rest in Him... Exodus 33:14...

And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Exodus 33:14 ESV

God had said to Moses...

"... I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way,

for you are a stiff-necked people."

Exodus 33:3 ESV

He said this after the golden calf incident...

and the smashing of the commandments...

His announcement sent Moses into a tizzy...

Moses said to the Lord, "See, you say to me,

'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know

whom you will send with me. Yet you have said,

'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.'

Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight.

Consider too that this nation is your people."

Exodus 33:12-13 ESV

Moses found no rest... in God staying behind...

God had compassion on Moses...

in response to his prayer...

He relented and said...

My presence will go with you...

Along with God's presence...

He gives us rest...

No other presence...

gives us rest...

only God...

Like Moses...

call on Him to lead you...

follow Him and no other...

know His rest...

being...

A day for just being...
moment to moment trusting in Him...
Amen...

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 89:15 NIV

vacation...

vacation... noun... 1: a respite or a time of respite from something: intermission 2 a: a scheduled period during which activity... is suspended b: a period of exemption from work granted to an employee 3: a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation... 4: an act or an instance of vacating

---Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dict. (11th ed)

Vacation... a time away...
a time to vacate the usual...
but not a time to be away from Him...

For me... vacation leads to finding Him in new places...
not just in a different physical... geographical... locale...
but in movies... a novel... I wouldn't otherwise have time for...

We cannot vacation from Him...
we may miss regular worship services while away... or Sunday School...
but it can be a time to see Him in new light...
take more time to spend with Him...
not just squeeze Him into your busy schedule...

He is Life...
keep life in your vacation...

recognize Him while you're away...

...for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 ESV

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

and it came to pass...

I learned a lesson this weekend...
seeking His presence...
as things went awry in my little world...

No hot water...
septic tank issues...
a checkbook that wouldn't balance...

None of these issues were resolved over the weekend...

In the midst of all... I continued the spiritual discipline of seeking His presence... trying to rest in Him... trying to listen... seeking His peace...

Monday...
hot water...
a checkbook balanced...
a septic tank cared for...

None of these were my doing...
all things out of my control...
all things He provided someone else to fix...

Then I realized...
it came to pass...

All trials...
He uses to refine our character...

How will you deal with an empty propane tank...?
a septic tank you're not sure is doing the job...?
or an error you can't find on your own...?

Will you trust He's in it...?
Will you trust Him to provide...?
Will you trust He is using each incident for your good...?

For this light momentary affliction

is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory

beyond all comparison, as we look not

to the things that are seen but to the things

that are unseen. For the things that are seen

are transient, but the things that are unseen

are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV

And it came to pass...
trials...
turmoil...
trouble...
in order to refine and grow character...
they come... they go...
we pass through them...

All for His glory...

moments...

Moments...
He revealed Himself today...
in odd moments...

A day pressed...
in a very full week...
moments of joy...
burst through...
unexpected...

A story over lunch...
heart stirred...
in a moment...
a burden revealed...
emotion overwhelms...

Moments...
He reveals His presence...
His love...
His grace...
in the oddest moments...

What moments did you have today...?

You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

Psalm 138:6 NLT

He comes in the midst of messes...

On the radio today... I heard the testimony of  a woman who made a mess of her life... a mess she wanted to run from... die because of... and right in the middle of her mess He comes... The Cleanser of the mess I've made...

Her story caused me to think back on words written yesterday... overwhelmed by Him... in the middle of a mess I'd made...

Truth beams from her story...
and from my corner...
He comes in the midst of messes...

He does not show up because we have it all together...
He does not show up because we are perfect...
He shows up where it's messy...

He comes to those who are poor and needy...
He comes to those who embrace their mess...
He comes to those who cry out for help...

He comes in the midst of messes...

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating

with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples,

"Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

And when Jesus heard, he said to them, "Those who are well

have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Mark 2:16-17 ESV

You don't need to have it all together...

you just need to know you've made a mess of things...

you need to know... you need His help...

And then... He comes... no matter the mess...

Eternal wonder...

The more I consider Him as Eternal... the more I wonder...

His eternal Word... its unchanging nature solidifies in thought... increases confidence in what He says...

But... to know Him is eternal life... according to Jesus in His prayer to the Father on our behalf...

"...And this is eternal life, that they know the only true God,

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

John 17:3 ESV

I never quite got this... until today...

Blessed with revelation... of the Eternal...

Praying in the sanctuary...

(come to think of it... standing before His Word...)

the prayer came...

I stand before You in Your eternal presence

in the midst of Eternal Life.

Through the blood of Jesus...

by the power of the Spirit...

we enter into His presence...

we enter into the Eternal...

To know Him in relationship... is to be in His presence... which is ETERNAL LIFE...

Eternal wonder... consumed my spirit...

As I knelt to close the time of prayer with a sister in Christ...

His presence filled the silence...

the wonder of Eternal... filled the space...

I didn't want to leave... or move...

I just wanted to be in that moment...

of Eternal wonder...

New revelation... of His eternal nature...

what it means to enter eternal life...

it happens... in... His... presence...

He... is... Eternal...

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

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

be still... and know...

The need to know His holiness... and who we are before Him... reminds me...

He calls us... into His presence... to be still and know... His holiness...

"Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted on earth!"

Psalm 46:10 ESV

I challenge you today... myself too...

Be still...

This morning... as I asked for a Word today... He directed me to Psalm 65...

Grab your Bible...

perhaps your journal... a pen...

and find a quiet place... to sit...

Ask for your own Word...

or open to Psalm 65...

Sit... read... meditate...

in His presence...

for thirty minutes...

Be still... and know...

Note... 

If you feel led... let us know here... at this table... what you came to know of Him... and His holiness...

Leave a comment... in the comment box...

The comment box can be found by clicking the post title... in the email... or on the blog site... and then scroll to the bottom...

note to self: behold...

"...And behold, I am with you always,

to the end of the age." --- Jesus

Matthew 28:20 ESV

behold... verb... 1: to perceive through sight or apprehension: see 2: to gaze upon: observe

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

Jesus's final words to the disciples...

Behold... I am with you always...!

A truth I need to remind myself of...

He is with me... always... look for Him...

He is currently standing at the right hand of God the Father... in the heavenlies... where we currently can't see...

But He says... Behold...! Look...! I am with you...

How often I forget to look for Him in my day... make no effort to perceive His presence... and consequently miss out on comfort... encouragement... guidance... I might have otherwise received...

Just knowing... He is with me... always... brings solace... if I would just remember... to remember...

So today... I'm making a note to self... Behold...!

What about you...? Do you need to make a note also...?

freeing others to journey...

The primary challenge of life for me these days is parenting adult children.

To watch them struggle and not be able to rescue is pain-full. Heartbreaking.

Reading in the woods... a Kindle by a campfire... I meet one sharing his challenges with a struggling child:

The best thing I could do for her was to stop trying to do anything. ...

The only way she would ever be well again was if and when she freely chose to be. The best I could do as her father was to stand back and give her that freedom even at the risk of her using it to choose for death instead of life. ...

If your daughter is struggling for life in a raging torrent, you do not save her by jumping into the torrent with her, which leads only to your both drowning together. Instead you keep your feet on the dry bank --- you maintain as best you can your own inner peace, the best and strongest of who you are --- and from that solid ground reach out a rescuing hand.

---Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets 

And my mind goes to journeys... and I realize... everyone has to travel their own... find their own way...

In trying to prod my adult children along their journeys, manipulating their course, I reveal my lack of trust in God and His presence with them.

My own journey... becomes derailed... when I'm too focused on someone else's...

I lose joy and peace.

I lose sight of His presence.

The Prodigal God... the One who pours Himself out freely... exemplifies the freeing of adult children to choose...

"There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ...

Luke 15:11-13 ESV

Jesus's parable of the Father... reveals a God who allows each one of us the freedom to do what we will... and He does not interfere... but He is always present... waiting for each to come to the end of self and return...

Today, I feel the ache of the Father's heart in freeing loved ones to journey according to their choices...

The challenge... keeping my feet firmly planted in His presence... standing by... reaching out.... with a rescuing hand... waiting...

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:8 ESV

He's behind it all...

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 present challenge

Receiving... everything... presented... as a present... a gift...

The importance of thought-life... has been recurrent... what we think... how we perceive... events... people... circumstances... in our minds... effects our faith... peace... heart...

A current read... a gift... focuses totally on thought-life...

Jesus gave us His peace (see John 14:27), but He said we must not allow ourselves to be fearful, intimidated and unsettled. In other words, peace is present in us, but it must be chosen over what our fleshly mind thinks. We can choose to be peaceful by choosing to think on thing that promote peace rather than things that open a door for worry and anxiety.

---Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind 

A devotional... read this morning... encouraging right perceptions... of Him...

You are My beloved. Although you experience many difficulties in your life, I shield you all day long. You cannot imagine what your life would be like if I were not protecting you continually. The adversity I do allow you to experience is ultimately for your good and My Glory. You can rest secure by trusting that My protective Presence is with you always, no matter what trials you may be enduring.

---Jesus Lives, by Sarah Young

Knowing Him... as the Great I AM... the purely present God... the One Sovereign over all... nothing happens except what He allows...

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

Lamentations 3:38

And He is good... only good...

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

So the challenge... to train the mind... receive everything presented... by Him... as a present....

faithful assurance

Have you noticed... some places... events... are just more open to God than others? Not that God is more accepted, but that God -- the Spirit-- seems more accessible... more present...

I was at one of those places yesterday... hearing God...

I will take care of it...

Difficult decisions... decisions that set a course for life... not mine but loved one's...

I will take care of it...

Struggling faith... not mine but loved one's...

I will take care of it...

So clear... so loud... so near... all day...

Odd... unsettling to some degree... a call for me to release... let go... let God take care of it...

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 37:4-5

ESV

(emphasis mine)

When was the last time you were in such a place?

How did you know... what did you hear?