Deuteronomy 4; Psalm 86, 87; Isaiah 32; Revelation 2

Psalm 87:6-7 “Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.”

I had what I suppose was a thought straight from the pit – God may not hear and answer my prayers, but I trust that others more godly than I have God’s attention. This negative thought came on the heels of praying for the return of my granddaughter’s stolen car. I prayed, yet when a friend agreed to have her prayer group pray, and the car turned up in an alley the next morning (nothing broken, nothing stolen), I heard myself thanking God that He answered the prayers of my friend. Not that thanking God for answering others is inappropriate, just that in that moment I realized that I thought God answering my prayers seemed remote.

Back in the 80’s, we were called prayer warriors. My Christian sisters and I would meet weekly to pray for the hurting, the ill, the dying. We visited hospitals and held the hands of the weak; we prophesied over the despondent who came to the altar for prayer. We lifted up our husbands, our children, our military, our country to the only true God for peace and prosperity and mercy. We worked tirelessly because the Spirit of the living God was upon us. Isaiah 32:12, 15, 17 says, “People shall mourn upon their breasts…Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high…The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” This was, for me, a remarkable time of trusting in God. I had long since shed complacency in the world, and trusting its empty promises.

The recent moment of self-doubt, however was a wake-up call. Thankfully, I know how to challenge unwanted, negative interruptions in my thought life. Crowd them out with Scripture! And keep praying and praising! We have a great God who listens to each prayer. Deuteronomy 4:7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” [Italics mine.] I repeat this phrase over and over, “…for whatever reason we may call upon Him.” We are called to trust in God’s intimate knowledge of our condition and need of His Spirit:

Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 27 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give…” 1) to eat from the tree of life; 2) shall not be hurt by the second death; 3) hidden manna to eat and a new name written on a white stone [that only God knows]; 4) power over the nations [to rule with Christ] and the morning star [Christ our Lord].

So I pray, “Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul,” Psalm 86:4. You hear my simple prayers of faith and assure me of Your presence from start to finish. I thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, that You listen for and lovingly answer even my prayers.

Janet (jansuwilkinson)

All Scripture and commentary quotes from: The Nelson Study Bible, New King James Version, Trinity Fellowship Church 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition, 2002.

Deut. 3; Ps. 85; Isa. 31; Rev. 1

Visions of things to come…

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18

As a Christian, death is one of the more challenging experiences to reconcile… from a spiritual perspective, we rejoice in knowing where our loved ones will be for all eternity and Who they’ll be spending eternity with! But on a human level, we miss our loved ones very much…  we’re left hoping that all we know about our faith is true; that like Jesus, Who endured pain, but conquered death, is alive forever!

We are reassured by our Savior not to be afraid… that He was able to conquer death and is now in control. Delving deeper into these two verses in Revelation revealed significant meaning that offered me comfort after losing my Dad several years ago. That we are never alone, as He is “the first and the last”, paralleling “the Alpha and the Omega” described in Revelation 1:8…

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

… and referencing “I am” reflecting Jesus’ claims in the Gospels of Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:50, John 6:20, and 8:58, connecting Him with His Heavenly Father. Jesus also tells us that He is “the living One” as He was described in Daniel 6:26, Revelation 4:9, 10:6, and 15:7… the foundation of our salvation! By rising after death, Jesus offered the assurance to those who believe that we will be forever with Him. And, if that wasn’t enough, Jesus reveals that as a result of His resurrection, He now holds the “keys of death and Hades.” Death, as a condition of the body, and Hades, as a place associated with death, Jesus is in control!

Researching the meaning of keys in the Bible found that keys are a sign of power and authority. Jesus’ obedience to His Heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane resulted in Jesus having the authority to decide who dies and who lives; He has authority over life and death.

So in the midst of the incredible tragedies and darkness that have consumed our lives lately, perhaps our hope lies in the message Revelation holds in what Jesus offers for our future to all who believe. I know I will see my father again… in the meantime, I will continue to hold onto the promises my Savior offers, ready for when He decides to call me Home… I can only imagine!

Heavenly Father, by saying “No” to Your son in the Garden of Gethsemane when He asked that You take His “cup” from Him, Your Son demonstrated complete obedience to You, to fulfill Your will. Help us to remain faithful so that we can join You for all eternity! Amen.

Deuteronomy 2; Psalm 83; Psalm 84; Isaiah 30; Jude 1

Deuteronomy 2

“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. ² Then the Lord said to me, ³ ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. ESV

“You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough.” Has the Lord ever said such a thing to you? This stopped me short. There will come a time when the Lord will say the wandering in the wilderness is complete- move on into this next new place. And He will have specific commands, instruction, and guidance for that new land. I pray I heed and listen. The Lord sees our wanderings, our cries, our tears, our struggles. Will we be surprised when His intervention comes? Wandering is a tutor toward meekness.

Psalm 84

5Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion. ESV

What strength, beauty, and life is conveyed here in this passage… a place of springs, covered with pools… there is a secret in God that can transform the valley into a place of life. To me, this passage speaks of the overcomer. The one who is transformative through God through the challenges, valleys, and difficulties of life. To appear before God in Zion- to be in His Presence; His city. The one whose strength is in God will have the highway to Zion in his heart. The healing, life-giving Presence of God will flow into the deep places of his life and bring provision, and refreshment. In my heart, I know that Zion and the highway- the Valley of Baca – these are figurative and they speak of more than just what is face value here. To go from strength to strength is to be like the hind- hind’s feet on high places… leaping from mountain top to mountain top- in victory.

11For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
¹² O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you! ESV

You, O Lord, are a sun and shield. You bestow favor and honor. The NASB says, “The Lord gives grace and glory;” Grace and Glory. Favor and Honor. Help me, O Lord to walk uprightly.

Isaiah 30:12

 For thus the Lord ^[p]God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,

“In ^[q]repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.” ESV

So many times, I am in tumult. Tumult in mind, tumult in emotions. Even tumult in circumstances. The Lord calls me to repentance, rest, quietness, and trust. “In quietness and trust in your strength”  This reminds my heart of: “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 ESV He is there and He saves.

29You will have ^[aj]songs as in the night when you keep the festival,

And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
³⁰ And the Lord will cause ^[ak]His voice of authority to be heard, ESV

“You will have songs in the night…. Gladness of heart… the mountain of the Lord…”

These words speak to my heart of welling, flowing praise and worship to God. Rejoicing, bubbling up… Songs in the night. Lord, grant me songs in the night and gladness of heart. Let me rejoice to hear Your voice of authority and let me be glad to go to the mountain of the Lord! -to go singing and in worship into the holiness of Your Presence.

Jude 1

⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time^[h] and now and forever. Amen. ESV

Serendipitously, in concert with the Spirit- just this week, I shared this doxology with my children- and tried to sing to them a song- from our very first church… the one into which my first four children were born. What a glorious exultation and prayer! You are able, O God! To You be the glory!

Lord, in grace and gentleness, teach me more to trust in You. Mold my heart and open my eyes to see Your work in my life. Help me to know that you are not far off and a day will come when You will say: You have wandered in this wilderness long enough. May I go from strength to strength and make every valley a place of refreshment, bloom, and life. In my heart, may there be a highway to Your Presence. Grant me songs in the night and quietness and rest in You. Help me to teach my children of You and remember the songs of praise and worship that are part of our heritage in You. Lord, thank You.

Rebecca (offeringsbecca)

Deuteronomy 1; Psalms 81-82; Isaiah 28; 3 John 1

It’s not difficult to adopt the arrogant mindset that I am master of my future and commander of my fate. I may not say it with words, but in my head, I am thinking, “Move over God and let me get things done. I know best.” I am not alone in this. God describes his relationship with the people of Israel:

I said to you, “Have no dread or fear of them. The Lord your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place. But in spite of this, you have no trust in the Lord your God who goes before you on the way to seek out a place fore you to camp, of fire by night, and in cloud by day, to show you the route you should take.  Deuteronomy 1:30-32

The only person I am fooling is myself. Isaiah describes this lack of trust:

Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the Lord, whose deeds are in the dark and who say, ” Who sees us? Who knows us?’ You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the thing made say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of the one who formed it, “He has no understanding?”  Isaiah 29: 15-16.

The disciple John, the “one whom Jesus loved” describes a different way of living. In his first letter, he uses the term “abide” (NRSV) or “live-in” (NIV) 15 times. Because of this beautiful redundancy, I am getting the message, “ABIDE. LIVE.”   I “abide” in God and he “abides” in me. I may not understand how the process works but I submit the crude clay of my being so  that his hands transform me. I can stop white knuckling my way through life and let go, for God’s will for me will win.

Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. what we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.  1 John 2:2

Lord, help me let go and submit to you molding and shaping.  Forgive me for when I demand that life go my way and that other’s meet my needs. Holy Spirit, live in me and may I live in you. Amen

Klueh

Num. 36, Psalm 80, Isaiah 28, 2 John 1

At the urging of a friend, last year I began the practice of seeking God to reveal to me a word – one word – that would be meaningful for me throughout the year. RESTORE was the word He gave me last year. It was His promise to me to heal some deep wounds that I had been nursing. Time and time again, God would remind me in a song or a scripture passage that He would restore my heart and mind so that I could serve Him effectively. When the end of the year came, I didn’t want to give up my word. While the restoration process had come a long way, I wasn’t ready to move on. But God had a different plan for me. He wanted me to go deeper. Rather than focusing on myself, He wante me to move outward.

The word that God gave me this year was LOVE. Initially, I fought this word. Love is too generic, I thought. Too fluffy. Too easy. Too Christian. However, I began to see that I had a lot of work to do in that area. Was I allowing God to love me? How was I loving my family? How was I loving my community? But more than anything, how was I loving those who are hard to love? or those who are different than me?

I was reminded just how essential love is for a healthy walk with God when I read today’s I John passage:

⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning,his command is that you walk in love. 2John 5-6 NIV

By loving one another, we are revealing Christ to the world. Deceivers and charlatans are plenty these days, telling us not to associate with those who think differently, or vote differently. The media fills our minds with accusations and negativity.  I have come to understand more than any other time in my life, the importance of fixing my eyes on Christ. If I do that, LOVE becomes a natural outpouring. God still has a lot of work to do in me, but I am making progress. I am taking steps to love more – To more consistently consider what Christ would do if he was in my situation. I have found myself serving when it wasn’t convenient, opening my home to strangers when it was out of my comfort zone. My prayer is that God would continue to work in my heart to help me LOVE better. If we all loved better, imagine what a different world we would live in.

Lord, help us to love well. Help us to obey your commands, even when it isn’t convenient or easy. As we seek your will for us, show us ways – big and small –  that we can love those around us so that others can be drawn to you.

Ann (naturelady)