seeking silence...

All seems noisy... in my head and heart...

Driving along... listening to an audiobook...
my thoughts interfere... and I can't hear...!

With a few extra minutes...
sitting in the car...
engine running
heater blowing...
rain pattering on the roof...
I sit seeking silence...

Not absence of external noise...
but absence of inner noise...
the silence of a quiet spirit...
is what I seek...
the place where He can be heard...

Finally...
the quiet descends...
heart stills...
spirit opens...
to listen...

How are you at seeking silence lately...? are your thoughts... heart... spirit... too noisy...?

Find a still place...
sit...
be still...
settle into His presence...
listen...

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1 NIV

the wonder of revelation... and seeking Him...

...the mystery was made known to me by revelation...

Ephesians 3:3 ESV

Between the subject of revelation coming up today in the writing for another blog*... and finishing up the series on Psalm 103... I'm left wondering...

You see... the writing that happens these six days a week... just happens...

It's part of my relationship with Him... a call He's put on my heart to experience His daily faithfulness... exercise the gift of teaching... and grow in knowledge of Him...

In the middle of writing the Psalm 103 posts... I was completely humbled by the process... because I approach each day empty... not knowing what's going to be written until it's revealed...

Each time I sit in front of my computer... a blank post page in my face... I wonder... What is going to fill this page...?

The process of going through a specific passage... with a specific purpose... left me feeling like a slacker...

No preparation... no research... or plan... no outline... no certainty of what to share... each time I finished... I wondered... Where did that come from...?

I expect nothing to make sense when I proof... but when re-reading what's written... (yes... a few changes are made...) for the most part... I'm amazed it makes any sense...

Then... I realized... these writings are the fruit of my relationship with Him... 10,000-plus hours spent in His Word... over the last two-plus decades... not because I had to... but because I want to know Him...

Today's writing on revelation for the other blog... brought it all together for me...

...yes, if you call out for insight

and raise your voice for understanding,

if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding...

Proverbs 2:3-6 ESV

Revelation from God... through the Spirit... by faith in Jesus... comes from seeking...

Seeking... the process of spiritual mining for spiritual treasures through... prayer... Bible study... and obedience...

It seems these posts... if there is any understanding or teaching in them... are a blessing from Him... a fruit of seeking...

Wonder of wonders...

I'm left amazed...

I pray each of you who venture to this table... find something to whet your appetite for seeking Him...

Dig into the Word... pray... obey...

Ask for revelation...

He is faithful to reveal...

Amen...

*Note... the post on Growing In Faith at FUMC is scheduled to publish April 19... 2016...

seeking Him... as Bread...

The inspiration came Sunday...
studying His Word with friends...
reading through Amos...

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

Seek Me [inquire for and of Me and require Me

as you require food] and you shall live!

Amos 5:4 Amp

I love the Amplified of this verse...

including the heart of the Hebrew translated seek...

Sharing this with friends... how we are to seek God... daily... as a necessity... as our source of life...

She said... Just think how often we eat...

Her comment impressed... stuck...

so today... I'm remembering He is...

the Bread of Life...

Jesus replied, I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me

will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves

to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more

(at any time).

John 6:35 Amp

The One we are to eat... for Life...

Turning to Him often today...

in prayer...

in praise...

pressing into His promises...

Seeking Him to sustain... fill...

moment by moment...

throughout the day...

Have you sought Him today...? as much have you have sought out food...?

seeking silence...

Seeking silence...
hoping He will fill it...

Needing Him to check my heart...
reveal my motives...

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 of everlasting!

Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

preparing...

A day spent making final preparations... on this Christmas Eve...

The carol... it says...

Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room...

With tasks almost done...
grumpiness trying to creep in...
it's time... to prepare a heart... for joy...

Switching focus...

I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:2

I praise You... O Most High... for stooping low...

Prepare my heart... to fully praise... Your Name...

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thank-full... there's no need to figure it out...

The world says... Figure it out...

All the pressure on us... to make things happen... and find our way...

But God... His way... is not our way...

He says....

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding...

Proverbs 3:5 ESV

He says...

"Ask, and it will be given to you;

seek, and you will find;

knock, and it will be opened to you. ..."

Matthew 7:7 ESV

He reveals... His way... to His people...

Never... (I'm pretty sure... let me know if I'm wrong...) does He say... Figure it out...

He says... Trust Me...

He says... Walk by faith... not by sight...

And faith is... being sure of what we hope for... and certain of what we do not see...

We don't need to see... until... He reveals...

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God,

but the things that are revealed belong to us..."

Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV

He says... 

"Come and see..."

John 1:39 NLT

Thank-full... in Him... there's no need to figure it out...

Because He will reveal... at the proper time...

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade---

kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded 

by God's power until the coming of the salvation

that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Peter 1:3-5

revelation...

revelation... noun... 1 a: an act of revealing or communicating divine truth b: something that is revealed by God to humans 2 a: an act of revealing to view or make known b: something that is revealed especially: an enlightening or astonishing disclosure

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

Revelation... comes in many forms... but it all originates with the Holy Spirit...

When it comes to revelation regarding the Word of God... finding its understanding... and sense... begins with our initiating a search... out of a desire for truth and wisdom...

My son, if you receive my words and 

treasure up my commandments with you, 

making your ear attentive to wisdom 

and inclining your heart to understanding; 

yes, if you call out for insight and 

raise your voice for understanding, 

if you seek it like silver and 

search for it as for hidden treasures, 

then you will understand the fear of the Lord 

and find the knowledge of God. 

For the Lord gives wisdom; 

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding...

Proverbs 2:1-6 ESV

Receiving His Word... treasuring it up... obeying it to the utmost of our faith and understanding... are the first steps toward revelation...

As we are in Scripture... He may draw our attention to a particular passage or word... for some reason we can't get it out of our mind... it catches us...

The Spirit inspires the seeking out of meaning... which leads us to dictionaries... lexicons... and commentaries...

Some of these resources are used by the Spirit to reveal... deeper meaning... understanding... and Ah-ha moments...

We read a Scripture we just don't understand... and can't get past... it sticks... 

When this happens ask Him... What does it mean...? How does this work...? Confess... I don't understand...

Then... maybe that day... or the next... even a week later... or a month... you may find yourself in the midst of a conversation... a circumstance... a situation... where you see that exact Word made flesh... and the Spirit says... See... this is what that means...

Revelation... still comes in dreams... and visions... too...

Our God... He's the same today... as He was yesterday...

He is faithful to those who are faithful...

and He longs for us to draw near...

building relationship... through understanding...

But the only true... wisdom... knowledge... and understanding comes from Him... we can't make sense of it ourselves... or figure it out on our own... 

So seek... ask... be receptive... and revelation... will... come...

"Ask and it will be given to you;

seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives,

and the one who seeks finds,

and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ..."

---Jesus

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV

peace vs security

I read it a few days ago...

Peace is the opposite of security.

  

Bonhoeffer wrote it... I've been wrestling with it... as in... 

Is it true...?

It seems to me... that the two... peace and security... go hand-in-hand... 

Can you have one... without the other...?

Isn't it security... that ensures... peace...?

Over the last couple of days... I've tried to test this supposition of Bonhoeffer's...

And I've seen that... when I strive for security... I have no peace...

Not realizing... that for the most part... my focus is on the possibility of all that can go wrong... whether things will get messy... or expectations go unmet... trying to ensure that life goes smoothly... 

So when I focus on achieving security... my heart is constantly stirred... because He said... In this world you will have trouble... there is no security in this broken world...

Seeking security as a source of peace... is a sure-fire failure... as thirst-fulfilling as a mirage in the Sahara...

Maybe what Bonhoeffer says is true...

Peace is the opposite of security. Demanding security means having mistrust, and this mistrust gives birth again to war. Seeking security means wanting to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself totally to the commandment of God, wanting no security.

---Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You

The war I birth... is one against God... my failure to accept His peace... finds its origin in a heart that mistrusts... the Prince of Peace...

The whole of what Jesus said about trouble in this world was...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!

I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

(emphasis added)

Giving oneself... totally... to the commandment of God... the Word... is to be in Him... where we are granted... peace... not security... but peace...

I think... maybe this is how Esther... said what she said... to her uncle Mordecai... 

"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

Esther 4:16

(emphasis added)

There was no security in approaching the king uninvited... but in this place... of fully resting in the King... she had peace...

Another world-view wall to tackle... dismantle piece by piece... in my faulty thinking...

Lord Jesus... may I only seek peace... and not security... Amen...

things are not always as they appear...

A restless heart... aggravated by various difficulties... and challenges...

None really serious... just feeling their weight...

My spirit most upset with me... and the restlessness... tired of me... struggling to rest... wanting to trust... but feeling out of sorts...

That's when I grab up the Bonhoeffer devotional... Lord... speak to me...

 We all know that there are times in life when we grow tired of ourselves, when we become disgusted with ourselves, when we see all the wretchedness and weakness of our way of life... And it is the blessing of such times that in them there breaks through a longing for the face of God, for seeing God.

---Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I Want to Live These Days with You 

Yes... I know those times... right in the middle of fleshing them out...

God... He says to my restlessness... It's a blessing...

Thoughts go to my morning quiet... praising Him as the One who refines... removes impurities... unwanted material... coarseness...

I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.

Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

Isaiah 48:10 NLT

 suffering... also translated by others as... affliction... adversity...

Refining... it's what I desire... the blessing I seek... a pure heart...

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8

What I see... as a weakness... an aggravation... God... He says... is a blessing... a sign that He's at work... in and through... my life... 

Thank You... Lord... for the aggravation... the restless heart... that drives me to seek Your face... thank You... for revealing Yourself... in a way... that assures... and brings peace...

busy-distracted...

Thoughts run amok...
attitude off kilter...
seeking solace...
soaking in Him...

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I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

I will be filled with joy because of you.

I will sing praises to your name,

O Most High.

Psalm 9:1-2 NLT

plowing on...

Today... plowing away... in my brokenness... with His grace paving the way...

A day full... beginning hectic...
seeking His instruction... on some specific decisions...
trying to listen...
trying not to wrestle too much...
trying to trust... in what I hear...
plowing on...

A realization... at my first stop... I forgot to call ahead to let them know I was coming... thankfully... I was received with grace... a way paved... without the gracious reception... other instructions could not be followed...

Plowing on... I followed the instructions... with a flesh that wanted to question... bringing doubt to the action... reminding me of something Dietrich Bonhoeffer said... in The Cost of Discipleship...

Moral difficulties were the first consequence of the Fall, and are themselves the outcome of "Man in Revolt" against God. The Serpent in Paradise put them into the mind of the first man by asking, "Hath God said?" Until then the divine command had been clear enough, and man was ready to observe it in childlike obedience. But that is now past, and moral doubts and difficulties have crept in. The command, suggests the Serpent, needs to be explained and interpreted. "Hath God said?" Man must decide for himself what is good by using his conscience and his knowledge of good and evil. The commandment may be variously interpreted, and it is God's will that it should be interpreted and explained: for God has given man a free will to decide what he will do.

But this means disobedience from the start. Doubt and reflection take the place of spontaneous obedience.

An insight that illumines the reason behind the difficulty of obedience... a question has been placed in the heart of man... Did God really say?... along with a desire to look for other meaning... one that fits with the flesh... rather than the Spirit... the two who never agree... sorting out... good from evil... wise from foolish... right from wrong...

Even though the issues today were not moral... I sought God's instruction and advice... on things I was unsure of... but my flesh couldn't rest with the counsel I received... there occurred an inner conflict... reason after reason coming to mind on why what I perceived in the spirit would not be a good choice... still I plowed on... learning from past experience that my own understanding... often leads to inconveniences... concerning the details of my life...

By faith... I took the counsel I believed to be His... and after plowing through... there... was... peace...

The instructions of the Lord are perfect,

reviving the soul.

The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

Psalm 19:7 NLT

We know... in moral issues... God's instructions... His Word... is always right... but in the day to day... He is right there too... when we take the time to ask... even the simplest things... become an opportunity to act wisely... if we... will... trust... and... obey... plowing through the doubt... He paves the way... with... grace...

creation speaks...

Angst... the dominant feeling of the day...

An afternoon escape to the porch... seeking... asking...
Speak Lord... I'm listening...

Wind blows...
Birds sing...
Warmth of Spring surrounds...

Calm descends...
a nap overtakes...

A message received...
without a discernible word...

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities

--- his eternal power and divine nature --- 

have been clearly seen, 

being understood from what has been made...

Romans 1:20