translating... patriarchs...

The reading through... brings me to another patriarch... Abram... renamed... Abraham... who laughed at 99 years of age... when the Lord said he would have a son... by Sarai... Sarah... who was 90... she laughed too...

The Lord... He did not laugh...

Is anything too hard or wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son.

Genesis 17:14 Amp

With these words... my mind turns back to the ark... pregnant with life... waiting the appointed time... for delivery...

I'm still Noah... reaping wisdom from Abraham... and from one traveling with me... on The Journey...

She said it last Sunday... a response to my being Noah... floating... trusting... no control... waiting...

...he worked a long time... building the ark... 100 years...

100 years...?! ...that's what I heard her say... but a long time... yes... years... yes... many years...

And today... I think of that ark... and the One who delivers... and realize... faith... obedience... years of the daily... are what build an ark...

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the Almighty God; walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect (blameless, wholehearted, complete). And I will make My covenant (solemn pledge) between Me and you...

Genesis 17:1-2 Amp

Noah too... before Abram... walked with God... in habitual fellowship...

And I look at the work... the faith... I put in the loved one who struggles... hope it will hold through the storm... I only had 18 years... not 100...

And my own ark... the one pregnant with me... is there enough faith... to hold it together... waiting...?

When the storm comes... and the water rises... will your ark hold...? Will you trust it...? Will you forsake it...? Will a tree trunk floating by... look better than your ark...?

The building of an ark... like the building of a house... takes time...

It must be done in fair weather... building on the Rock... listening... seeking... obeying... finding Him a firm foundation... trustworthy in the small... leads us to trust Him with the large... and... looming...

And I wonder... and wait... for the day of delivery... His appointed time...

more summit thoughts... connecting...

I read it this morning... on the treadmill...

I have learned something elemental about connecting and communicating with the human race. Everyone has a name --- and they long to be seen, to be heard, and to be acknowledged for more than just being another cashier at the counter, driver behind the wheel, waitress, ticket taker with those little informative tags on their shirts.

--- River Jordan, Praying for Strangers

Her words reminded me... of  something said at the Summit... those two days last week... ridiculously full days...

The speaker... he identified three things... that make a miserable place to work... and as I walked... going nowhere... I realized they also make a miserable place to go to church...

1) Anonymity. Nobody wants to be anonymous... People cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known.

2) Irrelevance. God created us to love others... Everyone needs to know that their job matters, to someone. Anyone.

3) Immeasurement. All people have a need to be able to assess themselves if they are doing a good job... Employees need to be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves.

The title of the talk... How to Lose Your Best People...

Is that what happen in churches... the best people are lost... if these three elements are part of the culture...?

We all have a need to be known... God created us for community...

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a helper who is just right for him."

Genesis 2:18 NLT

We all need to know we are relevant... have purpose... He created us with a purpose...

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 

We all need to know if we are growing... markers that reveal progress... God saved us... to move toward perfection...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

These elements are needed to help people connect... grow... and fulfill the purpose God created them... us... you... me... for...

These elements make a great place to gather... in Him... without them... it's misery...

How can we make sure these elements... are part of our gathering... in Christ...?

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens with the saints

and members of the household of God,

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

in whom the whole structure, being joined together,

grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Ephesians 2:19-21 ESV

(my emphasis)

Are these needs met where you gather to worship...?
Are you intentional about connecting with others... knowing... affirming... identifying growth...?
What can you start doing... to make your gathering... great...?

fellowship... friends in the same boat...

A life filled... is filled best... with fellowship...

Friends who share...
a heart for Jesus...
prayer...
His Word...
time...
troubles...
joys...

Kay Arthur... pictures fellowship... like this...

...fellows... together... in... the same... ship...

Traveling together... in the same vessel... sharing stormy seas... and calm waters... side by side... fellow-ship... really a picture... of the body...

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it;

if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1Corinthians 12:26

Today... I've recognized... related to... been encouraged by... many fellow... shipmates... face-to-face... over lunch... on the phone... together in ministry...

True fellowship... in the body of Christ... a comfort... and... joy... 

God is faithful; by him you were called 

into the fellowship of his Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

1Corinthians 1:9 NRSV

(emphasis added)

Where... when... have you experienced fellowship... with Him... with His body...?

What encouragement... did you receive...? or give...?

streams of living water... they flow...

Today, in the current study with sisters... this picture came to mind... water flowing from one... to another... to another...

A sister tells us about her 80 year old neighbor lady... her neighbor knows that she is in a Bible study on Monday mornings and each week she asks her... What did you learn this week?

This sister in study... she gets a chance to share what she's learned... pours it into another... even telling her Bible stories this 80 years has never heard before... an empty glass... thirsty... ready to be filled...

I see the call to begin this study... flowing into those who sit around my table... and now... I see another taking her fill and it pours over into her neighbor...

Streams flowing... I wonder how far they go... how many waters flow... I know not where...?

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,

streams of living water will flow from within him."

John 7:37-38

(emphasis added)

What streams might be flowing from you...?

clinging... to... abiding...

The desire... of the Old Testament psalmist... for a soul that clings to Him... is fulfilled in the New Testament invitation of Jesus...

Abide in me...

This morning... God continues building on yesterday's study... cling... by having me pick up a compilation... a collection of works... on prayer by Andrew Murray... one book amid many... one bought several months ago... only the first few paragraphs read...

Today... the time to read... the first two chapters... centered on Christ's invitation to abide... a word that echoes the heart of cling... only to a greater... and deeper... degree...

The psalmist... with the clinging soul... cried out...

O God, you are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you,

my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

A clinging soul... the result of a desire to be near... with... the One who satisfies...

But clinging... is one distinct entity... affixed... to another...

a vine... on a wall...

a Muppet... on Jude Law...

a soul... on God...

The invitation to abide... its picture... as seen in Jesus's words... is one... as part... of another...

"...I am the vine; you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing. ..."

John 15:5

ESV

A branch... an offshoot from a vine... lives with the vine... by the power... of the vine... they are essentially one... a branch cut off... dies... but the branch attached... not only lives... but grows... and bears fruit... just as the vine...

Different than the clinging vine on a wall... no life shared... no thirst fulfilled... only support... upholding...

My soul clings to the you;

your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:8

The clinging is good... but the abiding... is better...

The psalmist... his soul still thirsty... even in the clinging...

It is in the abiding... through the work of Jesus... His crucifixion... and resurrection... where we can receive the Spirit... the same life giving force... that connected Him to the Father... and us to Him...

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,

streams of living water flow from within him."

John 7:37-38

The same lesson taught... to the woman at the well... the one with a thirst...

"Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again,

but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.

Indeed, the water I give him will become in him 

a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:13-14

Abide... an option unavailable to the psalmist... the privilege... and pleasure... we as Believers... have in Jesus... 

... it is only the abiding that can really satisfy the thirsty soul and give to drink of the rivers of pleasure that are at His right hand. --- Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ

Lord... teach me... to cling... and... abide... fully...

a thanks giving... continued...

Today... the elder-in-law... two days old... in Christ...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!

2Corinthians 5:17

The thanks giving... continues... as the elder remembers... the prayer he prayed...

Yesterday... a time spent with him in prayer...

Today... in prayer and the Word... I suggested we pray a prayer of thanks... he said... Yes... Who is going to pray with us...?

I rounded up more... my two oldest... we joined hands... and began a circle of prayer... each offering thanks... the round came to the elder-in-law... 

God... I thank you for everything we have...

I thank you for prayer... it is a new thing in my life...

A wonderful new thing... Amen... Amen...

The new for me... how to disciple to 92 years...? the one growing old... more child like each day...?

My prayer for him...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

ESV

James 4: thoughts... part 6

The daily discipline of memory... nears the end... but thoughts still stir... thoughts yet to be posted... will continue... till this entree of James... is complete...

Read James 4

A transition... one that seems awkward... may offer insight... into the heart of man...

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Don't criticize one another, brothers.

James 4:10-11

HCSB

Humble yourself before the Lord... jumping directly to criticizing a brother...? How does one butt up against the other...?

Consider... the source of criticism... doesn't it often come from a heart of insecurity...? jealousy...? pride...?

Doesn't criticizing... make the critic... feel superior... higher... exalted...?

We are not to lift up ourselves... at the expense of others...

The Greek translated as do not criticize... can also be rendered...
do not speak evil...
do not slander...
don't bad mouth...
The original intent clearly goes beyond a constructive critique... these are hurtful... accusing words... condemnation...

There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus...

Believers... brothers and sisters in Christ... are not to criticize one another... finding fault... in order to feel favored... we are to remember our own failures... be readily self-critical... humble yourself before the Lord... and He will lift you up...

Be completely humble and gentle;

be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit

through the bond of peace. 

Ephesians 4:2-3

blessing a blessing

An opportunity to take some time and bless a blessing... a project halfway through... that tender time... when discouragement creeps in... attacks...

And all the wall was joined together to half its height... And [the enemy] plotted together to come and fight against... and to cause confusion... And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. 

Nehemiah 4:6-9

ESV

(emphasis mine)

A prayer for protection... perseverance... completion... in His name... for His glory...

Is there someone... or something... you could bless today...?
Someone faced with half-way... someone who could use encouragement... through prayer...?

Father God, thank You for the call to bless... 

for Your desire to protect and encourage...

through the body... through prayer...

James 5: thoughts... part 2

Thoughts of James continue... along with the work of memory...

Read James 5

A word that saves...

Brothers, do not complain about one another, 

so that you will not be judged...

James 5:9

HCSB

Cleaning a bathroom... mind drifting back through the day... complaints forming... just waiting for someone to ask... my words wound up to tell...

Then James interrupts my thoughts... do not complain about one another... so that you will not be judged...

Well... Amen...

A Word that put the brakes on the talk in my head... and hope-fully... keeps it from escaping my lips... the guard over my mouth at work...

Complaining... it breaks down the body... causes rifts... AND... brings judgment on your own head...

Thank You, Lord, for the words of James... for Your interference in my life... with saving grace...

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, 

bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:2

the morning quiet

This morning... still dark... quiet...
only the steady hum of power through appliances...
no one else stirring...

Bible open before me... with Him...
preparing for the day ahead...

A peace... descends... surrounds...
like a cocoon...

How do I carry this...
His peace...
His presence...
with me through the day...?

Soon the silence will be broken... by others stirring...
tasks to be taken care of...
places to be...

How do I keep the quiet of a heart...?

Lord Jesus... wrap me in Your Word... 

Your grace... Your peace...

Help me to remember...

You are present... in every moment...

Your unfailing love... accessible... always before me...

"...It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you;

he will not leave you or forsake you.

Do not fear or be dismayed."

Deuteronomy 31:8

ESV

encouragement... a word that spurs...

Encouragement... it doesn't always come across as warm and fuzzy... comforting... sometimes it feels more like a sharp poke in the side...

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ...let us encourage one another --- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

(my emphasis)

I gave some today... the sharp kind... not the fuzzy kind... I hadn't planned to... didn't even intend to... as I looked for the scripture in the pages on my lap... the one depicting the Word fleshing out in the conversation...

Then the question came... Do you have a word for us...?

And there it was... Yes... but I don't think you will like it...

I shared the Word... and with it came passionate encouragement... exhortation... maybe even a rebuke... an edge to the voice... a fire I did not intend to stir...

Needless to say... the conversation abated... subject changed... parties moved on to lunch...

I don't know what will happen with the Word planted today... or if it should have been... but it was... time will tell what God will do with it...

Just grateful... resting in the truth that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him... and knowing the spur came from a heart of love...

James 2: thoughts... part 1

Read James 2

Wimbledon started June 25... we all like to watch... me and spouse... kids... all tennis fans...

Watching... I noticed the commentators mention celebrities sitting in the players boxes... One celebrity familiar to me... made my flesh react with an unexpected excitement... What is he doing in her box? What would it be like to be someone who attracts such personalities...? Thoughts that surprised me...

Of course... in addition to the celebrities being pointed out in the crowd, at Wimbledon there is the Royal Box... a special section for the elite persons... royalty... good seats with retractable shade to keep the sun off...

My study of James brought to mind...

My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or "Sit here on the floor by my footstool," haven't you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

James 2:1-4

HCSB

Favoritism... a worldly concept... our culture rampant with it... our churches... surely not immune...

With all the celebrities being looked with favor on at Wimbledon... I thought... What if one walked into my church... my congregation... how would I act? I had been surprised at my reaction to the one in the players box... what if I came face to face... in an assembly of Believers...?

...do not show favoritism...

To make this Word flesh... we need to treat everyone we encounter in church as a celebrity whom we adore... or with the same contained politeness bordering on indifference we treat the ordinary person we encounter in church...

...do not show favoritism...

Do we temper our greetings of the preferred or ramp up enthusiasm for the veritable stranger...?

The key is found in...

...as you hold on to the faith

in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ...

Each of us Believers hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord...

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3

In our glorious Lord... our real life is now hidden with Christ in God... every Believer is glorious... to be treated with the same enthusiasm... honor... respect... as any worldly celebrity... to discriminate is to deny the glory of Christ... and in Christ we are one body... therefore any discrimination is toward self... clearly an evil judgment...

CS Lewis, in The Weight of Glory, said...

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe, and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Everyone created in the image of God... His breath breathed into them... has an eternal destination... As His representatives... we are to treat ALL with the same respect... honor... love... there are no ordinary people...

My brothers and sisters,

believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ

must not show favoritism.

James 2:1

NIV

(emphasis mine)

burdens and expectations...

A burden for the widow... a need to fill...
believing I'm called to be the offering... only to find out I'm to provide the offering...
not what I expected...
but willingness to be... provided the need...

Listen for the call... respond to the burden... be prepared for it to be something different than you expect...

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

preparations of the Bride: fellowship

We were created for community... by God: Father, Son, Spirit... who lives in community in and of Himself...

Fellowship... prepares us for The Day...

The Bride... the Church... is singular... yet many... In Her we find unity in diversity... yet...

For a people who claim one Lord, one faith and one baptism, we are not one church but exist in isolation, judgment, suspicion and condemnation.

---James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Community

In this broken world, we see a broken Church... diversity leading to division... division based on fear... A ridiculous fear... the members of the Church form one body... to be afraid of others in the body is like our nose fearing our own hand... or our feet afraid of our arms...

We are one... each member created to help the others... hands needed to scratch the nose... arms needed to put on socks and shoes...

When we allow ourselves to be divided from other Believers... either individually or denominationally... we harm ourselves and grieve God...

Cultivating fellowship is key to preparing for The Day...

In community we face opportunities to exercise our new attitudes... or recognize the need for an attitude adjustment...

In community we interact with others who are closer than we to loving God whole-heartedly... we see what it looks like... encouraged we grow... we meet others whom we can help... others who have not walked as far as we...

In community we discover opportunities to serve... using supernatural gifts... teaching... healing... comforting...

Preparation in fellowship fulfills the second part of the greatest command...

...Love your neighbor as yourself...

Seek fellowship in community...

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:25

We need each other... only all-together... do we make one Bride... the mystery of Christ...

Lord Jesus, help me to recognize my need for others... and accept my part in the body... Grow me in love... grace... humility... Heal the places in me that keep me separated from others... those who are members along with me...

Do you embrace the idea of one Church ...all Believers supernaturally connected to others? How does this truth reveal itself in your life?

fellowship: lessons in humility

Called to clean up a mess that's not mine... in a domain that's not mine...

What will people think of me?

It's not my mess... why should I?

Can't You call someone else? ...it's messy...

Knowing there is no other Way... I went...

What I learned... experienced... connection with Christ...

He came to clean up a mess that wasn't His...
In a domain that wasn't His...
He carried a burden not His own...
Paid a price He did not owe...

Humility... His way... no room for pride... only Love...

Lord, help me to recognize and seize opportunities to clean up messes for others... without fanfare... without grumbling... Remind me that I bear Your name... O Lord God Almighty... Empty me of pride... fill me with Love...

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection

and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,

becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow,

to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:10-11

A challenge:
Identify with Christ... clean up a mess that is not yours... bear the complete burden... do it in secret... do not demand praise or seek recognition... do it to gain a keener understanding of the One who cleaned up after you...

fellowship: a journey

Fellow sojourners in the wilderness need one another...
they need support...
ears that listen...
words that pray...
hearts that point out the Way...
hearts that break for one another...
that connect in the common pain...
the journey through hostile territory...
home far away...

Lord Jesus... make me a worthy fellow traveller... a comfort for brothers and sisters along the Way...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

2Corinthians 1:3-5

ESV

(emphasis mine)

fellowship: suffering and grace, grace, grace

I hid last week.
My friend in ministry let me hide...
I don't know why she let me hide...
I'm glad she did.

I learned something... experienced something... with, in, and of God that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Being the self-centered individual that I am, I struggle with the suffering. I'm quick to see my suffering and whine about it... accept it but NOT with joy.

This time, I hid... I deceived myself into thinking it was someone else's call this time... joyfully I hid. Released from the struggle of self-killing obedience. Actually content... for a moment...

Then the silence.
The question: What would God say to you in this moment?
The Voice: You have neglected your call. You are forgiven.

Nothing more. No condemnation. No accusations.
A simple statement of fact and forgiveness.
Peace. Eye-opening peace.

Much of my suffering comes from a distorted image of God... I tend to see Him as judge. He calls me, I struggle with obedience (will I do it right, what will others think, I'm inadequate), and then my subconscious sees Him sitting and judging ...

My encounter with the real God -- the One who spoke -- proved all this wrong, especially when coupled with a teaching I received the same week:

 God does NOT use people like a tool...

He fellowships with people in ministry.

He comes alongside, in, and with you in the call... it's an invitation not an assignment.

Obedience does not lead to judgment... it leads to fellowship!
A working together -- a deepening of relationship.

I didn't hide from a call, I hid from God... like Adam and Eve in the Garden... God calling: Where are you?

God wasn't the one judging... I was... reflecting my own broken perfectionist psyche onto Him.

Today's lesson: obedience is communion with God.

Eating the Bread, drinking the Wine... Yes, there is suffering for the flesh, the broken body must die to self... but the wine -- the blood -- the grace poured over, in, and through the brokenness, the feeble efforts to let Christ flow through... fellowship!

I'm in Him and He in me...

I hope this is a turning point for me. A marker raised and set in my spirit... an Ebenezer: the stone of help.

Lord, thank You for Your grace, Your lessons, Your gentleness.

Thank You for the invitation to work with You.

Thank You for growth, healing, and new understanding.

Thank You for fellowship...

God, who has called you into fellowship

with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

1Corinthians 1:9

fellowship with Christ

shining light in the dark...
learning to love...
self-killing obedience...
hard...

the way of the cross...
our connection to Christ...

I want to know Christ

and the power of his resurrection and

the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,

becoming like him in his death...

Philippians 3:10

hard...

Yet not me, but Christ in me...