10 words till Christmas... light...

Christmas lights line houses and streets...
lighting up the darkness...

Candlelight atop tables... altars...
shine on faces... make them bright...

Light... a Christmas word...

And an angel of the Lord appeared to [the shepherds],

and the glory of the Lord shone around them...

Luke 2:9 ESV

God's glory... it shines like the purest light...

His light filled the shepherd's field...

a glory announcing the birth of Light... in a dark world...

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 1:4 ESV

The wise men... magi... saw the star...

a light shining in the night skies...

...wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."

Matthew 2:1-2 ESV

Light... makes the way for you to see where you are going...

the light of the star guided the wise men to Jesus... the King...

Light... it's what Jesus came to bring...

light to a dark world... trapped in sin...

light to find the way out... the way back to Him...

light to bring knowledge... of the glory of God...

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him,

yet the world did not know him.

John 1:9-10 ESV

Light came into the world...

but not all have eyes to see...

or hearts to receive...

But for those who do...

we become His lights...

to show others the Way...

Where do you need light in your life today...?

or to whom do you need to be light...?

Light... an Advent word... a word of Christmas...

...the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned."

Matthew 4:16 ESV

learning to rest... in His way... not mine...

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

His way... it's hardly ever the way we would do things...

and at times... it's a struggle to rest in His way...

I see the tears...

hear the crack in the voice...

feel my own frustration...

of those...and me... trying to trust in His way...

rest in what He's up to...

He tells us plainly...

My thoughts... are not yours...

My ways... are not yours...

I'm greater...

So why are we surprised...?

when things don't go our way...?

the way we think they should...?

Really... it's time to rest...

rest in His sovereignty...

His love...

His way which is so much higher... greater...

trusting Him... to fulfill what He promises...

in His time... and His way...

It's a lesson for a lifetime...

learning to trust... in His way...

not mine...

rest in His way...

Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

I ask Him to order my days...
and I've noticed how He has begun to answer...
a new way to keep up with an ongoing ministry...
uncanny timeliness...
in phone calls... and tasks...
needs being met without asking or seeking...

I recognize His hand in it all...
but still I struggle at times...
to rest in His way...

When the day has gone long...
and there are still words to write...
and dinner to prepare...
and loved ones to love...

I remind self...
Rest in His way...
allow Him to order...
and don't fret...

Words come...
others start dinner...
time to connect remains...

How easily I forget His faithfulness...
to answer prayer...
and order a day...
His Way...

Amen...

rest... the way of salvation...

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,

"In returning and rest you shall be saved;

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."

But you were unwilling...

Isaiah 30:15 ESV

Rest... it's the way of salvation...

Returning to Him through repentance...

recognizing there is no way to save ourselves...

resting in His work... His way... His Word...

is the way we are saved...

But we... won't... have it...

For the most part... mankind is unwilling...

we should be able to work things out ourselves...

in our own strength...

our own righteousness...

our own way...

Pride refuses to let us rest... and be saved...

But He tells us...

In returning... and rest... you shall be saved...

There is no other way...

wait on Him... Psalm 25:4-5...

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 25:4-5 ESV

The God of our salvation...

He is the One worth waiting on...

He makes known His ways... 

teaches His paths...

leads us in truth...

Wait on Him...

with a teachable heart...

and you won't be led astray...

lean on Him... Psalm 91:1-6...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Psalm 91:1-6 ESV

I've got your back...

it's a popular saying these days...

one that encourage trust... strength...

This psalmist tells us...

when we live God's way...

He's got our back...

The shadow of the Almighty...

looms large behind us... over us...

Do you see it...?

Us moving forward... trusting Him...

knowing He's got our back...

His shadow falling over...

lengthening beyond us...

In this place of trust...

following His way...

there is no need to fear...

the snare of the enemy...

the terrors of the night...

the threats of the day...

But there is a place...

we can wander...

out from under His shadow...

away from His way...

living in the world...

instead of His Word...

this is a deadly place... 

a place we don't want to be...

Stay near... under His shadow...

for whoever lives hidden in Him...

remains in the shadow of His strength...

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind
on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:1-3 ESV

lean on Him... Psalm 37:5...

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 37:5 ESV

Commit. The Hebrew here literally means... roll on...

Way. This way means... manner... habit... course of life...

So... if we roll our course of life onto Him...

trust Him in all our ways...

He will act...

Trusting Him brings His active power into our lives...

but this trust requires committing all our ways to Him...

I think about this verse often when I'm struggling with an emotional issue in my life... you know those relational issues... angst over loved ones...

I roll it on to Him...

give it to Him...

but the next thing I know... it's rolling around in my mind again...

I've taken it back...

Often I roll things onto Him multiple times a day...

but that is not the way to be...

The new way I want to live...

is leaning on Him in all my ways...

not just the things that cause angst...

or the things that challenge me beyond my limits...

but everything...

My entire way...

I want to see Him act on my behalf each and every day...

in multiple ways...

because I trust in Him...

Trust Him with it all...

and watch Him work...

Amen...

living His Way...

When living His Way... everything is His...
all lived through His perspective... His truth...

Conversations with adult children...
those who believe... but still finding their way...
reveals how easily we compartmentalize...

Living most of life...
finding our way in secular society...
makes it hard to see His Way in everything...
but that's what His Way calls us to...

The Jesus Way... talks about the role of prophets... in helping us find His Way...

One of the bad habits that we pick up early in our lives is separating things and people into secular and sacred. We assume that the secular is what we are more or less in charge of: our jobs, our time, our money, our opinions, our entertainment, our government, our house and land, our social relations. The sacred is what God has charge of: worship and the Bible, heaven and hell, church and prayers. We then contrive to set aside a sacred place for God, designed, we say, to honor God but really intended to keep God in his place, leaving us free to have the final say in everything else that goes on outside that space.

Prophets will have none of this. They hold that everything, absolutely everything, takes place on sacred ground. God has something to say about every aspect of our lives, the way we feel and act in the so-called privacy of our hearts and homes, the way we make our money and the way we spend it, the politics we embrace, the wars we fight, the catastrophes we endure, the people we hurt and the people we help. Nothing is hid from the scrutiny of God; nothing is exempt from the rule of God; nothing escapes the purposes of God. The ground is holy; people are holy; words are holy: Holy, holy, holy. 

--- Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way 

And I see myself in this role...
a prophet to my adult children...
helping them see His Way...
in all their ways...

Try to open their eyes...
to His Way...
in their way...

Try to reveal all... is... holy ground... when we live... His Way...

But as the One who called you is holy,

you also are to be holy in all your conduct...

1 Peter 1:15 HCSB

a day preparing...

A day preparing... for a time away...
making sure things are left in order...
and nothing needed left behind...

Preparing takes energy... thought... intention...

I think of Him... and all He has prepared for us...

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Psalm 23:5 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

"... Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father,

inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ..."

Matthew 25:24 ESV

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:16 ESV

"... In my Father's house are many rooms; it if were not so,

I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you..."

John 4:2

He prepared a Way for us to return to Him... 

His Kingdom... 

His House... 

His table...

He prepares... what we can never imagine...

"What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived"---

the things God has prepared for those who love him...

1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV

In His infinite power... strength... will...

He prepares a place for us...

Thank You... Lord... for all the preparations You've made for us...

Thank You... Lord... for drawing my attention to You...

through my own preparations...

who are you following...?

The Jesus Way has me thinking about those who say they follow Him... but their lives... their way... are at odds with His Word... His Way...

I cannot follow Jesus any which way I like. My following must be consonant with his leading. ...

More often than not I find my Christian brothers and sisters uncritically embracing the ways and means practiced by the high-profile men and women who lead large corporations, congregations, nations and causes, people who show us how to make money, win wars, manage people, sell products, manipulate emotions, and who then write books or give lectures telling us how we can do what they are doing. But these ways and means more often than not violate the ways of Jesus. ... Doesn't anybody notice that the ways and means taken up, often enthusiastically, are blasphemously at odds with the way Jesus leads his followers? Why doesn't anyone notice?

---Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

And I answer Peterson's question...

Because they don't know His Way... they don't know Him...

Jesus's response to those who "follow" Him their way... comes to mind...

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven,

but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day

many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,

and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'

And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me,

you workers of lawlessness.' ..."

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

These are the scariest words in the Bible to me...

and drive me to pray... listen...

read His Word... seek revelation...

long to do life His Way... not mine...

Jesus goes on to say... not missing a beat...

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them

will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell,

and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house,

but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them

will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell,

and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house,

and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

In Sunday School once... a member of the class shared a story of a friend who left the Christian faith because of a storm in his life... 

As I listened to the account... this story of wise and foolish builders came to mind... those who built lives on the Rock... and those on the sand... and I had an epiphany...

Those who fall away from Him... who do not stand firm in the storm... have built their life... on a god of their own making... and not on the Rock... the Living God...

Followers of Jesus... who know Him... know His Way...

are not shaken in the storm... they do not do life their own way...

they do life His Way...

So I wonder today... Who are you following...?

I asked a similar question here recently...

but  it's one to give serious thought to...

Does your life match up with His Way... His Word...

or the world's way...?

The test is the storm...

we will all face one at one time or another...

you probably already have...

How did your faith fare...?

Was it devastated...? or stand firm...?

This will help you identify who you've been following...

Check your heart now... before you see Him face to face...

we have such a capacity for self-deception...

Ask Him to reveal the truth of who you are following...

and be prepared to receive what He has to say...

He is the way... is He yours...?

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me. ..."

John 14:6 ESV

The Jesus Way

by Eugene Peterson

Way: a simple noun designating a road that leads to a destination, but then opening up as a metaphor that ramifies into many and various "ways"--- not only the way we go, as in the route we take, but the way we go on the way whether by foot or bike or automobile. The way we talk, the way we use our influence, the way we treat one another, the way we raise our children, the way we read, the way we worship, the way we vote, the way we garden, the way we ski, the way we feel, the way we eat.... And on and on, endlessly, the various and accumulated "ways and means" that characterize our way of life.

---Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

Jesus is the Way...
The destination... the Father...
There is no other way...

Peterson says... if Jesus is our way... then no part of our life will go unaffected... unchanged...

What is your way...? is it Jesus...?

How do we know what His Way is...?

We find out His Way... in His Word...
He is the Word made flesh...
He shows us the way to live it out...

But if we don't know His Word...
how will we know His Way...?

I started The Jesus Way a couple of days ago...
it's been sitting on my shelf for years...
but it caught my attention...
it must be time to read it...

The church... for the most part... doesn't seem to be following Him... or give much credence to His Word of late... it's made me wonder... What way are they going...?

He alone is the way to truth... to life... to the Father...

Me...? I want His Way...
What about you...?

Father God... use this read... and Your Word...

to help me learn... and follow...

the Jesus Way...

Amen...

wondering at His ways...

For those who trust Him... step out in faith... follow the leading of the Spirit... wherever He blows... God makes the way...

In my own life... He led me to be prepared... for something I didn't know was coming... but He knew... and as I obeyed... not knowing why... He made the way for me to handle what came... a health issue requiring a radical lifestyle change...

I see it in the life of a friend... stepping out deeper in her relationship with Him... trusting Him in obedience... He makes the way... provides what's needed... as He expands the influence of ministry in her life...

And in the life of a loved one... she too... stepping out into unknown waters... just because she hears Him calling... and yes... with each step of faith... He is providing the way...

When we embrace Him... understand our lack of vision when it comes to the future... and trust Him... obey Him... He will prepare the way for what is ahead... He knows...

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground. 

These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16 ESV

This life is about getting to know Him by faith... because that's what pleases Him...

... without faith it is impossible to please him,

for whoever would draw near to God must believe

that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

...and blesses us...

Then Jesus told [Thomas], 

"Because you have seen me, you have believed;

blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

John 20:27

Yes... this evening... I'm wondering... in awe and amazement and joy... at His ways...

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

Psalm 72:18-19 ESV

waking dreams... a landslide...

This morning's waking dream... a landslide... bringing down masses of mud... dirt...

Horses... large beasts... people... unable to get a foothold...
No out running it... only succumbing to its power...
Buried in mounds of mud...

Standing on a tree-strewn road... I watched...
Cars stopped... others pacing... looking on...
but no one could do anything to help those caught in the slide...

The visions linger... press... disturb...
so I ask Him if it has meaning...

The thought comes to mind...

The danger of ascending a slippery slope

is that it eventually turns into a landslide.

Seeking His Word... regarding shifting ground... I find...

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven...

Colossians 1:21-23 ESV

And you... 

He has reconciled... 

in order to present you holy and blameless... 

if indeed you continue in the faith... stable and steadfast...

not shifting...

What causes shifting... from faith...?

Compromise...

Doubt...

Pessimism...

Leaning on your own understanding...

These are some things... which cause instability... 

Things I struggle with...

Maybe you could add more...

I think back again on the dream... 

Even though the slide was happening on the hillside right next to the road I was standing on... it was stable... firm...

Others standing with me... had no fear of getting buried... there seemed to be no need to run...

But the watching of the disaster... stirred me to pray for those on the slope... and those with me... clearly distressed by what they saw...

A verse comes to mind as I consider the road in the dream...

And a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

Isaiah 35:8

His Way... a highway... the Way of Holiness...

the way of faith... stable... steadfast...

no shifting...

Lord... keep me on the Way...

Show me where I may be shifting today...

through compromise... doubt... pessimism...

or leaning on my own understanding...

If this is a warning for me... Amen...

If it is a message for another...

bless me with the boldness... and grace...

to share it...

Thy paths drop fatness...

...thy paths drop fatness.

Psalm 65:11 KJV

An interesting verse I came across in a Charles Spurgeon devotional... 

Thy paths... drop... fatness...

These words sent me to seek out other translations... 

...your carts overflow with abundance.

NIV84

...even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

NLT

...your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

ESV

...Your paths drip fatness.

NASB95

...your wagon tracks overflow with richness.

NRSV

...Your ways overflow with plenty.

HCSB

Finding such variations... I went to the Hebrew lexicons...

The words translated... paths... carts... hard pathways... wagon tracks... ways... come from the Hebrew word... ma'gal...

ma'gal... entrenchment, track...

 --- Enhanced Strong's Lexicon

...direction in life, teaching, formally, rutted path, i.e., verbal teaching as a figurative extension of a well-worn path... life, course of life, formally, path, i.e., the way one conducts oneself in life as a figurative extension of a well-worn path... path ruts, wheel tracks, i.e., grooves in a dirt path as a condition of being often used by carts... note: the picture is one of so much being on a cart it spills off onto the ground into the wheel tracks

---Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains 

Stick with me here...

The word translated... drop... overflow... drip... comes from the Hebrew... ra'aph...

...to trickle, drip...

---Enhanced Strong's Lexicon

...drop, fall, drip, i.e., the movement of liquid from the sky as a gentle, healthy, non-destructive rain... cause to rain... overflow, i.e., be in a state of great plenty...

--- Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains 

And the final word... with translations... fatness... abundance... richness... plenty...

deshen... fat ashes, fatness... of fertility... of blessing...

---Enhanced Strong's Lexicon

...choice produce, i.e., what is produced and choice for consumption... fatty ashes, i.e., the burned wood of the altar fire soaked or mixed with fat of the animal sacrifice...

 --- Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains

Thy paths... drip... fatness...

His Way... overflows... with blessing... fruitfulness...
His Way... makes tracks... ruts... it can be followed...
His Way... is unchanging...

And I think about His Way... overflowing with abundance... even filling the tracks of the path... wondering... at its fruitfulness...

Then the Word it comes... as to the reason... for the abundance... of His Way...

For as the rain and snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout, 

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV

His Word... never returns empty...

His Way... always fruitful...

His purpose... always accomplished...

Thy paths... drip... fatness...

Lord... keep me in Your path...

it is a rut... in which I long to be stuck...

Your way... is not my way...

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

Lord... let me never forget... my ways... are not... Your ways...

Keep me open to Your way... in thought... word... and deed...

Don't allow me to be so set in my own expectations... and understandings... that I miss Your way altogether...

Above all else... I desire... Your... Way... not... mine...

Jesus said...

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ..."

John 14:6 ESV

the path...

The path...
the narrow path... leading to life...
Are you on it...?

How would you know if you were...?

I believe we step onto the path...
by choosing Him as Lord...
dying to self... and our own desires...
and living for Him... alone...

The narrow path...
it's a path of worship... devotion... obedience...

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,

present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and 

acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:1 ESV

It's life in the Word...
eating it...
living it...
making it flesh...

Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,

what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2 ESV

What path are you on...?

There is another...
a broad one... leading to death... destruction...

At first it seems like the easy way... but in the end...

"The wrong paths seem to always look easier, and will tempt us to try to escape our difficulties and trials. They may, in fact, be easier for a time, but then they will get much harder than the true path. They ultimately lead to traps and entanglements that few ever get free of, if they do not turn back quickly and get back on the right path. ...

"If you get on a wrong path, it will lead you away from Him. The joy and peace of the Lord will be replaced by confusion and darkness ... The wrong path gets darker and leads to increasing confusion. Confusion leads to depression and ultimately despair and death. ..."

---Rick Joyner, The Path  

Don't be deceived...

His Word is life...

His Way is life...

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate

and broad is the road that leads to destruction, 

and many enter through it. 

But small is the gate and narrow the road

that leads to life, and only a few find it. ..."

---Jesus

Matthew 7:13-14

Make sure you're on... the path...

thankful for His wisdom...

...the wise heart will know the proper time

and the just way.

Ecclesiastes 8:5 ESV

Thankful for His wisdom... His timing... and His just way...

I know I have none of these... wisdom... timing... or justice... except by His grace...

By faith... I exercised these three attributes of His today... 

relying on His guidance... direction... 

and not my own understanding...

Resting... and waiting... in peace...

because I trusted Him... 

and not me...

For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

guarding the paths of justice

and watching over the way of his saints.

Proverbs 2:6-8 ESV

Lord Jesus... only by Your loving mercy... and sacrifice... can I be considered upright... a woman of integrity... or one of Your saints... Thank You... Thank You... Thank You... for Your blessing of faith... and peace...

a lesson on worship

What have you learned about worship from your reading of Luke?

---William H. Willimon, Making Disciples: Mentor's Guide 

An exercise... in preparation for confirmation... mentoring a student... on worship...

Just nine chapters into Luke... and I wonder... What have I learned...?

Or really... reviewing my Luke Journal... I see what can be learned...

And I find God worthy of worship...

For with God nothing is ever impossible

and no word from God shall be without power

or impossible of fulfillment.

Luke 1:37 Amp

Also... those who worship... they follow... seek to get near...

And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him...

Luke 6:19 Amp

But the thing that really caught my attention... 

hearts must be prepared... 

And all the people who heard Him, even the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God [in calling them to repentance and in pronouncing future wrath on the impenitent], being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and the lawyers [of the Mosaic Law] annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God's purpose concerning themselves, by [refusing and ] not being baptized by John.

Luke 7:29-30 Amp

John... the Baptizer... came to prepare the way for the Lord... offering a baptism of repentance... and forgiveness... a preparation of hearts... to receive... and believe... and worship... the Messiah...

And I see... those who do not embrace their need... their wretchedness... their sin... will never worship... Him...

Acknowledgement of sin... the key to worship...

Accepting the impossibility... of self-salvation... required... for worship...

And I realize... no amount of teaching... or knowledge... can inspire one to worship Him... just look at the Pharisees... much knowledge... but He just filled them with murderous indignation... not songs of praise...

Self-righteousness... self-help... self-discipline... all useless... when it comes to preparing a heart for Him... only Truth... and Light... can make the Way... for worship...

Prepare the way for the Lord, make His beaten paths straight.

...

And all mankind shall see (behold and understand and at last acknowledge) the salvation of God...

Luke 3:4, 6 Amp

hard hat required...

Prepare the way for the Lord,

make His beaten paths straight.

Every valley and ravine shall be filled up,

and every mountain and hill shall be leveled;

and the crooked places shall be made straight,

and the rough roads shall be made smooth...

Luke 3:4-5 Amp

Preparing the way of holiness... the paving of the journey... continues to come up in my readings...

And I think... about preparing my own way... I see a lot of work that needs to be done... heavy work... road construction...

How much work is involved to fill a valley... or a ravine...? That's a lot of shoveling...

Leveling mountains...? is this where we get the filler...?

Straightening crooked places... requires cutting new paths... forging a new way...

Smoothing rough roads... the detail work... may require continual maintenance...

The potential for landslides... and avalanches... is great...

And I see John... out in the wilderness... preparing the way... not only for himself (through his obedience to God's call)... but for others... preaching...

Some gratefully receive...

Some harangue and harass... 

Perhaps this road construction... preparing the way of hearts... requires a hard hat...

I think about Ezekiel... whom God blessed with a hard head... to go along with his call... to a rebellious people...

I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock!

Ezekiel 3:9 NLT

Speaking truth... is dangerous... risky... and may require a hard head.... but it cannot be done... with a hard heart...

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV

So if you're feeling called to speak truth... prepare the way for the Lord... in the life of a loved-one... family member... friend... co-worker... be sure to put on your hard hat... the helmet of salvation... or pray for a hard head... but be tenderhearted... kind... compassionate...

This is the Way... we all grow... as we journey together... making the way... for Him...

[Apologies... for having forgotten to include the readings for The Journey on yesterday's post... ]

This week's readings... for The Journey...

Monday             John 9

Tuesday             John 10

Wednesday        John 11:1-44

Thursday            John 11:45 - 12:26

Friday                John 12:27 - 13:20

one way... not one thing...

I don't believe there is one great thing I was made to do in this world. I believe there is one great God I was made to glorify. And there will be many ways, even a million little ways, I will declare his glory with my life.

---Emily P Freeman, A Million Little Ways

And yes... I believe there are a million little ways for me to glorify God... each day... but this book... this author... goes on to talk about our desires... as part of what we were created to do...

She says... what we want to do... is what we were meant to do...

Could it be possible that the thing you most long for, the thing you notice and think about and wish you could do, is the thing you were actually made and are being equipped to do?

Could it also be possible that somewhere along the way you got the message that to follow desire would be selfish, when really, it would be the opposite?

---Emily P Freeman, A Million Little Ways

This thought... it challenges... and yes... I wrestle with desire... wondering if what I want to do... is really what I am supposed to do... is it what He wants me to do... not just what I want to do...?

And I've wrestled with choices... even though I know...

...it is God who works in you to will and to act

according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:13

Other translations actually use the word desire... in place of will... 

So... perhaps... He does work within our will... desires... because He put them there in the first place... knit them into our being...

And I've wrestled with a verse... working to make it say something different than it does...

Whether you turn to the right or to the left,

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,

"This is the way; walk in it."

Isaiah 30:21 NIV

I want the voice to say... Turn right here... no... left there... but it says... This is the way... whether I turn right... or left...?

The understanding I believe He is beginning to reveal... as I learn about this journey... is that my choice... of right or left... the direction I choose... the desire I pursue... isn't what matters most... it's the way... I walk in it...

There is a freedom here... in this journeying... that I've never really felt before... the freedom to pursue... my desire... 

Could it be true...?

Our desires... they have a tendency to be perverted... by sin... our hearts called deceitful above all things... how can we trust our desires...?

I believe... we are called to trust Him... and once we have surrendered our lives... taken His crucifixion as our own... He gives us a new heart... and as long as we focus on Him... abide in His Word... and His Way... our desires... will be in line with His...

So the lesson I hear... take hold of...

No matter whether you...

write or illustrate...

bake or bank...

teach or sell...

dance or march...

doctor or firefight...

build or demolish...

whatever you desire... do it His Way... the One Way...

Either way we turn... right or left... there is only One Way to follow... the Way of Holiness... and His voice will guide us... saying... This is the way... walk in it...

And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness;

it will be for those who walk in that Way.

Isaiah 35:8 NIV