wait on Him... 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10...

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you

in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth

everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception

we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols

to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven,

whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 ESV

Paul commended the faith of the church at Thessalonica... 

the Word of the Lord sounded forth from them...

they turned from idols... to serve the living God...

and waited... for Jesus to return...

How faithful are you...? according to these parameters...?

Does the Word of the Lord sound forth from your life...? in speech...? in action...?

Who are you serving...? idols...? or the true and living God...?

What are you waiting for...?

Waiting on Him to return...

sharing His Word...

serving Him...

this is faith...

The Journey Readings: Week 146... and... the abundance of His heart...

The gospel of Luke... like the others... reveals Jesus...
Son of God...
Redeemer... Savior... Deliverer...
Good News of great joy...
Light to the Gentiles... Glory to the Jews...
fulfillment of Scripture...
Healer of spiritual and physical disease...

Recently... Sister Talk taught... Jesus--God Incarnate...
during the preparation... we received a revelation...
regarding the Word made flesh...

Jesus... in His sermon on the mount...
taught about good trees... bad trees... and the fruit they bear...
a metaphor for people... and their works...

"...The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good,

and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil,

for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ..."

Luke 6:45 ESV

Man created in His image...
speaks... produces... out of the abundance... overflow... of his heart...
therefore... God too... speaks... from the abundance of His heart...

He is love...
the Word He speaks is Love...
Light...
Purity...
Righteousness...
Justice...
Mercy...
Compassion...
Truth...

The Word He speaks... is Jesus...

Jesus... the overflow of God's love for His creation...
the gospels reveal this Word of love through Jesus's... healings... teachings... truth... sacrifice... forgiveness... mercy...

Have you let His heart... overflow into yours...?

Read along through Luke... just see... what abundance is found... in His heart... for you...

This week's readings...
Monday               Luke 7:1-35
Tuesday               Luke 7:35 - 8:18
Wednesday          Luke 8:19-56
Thursday             Luke 9:1-43
Friday                  Luke 9:44 - 10:20

wait on Him... Isaiah 25:8-9...

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away

from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God;

we have waited for him, that he might save us.

This is the Lord; we have waited for him;

let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

Isaiah 25:8-9 ESV

What do these verses tell us about waiting on Him...?

He is worth the wait...!

He will swallow up death FOREVER...!

He will wipe away tears from ALL faces...

He will take away the reproach... the disgrace... of His people...

We know this because... He... has... spoken...

"For as the rain and the 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 of my mouth; it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

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

Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV

Just as surely as the rain causes crops to grow...

and the watchmen know the sun will rise...

we can know... He will... do what He says...

The One on whom we wait... will save us...

Behold...! His Word is sure...

rejoice in the waiting...

be glad during the delays...

because... He... will...

selfish...

A gracious... beautiful... sister in Christ...
one coming to the study being birthed...
looked at me... tear-stained face... and said...
Thank you... for spending so much time in God's Word...
and your hours of study...

My answer came so quick... it even stunned me...
Don't thank me... it's pure selfishness...!

My time in God's Word is purely selfish...
I want Him... I want to know Him...
I want all of Him... poured right in me...

There have been moments at the end of a time in His Word...
when my flesh can sit no longer... my poor finite brain full...
but I still hunger... my spirit willing... my body weak...
and I take my open Bible... place it on my head... praying...
Lord... I want all of it... all Your word... pour it in me...

I know I can't live without Him...
I want to follow Him... be near Him...
walk His Way...

Yes... I'm so grateful... He's pushed me to share...
to see others gain healing... insight... from what I've gleaned...
wandering through the fields of His Word... selfishly...

Maybe I'm a bit like Ruth...
walking through His Word...
gleaning what's there...
a poor widow...
nothing to give...
only taking...

Yes... time in His Word...
selfish...
needed...
so I might live...

"Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word

that comes from the mouth of God."

Matthew 4:4 ESV

full day... full heart...

A full day...
in His presence...
serving Him...
sharing what He's done in me...
encouraging another with His Word...
leaves me with a full heart...

So full... there aren't really words...
humbled... blessed... filled with thanks...

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16 ESV

Think I covered all this today... 

except for the singing...

so here we go...

[email subscribers... click here to sing along... or click the post title to view on Jeremiah's Menu...]

and here's another...

[email subscribers... ditto above... click here or post title...]

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...

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...

The Journey Readings: Week 120... and... two ways to disobey...

In The Journey readings through Jeremiah this last week... we saw two kings dealing with God's Word in two different way... both reflect hearts of total disobedience...

King Jehoiakim... completely open about his rebellion to and rejection of God's Word...

As he listened to Jeremiah's book of prophecy read to him... he'd stop every so often... cut the piece out of the scroll... and throw it into the fire...

Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it

from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi

read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside

the king. It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting

in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the

fire pot, before him. As Jehudi read three or four columns,

the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them

into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed

in the fire that was in the fire pot. Yet neither the king nor

any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid,

nor did they tear their garments. Even when Elnathan

and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn

the scroll, he would not listen to them.

Jeremiah 36:21-25 ESV

After the reading was finished... the book completely burned... he sent men to arrest both the prophet and the scribe who helped him...

King Jehoiachim... had no fear of the Lord...

King Zedekiah... he approached Jeremiah multiple times... both openly and secretly... asking for intercession and seeking what God had to say...

Yet... he took God's Word... as one of many options... if it didn't sound good to him... or didn't meet with his understanding of the situation... he rejected it...

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him

at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said

to Jeremiah, "I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me."

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,

"If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death?

And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me."

Jeremiah 38:14-15 ESV

King Zedekiah... feared man... more than God...

One openly rebellious. One diplomatic.

Both completely disobedient.

There is only one way to receive God's Word... as what it is... God's Word...

He is... and has... the final Word.

How do you handle God's Word...?

Do you openly reject it...? rebel against it...? see it as a book written by men...?

Do you deceive yourself...? constantly consulting...? but only taking what sounds good...?

Or... do you actually receive it as what it is...? God's Word to obey...?

I've invited you many times in these writings to join The Journey...

today... I ask you to be discerning... 

If you have no intention of obeying what you read...

honestly wrestling with it... as God's Word...

don't... read... it...

Disobedience to His Word... hardens your heart... once you know what His Word is...

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it,

for him it is sin.

James 4:14 ESV

This week's readings...

Monday                     Jeremiah 41-42

Tuesday                     Jeremiah 43-44

Wednesday                Jeremiah 45-47

Thursday                   Jeremiah 48

Friday                        Jeremiah 49

His Word... defining my day...

His Word... defining my day...

Do everything without complaining or arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure...

Philippians 2:14

Temptation abounds... when it comes to complaining...

I think it's one of our favorite pastimes...

but to complain... is to be ungrateful...

to complain... denies He is good...

when ALL things come through His sovereign hands...

And God is able to make all grace abound to you,

so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,

you may abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

He is able... to make grace abound in us...

even when others are ungracious...

because we received from Him... grace upon grace...

we should give... pour out... grace upon grace... to others...

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing

to God --- this is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:1

Offering... an act of worship...

lived out... teaching fourth grade Bible today...

every moment of our life...

should be approached as an offering to Him...

not to please self... but Him...

because of His incredible mercies...

"Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"

Psalm 46:10 ESV

Ending the day... defined by His Word...

being still... knowing... He is...

no matter how I failed...

or others failed me...

He will be exalted...

Amen...

What Word defined your day...?

loving His Word...

His Word... I find myself in it constantly...
and I LOVE it...

I love that every ministry He calls me to...
leaves me steeping in His Word...
prayer ministry... seeking what He desires to be prayed...
leading Bible study... seeking what He wants to share...
teaching Sunday School... guiding a class through the Bible in 3 years...
writing devos for blogs... finding His Word made flesh...

This morning preparing a prayer journal for publication...
just the reading through... editing... proofing...
stirred my heart with joy... praise... worship...
as I read... and reread... His Word...

Loving His Word...
is loving Him...

By His grace...
I find myself...
living out His Word...

I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks

to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.

Psalm 138:2 ESV

Where is He calling you into His Word...?

His Word... living and active...

It was said in class a few weeks ago... I thought I only needed to read through the Bible once... but now I see differently...

When we read God's Word through the blood of Jesus...
by the power of the Holy Spirit...
and the grace of Father God...
we see things differently...

His Word... Scripture... is not just a book...
it is not words written by mere men...
it is the Breath of God... revealed by the Holy Spirit...
to obedient men of faith who recorded what He had to say...

His Word is living and active...
the Spirit knows what we need when we need it...
He knows when our spirits are mature enough to receive a new understanding...
He knows when we're listening... or when we are just going through the motions...

For the word of God is living and active,

sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,

of joints and of marrow, and discerning

the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

He is the Word...
He speaks through creation...
He speaks through Scripture...
through teachers... and prophets...
He even sent the Word made flesh...

"This is my beloved Son, listen to him."

Mark 9:7 ESV

God promises to speak to His people...
He has... and continues to...
if you will take time to listen...

He has something to say to you...

Ask Him to speak to you...
through His living... active... Word...
let Him breathe life into you...

[email subscribers... click here to view Word of God Speak on You Tube... or click the post title to view on Jeremiah's Menu...]

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...

The Journey Readings: Week 110... and His Word is light...

"Son of man, have you seen what the elders

of the house of Israel are doing in the dark,

each in his room of pictures? For they say,

'The Lord does not see us, 

the Lord has forsaken the land.'"

Ezekiel 8:12 ESV

God took Ezekiel by the hair...

carried him from Babylonia...

back to Jerusalem...

where He showed Ezekiel...

the depth of the sin of the Jewish leaders...

The leaders of Jerusalem...

had left behind God's Word... long ago...

misplaced it... ignored it... traded it for lies...

Without God's Word...

we end up in the dark...

doing abominable things...

in hidden places...

The leaders left behind in the suffering city of God...

believed He had abandoned them...

forsaken them...

They believed they were hidden from His sight...

Had they known His Word...

been familiar with His law...

as they were called to be...

they would recognize... 

the consequences of disobedience...

They would see His hand...

in all their troubles...

Without His Word...

we know only darkness...

we run to the dark...

A hymn in worship...

reminds what we need...

Send forth Your Word... Lord...

Let there be light...

--- Shine Jesus Shine

His Word brings light...

where before there was only darkness...

His Word shines on the Way...

where before we stumbled and fell...

His Word is light...

it's what we need to see...

to find our way...

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105 ESV

Without it... we are lost... in the dark...

This week's readings...

Monday                   Ezekiel 17

Tuesday                   Ezekiel 18-19

Wednesday              Ezekiel 20

Thursday                 Ezekiel 21

Friday                      Ezekiel 22

inspiration...

Inspiration... a word echoing through my thoughts of late...
a word with double meaning...

inspiration noun... 1 a: a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation b: the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions... 2:  the act of drawing in; specifically: the drawing of air into the lungs ... 

---www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inspiration

The reading through of 2 Timothy brings it to mind...

 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching,

for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness,

that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

Scripture...

the Word... 

breathed out by God...

the place we find inspiration... 

for life...

Do you see it...?

He breathes it out...

we breathe it in...

inspiration...

We breathe in His breath when we spend time in His Word... meditating by the power of the Holy Spirit...

He breathes out...

we breathe in...

inspiration...

His Word gives us life...

like the air we breathe...

in... out...

The difference...?

His Word...

breathed in...

gives eternal life...

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;

whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life...

John 3:36 ESV

Breathe Him in...

live life...

inspired...

Father God... let me feel Your breath...

breathing out Your Word... in my life...

a picture of joy...

He said it two days ago...
Mom... I've got to show you this video...

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

The word that came to mind as I smiled and watched...

JOY...!

This giant panda at the National Zoo in Washington DC...
is a picture of joy...
pure joy...

I haven't been able to get it out of my mind...
and I watched it again today...
wondering... Where do I experience that kind of joy...?

Then it hit me...
this panda... rolling... rubbing... rolicking...
is a physical picture of the spiritual joy I feel...
spending time in His Word...
when He is so present... I can hardly stand it...

It's the Word that forms the foundation of this blog...
of what happens here...

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

(emphasis added)

I pray you find joy in His Word...

the kind that makes you want to rub your Bible on your head...

wishing with all your might... you could just pour it right in you...

For those who bear His name... His character...

His Word... is... their... heart's... delight...

the language of prayer...

Today... a couple of conversations centered on prayer... reminded me of the language of prayer...

Scripture... through the power of the Holy Spirit... reveals God to us... and through this knowledge... we begin to build relationship with our Creator...

The conversation on which the relationship is based is called prayer... and the primary language of prayer is Scripture...

The knowledge of God for instinctive prayer comes intuitively and generally through nature (Romans 1:20). What Christians know about God comes with verbal specificity through the words of the Scripture and its main message --- the gospel. In the Bible, God's living Word, we can hear God speaking to us and we respond in prayer, though we should not call this simply a "response." Through the Word and Spirit, prayer becomes answering God --- a full conversation.

---Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

My own experience has taught me the importance of Scripture in prayer...
He answers me with Scripture... or accounts from the Bible...
He directs me to pray His Word for others...
He challenges me... as I prayerfully read His Word...
and Scripture prompts me to question Him...

I shared Keller's take on the link between prayer and Scripture with one... then later... a friend recounted her conversation with God that affirmed this truth...

She was questioning an action she felt God leading her to take... and He responded by bringing to mind one of Jesus's encounters in the Word... revealing the heart of what He was doing... reaching out to the lost... and convicting her in the process...

He speaks to us through His Word...
Scripture...
the primary language of prayer...

I truly believe... and have experienced... an intimate relationship with God... animated conversations... active prayer life... is only possible... by steeping in His Word...

Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.

---Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God

If your prayer life seems flat... lifeless...
or you can't find the words to pray...
let God begin the conversation...
open up His Word...

The Journey Readings: Week 104... and listening to His Word...

The importance and blessing of listening to Him through His Word seen this week on The Journey...

Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will]

and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive;

and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you,

even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion)

promised to David.

Isaiah 55:3 Amp

To listen... to incline your ear to Him...

means to submit... obey... what you hear...

In the obedience of listening...

souls are revived...

mercy received...

He speaks most often... 

through His Word... Scripture...

The Word made flesh... Jesus... by way of the Spirit... speaks to us through His text...

Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man

his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord,

and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, 

for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways

your ways, says 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 55:7-9 Amp

All of us... apart from Him... are wicked...

therefore we must put away our thoughts...

and discard our ways...

His ways are different... higher...

His thoughts and reasonings... unlike ours...

this is why we listen to His Word...

and not our own understanding...

His Word... when truly listened to...

produces a harvest in our life...

For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens,

and return not there again, but water the earth

and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed

to the sower and bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth:

it shall not return void [without producing any effect, useless],

but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose,

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

Isaiah 55:10-11 Amp

Time spent in His Word... is never fruitless...

where seeds are planted... truth will grow...

when listened to with an obedient heart...

Don't waste time with self-help... 

or the wisdom of the worldly...

don't be led astray... listen to Him...

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your earnings for what does not satisfy?

Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good,

and let your soul delight itself in fatness

[the profuseness of spiritual joy].

Isaiah 55:2 Amp

Get your daily dose of truth to satisfy your soul...

join The Journey...

This week readings:

Monday              Isaiah 60-61

Tuesday              Isaiah 62-64

Wednesday         Isaiah 65-66

Thursday             1 Thessalonians 1-3

Friday                1 Thessalonians 4-5

eighteen days...

Eighteen days till Christmas...
looking forward... to more revelation of Him...

He came down humbly... gently...
like the dew in the night...

May my teaching drop as the rain,

my speech distill as the dew,

like gentle rain upon the tender grass,

and like showers upon the herb.

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

ascribe greatness to our God!

Deuteronomy 32:2-3 ESV

These words first came through Moses...

a forerunner of Christ...

words of teaching... and preparation...

for entering a new land... a promised land...

Moses... foreshadowed the way to freedom...

from slavery... sin... and death...

the coming of Jesus...

the Word made flesh...

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...

John 1:14 ESV

Father God sent down His Word...

like dew in the night...

gently...

quietly...

sending a Word to prepare the Way...

for a new promise...

a new life...

His Word appeared one night in Bethlehem...
coming forth as dew...
unnoticed... except by a few...

Shepherds... who spent their nights outside...
knew the falling of dew...
lived humbly...
depended on Him for safety... security...
sang songs by a former shepherd boy...
King David...

The Lord is my Shepherd... I shall not want...

They were prepared to see... receive...
the word of His coming...

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold,

I bring you good news of great joy that will be

for all the people. For unto you is born this day

in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby

wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

Luke 2:8-13 ESV

The humble...

the lowly...

the dependent...

received the revelation of the newborn King...

Those who knew the falling of dew...

received the invitation... to see...

the revelation of His birth...

Are you prepared to receive revelation of Him...?

Lord... remind me... 

the revelation of Your Word comes quietly...

softly... gently... to the humble... and dependent...

Keep me humble and dependent...

remind me all I have... am... and will be...

comes from You...

Prepare me... for revelation... of You...

overwhelmed...

I find myself... in this moment... overwhelmed by His Word...

This place... where I sit and write... is a sanctuary for me...
even though it looks like a complete mess... a disarray...

I came tonight... thinking about what He might want me to say... what He had said to me today... but as I began... three lines in... I had to employ the backspace key...

Because in this place... where He and I meet...
a cluttered up corner of my laundry room...
the process of just opening a Bible...
looking for a Word that went with the now deleted words...
I was overwhelmed... by His entire Word...

The gift of His breathed-out Word...
translated for centuries...
bound in leather... and paper...
stuck together with glue...
just filled me with wonder...

And I wonder now... if you have a place...
a sanctuary... where you meet Him daily...
maybe multiple times a day...
to hear what He has to say...
to pour out your heart to Him...
to commune... wrestle... adore... and wonder...?

Because if you don't... you need one...
because when you cultivate a place...
even one that looks like a mess...
where people dump their dirty clothes...
and dust bunnies... and dirt... and too much stuff covers the floor...
as soon as you sit... each time you return... He's there...
and sometimes... He's just waiting to overwhelm you...

Lord... thank You for this place... this thin place...

where You seem near... so accessible...

thank You for drawing me here... drawing me near...

overwhelming me... with Your Word...

When your words came, I ate them;

they were my joy and my heart's delight...

Jeremiah 15:16

intimacy and repentance...

ChristianAudio.com offers a free audio-book for download each month... I highly recommend the one for this month... August... I'm just barely into chapter two... but what I've heard so far is so worth it...

The title is... The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert...

Walking... listening... the author shared... the first rule of repentance...

Do you have to feel like repenting in order to repent? ...

How do you repent for a sin that doesn't feel like sin? ...

In this crucible of confusion I learned something important. I learned the first rule of repentance, that repentance requires greater intimacy with God than with our sin.

How much greater? About the size of a mustard seed. Repentance requires we draw near to Jesus no matter what, and sometimes we all have to crawl there on our hands and our knees. Repentance is an  intimate affair and for many of us intimacy with anything is a terrifying prospect. ...

I discovered that the Lord doesn't change my feelings until I obey Him.

---Rosario Champagne Butterfield

I love the way she connects intimacy with God and repentance...

No wonder Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is...

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart 

and with all your soul and with all your mind. ..."

Matthew 22:37 ESV

When we love Him with all of us... there is no room for anything else...

To love God... to draw near Him... be intimate with Him... means we lay down our own desires... lay down our own feelings... understandings... of what we believe is right and wrong... and give it all to Him... come into agreement with Him about sin...

This is love for God: to obey his commands.

1 John 5:3

I too have discovered... that He changes our feelings... when we obey Him... even when we don't feel like obeying...

Even when what we think is just fine... feels good... doesn't seem to be hurting anybody... but He says it's sin... when we obey... we begin to understand His feelings on the issue...

All sin... is harmful to us...

harmful to our relationship with God...

and that's why He longs for us to be free from sin...

And... no... we don't get to define sin...

only God gets to do that...

and He shares the truth with us in His Word...

This unlikely convert... the author of the audio-book... as an English professor... spent much time in the Bible...  even before she believed...

She came to know... what I've experienced too...

time in His Word... transforms... a person...

and when we surrender to Him... and His Word...

the change is amazing...

Be intimate with God...

spend time in His Word...

obey His Word...

repent...

Do not merely listen to the word,

and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:17

Intimacy and repentance... choices we make... to love God....