Plan. Bring to mind all the times You've deflected disaster in the past so we'll rejoice and trust in Your Strength, Your Provision, and Your Wisdom for today. Ironically, victory is ours when we cry, as long as we cry out to You, our God. Come, Lord Jesus! Lift, heal and revive Your people. Lead us to victory with You as our Commander. 

In the Name of Jesus Who cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into Your Hands I commit My Spirit" before taking refuge from a world of trouble into the full glory of God.

Inspired by Live Loved, by Max Lucado
photo from Google images

Friday, August 5, 2011 - I Am Loved

" . . . and live a life of love, 

just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us

 as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Ephesians 5:2

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: 

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

Father, how can I say thank you for loving me with Your endlessly available Love? Your Gift leaves me without excuse for my unloving spirit and selfish actions. Fill me with Your goodness and help me learn to lose myself in Your Love so circumstances can't touch me. Bury me in the depths of Your love and may I feel You spread the width of Your Everlasting Arms around me. Your Gift of Your Son leaves no room for doubt in my heart. Forgive me when I question the way You express Your Love to me now. May I never treat You as though Your love were fickle, like human love. You never change and I praise You for this gift in itself. Your Word and Your Love are forever True. 

In the Name of Jesus Who suffered to prove Your Love to us

Based on Live Loved, by Max Lucado

photo from Google images

Thursday, August 4, 2011 - Writing 101

". . . And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

     A specific purpose statement is the first step to good writing in any form. A writer must know to whom and why she's writing. Once the purpose statement takes root, the second step, developing a good outline, grows and develops. Having these two writing tools in place is like getting in a car filled with gas early on an October morning to go Christmas shopping with your complete gift list and where to buy the gifts.  The hard part is done; all that's left is the leg-work. 

     The words "scatterbrained," "wishy-washy," "uncertain," "rambling," and "indecisive" have no place in spiritual goals or lives. We should be easy to read as God's love letters to the world, with His purpose statement written clearly across the top of our lives.

     Purpose: "Love the Lord your God."

     The outline is clear: 

                       I. With all your heart

                      II. With all your soul

                      III. With all your mind

     All the rambling and confusion start when we fail to stick to the outline so our world says we're an "easy read" on the Power of the resurrected Christ. 

Father, Satan wants us to stay confused and distracted to keep the last chapter a secret, but You're with us as our God, holding us by Your Hand and keeping our feet on Your secure path. Thank You for giving us meaningful, eternal purpose. 

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My Righteous Right Hand." 

Isaiah 41:10

"You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." 

2 Samuel 22:37

Write beautiful Truth and proof in our personal journals today. Write into our lives adventure stories, action stories, love stories: all filled with the mysteries of Your Grace and Peace. Take away all our fear about where the next chapter may lead us. You are there and that's all we need to know. 

"Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give you. 

I do not give to you as the world gives. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." 

John 14:27

In the Name of Jesus, The Word and Love Letter of God to each of us

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - Reality Check

      Daniel stood courageously for what was godly while a slave in ungodly enemy territory. Jonathan, selfless and noble, should have inherited Israel's throne from his father Saul, but instead died an early death defending a lost cause (Saul). Joseph went against social guidelines to marry a woman pregnant with Someone Else's child and found himself escaping across the border with his new family in order to protect them. These three men represent the fraction of biblical heroes whose failures and sins remain unrecorded. We only see them as obedient and taking the high road of God's Will over their own. These three men and the Proverbs 31 gal leave me feeling weak and sinful. 

     But then, thank God, there's Moses of the stuttering tongue who still managed to emit excuses for not doing what God chose him to do. Moses also displayed a temper problem and obedience issue that kept him out of the Promised Land.  Noah drank himself into a near coma after hitting dry land. Abraham, as a rich man with a beautiful wife, feared conflict more than God. He lied to a king and caved in to Sarah's nagging to keep from rocking the boat instead of trusting God. Elijah suffered with depression after the victory on Mt. Carmel. And, David - David, David, David - he broke half the Commandments in a single domino-effect sin spree. Yet, God had said of him, 

'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; 

he will do everything I want him to do.'" 

Acts 13:22

     If you want to compare sins as a way to feel better about yourself, David's your man. He outdid us all. If you want to compare virtues to confirm your own unworthiness, David's still your man. He swung the pendulum in both directions: from whole-hearted passion in serving God fully to fulfilling his self-serving lust and causing a world of problems for his family and his kingdom. Whatever he did, good or bad, he did with all his heart. He seems to have recognized his weakness because he prayed:  

"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; 

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your Name." 

Psalm 86:11

Reality check while re-enacting
 the "I'm king of  the world" scene
from the movie "Titanic."

     David needed constant guidance to keep his emotions and senses from leading him into trouble. As long as he stayed in God's classroom and prayed honestly and proactively he did fine. His problems came when he stopped running from danger and no longer felt a need for God (See 2 Samuel 11:1-2). First, he stayed home instead of leading his army. Second, he slept all day, foregoing his usual devotion to time with God so he missed God's message of unfailing Love that day. He had become too lazy and smug to put on his military or spiritual armor for battle. He thought he deserved a break from his usual routine and ended up losing the costliest battle of his life when he spotted Bathsheba while strutting on the roof as king of all he surveyed. 

     Some days I think, "I have too much to do to listen to God speak to me or to write today."  Other days I just want to sleep, feeling somehow I "deserve" a morning to do what I please. The worst days happen when I've already decided what I'm going to do and I really don't want God interfering with my plans so I skip class and miss out on God's unfailing Love and Guidance. Maybe the reason God called David "a man after My own Heart" was because David, for most of his life, spent time with God expressing himself to God and getting to know God. David held nothing back when he gave himself to the Lord: it was with all his heart. Only briefly, when he thought he was king of the world and no longer needed God, did he fall hard and fast back into reality.

"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, 

for I have put my trust in You. 

Show me the way I should go,

for to You I lift up my soul." 

Psalm 143:8

Lord, God, we need Thee every hour. When we think we've got things under control, we need You even more because we don't know what we'll spy with our little eyes around the next corner.  We're in Your Hands and want to love, trust and serve You devotedly not just for the rest of our lives but for each moment in each hour of each day in each year for the rest of our lives.  Like a car crash, our lives can tumble from the heights in seconds if we look away from You. May we humble ourselves before You each morning, through the day and every night as we close our eyes. May Your Will transcend ours in every detail. Show us the way we should go to be people after Your own Heart,

In the Name of Jesus in Whom You were and are well-pleased!

Inspired by Live Loved, by Max Lucado

photo from Google images

 

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - The Chill and Thrill

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Jeremiah 29:11

    God started my morning by proving He means what He says. I woke up with a neck ache, stressed because of all the to-do's yet to be done before the Kids' Choir leader training Prep Rally tomorrow night. You've been there. Your mind shoots out in a million directions making mental notes to make written notes to take care of this important detail or to have that imperative conversation. As a result, I approached my desk to write just minutes ago with a deeply concerned look on my face (Let's just call it what it was: a faithless, sinful, worried look.) only to find God waiting for me, ready to help. 

    I opened Live Loved, by Max Lucado, to today's entry and saw at the top of the page:

"Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 1:6

     I sighed a smile and a "Thank you, Father," and picked up my Bible by the binding. It immediately fell open to the same verse. God was saying: "Again I say: "He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." Others might call it a double coincidence (the perfect passage plus the exact page), but I know better. It's the chill and thrill of God speaking to my specific need. It's His personal promise to me that it's going to be a good day of good work with His good help, His refreshing inspiration, and His endless creativity. With "the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them - the LORD, Who remains faithful forever" helping me, how can I be less than confident?

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--

the LORD, Who remains faithful forever."

Psalm 146:5-6

Lord, God, Maker of heaven and earth, I love it when You thrill me with Your Presence! Your promises are for all who believe in You and rely on You and I praise You for the personal reminder that Your Promises include me. We get harried and overwhelmed in the middle of Your good work in us if we forget Your promise says You began the work and You'll complete it. Help us trust You and obey. Keep us calm and our hearts open to Your creative inspiration. You can't be deterred or detoured, and with Your help neither will we. Thank You that on the other side we'll see all the miraculous ways You worked in us and through us. Thank You and we love You for pouring Yourself into and through weak and cracked vessels!

In the Name of Jesus Whose faith allowed God to complete the greatest work for humankind!

Inspired by Live Loved, by Max Lucado

Photo from Google images

Monday, August 1, 2011 - It's Hard to Be Humble When You're Only Human

"For who makes you different from anyone else? 

What do you have that you did not receive? 

And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" 

1 Corinthians 4:7

     We were at a large party once when a friend told the group around us a joke. All but one person laughed, but later we heard this same "unimpressed" person telling my friend's joke to another group. He never mentioned where he heard the joke, but took full credit. It's a little thing, but grabbing credit reveals an undeveloped area of our character. 

     A visiting revival preacher once challenged the congregation to omit the words "my," "mine," "our," and "ours" from conversation and thoughts for the rest of the day as an exercise in humbly remembering the Giver. We failed this assignment before we were in the car heading home. You try it and see how hard it is to carry on a conversation without saying smugly "my child," "my grandchild," "my husband," "my car," "our house," etc., etc. (Oh, but I'm generous when handing out blame or responsibility: "Tom, your dog is hungry and needs to be fed;" and the ever popular "It's his/her fault." )

     First Corinthians 4:7 (top of blog) slaps us back into remembering the Christlike attitude we're to adopt toward talents, gifts, and material blessings. All good gifts are God's and we have no business hoarding them, hiding them, or boasting about them. Ironic, isn't it, that we have to work to be humble, meek recipients and managers of God's treasures when we're only human and would have nothing without Him?  

"Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD;

the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." 

Isaiah 29:19

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way."

Psalm 25:9

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

Thank You, Lord, for Your gifts and forgive us our pride in what we could never accomplish or have without You. You saved us from hell, saved us to heaven and You still throw in 10,000 undeserved blessings to make this an abundant life. Show us what to do with whatever You give us. Don't let us hide Your treasure like the faithless servant who buried his master's talent. On the other hand, keep us from acting as though we deserve and have rights to Your Grace-gifts. Teach us how to use the specific gifts, talents and material assets You give us for Your Glory and not our own. 

In the Name of Jesus Who humbled Himself and never took personal credit, but gave You all the Glory!

Inspired by Living Loved by Max Lucado

Image from Google images