faith unbound... for now...

The recognition of limits...
when it comes to trusting Him...
has set me in a broader place of faith...

The prayers of yesterday... answered today...
more trust...
more faith...
more peace...

Nothing has given way... when it comes to the list of my to do's...
or to the hours in the day... they are still the same...
problems still arise... to slow the way...
yet the pushing down of the boundary of my trust in Him...
changes everything...

I won't say... my faith is limitless...
but for now... the boundary has increased...
freeing up faith... until the next stretching thin...

Reminded anew...
it's not about me...
it's Him...

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

Psalm 57:8 ESV

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limits...

As He continues to stretch me thin...
blessing me with increased opportunities to trust Him...
to see Him in this thin place...
I've discovered... there are limits... to my faith in Him...

Having trouble trusting...
when I know it's too much for me...

Trouble trusting... waiting...
for changes to occur...

Crying out... Too much... it's just too much...
I see... the limits... of my faith...

It's time to stretch them out...
break them down...
praying for Him to set me down in a broad place... of faith...

I will run in the way of your commandments

when you enlarge my heart!

Psalm 119:32 ESV

Thank You... Lord... for revealing the limits of faith...

Enlarge my heart of faith... I long to run with joyful confidence...

in what You've called me to...

The Journey Week 78... and hallelujah...

The Journey readings finished up the Psalms this week... and through the words of the psalmists the One revealed... is the One who delivers...

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men...

Psalm 140:1 Amp

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

Psalm 140:2 Amp

Surprised by the psalmists voice demanding deliverance...
deliverance from evil...
deliverance from the enemy...
deliverance from self...

Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth;

keep watch at the door of my lips.

Incline my heart not to submit or consent to any evil thing

or to be occupied with deeds of wickedness

with men who work iniquity; and let me not eat their dainties.

Psalm 141:3-4 Amp

The psalmist knows the Lord as the One who has anointed him...
the one who has set him in a place of conflict...

The psalmist knows the Lord's righteousness...
and He will not abandon His people...

I cried to You, O Lord; I said, You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.

Psalm 142:5 Amp

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness.

Psalm 145:8 Amp

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.

Psalm 145:18

The Lord is the One who delivers...

who hears our cries...

who responds with compassion...

He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving power, prosperity,

dignity, and preeminence], a song of praise for all His godly ones,

for the people of Israel, who are near to Him. Praise the Lord!

(Hallelujah!)

Psalm 148:14 Amp

The horn He has lifted... bringing power... prosperity.... dignity... and preeminence... to His people... is Jesus... the One who brings the ultimate deliverance... from sin and death... to eternal life... He is a song of praise for all His godly ones...

Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Psalm 150:6 Amp

Discover more reasons to breathe out a hallelujah... 

join The Journey through His Word...

This week's readings...

Monday                1 Kings 3:1 - 4:19

Tuesday               1 Kings 4:20 - 5:18

Wednesday          1 Kings 6

Thursday              1 Kings 7

Friday                  1 Kings 8:1-21

the blessing of resting in Him...

The full to fuller of yesterday...
has proved Him faithful today...

By His grace...
what needed to get done... got done...
received encouragement... in more than one place...

Oh my...
too wonder-full for words...
just thanks and praise...
for the blessing of resting in Him...

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:1 ESV

resting...

Resting in Him... at the end of a very full day...
one that just seems to be getting... fuller...

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken

On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Psalm 62:5-7 ESV

time...

Time... it feels pressed... finite... scarce... when there is much to do...

But He calls us to live without fear... I've recognized fear of scarcity when it comes to things... but today I'm fighting it when it comes to time...

I want to guard it... protect it... from interruptions... the unexpected... yet... this is where life happens... He's the One who fills my days...

And I remember... time is His...
He's outside of it...
He's eternal...

In Him... so... am... I...

"... And this is eternal life, 

that they know you the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ..." ---Jesus

John 17:3 ESV

Trusting Him with the time He's given...
knowing there will be more than enough...
if I rest in Him...

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever...

Psalm 146:6 ESV

evaluating a day...

Arriving home... a loved one asked... How was your day...?

Stopping for a moment... thinking... reflecting... I shrugged and said... Fine...

Just fine...? Why just fine...? was the response I received...

Hmmm... did I really want to evaluate my day...?
It was a day where my expectations... my plans... went for the most part unmet... A day of unexpected problems... some caused by me... some not... A day of stopping what I was doing... to serve someone else in the moment... If I had to be honest... I didn't really enjoy the day... because it didn't go my way...

Selfishness raising its head... still so active in my heart...
Who wants to evaluate that?!

Then the loved one evaluates for me... It seems to me... that you want to be cared for... I see it cause I've felt it... I recognized it in you last night... it kind of made me laugh...

Great...

And Scripture is quoted to me...

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4 ESV

Then a commentary given... Those who mourn will be comforted... at least those who have a legitimate reason for mourning... but when we want to be cared for... that's not ever what we get...

And I don't speak it out loud... but verses come to my mind too...

"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep

say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once 

and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him,

'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me

while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'?

Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?

So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say,

'We are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty.'"

Luke 17:7-10 ESV

See what happens when you evaluate your day...?

I see clearly my selfishness... pettiness...

and I see Him smiling shaking His head...

like you do at a toddler who stamps their feet...

And I have to smile too...

properly rebuked...

heart turned to repentance... (again...)

grateful for His perspective...

and the one who caused me to evaluate my day...

Lord... I am an unworthy servant...

You have done more for me than I could ever deserve...

Fill me with the joy of serving You... doing my duty...

Quench my desire to be served...

PS...

Reminded of a song I've heard multiple times in the last week...

a song that reflects the desire of my heart...

so opposite of where my flesh leads me...

[email subscribers... click here to view on YouTube... or click post title to view on Jeremiah's Menu...]

surprised... by peace...

In the midst of different... and unexpected...
disappointing... and untried...
I've been most surprised...
by peace...

A soft peace...
a quiet peace...
in my heart...

Recent experiences...
if they had occurred in the not so distant past...
would have stirred up... heart... and mind...

But this peace...
it's surprising...
and... I believe...
reveals a growing trust in Him...

Surprising...

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength..."

Isaiah 30:15

The Journey Readings: Week 77... and grateful He is sure...

In a world where nothing is sure... I'm grateful that He is...

This last week in the Psalms marked the halfway point through The Journey... 72 weeks down... 72 weeks to go...

As I read through the midway point... the bold statements of the psalmists caught my attention... declaring that He is sure...

sure... firmly established: steadfast... reliable, trustworthy... marked by or given to feelings of confident certainty... characterized by a lack of wavering or hesitation...

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Ed.)

He is... firmly established...

For I know that the Lord is great

and that our Lord is above all gods.

Psalm 135:5 Amp

He is... reliable... trustworthy...

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121:5-8 ESV

He is... marked by... confident certainty...

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,

so the Lord is round about His people

from this time forth and forever.

Psalm 125:2 Amp

He is... not wavering... or hesitant...

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Psalm 138:7-8 ESV

Today... I find myself... grateful He is sure...
even if the next 72 weeks are filled with uncertainty...

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's;

he makes me tread on my high places.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

This week's readings...
Monday                Psalm 140-143
Tuesday                Psalm 144-145
Wednesday           Psalm 146-150
Thursday              1 Kings 1
Friday                  1 Kings 2

feeling small...

Last night's surrender... led to a not so mild meltdown...

The stretching thin... feeling more like a breaking point...

Grumpy... edgy... crotchety (as my mom would have said)...
I went about doing things I could do...
sweeping...
mopping...
cooking...
taking out garbage...

In the midst of all... He threw out reminders...

The stretching thin... to be a thin place... where I draw strength from Him... not seek more from within...

During the sweeping of dirt... and complaints about those who drug it in... He reminds... my loved ones... me... are made of the same stuff...

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:13-14 ESV

Taking out the trash under the broad expanse of stars... I'm reminded... He is big enough... to handle what He has called me to do... in His time... not mine...

...therefore thus says the Lord God,

"Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

'Whoever believes will not be in haste.' ..."

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

My frantic... panicked... haste... a lack of trust in Him... 

Unbelief raising its ugly head...

Under the stars... tears welled...

repentance returned...

and I became small...

But for you, O Lord, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 38:15 ESV

surrender...

Today... brought to the point of complete surrender...

I can't do anything apart from Him...

I give in... give up... surrender... the current call to Him...

Wondering...
waiting...
to see how He'll accomplish...
what I believe He's called me to do...

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2 ESV

pressed...

Feeling pressed...
much to do...
time running out...

Trusting Him...
to do what He says...
provide what is needed...

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show

that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed...

2 Corinthians 4:7-8

a new thing...

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Isaiah 43:19 ESV

Perceiving new things... in this year with the word new...

Surprising things... unexpected things...

My children... 

teaching me...

challenging me... 

encouraging me...

offering spiritual insights...

in my walk with Him...

A great joy... to have children growing in Him...

and helping me grow too...

Yes... I perceive it...

with thankful praise...

Father God... thank You for the privilege and blessing

of discipling my children... and now their discipling of me...

Sharing true fellowship with them... an amazing new thing...

counting...

Counting on Him... for...
peace...
strength...
time...
energy...
inspiration...
to do all He's calling me to do...

Lord... I'm counting on You...

You have a lot to do...

I can do everything through Christ,

who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13 NLT

The Journey Readings: Week 76... and His steadfast love...

This last week in the Psalms... I see reminders of His steadfast love... translated from the Hebrew word... hesed...

hesed... A higher form of love, involving loyalty, steadfastness, and kindness... Hesed is not an emotional response to beauty, merit, or kindness but rather a moral attitude dedicated to another's good, whether or not that other is lovable, worthy, or responsive...

---Tyndale Bible Dictionary

A short psalm... only two verses... paints a clear reminder... of His hesed...

Praise the Lord, all nations!

Extol Him, all peoples!

For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117 ESV

Reminded of His great love for all...

all nations...

all peoples...

great is His steadfast love toward us all...

For God so love the world, that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 ESV 

Jesus... the ultimate revelation of God's hesed...

impartial...

compassionate...

merciful...

faithful...

Find out more about Him... come along on The Journey...

This week's readings...

Monday                 Psalm 120-124

Tuesday                 Psalm 125-129

Wednesday            Psalm 130-134

Thursday               Psalm 135-136

Friday                    Psalm 137-139

too full for words...

Just a day... too full for words...
but filled with praise...
for His presence in it all...

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to his holy name.

Psalm 30:4 ESV

welcome encouragements...

During this time of feeling... stretched thin... and at odds...
I've received unexpected blessings of welcome encouragement...

Already... He's revealing His glory... in this thin place...

Grateful for His grace...
His great steadfast love...
His faithfulness that endures forever...

Praise the Lord, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 117

feeling at odds...

Feeling at odds with Him...
as I'm longing to embrace my finitude...
He seems to be wanting to show me how much is possible in Him...

Stretched thin...
is how I'm feeling...
and as soon as I write it... I think of thin places...

I don't remember who... or where... I heard it from first...
so I Bing-ed... and found a site...

In the Celtic tradition such places that give us an opening into the magnificence and wonder of that Presence are called "Thin Places." ... A thin place where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one is able to receive a glimpse of the glory of God. ...

---Sylvia Maddox, Where Can I Touch the Edge of Heaven?

And I see... how being stretched thin... can become a thin place... where His presence and glory become more readily revealed...

With each success... with each completion... of each call... I know it's Him... and not me...

Only by His power... in this place of what feels like too much... will anything get done...

Feeling at odds... or just feeling odd... in a new place... a stretched thin place... increasing my faith and trust in Him...

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17 ESV

privileges of a son...

As a son of God... we are loved... accepted... never rejected...
We have full access to His power... gifts... the treasures of His Kingdom...

I read it in the parable of the lost son this morning...

The son who demanded his inheritance early...
squandered everything...
spent it all...
ended up slopping pigs...

"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' ...."

Luke 15:17-19 ESV

This son gone wild... could not bring himself to return to his father as a son... he could only see himself returning as a servant... a slave...

But the father would have none of it... the father received his son with grace... mercy... joy... and a big celebration...! The son... fully reinstated to the family... with privilege and inheritance...

Then we have the older son... the "good" son... the one who stayed home... did all he believed he was required to do...

When we look at his reaction to the reception of his younger brother... we discover... he too... has no idea what it means to be a son... or who he is to his father...

The older brother became angry... and refused to join the party when he found out what was going on... his father graciously tried to cajole him in... invite him into the celebration...

"...but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!"

Luke 15:29-30 ESV

The older brother... did not embrace himself as son either... these many years I have served you... he saw himself as a servant... a slave... he didn't understand the blessings... power... available to him as a full son of his father...

This revelation... has made me see I don't fully understand my place in His family...

I don't fully get His heart... full of love... grace... compassion... forgiveness... sometimes I feel only worthy to approach Him as a slave... a servant... certainly not as His son...

Like the older brother too... I sometimes suffer with the attitude of feeling slighted despite my service... a closed up heart... not fully receiving the Father's love... not serving out of love... not understanding my place as His son... with full access to the family resources...

I see how important it is to embrace my place as His son...
fully loved... fully accepted... fully celebrated...
fully equipped... with whatever I need... desire...

We have a Father who says... Ask and you will receive...

A Father who says... Son... you are always with me... and all that is mine is yours...

Lord... teach me to live fully... as Your son...

Teach me to receive Your love... grace... mercy...

Teach me to fully access all the treasures of Your kingdom...

the ones which are mine already...

I no longer want to grovel in guilt...

or live hardhearted as a begrudging servant...

Reveal Your love to me... teach me to live fully as Your son...

crying out... Abba!... Daddy...!

Teach me to embrace... all the privileges of a son...

the high cost of freedom

Freedom... a word God's been speaking to me lately...

A word which comes with a cost...

For freedom Christ has set us free...

Galatians 5:1 ESV

Our freedom achieved through His crucifixion...
For freedom... Christ has set us free...
A word we are called to live...

What I realized today... is two-fold...

First... Jesus paid not only our cost for freedom... but His too...
When the Word chose to become flesh... He forfeited much freedom...
He willingly confined Himself to human form... and His Father's will...

"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;

nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

Matthew 26:39 ESV

The cross... the cup of His Father's wrath...
poured out on the Lamb... bought freedom for His creation...
Yet also... obedient death was Jesus's way out...
His own freedom... from flesh... was also achieved...

For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.

2 Corinthians 13:4 ESV

His freedom... through resurrection... cost Him the cross...

A needed journey... 

or else His Father would have given Him another way...

The cost for His freedom... painful...

Now... second... we are called to freedom...

but we too live in a world at war... the same world Jesus walked in...

Why would we think... that freedom could be fulfilled in our own lives...

without some pain...?

Freedom is something all Believers are called to exercise...

but often we don't... because it involves a painful journey...

Letting go of the addiction...

Surrendering to His will...

Denying desire...

Submitting to persecution...

Yes... we are called to exercise freedom... in the same way Jesus did...

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me...." ---Jesus

Luke 9:23 ESV

So I wonder... what pain... what loss... will I be faced with... as He continues to speak... freedom... to me...?

Am I willing...? to pay the price...? the high cost...? to experience freedom...?

I hope so...

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection

and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:10-11

[emphasis my desire... the other not so much...

if possible... let this cup pass from me...]

The Journey Readings: Week 75... and deliverance...

The revealed theme in the Psalms this past week... deliverance...

deliverance... the act of delivering someone or something: the state of being delivered especially: liberation, rescue...

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Ed.)

Psalm 107 alone... filled with multiple deliverance scenarios...

• Some wandered in the wilderness... hungry and thirsty...
• Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death... because they had rebelled...
• Some are fools... afflicted because of their iniquities...
• Some go down to the sea... to do business... He commands and raises up the stormy wind... They reel to and fro and stagger like drunken men...

Each group... faced with varied troubles... all came to the same desperate place...

Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble,

and He brings them out of their distresses.

Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28 Amp

God allows trouble to bring people to the point of need... 

They cry out in their trouble...

He delivers them out of their distress...

His acts of deliverance... reveal His character... 

His grace...

His mercy...

His love...

Of course His greatest glory... revealed through the cross...

His greatest deliverance... achieved through His Son... Jesus...

His crucifixion... and resurrection... delivering us who believe...

from sin... death... judgment... and condemnation...

I will give great praise and thanks to the Lord with my mouth;

yes, and I will praise Him among the multitude.

For He will stand at the right hand of the poor and needy

to save him from those who condemn his life.

Psalm 109:30-31 Amp

Jesus ultimately delivers us from Satan... the accuser... the one who condemns...

When we recognize our need... 

our poverty of spirit... 

we cry out to Him...

He rescues... He delivers... He redeems...

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary...

Psalm 107:1-2 Amp

Learn more about His deliverance... join The Journey...

This week's readings...

Monday                     Psalm 117-118

Tuesday                    Psalm 119:1-48

Wednesday                Psalm 119:49-96

Thursday                   Psalm 119:97-136

Friday                      Psalm 119:137-176

Bread and Wine [from October25, 2011...]

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks

a participation in the blood of Christ? 

And is not the bread that we break

a participation in the body of Christ?

1Corinthians 10:16

Broken bread...
Wine poured out...
Given...

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many,

are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

Corinthians 10:17

One cup... one loaf... one church...

Nobody should seek his own good,

but the good of others.

1Corinthians 10:24

Thank You, Lord, for this clear picture of one body

partaking of the single broken loaf of the Bread of Life. 

Do not let me walk away from the table today 

without fully eating this truth

and allowing it to transform the way I live.

He's behind it all... [from October 27, 2013...]

If things look gray... dark...
remember... He is behind it...

Who can speak and have it happen

if the Lord has not decreed it?

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that both calamities and good things come?

Lamentations 3:36-37

He may allow... darkness for a time...
but in Him... there is no darkness at all...

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to the children of men.

Lamentations 3:32-33

Trust His presence... even if it seems unseen...

He is good... and all He does... is good...

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

the foundation of the ordinary... [republished (and edited) from April 26, 2013...]

What holds up the everyday...? the sunrise... and set... the moon in all its phases... the gradual change of the perpetual seasons... slowly... slowly... ever-changing... each day... the ordinary...?

Behind it all... and underneath... is hesed... the Hebrew word translated often as... steadfast love... God's hesed...

His loving kindness... endures... daily... keeps life going... and is often hard to see... easy to forget... or neglect... because it is so common...

It's not the stuff of the well-planned and prepared... not cultivated... it just appears... without any work on our behalf...

wildflowers... springing up...

new green... sprouting...

wisps... on blue skies...

His hesed... it's all around... holding all things... together...

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever...

Psalm 136:1-3 ESV

(my emphasis)

Have you seen it today... His steadfast love...?

I'd love to know what ordinary blessings you are thankful for... consider leaving a comment at the bottom of this post... [email subscribers click the post title and it will take you to Jeremiah's Menu where you can comment...]

easy street: the road to destruction [republished from December 2, 2011...]

I'd read the verse many times before...
but not the translation I read today.

Today it struck me in a different way...

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and

the road is easy that leads to destruction,

and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and

the road is hard that leads to life,

and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14 (emphasis added)

NRSV

I generally prefer easy...
but I may have to think twice and consider more carefully...
look down the road farther...

easy vs hard

Which way do you usually choose?

a desire... for more faith... [republished (and edited) from December 22, 2014...]

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for

and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

I'm a contradiction... when it comes to faith...

My natural bent... tends toward pessimism...

To be pessimistic... as a Believer... reveals a lack of faith... and unbelief in His promises...

Pessimism keeps Believers... from preparing with expectancy... thus missing opportunities to witness to others... and receiving blessings...

Two passages... reveal a need... for more faith...

Isaiah's prophetic words regarding the Messiah bearing the Spirit of the Lord... anointed to bring good news to the poor...
bind up broken hearts...
proclaim liberty to the captives...
releasing those bound...
comforting those who mourn...

And in John's gospel... where he told about John the Baptizer... preparing the way for the Lord... by faith... in a big way... proclaiming His coming... and calling for repentance... from the self-proclaimed sinners... to the self-proclaimed righteous...

My faith... feels small... when I think about bearing the Spirit of the Lord myself...

He made the way for it to be so... and He says it's true... but I feel no power... to bring good news... heal... free... or comfort...

And my preparation... for things unseen... sometimes... my natural bent rules... Nothing looks like it's changing... why do anything... to prepare...

But... there are areas in my life... where I feel His call... I press past the flesh... and do anyway... even though it seems foolish... unproductive...

This is one of those places... writing so many days a week... wondering at times... Why...? 

And the call to intercede... through group prayer... it persists... and I know I persevere only because of Him... and the faith He provides...

So some places... I see faith in action... in me... even if it often must overcome... a pessimistic eye...

But one passage He led me to... filled me with desire... for... more... faith...

Behold, A King will reign in righteousness, 

and princes will rule with justice.

And each one of them shall be like a hiding place from the wind

and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a weary land 

[to those who turn to them].

Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed or dimmed, 

and the ears of those who hear will listen.

And the mind of the rash will understand knowledge 

and have good judgment,

and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and plainly.

Isiah 32:1-4 Amp

I understand... by faith I allow Him to reign in my life... and as He does... I become one of the princes... ruling in justice...

To be one who is a hiding place for others...
a shelter in a storm...
a relief from the heat...
a shade...
is what I desire to be...

Yes... to be one who makes the way for Him... to open eyes... and ears...
make the way for understanding... and the loosing of tied tongues...
is what I want to be...

To be all His Word... says I am... fuels a desire... for more faith...

And His Words come to mind...

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

Father God... forgive my lack of faith...

Bless me... with more...