the joy of full...

The disciples went to town to get food...
leaving Jesus tired and hungry by the well...
while they were gone a Samaritan woman comes to the well...
Jesus reaches out to her for water...
she questions...
He questions...
and before you know it...
she's seen the Messiah... and goes to tell others...

When the disciples returned they said to Him...

"Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, 

"I have food to eat that you do not know about."

So the disciples were saying to one another,

"No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?"

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me

and to accomplish His work. ..."

John 4:31-34 NASB

Jesus was full... from obeying His Father...

teaching the good news to the spiritually hungry...

This morning... after sitting around a table full of ladies...

all hungry for His Word...

and leading them... sharing stories with one another...

laughing... crying... witnessing...

I relate to Jesus...

I just felt full...

and what a joy to be full...

Obeying Him in a call to lead...

introduce others to the Word...

is a fulfilling joy...

Be full... do what He is calling you to...

share Him in Word and deed...

bless others with the good news...

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy

and my heart's delight, for I bear your name,

O Lord God Almighty.

Jeremiah 15:16

resting in Him... to make me light...

"You are the light of the world. ..."

Matthew 5:14 ESV

Jesus told His disciples... 

in His sermon on a hill...

You are the light of the world...

And it struck me a while back...

the truth of this statement...

what He meant...

what He was saying...

you... are... the light...

I... am... the light...

in a very... dark... world...

There is no other light... in all the world...

only His disciples carry His Spirit in our hearts...

only we can let His light shine...

we alone have light to shine...

You... I... we... are... the... light... of... the... dark... world...

An overwhelming... awesome... task...

when you think of all the darkness...

come face to face with it daily...

through family... friends... community... church...

There is a great darkness...

and we... His people... are the only light...

A song sung in praise and prayer recently...

set me to wondering about being light again...

There is a candle in every soul

Some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings a fire

Ignites a candle and makes His home

So carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Take your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to

Light his own candle some other way

See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to

Still holds a candle without a flame

So carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Singing... tears welled... ran down... 

You see... I feel as if darkness has been running to me lately...

frustrated brothers... sisters robbed and lied to ...

I know these people... love these people...

but feel helpless... to light their way...

So I ask Him...

Show me how... to be light... in the dark...

And I rest in this prayer...

and I listen for His way...

and I try to obey...

His quiet promptings...

give...

be quiet...

respect...

I don't do it perfectly... but I try...

it doesn't feel like being light...

because each call causes me suffering...

not a lot... but some... in small ways...

denying self... to be light for Him...

And I wonder...

Do they see it as light...?

will it make a difference...?

His Word calls His followers...

lay down your life in love...

so I find myself...

resting in Him... to make me light...

His way... not mine...

and experiencing...

some of His suffering...

I come to know Him better...

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings,

that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

1 Peter 4:13 ESV

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

Looking forward... to His glory... being revealed...

wait on Him... Psalm 31:23-24...

Love the Lord, all you saints!

The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays

the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!

Psalm 31:23-24 ESV

Love the Lord... all you followers of Jesus...

only in Him... can we be called saints...

He is our Lord... so serve Him wholeheartedly...

obey Him... for this is love for Him...

Loving God means keeping his commandments,

and his commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:3 NLT

Those who love Him... who faithfully obey...

He preserves... protects...

but those who act in pride... following their own way...

will not fare so well...

I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity;

I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,

and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.

Isaiah 13:11  ESV

Those who wait on Him...

can take courage... be strong... in the wait...

He is faithful to those who are faithful...

He is just... and will keep His promises...

Wait on Him... 

Love Him...

He will come through...

lean on Him... Psalm 32:8-10...

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love

surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

Psalm 32:8-10 ESV

God... He offers to instruct us... teach us...

show us the way to go... counsel us...

while He watches to make sure we get it right...

But do we let Him...?

He warns... be not like a horse... or mule...

who needs a bit and bridle... because they don't understand...

Are you like the mule... the horse...

only going His way... when He tugs... pulls...

causes a little pain in your life...?

Being teachable... obedient...

is the best way to learn to trust God...

Leaning on Him... day in... day out...

asking Him the way to go...

actively seeking His counsel...

He interprets obedience to His instruction... His counsel... as love...

This is love for God: to obey his commands.

And his commands are not burdensome.

1 John 5:3

His way is not burdensome... when we love Him with an obedient teachable heart... there is no need to be pulled or tugged... no need to fight against the bridle... no need for a bit...

Those who don't go His way are called wicked... full of sorrow...

but those who trust Him are in a place to receive His love...

recognize its steadfast... unfailing... nature...

because they have allowed Him to teach them...

Lord teach me... show me the way...

I want to lean on You each moment of each day...

Amen...

stepping out...

Sometimes... obedience feels like stepping out... into a flood stage river... fear of being swept away... unprepared... too weak...

Like the Levites... crossing the Jordan... leading the way into the Promised Land...
their only hope... all their faith... placed in the ark they held...
God's presence... God's call... God's promise...

So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan

with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,

and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan,

and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink

of the water (now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout

the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood

and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is

beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward 

the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off.

And the people passed over opposite Jericho.

Joshua 3:14-17 ESV

I feel like I'm standing there now...
stepping out in faith... in obedience...
unprepared... filled with fear of being swept away...

Yet... I step... trusting it's His call I hear...
trusting His presence...
trusting His promise...
and filled with joy...

Another study to offer...
this time a joint offering...
a joint effort in sharing our stories...
our understanding... of faith...
what we've learned from Him... His Word...
in our following of His Way...

Like the study I offered last summer...
it's not complete...
it has a start... a fuzzy middle... and a word for the end...

This post a step closer to the edge of obedience...
if I share it with others... there's no backing out...

I ask for prayers... for the completion and teaching...
for sisters to come... ready to both receive and share...
for boldness along the way... for His blessing of growth in faith...

The six weeks of study (tentatively) set to begin... Tuesday... July 5...

Amen...

a day for blessing... and being blessed...

A day for blessing... and being blessed...
in the offering of myself to others... for His use... at His call...
I find myself blessed... a truth found in His Word...

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and the one who waters will himself be watered.

Proverbs 11:25 ESV

It feels odd to receive such a blessing... by being obedient... in blessing others... it also feels great...!

I think of Abraham... and find myself wanting... the blessing God gave him...

"... in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Genesis 12:3 ESV

What an awesome blessing to receive...

the blessing of being a blessing...!

We may think ourselves such a mess... we could never bless anyone else...

but God... in His grace... works out brokenness as blessing...

"... the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you,

because the Lord your God loved you. ..."

Deuteronomy 23:5 ESV

Moses reminded the Israelites about the story of Balaam...

the prophet hired by their enemy... to curse them...

but God would not allow it...

Our enemy... entered the world to curse us with sin...

yet God... in His love... did not allow it to be the last word...

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming

a curse for us --- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"...

Galatians 3:13 ESV

He uses every curse... and its consequences... for good... when we allow Him to redeem it ALL through Christ Jesus... giving Him lordship over our lives...

Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Psalm 144:15 ESV

Obey His voice...

be a blessing...

be blessed...

Who have you blessed today...?

so much to do... so much joy...

On the drive home from the shop...
my brain spins... with all I have to do...
bills to pay...
ministry to tend to...
dinner to cook...
blog to write...
Bible study to plan and prepare...
plants to water...
the list goes on...
but all I feel is...
JOY...

I really don't get it...
it seems so incongruent...
to my reality...
and how I would've felt...
before...

Before what...?
Can't put words to it...
before He freed me up to more of Him...
more faith in His work in my life...
more faith in His strength to do all He fills my life with...
more trust in Him to get it done...
more obedience to His Spirit...

Joy...
just more confirmation...
of walking with Him...

Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, "Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!"

You have put more joy in my heart than they have

when their grain and wine abound.

Psalm 4:5-7 ESV

Trust and obedience...

a life lived for Him...

unexpected...

incongruent...

irrational...

joy... joy... joy...

Please understand... this unreasonable joy... 

that's been bubbling up in my heart the last couple of years... 

has come from years... decades... of pursuing His Way...

It is the result of much struggle... much failure... much repentance... much anxiety... on the road to trusting Him...

But let me tell you... it's worth it...

If you are struggling today... keep on keeping on...

continue offering right sacrifices...

giving Him your time... energy... life...

I hope to encourage you with these words today...

that joy will come... 

He promises it...

His joy... at our pursuit of Him... becomes our strength...

So I wonder... is this joy even mine...

maybe it's His... fueling me with strength...

to do all He's put in my life...

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV

seeking to glorify...

Glorify... a word I've been considering since I read a devotional last week...

...wherever Jesus is glorified, the Holy Spirit comes!

---AW Tozer, Evenings With Tozer

Who doesn't want the Holy Spirit present...? in their life...? their church...? their family... their community...?

I do...

So this idea... has sent me on a search... of what it means... to glorify... Him...

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

Psalm 22:23 ESV

The Hebrew in this verse... translated glorify... is kabad... its root meaning... to be heavy... weighty... be honorable... (Enhanced Strong's Lexicon)... be glorious... make heavy... feel heavy... (Dictionary of Biblical Languages)...

I'm reminded of the title of a book by CS Lewis... The Weight of Glory...

A weighty matter is important... 

Jesus is the weightiest of matters...

emphasis is put on what matters most...

Jesus... matters... most...

To glorify Jesus... is to consider Him... a matter most important in your life...

fear Him... 

praise Him... 

stand in awe of Him...

Is He weighty in your life...? in mine...?

"Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed."

Revelation 15:3-4 ESV

In the New Testament we have Greek... doxazo... translated glorify... its meaning... to think... suppose... be of opinion... to praise... extol... magnify... celebrate...to honour... make glorious... to make renowned... to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged... (Enhanced Strong's Lexicon)...

To magnify... means to make something large...

it becomes great... something to be celebrated...

thought about... let others know about...

Jesus is glorified when we make Him large in our life... cause His dignity... worth... to be made apparent... acknowledged... around us...

Great an amazing are Your deeds...

Just and true are Your Ways...

You alone are holy...

God Almighty...

O King...

Weighty...

Magnified...

Manifest...

these are ways to glorify Jesus...

But what does that look like practically...?

I think about the verse defining this blog...

When Your words came, I ate them;

they were my joy and my heart's delight,

for I bear Your name, O Lord God Almighty.

Jeremiah 15:16

bear... a word meaning to be under... carry... a weighty word...

Bearing His name... His character... causes us to treasure His words...

Those who glorify Jesus... bear His name...

love His Word... eat it up...

make it part of their life...

with joy... delight...

Glorify Him... by obeying... His Word...

finding great delight in it...

this is one way... 

to make your heart a welcome place...

for the Holy Spirit...

Do you glorify Him...? bear His name...? find your heart's delight in His Word...?

Lord... increase my love for Your Word...

increase my faith to obey...

I long for Your Holy Spirit... Your presence...

to have full reign in my life...

joy... greater than happiness...

At the end of a long day... 

broken needles... messed up orders...

the end of the year of after-school ministry...

unruly fourth graders... and a stern temper...

feeling as if I've cast seed on hard ground...

wondering if I failed Him...

fighting the urge to binge on snacks...

yet... there resides in my heart... a strange joy...

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV

I feel like I should be grieved... but really... I just can't be...

His joy... my strength...
the result of a long obedience in the same direction...
fighting the good fight...
not quitting...
remaining faith-full...

Joy... it's so much greater than happiness...

My red cup... and a fresh pot of decaf brewing on a dreary Wednesday afternoon... makes me happy...

Happiness is fragile... just like my red cup...

Joy... it's different...

it comes only from Him...

eternal... unreasonable... and sometimes a mystery...

Where have you experienced joy recently...?

joy... joy... joy...

I felt it this morning... joy...

The inexplicable joy...
found in His presence...
feeling His Spirit active...
working through me...

It's always such a wonder...
a mystery... how being obedient...
seeing Him show up...
experiencing His faithfulness...
brings such... joy... joy... joy...

I hope you find some today...

If it's been a while... maybe it's time to check with Him... see where He's calling you...

Are you doing what He wants you to...? serving...? giving...? seeking...? obeying...?

My experience has been... if you are... it will not fail to come...

Joy...

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

Joy... 

For you make him most blessed forever;

you make him glad with joy in your presence.

Psalm 21:6 ESV

Joy...

But the righteous will be glad;

they shall exult before God;

they shall be jubilant with joy!

Psalm 68:3 ESV

psalm 103... and Easter perspective... part twelve...

Nearing the end of Psalm 103...
continuing to view it from the empty tomb...
verses 17 and 18...

But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord's love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children's children---

with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalm 103:17-18

Everlasting to everlasting...

it's not about others remembering our place in this world when we're gone...

it's about us remembering our place before Him...

When we remember who we are... 

short-lived dust...

and whose we are... 

God's...

He remembers us... loves us...

into eternity... 

Jesus made the Way for us to be remembered...

for us to be established eternally...

as children... heirs... of the Creator...

Again... fear of the Lord... understanding who we are... and who we are before our Creator... is the key to receiving... accepting His love... His righteousness...

We must remember His precepts... 

keep His covenant...

in order to be kept eternally...

This is all made possible... when we know Jesus...

fall in love with Him... 

on account of what He's done for us...

and follow Him...

The man who says, "I know him,"

but does not do what he commands is a liar,

and the truth is not in him.

But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly

made complete in him. This is how we know

we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him

must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 2:4-6

When we live out His love for us through obedience...

our children... our children's children...

see and know the Truth...

His righteousness is with those who know Him...

not just go through the motions...

not just check the boxes... church... devotional... prayer...

not just follow the rules...

Those who know Him love Him all day long...

in all sorts of ways... 

and those ways... infiltrate the hearts of those around us...

from everlasting... to everlasting...

generation... to generation...

Do you love Him...?

Do you know who you are before Him...?

Do you know who He is...? and what He's done for you...?

Everlasting to everlasting...

the Lord's love... is not a box to check...

it's a relationship to enter in...

child to Father...

servant to Lord...

beloved to the Lover of our souls...

Father God... grow me to love You...

with all my heart... soul... mind... and strength...

I desire Your love... from everlasting to everlasting...

The Journey Readings: Week 118... and listening to Him...

I spoke to you in your [times of] prosperity, but you said,

I will not listen! This has been your attitude from your youth;

you have not obeyed My voice.

Jeremiah 22:21 Amp

God... He spoke to the Israelites when things were good... but they would not listen...

Are we really any different...?

How often do we ignore God's Word...? when things are good...? only running to Him when things are falling apart...?

He's always speaking to us...

most of us have easy access to His Word...

yet... we choose not to listen... obey... even seek...

when we think we have things under control...

What an arrogant sinful attitude...!

We need to recognize Him in our prosperity... as well as our trials...

We need to listen and obey... ALWAYS...

He is our Creator...

all we have and are comes from Him...

For sure... those of us who call ourselves Believers...

need to pour out our lives for Him...

as He poured His out for us...

The Israelite's greatest sin...?

They refused to listen to Him...

They followed their own hearts...

their own understanding...

They followed the ways of the world...

walking both sides of the fence...

But to God... that's idolatry... sinful rebellion...

leading us... down a road to destruction...

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man

and makes flesh his strength,

whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,

and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land. ..."

Jeremiah 17:5-6 ESV

To think we have things under control without Him...

to think we can make a way for ourselves in this world...

is foolishness...

To turn from Him... to walk our own way... is to invite disaster...

There is enough brokenness in the world to cause us trouble...

why would we want to cause trouble for ourselves...?

Listening to Him...

obeying Him...

trusting Him...

is the way to ensure His blessing...

no matter what circumstances may come...

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

Open your Bible this week...

spend some time listening to Him...

This week's readings...
Monday             Jeremiah 26
Tuesday             Jeremiah 27-28
Wednesday        Jeremiah 29
Thursday           Jeremiah 30
Friday               Jeremiah 31:1 - 32:15

psalm 103... and Easter perspective... part four...

Another day... another look at Psalm 103... from the vantage point of Easter...

Praise the Lord, O my soul;

and forget not all his benefits...

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:5

More of His benefits...

seen from this side of the cross...

He satisfies our desires with good things...

God created us to be in relationship with Him...

In the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism...

Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

---Westminster General Assembly, 1647

After the Fall... man's relationship with God was severed...

That which fulfilled him... lost...

Jesus... through His sacrifice on the cross...
His death... and resurrection...
made the Way... for us to come again...
into relationship with Him...

By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way

through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

Hebrews 10:20 NLT

Our hearts' desire can only be satisfied in Him...
and through Him... by way of the Spirit...
we can know again... the satisfaction... of His presence...
walk in the fulfillment... of what we were created for...

Not only did Jesus make the way for good things...
He also makes the way for our youth to be renewed like an eagle's...

He made the way for us to receive His power... strength... energy...

I can't tell you how many in my life... say over and over...
I'm so tired...
and these are not old people... they are youths...!

I used to be there once myself...
maybe you are now...
constantly tired... run down... no energy...

But what I've found to be true...
is over the more than two decades I've been pursuing Him...
obeying Him... allowing Him to work and heal...
the less often I feel tired...

In my 50+ years... I find myself amazed...
at the energy I do have at this point in my life...

And when I feel myself failing...
I cry out to Him... for the strength He promises...
to do all He calls me to do...

This right here... today... could not have been done...without the truth of His Word...

I am able to do all things through Him

who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13 HCSB

I truly believe... have experienced...

increasing satisfaction with life...

increasing energy and strength...

by pouring out my life for Him...

I pray you will trust and experience the same...

Father God... thank You for the Way You prepared...

to restore relationship... to fulfill... and energize... Your people...

Amen... 

feeling Wind blown...

Feeling wind blown today...
even though it's not particularly windy outside...

A day approached with some goals...
some to do's in mind...
but the day seems to be overtaken by the blowing of the Spirit...

Clean up...
Rewrite...
Pursue what's missing...

Blowing from one thing to another...

with other plans for the day...

leaves many piles around the house...

Trusting Him for where He's blowing...

what He's stirring up...

Trusting it is Him I'm hearing...

"...The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
John 3:8 ESV

Lord Jesus... trusting it is Your Spirit I hear directing my day...

and if it's my own fleshly fickleness... trusting You...

to work it all for good...

the joy of the Lord...

...the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV

The joy of the Lord... it is our strength...

And what brings the Lord joy...?

The context of this verse in Nehemiah is repentance...

After returning from exile...

the people heard the law...

its reading... and teaching...

saw their failure to obey...

and wept...

They were grievous over sin...

their spirits... and hearts... repentant...

This is when Nehemiah said...

"... And do not be grieved,

for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Nehemiah 8:10 ESV

This has been my understanding...

sin exposed... bringing godly sorrow... repentance...

blesses the Lord with joy... 

His joy gives the penitent... strength...

strength to turn around... obey... 

But I now see another aspect of bringing the Lord joy...

just plain obedience...

Obedience... in pursuits... calls... He puts on our hearts...

Obedience... when it doesn't make sense to us...

Obedience... not centered on repentance... but His invitation... 

Obedience... when it's not anything you particularly want to do... but feel His pressing... to do...

I've experienced this in the last year and a half...

pursuing an opportunity...

joining a friend in business...

and in the process feeling moments of inexplicable joy...

Not fleshly happiness...

but a deep... seated in the heart... joy...

feeling like something other than me...

Over the last few weeks... I've felt a calling to something new... not anything I feel particularly interested in doing... but the idea... it just won't go away...

I've shared the idea with my husband...

and with a friend...

it's not an idea for major ministry...

or even great sacrifice...

just an odd thought... that won't go away...

Neither thought it as crazy as I do...

Neither said... Well that's just dumb...

So... in simple obedience...

I took first steps to follow through on the call...

and already... I feel it...

joy...

Odd... inexplicable... joy...

that does not manifest from my flesh...

but... clearly... from His Spirit...

And with His joy...

the strength... dare I say... excitement...

to do... what He's calling me to...

A new facet...

glimmering in His Word...

In simple obedience...

His joy... my strength...

unbelief...

Words in the current Bible study remind me this morning of a dark time of anxiety and unbelief...

We say, "Trust God," yet we agonize privately over whether He can be trusted.

---Beth Moore, Children of the Day, 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Trust God... it's easy to say... hard to do...

Evidence of unbelief... which is not trusting God... include... worry... anxiety... fear...

Is there evidence of unbelief in your heart...?

I walked through a deep darkness of anxiety for about a decade...
not a fun walk... but at the deepest point of the pit...
I realized... all my anxiety... all my fear...
came from a heart of UNBELIEF...

I didn't believe Him...
I didn't believe He was who He said He was...
I didn't believe He had my best interest at heart...
I'm not even sure I believed He was good...
but... when I came face to face with the truth of my unbelief...
I began to choose to TRUST GOD...
through faithful obedience...

Steps of faithful obedience...
are the only cure...
for an unbelieving heart...

When we actually take God at His Word...
trust Him... and act on that trust...
that's when life begins to change...

Faithful obedience...
is the surest... and fastest way...
to experience the freedom...
He says we have as Believers...

I dare you... challenge you...
ask Him today...
Where am I walking in unbelief...?

When He reveals your lack of trust...
take heart... take courage... take steps of faithful obedience...

He is not afraid of bad news;

his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:7 ESV

sometimes... obedience feels... like walking in the dark...

Sometimes... trusting obedience... feels like walking in the dark...

Yesterday's thoughts on His Word is light...
and thinking about Ezekiel...
all the strange things God asked Him to do...
to try and reach the hearts of His people...

• Eat a scroll...
• Build a model of Jerusalem under siege... then bind himself... laying north... then south of the model... for hundreds of days...
• Shave his head... taking a third and burning it... attack a third of his hair with a sword... and scatter the remaining third in the wind...
• Prophesy to the mountains...

Made me think of those who trust and obey... when it doesn't really seem to make sense to them...

Abram... Abraham... the father of the faithful...
left his homeland... for he knew not where...
because he trusted and obeyed God...

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go

out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8 ESV

Sometimes... obeying His Word... 

feels like walking in the dark...

The key... trusting He is Light...

He knows the end from the beginning...

nothing hidden from His sight...

nothing is darkness to Him...

Obedience to His Word...

even when we cannot see...

brings encouragement to others...

bringing them light...

I've experienced it myself...

during a worship service...

anticipating a hard call...

the worship leader explained to the congregation...

the inclusion of a song... they wouldn't usually do...

but a member of the team insisted God had placed it on their heart...

and someone needed to hear it...

It was me...

Thankful for those who trust His Word... as light...

even when it feels like... dark...

Thank You... Lord... for those who are obedient without question...

without knowing why... but trusting You...

Bless me with the faith... to obey... 

when it doesn't make sense to me...

bent...

A dusty book on the shelf caught my attention this morning...

On inspection... dog-eared and underlined...
I knew I'd read it... but couldn't remember when...

Browsing through the pages... a passage on revival...

Bend the church and save the world. James E. Stewart claimed that this is the secret of every true awakening. Christians must humble themselves and get right with God so that the Spirit can break through in converting power. There must be no hypocrisy; the Christian must BEND to all the will of God for his life in perfect obedience before the Spirit of God is released. When we are bent to the will of God we will be intercessors, because as He "ever lives to intercede" for His people, we will do the same if we are abiding in Him.

---Rick Joyner, Shadow of Things to Come

Revival... it's something I'd like to see...
in me... my family...
my church family...
His whole church...

So I wonder... Am I bent...? to His will...?

Driving home at dusk...
sun setting behind...
moon rising before...
sorrow... weighs...

Sorrow... at feeling more coarse... than clean...
sorrow... over His church... its division... its lack of power...
sorrow... over those who call themselves Believers... but live something completely different than the Word...

Longing to be bent to His will...
obedient to His Word...
pure in heart...

Longing for the Spirit's power to be released...
through me... through His people...

Longing... for... revival...

Where are you when it comes to being bent...?
How do you feel about the church...?
or your personal walk with Him...?

Me...?
I will pray to be bent...

Lord... bend me to Your will...

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

His Lordship...

It is altogether doubtful whether any man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help but with no intention of obeying Him, for Christ's saviourhood is forever united to His lordship.

---A.W. Tozer, Evenings With Tozer

To claim Him as Lord...
is to choose obedience...

Tozer goes so far as to say...
without obedience...
salvation is doubtful...

Twice in the last week... a verse from Deuteronomy... came to my attention...

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;

tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them

on your foreheads.

Deuteronomy 11:18

One reference was in the context of hypocrisy... and the practice of Pharisees carrying out this command literally...

Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and their tassels on their garments long. (Matt. 23:5)

Phylacteries were leather boxes containing bits of parchment inscribed with Scripture verses. It was a response to the Old Testament verses, found in Deuteronomy, about binding God's Word to one's arms and foreheads. The real meaning, of course, is for us to bury his Word in our hearts so we can carry it with us everywhere we go.

---Kyle Idleman, The End of Me

Reading these words... the picture came...
to tie the Lord's Word on your hands...
means to let His Word live through your hands...

Binding His Word to your forehead...
the invasion of His Word into your thought life...
transforming your thinking...
therefore your actions...
your life...

The Pharisees... whom Idleman uses as an example of hypocrisy... wanted people to see the Word tied to their hands... bound to their foreheads... living one life on the outside... and another on the inside...

Jesus called these men whitewashed tombs... dead men walking...

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly

appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones

and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous

to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ..."

Matthew 23:27-28 ESV

To receive Christ...

is to receive Him as Lord...

To receive Him as Lord...

is to surrender your will...

die to self...

and in turn...

receive eternal life...

If He is Lord... we live for Him...

with integrity... purity...

the same on the outside... as the inside...

Are you wearing His Word...? or living it...?

Lord... help me to live Your Word both inside and out...

continue to move me toward integrity and purity...

twenty days...

Twenty days to go...
the pressing of the season begins...
but here... we continue... to focus on Him...

The Servant King...
a Faithful Servant... in all His ways...
faithful to His Father...
faithful to His people...
faithful to His purpose...

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Isaiah 42:1-3 ESV

Faithful... obedient... in following His Father's will...
Faithful... obedient... in bringing about justice... for all...
Faithful... obedient... in doling out compassion... mercy...

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality

with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,

by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5-8 ESV

Jesus... He emptied Himself of all divinity...

to enter a human womb...

become like one born to serve...

He did so faithfully...

perfectly...

obeying His Father...

even to death...

death... on... a... cross...

Lord... Your faithful... obedient... heart...

overwhelms me... when I think of all You did...

are doing... to redeem... restore... Your creation...

Your love obeys the Father... grow my love to obey You...

love that serves... faithfully...