661

For the Kingdom of Heaven is like Falling Asleep on the Couch, 17MAR

The most exhausted and wonderful feeling is falling asleep on the couch.  You can’t and won’t budge. You wouldn’t trade that couch for the world and certainly NOT a cold bed unless forced to. Forced by a bad neck position or knowing that longer sleep awaits you in bed? Then maybe you will move from the couch, but that’s the hardest move to make. That cushy comfort zone of a couch is completely unmistakably the best…. add a blanket and you are toast to the world… must be like a slice of that peace feeling just like you are entering the Kingdom of Heaven. So yes, even better the Kingdom of Heaven is HEAVEN!

There’s NO place like Heaven.

Even the couch cannot come close.

But falling asleep on the couch can be the best thing – chosen or forced. You have no choice being dead tired. You need that couch peace. Falling asleep on the couch is allowing yourself to take advantage of a slice of peace. So yes, even better – the Kingdom of Heaven is all about PEACE.

Falling asleep on the couch is healing, a 2-hour deep sleep, even a 10-minute power nap and you feel ready to take on the world once again, or at least have the energy to brush your teeth and get to bed. So yes, even better the Kingdom of Heaven is so HEALING that even thinking about it will force you to prepare your life to add little more into peace… It is always good to remember to make amends today for tomorrow’s sake…

Couch sleep is where people hate to disturb you, they know that you need that peace. If anything, they long to put a blanket on you and look longingly lovingly at your moment of peace – for you, for themselves – for peace. So yes, even better the Kingdom of Heaven is where we know everyone will be OK.

God knows PEACE – Jesus ransoms your PEACE for you – the Spirit joins you when you enter your couch PEACE…  Be at PEACE.

Sleep is a gift, a forced peace of the moment when the world fades away and there’s nothing getting you off the couch.  Putting away all your worries and drifting into sleep is like the force of PEACE calling you – everyday…

The Kingdom of Heaven is a place that I would never want to leave.  The permanent pearly peace. The warmth of Jesus, the peace of God, the freedom of the Spirit. We should be ready. We should long for Heaven WITHOUT being in a rush to get there.  We should prep just in case it’s coming sooner than we anticipate.

Let’s be ready. We need to be in His service and not fall asleep in our faith. We need to fall away from our humanness to prepare for another day working for the Lord’s peace.

In the meantime, enjoy the couch peace when you can get it.

Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

Strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5

Good night – God night – God peace

Be at peace

PEACE

660

Hearing the Lord, 15MAR

 

Hearing the Lord

Hoping for the Lord

Hungering for the Lord

Hearing the Lord

Hankering for the Lord

Healing in the Lord

Homing in on the Lord

Heeding the Lord

Hosting the Lord

Honoring the Lord

Holding the Lord

Helping the Lord

 

wHoleness Holiness Happiness

Humbleness to the Lord

Home

659

Alexa, Stop! 14MAR

I am not a fan of this time change – I used to wake up refreshed early and have time to write and think about my day, my kids, my life, my future….

Mostly I would lie in bed and give the Lord thanks for my blessings…

I’m not sure I need the extra hour we lost to sleep but surely I could use that extra hour to praise…

I’m being too cranky, I’m not running on empty, I have the same blessings as last week, Lord, but I’m tired Lord!!!!… “Alexa, stop!” The Echo Dot is so unforgiving…

but God is… God forgives the me in me… I must praise that…

If I didn’t praise the Lord, not only would rocks cry out but I think that I would crumble up and die… sounds dire but I’m really tired right now and I’m sure that when I catch up with sleep I will catch more praizzzzzzzzz’es.

Time to go… thanks for the cranky 5 minutes, Lord… Sorry for my complaining…

I offer You, Lord, a devotion written when I did sleep well… “Jesus is our cup holder”…

PS – I do praise You Lord, You made a beautiful sunrise for me to see this early morning… I’m glad and blessed that You allowed me to awaken and to see! You poured a lot of beautiful colors into Your coffee cup of the sky this morning! I’m pensive and blessed… I’m going to get myself up now and going – if the sun does rise – the Son does rise – I can rise too…

 

---

Jan 2016 Devotion:

So my swirling head, running place to place, I roll from one adventure to the next don’t I??? ALWAYS have, always will. I run on empty sometimes, well that’s not uncommon for many of us to be running on fumes… Actually, I think that’s running on the breeze of the HOLY SPIRIT… Tuesday I was blessed to facilitate my women’s meeting after a long pensive day, and truly I was fueled by hugs of the faithful ones there, plus we are starting a series of THE BEATITUDES.  Blessed are those who run on empty, their cups will be filled anew!!!

Blessed am I that I am forced to rely on the HOLY SPIRIT fumes sometimes, because I KNOW it’s not running on fuel from my own tank…

Outside I looked up to raise my eyes to praise and found the Pleiades nearly at zenith in the winter sky… Clear beautiful sky in the middle and the cloudy surrounding sky brought big SNOWFLAKES….  KISSES from God… Those are God’s way of telling me HE loves me, and I sent out tears and praise cheers and silent pause for HIS ways to comfort me… I sang “Immanuel, God is with us” to process…

Now that I have solid hours of sleep under me, I am ready to write my devotion. And the thought of my previous Subaru cup holder triggered my brain and it made me smile to know that Jesus is our best cup holder… Here is my devotion:

Jesus is Our CUP Holder, 13-14Jan2016

https://debbieupper.wordpress.com/2017/05/20/jesus-is-our-cup-holder-13-14jan-335/

Friends, friends bring us hugs… Friends lift us up, friends steady our cups. We need pray for God to fill our cups, and when we ache and when we feel empty, we have to rely sometimes on others and we have to accept their grace, accept their help, AND accept their functioning arms as hugs from Jesus…and when we are full or have even just a little, we are best to share that with them too. When our cups were/are filled from God, then we know that source and we can share and then go back for more.

Friends will steady our cups, friends will help us find our lost cups, but it is US who need to tip them UPright if they are sideways or have a leak.  Our cups won’t catch the holy flow from God IF we don’t actually hold them UP and take the lids off. And we need to drink.

The best place to safely put our cups is in the permanent cup holder of Jesus’s ARMS… Think about it, think about that shape, Jesus’s arms outstretched for giving a hug – His arms also the shape of the perfect cup holder… Slide your cup right into Jesus’s arms… Slide Jesus’s arms right inside your heart. Steady your cup with friends who are hugging you to health… Each hug a little hot glue to keep it stable, a little cement for the side, a cushion to absorb the shocks of life. Accept the help of those who truly support you.

When you physically feel a hug, where are those arms squeezing? Right around your heart… When you ache, the hug can let you take the pressure off your frame and rest your heart… Jesus hugs, Jesus wants you to rest your whole body in HIS arms and especially let Jesus support your heart from within in HIS hands.

When you cup is empty, or when it is full, tip your cup UP…. Take off the lid, don’t block the flow, don’t forget to drink. Hold onto it so that your cup is UP and not up-set.

And remember you don’t own that cup, and you don’t get to choose the flavor it’s filled with (DON’T chug or spit it out)… the truth is that really GOD OWNS YOUR CUP and HE wants to fill it, and wants us to drink it, because HE wants to BE WITH US, Immanuel.

God gave us His ONLY begotten cup holder, so that we may live an eternal life with Him…

Drink up, God’s pouring!
Free drinks for ALL in ALL.

658

The Risen Truth of Easter, 12MAR

Dough! undone dough – not risen – not bread – not done…  raw dough… cold and dormant faith…

Easter! Jesus is RISEN! but how about our own bread? Did we give it enough time to rise – are we doughy unfinished people? Does everyone know Jesus? Who needs to hear? Who needs to be filled with the Spirit – and RISE like bread with the warming PROOF?

Yes – we are collectively not yet done – not everyone knows Jesus – not everyone has RISEN with Him – not everyone is in the finished part of the baked bread – some, well many, are still stuck in the middle of the unfinished dough…

Bread must be warmed – bread must RISE – bread must be filled with yeast-creating air-pockets – bread must “PROOF”. Bread is not yet done until it is done…

People must be warmed – people need to feel the Spirit.

Jesus must RISE in these unfinished people – Jesus is not yet known to them – they are stuck in the dough – they are cold and have not fed on the sweetness of knowledge of God’s plan…

Jesus is the Living Yeast – Respiration and Resurrection – Jesus is the PROOF, the Way, the Truth the Life – Easter is the PROOF – Jesus is the TRUTH – the Kingdom of Heaven will RISE from the Spirit…  Every knee will bow… the Kingdom will not be done until it is done…

The bread of Jesus was broken – and now Jesus is shared. Jesus said “IT IS FINISHED” – That is when the bread of the body of Jesus ROSE.  – So let us now give the Kingdom a RISE as well – and tell others of the RISEN Christ.

Easter people – RAISE your voices… because there are people with raw dough clogged in their ears – they need You! Bring Your warming spirit to them as PROOF! Help them find their way to Easter.

Hallelujah!

657

Everybody Hurts, 12MAR

Written for a friend…

and especially for Jesus…

Everybody Hurts…

Palm Sunday – Jerusalem – Jesus is riding in on a donkey and all that hoopla…  Hosanna!!! Hosanna!!!  Wave your palms in excitement – but do you remember the tears? Jesus’s tears… YES Jesus had intense tears…

Jesus wept while he rode in on the donkey, Jesus wept for the lost, He wept for us before we were even born…

Do you have tears? Everybody Hurts – Jesus too…

But Hold On – Hold On…

REM – https://youtu.be/5rOiW_xY-kc

“Everybody hurts – take comfort in your prayers – if you feel like you’re alone – no, no, no, you’re not alone…  cause everybody hurts – sometimes everybody cries…”

Yeah – Jesus understands that and more… Jesus Wept – wept as Lazarus was gone and wept as Mary and Martha lost faith when they forgot Jesus teachings of the peace of eternal life…  Jesus wept on His way to the cross – emotionally for lost souls – that had to be excruciatingly worse than His physical pain.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day – and Jesus Wept – and yet Jesus kept walking towards Easter… in hopes that when we realize Easter’s RISEN truth that we will arrive too… that we will find our way to Heaven eventually by walking WITH Jesus on His way NOW…. Jesus lived “Hold on”…

Hold on…

Because it IS a walk to Jerusalem – it IS a walk to the cross – so hold on – it IS a walk to Easter- so hold on – feel that stone rolling away and HOLD ON… Jesus, HOLD ON!

Easter is coming – and it already came – we are also walking with Christ to Easter, because we know Christ wants to walk with us. Jesus lives – so Hold on – Hold on….

We are walking too… Jesus, thank you for walking with us…

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” – “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  – “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:37-44

---

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6

---

Easter is coming, Jesus – so Hold on…

Everybody hurts – so Hold on…

There’s HOPE – so Hold on…

We are walking with you now Jesus… Hold on…

Let us pick ourselves up to go… Hold on…

We are walking and waving our palms to exclaim Your Good News… Hold on…

We will pickup fellow travelers on our way… Hold on…

We are going to meet You, Lord, we are walking to the other side of Easter…

SO HOLD ON….

656

The Lonely Lost Sheep, 09MAR

Today I felt a little lost in a crowd.  I enjoyed the moment of the St. Patrick’s Day parade – the busiest one I’ve ever been to – but I felt a little lost in the crowd – just did….

DON’T WORRY – downtime is good for my soul…

Downtime makes me think… thinking makes me write… writing makes me connect… connecting makes me understand Jesus more… Jesus makes me think…

Jesus took mental downtime too… He retreated 40 days – He wanted to pray and fast and focus and follow… Jesus needed His Father just as much as we do…

I was at the St Pat’s event to see a friend in the parade, the parade was wonderful… but I thought I should have been doing something at the event,  perhaps  be in the parade, to connect to the people even more,  but no – I was quiet and I was watching on the side – and that also is OK, as I have to learn my quietness…

Of course I was also there for my daily exercise… walking… I thought about mountain hiking that day, this was a great substitute…  instead of being one on a mountain, I was one in a million… a loner… loners exist everywhere… Sure, I could have brought a friend,  surely I could have chatted with people,  indeed I am VERY good at that, finding company in a crowd… but instead I mostly observed the parade quietly – with my voice inside… and my green gear and my smile shining.

I loved the town so wonderfully alive in a HUGE block party. I love watching people for sure, the people were thrilled connecting with other people, the people were living out the new and old connections in their lives… I had no idea who they were, or what they were thinking… that’s when I started wondering about how Jesus felt in a crowd – yeah, what would be running thru Jesus’s mind…

Love…

Longing…

Loneliness…

Hmmmm…..

Love…

Jesus would have known each and every one of them inside and out, even though they had NO idea who He was.

Jesus was incognito for many years prior to His open ministry – and He was surely in many crowds for years. I think that He would have been very pleased that the people were enjoying themselves, but He would have been sad at not connecting. Yes, I could feel him internally weeping: Palm Sunday style. I think that He would have cried internally for all these people who didn’t know they were going to need Him!!! I think He knew that He had so little time to meet everyone in the flesh, let alone teach and convince them to open up their ears.

Jesus of all people would have known that it takes God Himself to open the people’s ears… Jesus of all people would have had to wait until those who had ears could hear… Waiting…

I think that Jesus knew that He would not able to connect instantly. I think that Jesus would have felt lost in the crowd… The waiting must have been tough.

Jesus lost in the crowd…

Jesus gathered disciples to teach and the children ran to Jesus – oh what JOY…

The children at this parade – they were the ones who actually looked at me openly to connect. One girl in particular, about 7 or 8, exclaimed “you and I have the same headband!” – I felt incredibly found for that very moment of time. I felt known and appreciated even if I only had a moment… Connection… her brother, about 3, chimed right in too, showing me his beads. Cool… that was my favorite moment of the whole day… I was noticed…  I was found…

I walked to backtrack the parade route and find my friend, there were so many people on the side that I stepped into the road on occasion. One particular woman called out to me – “you are your own parade”… indeed… another connection was set in my head… I was noticed, I was found… even if I was doing something unusual, I was noticed.

I am my own parade, this is so very true – I am my own lost sheep, this is truly true – I am my own connection,  this is spiritually true – I am being found by Jesus ALL THE TIME. THIS IS THE TRUTH!

He looks and looks for me.

Jesus looks and looks for you too, forever.

Matthew witnessed Jesus instructing the disciples in the company of the little children:  “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?  And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.  So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

You are your own parade – Jesus is there to watch out for you.

You may feel lost in the crowd or walking the opposite direction – but God rejoices when He finds you.

Be MORE QUIET, to hear Him calling you.

Become childlike, in awe of Him.

Because you ARE the twinkle in His smiling eyes.

Be found.

Amen

 

655

Dust Storm, 07MAR

I am so blessed to have heard a sermon on Ash Wednesday from a friend who spoke of ashes as dust – dark and light, black and white and to be reminded that we are “made from ashes – and to ashes we will become”…

This morning in my mediation in the Word, I had like a beam of light that shined thru some of that dust inside my head and as I connected my thoughts there was a mini explosion of a dust storm….  whoosh…

We are a Dust Storm! We are a Dust Storm in the process of settling down. And when we shine the LIGHT of Jesus – that GLOW from our face – that is when our dust settles down and stops blocking out His light from beaming thru us…

YES! He SHINES when our dust settles down.

Our reflection of His light is better thru our selflessness than morphed as refractions thru our selfishness.

When dust storms settle, the light will shine thru better and brighter… when dust storms kick up, you can still see the light illuminate each and every particle of dust – you still see light and know that you are a part of a bigger event… Then, when dust settles again, we can look out past our dust storm to the horizon…

When we look past our own selves, and our own cluster of dust, we can see the future God is trying to move us to.

When I am confused and stressed and life is full of a jumble of thoughts – I need to talk it out of my system to settle the dust storm in my head… I don’t lose the dust, I just settle it and build upon it.

When I am so overloaded with joy and energy and exuberance – I need to work it out of my system to settle the dust storm in my head. I don’t lose the dust, I just settle it and build upon it.

And as Jesus is the living water, when I dampen down the dust in my head with His mist, and look for His Light, then Jesus can shine thru…

When we pass our fingers thru dust settled on a table, we reveal the clear surface underneath. This is a microcosm of times when God pulls His Son, in His right hand, thru our minds, clearing the picture, seeing the clear path to follow… We need Jesus to settle us and light our way.

God wants to settle us into a proper place.   Jesus is the light that shines thru… AND Jesus is the living water to hydrate the situation.

Settle your dust and see a chance to move towards peace.

Amen

 

PS – after his sermon, the Pastor friend reminded me that God swirls us all as dust into new creations…. oh yeah!!

654

Appreciation, Angels and Awareness not Anxiety, Anger or Anything, 05MAR

BE PRESENT 

Angels – A Story of Lindsey, our Bionic Angel 

It’s amazing to be present and to watch the Spirit flowing… Lindsay is a special person, she told me to remember the bionic woman in order to remember her name. I know she survived a terrible brain injury – I can tell that God rebuilt her to His specifications, with a greater capacity to love…

ALL moments of life call for us to look for His spirit rather than our anxious puzzlement of predicaments, because we are to see, simply and divinely,  the angels that God has placed here on earth. This angel in Lindsay was an angel of hugs, she didn’t know the issues in play, but she knew there were issues and she did what our God of comfort called her to do – BE PRESENT… She gave hugs where she felt hugs and hand holds were needed. And trust me, they were needed at that moment. GOD knows our needs.

Lindsey got up and stood next to our Pastor at the end of the very emotional moment in her sermon.  Before that she told me that she needed to give our Pastor a hug, she just knew! I left the pew to prep for singing and was praying with my eyes closed in the side room, I didn’t see what happened until I saw her standing next to Pastor and I knew it was a God moment… I later helped her navigate thru the mess of speaker wires back down, with another friend (who also needed hugs badly that day). Lindsay was God’s triple play – God sent an angel in His timing….

We are called to BE PRESENT – sometimes we know the issues, often we don’t – always we can’t know the depth of issues that God knows is happening in others. Even sometimes we are on the opposite sides of issues, but regardless the Lord call us out to comfort others…  If we can’t be His workers, He will call out His other angels… Don’t let anything prevent you from seeing His angels – God sent them for a reason and for you to be in AWE.

Matthew 18: at that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

AWARENESS

That same day, I interrupted a conversation with a friend in which they were about to fly off in anger. I said: “WAIT, I need to tell you this story about Lindsay”. His anger would have prevented him the opportunity to hear me talk about this God moment… Yes, how often do we miss those moments? Yeah, we do quite often by being distracted by ourselves… Our disgruntled distractions mean missing the bigger moments. Don’t let anger keep you from awareness.

APPRECIATION

Yesterday, I had a God-orchestrated calming down after I got distracted by myself – it was an anxious moment and I knew that I was overthinking a personal issue – I prayed and settled down to work. I went thru so many scenarios in my head, my heart flip-flopped and I decided instead that focusing and BEING PRESENT with the work tasks at hand was the path I needed to take.

I have to share what happened next – this most powerful thing that God did for me – within 10 minutes of hunkering down, a good friend of mine, who was looking for someone else, sat to chat about an issue with an important report.  He sat down and I happened at that moment to be holding back my tears from that anxious overthinking moment and almost leaving to make a phone call that could have waited but I wasn’t waiting to stress about it…  So just then, by deciding to dig into work, I was able to pull myself together… Well, it was good that I didn’t leave my desk to make that call and I was there to discuss this deep science issue with the git of an idea that popped into my head so fast that I was like horseshack saying: “ooh ooh ooh, Mr Kotter!” a really good idea, my friend was so excited and I was both so happy to help and so pumped up knowing that God had helped me BE PRESENT – I would have missed that opportunity – how awesome to realize He was helping me – blessed because of my discussion and reliance on God to hunker down – and here I was rewarded with this idea that surely came from God’s making my brain connection work… I would have missed that opportunity to make a difference if I caved in to my anxiety.

So pleased,  so thankful…  As I refocused on my own task at hand – I first got up to get a refill of hot water in my tea mug – and as I was mentally thanking the Lord, this plastic heart cookie cutter floated up inside my mug… startling me!!!  – oh how precious was that timing… it must have fallen in in the dish strainer then caught under my tea bag and I never noticed… you may think that’s crazy to smile over an oops, even selfish of me to stress my own issue – but you understand my joy of two simple rewards for being still, the chance to use my brain (it was His idea) and the powerful knowledge that it was God’s timing and love to keep me be patient and not being impulsive from overthinking… (and it wasn’t just any cookie cutter in my cup, it was A HEART)

Thank You, Lord for my relief – thank You for my own childlike wonder of Your ways: focus thru frustration, a floating heart makes my cup overflow… just like in seeing a bionic angel, I had to be in an awareness to see and then tell of these God-moments…

His love is mysterious and real… we can put our faith in Him for handling our much much bigger issues.

If we choose to look for the Lord, we can see and feel His comfort – and if I need to shout that out like Horseshack,  I need to…

I pray we never to lose our “Ooh ooh! That was God” exclamations!!

---

Deuteronomy 6 – 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

---

653

GOD KNOWS SNOW, 04MAR

I think sometimes I could stop and write about God all day – but luckily lots is already written!!! And a photo is worth a thousand words… a snow-covered tree against the blue sky – a marvel for sure…

I love these lines from Job:

“STOP and consider God’s wonders! …  God comes in awesome majesty!”

We have to absorb God in everything, and we often don’t take time to stop and think. Look at the blue skies and sunshine and snow – God can use these to catch our eye in wonder… no thinking needed, just see the love of God who made us see the Love of Him…

Sometimes it seems God catches our attention because He wants to share this beauty with us directly – and we need to share this awesome awe-filled wonder of God’s love… sometimes we can tear up from knowing that He wants us to know Him intensely.

Job, ever learning Job, discovered that God catches our attention with His mighty strength – to fear the Lord is respect His authority… Jesus reminds us to keep moving and not ignore the non-harmonious aspects of life – our job to be His hands and feet… to work for Him.

God needs for us to see our purpose thru Him.

If God wants us to see our purpose, we best not cover our own eyes…

God is a God of:

Beauty and Joy,

Control and Action,

Righteous and Holiness,

Peace Eternal

And all LOVE….

---

JOB 37

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
7 So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.[a]
8 The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
9 The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.
12 At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
13 He brings the clouds to punish people,
or to water his earth and show his love.

14 “Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
17 You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
18 can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

19 “Tell us what we should say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.
20 Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?
21 Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24 Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?”

652

Be Strong and Courageous, 03MAR

We who lead must follow! Be not afraid – God goes before us.

Jesus – His name – His Word – His leadership calls us to follow. We can connect the dots between Old and New Testament teachings to find passages from BOTH which will shine the LIGHT on how we are to LIVE and to LOVE… When we follow our Leader, the Lord, we can see bible lessons come alive in our own lives – we can connect the Word to us in the world.

Throughout the Old Testament, we learn of human leaders who were crucial to others serving the Lord, their lives were prophetic and purposeful… Joshua (scripture text below) took over from Moses in a necessary progression of the Lord’s plan – Moses was a leader led by the Lord… Joshua continued… the Lord wants everyone to follow His command. All who lead must follow.

In fulfilling His Own plan, God sent Jesus at His appointed time. Jesus was and is a leader who walked the earth and also Jesus was/is fully God. Yes, even as God, Jesus was still led by and answered to the Lord, His Father. Jesus gave credit for every miracle to His Father – who is Our Father too. Jesus always looked to Our Father for guidance, we should too… When earthly Jesus left His disciples 40 days after His Resurrection, He told of the Holy Spirit continuing to lead them – this is the ultimate Heavenly guidance – for them and for us. Jesus asks us to follow God’s command… The Holy Spirit will allow us to follow thru. Jesus said: we are not alone – the Holy Spirit will always guide us…

We are God’s chosen people, led by the Lord,  instructed by Jesus, moved by the Holy Spirit… we ourselves must be courageous… we then serve as examples, using our lives, to lead the others who see our actions. Whether people understand the Lord’s system or not,  we are still  called to be leaders in our own communities because of our chosen status – our skills are our equipment for serving the Lord – He does not call the equipped, He equips the called!

Often leading means we are called to drop our pride, reduce our own worldly ambitions and agendas, and acknowledge His… This is best accomplished by praying, knowing His Love and Loving His children.

If Ash Wednesday reminds us that from ashes we came and to ashes we will return – then how important it must be for us to be the SPARK burning bright for the Lord right now, in between our ashes stages. If we fuel our faith, our faith will fuel us.

Jesus kept moving forward towards His death, instructing as He went, therefore we can move forward towards LIFE, living within His plan. Even the leaders like Moses, Joshua, and especially Jesus followed God’s plan…  we can too.

Be Courageous – Listen – Keep Moving – Lead the way by learning to follow…

Amen

---

 

Be Not Afraid

https://youtu.be/wQr4udSiEew

---

 

Old Testament

Joshua Installed as Leader

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

—-

New Testament

John 14:15-31 (NIV)

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you.26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

“Come now; let us leave.”

651

The Gift of Prophesy, 03MAR

1st Corinthians 14

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. ,,,,,,,  Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. ,,,,,,, Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

—–

A friend and I were discussing his perceived spiritual gift of Prophecy from his bible study workshop, and we talked about how my writing has been maturing. The song beautifully sung by Joni Mitchell  “LOVE” speaks of maturing – “when I was a child I spoke like a child, now I am a woman I put away childish things.” https://youtu.be/ROjgn0t5fOo

To be honest, I know I am blessed to be a grown woman with a childlike faith of Joy…. Even if my writing has matured, less like a child, this scripture really is about the sad reality of losing those childlike faith moments when we grow up –  the moments that “were known fully are now only known in part” by us who have aged, we are unfortunately jaded grown-ups even if we are matured Christians. Alas, but never fear, our knowledge will fully be restored someday…

Keep becoming the child that the Lord needs you to be – so that your faith is fully known…

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.

1st Corinthians 13

650

God is Making His Next Move, Hold on to Jesus, 02Mar

I’m appreciative of being in such a good mood today – a Saturday free day and my soul feels like singing – I did a chunk of writing this morning – like a whole chapter came out of one fishy scripture!!!  I took my daughter to practice – chatted with friends and now off to have a great day – and I can feel again and again how thankful I am to the Lord for lighting my path, one step at a time… mercy to move forward! Life is not a bowl of cherries when so many people are in the pits, but life is about sharing the good news of God’s plan… keep moving to help the world – Micah 6:8 – mercy, humbleness, justice…

Truly, sometimes life can feel like a hopscotch game in joyful fun or in sorrowful necessity – and yet it’s a lighted tile sliding game to be jumping to skip spaces, but in truth LIFE IS NOT A GAME – and we have to slowly take our steps, calculated and prayerfully… what section of the board you are on will change… Perhaps your spot is secured enough for you to reach to help others in tougher spots…

Jesus lights the tiles for movement and we have to importantly remember to NOT be frozen in a position and ignore the next steps – if we stay too long on one tile, and are afraid to move forward then sometimes God will slide the tile for us – in this puzzle of life to get to the end. If God is pushing you forward, then hold on to Jesus when the earth starts moving underneath!!!…

Jesus may be seated at the right Hand of the Father, but God still moves His Hand for His Plan… HOLD ON!

KEEP SMILING!

GOD IS MAKING HIS NEXT MOVE!

649

A Fishy Tale – Part 2 – Jesus is No Magician, 23FEBthru02MAR

One very important lesson that we can get out from the Bible is actually seeing ourselves in the Bible! That’s NOT by chance…

I have been focusing on learning Jesus’s lessons from Matthew 17, and have swirled the scripture of the fish and the coin thru my thoughts over the last few days. I couldn’t wait to find peace to write it out until now, my opportunity to put out a sign that says: “Gone Fishing”. Scripture is portable and carried easily thru our day… I had never heard this particular one and now I think one could teach and learn from it – forever…  I can see us (me and you) in this scripture – that is NOT by chance. Scripture is the book you should read in-between the lines!

Here’s that interesting scripture: Matthew 17

24 When they arrived at Capernaum, the tax men came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay taxes?”

25 Peter said, “Of course.”

But as soon as they were in the house, Jesus confronted him. “Simon, what do you think? When a king levies taxes, who pays—his children or his subjects?”

26-27 He answered, “His subjects.”

Jesus said, “Then the children get off free, right?  But so we don’t upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its mouth and you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be enough for both of us.”

——

I thought of where I see myself in this story – EVERYWHERE… How about you?

Just now I see myself having had to wait a week simply to finish this writing, then a month to finish editing it and posting. One day I woke up on a Saturday,  refreshed to write, but the cat wanted to play – I had to play for a bit then get on with my mission to write – this is what Jesus was experiencing too – not the cat but the tax collector moment as an interruption of His mission to move towards Jerusalem,  His fixed destination… Jesus was not going to let a bump in the road stop Him from His job. My first take home message: we also encounter bumps in the road, we too have to deal and keep moving… sometimes bumps in the road can remind us that there is a road to keep moving on… (and it is good to play with the cute cat!)

Lesson 2) Perhaps Peter made an oops… the first account that I read in Michael Card’s book conjectured that the teachers were exempt from this tax – Peter maybe made an oops of judgement – and Jesus helped him out… (Jesus never minded offending people, but apparently made an exception here). Jesus preserved the peace since they were on a time schedule so close to crucifixion day… Jesus decided not to offend the tax collectors and make it easier on Peter and also continue on their journey… Do we see ourselves in Peter’s position? Oh Yeah…

Take home message: Jesus figures out how to get us out of a jam, to re-find our peace, to either correct our actions or give us enough mercy to keep moving…

Jesus will tweak the system for us, even asking the Father to forgive the worst offenders. Peter messed up plenty after this too – so will we – we are HUMAN – “to err is human, to forgive is divine”… we are watching Jesus lead by example… we are to forgive as well…

Lesson 3) The fish was stealthier a hidden spot than other places – wait – let’s take that magic concept out and exclude falsehoods and change it into a truth moment – let’s remove from our thinking that Jesus had magically placed this coin into the fish mouth rather than think in the truth. JESUS IS NOT MAGIC…

JESUS IS NOT MAGIC…

The fish had a reasonable chance to pick up a coin whereas another miracle might have looked sketchy – WHOA – I have to correct my words here – Jesus didn’t cause the fish to get the coin – just like Jesus didn’t snap His fingers behind Peter’s ear to make a coin appear or make this situation into a side-show attraction. Jesus didn’t decide to HIDE the miracle lest people start a gold-rush for wealth, no….  Jesus was really acting on knowledgeable TRUTH. And yes, logistically, it’s probable that a fish would pick up a shiny object, a coin, it’s probable that the coin would get stuck, it’s probable that people in the area of the sea would have lost coins in normal life moments. It’s the truth that Jesus at that moment had inside knowledge of where to get a coin. It’s the truth that Jesus knows EVERYTHING (except the exact day and moment God will send Him back to earth, but that’s not His job to know, nor ours, just His job to prepare us for that day).

Take home message: JESUS IS NO MAGICIAN – doesn’t do magic in your life or mine – Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life… He’s a heaven-human woven as the Word into our lives before we are born. Jesus verbally reminds healed folk and us ALL THE TIME that it’s our faith that heals us, not His magic trick. When we accept Jesus as the Word, then the Spirit can pull on our woven heartstrings and move us into the truth of healing…. we can be healed by active prayer by others too… Jesus is not an unavailable resource, He is ever present.

Lesson 4) The fish walk gave time for Peter to think. Peter believed Jesus. Peter still had to act on that belief and cast the line. Got to still put in the work, we do too. Peter got to fish for his peace, do we?

Maybe to “go fish” was a good “downtime” activity for a possibly distraught Peter – or maybe Peter was in such excited relief for the save by Jesus’s quick thinking of go get the coin in the secret spot – or maybe Peter was grateful for a moment to getting out of town, away from tax collectors and interrogators – or maybe Peter thought and reflected that this might be the last time to see his hometown, one last look at the water before leaving with Jesus to Jerusalem… Did Peter run to the water or slip sheepishly there? How long did he stay? Would he think that he was lucky to have a moment to fish or burdened by quite a time crunch? Did Peter reflect that even though he left fishing to fish for people instead that Jesus allowed him one more time to be at the water?

Maybe Peter wasn’t thinking and maybe Peter was just doing!!!

Later, I wonder if Peter reflected on that walk as an opportunity, a pleasant and grateful moment knowing that Jesus had taken care of everything.  Jesus took the worry out of it.

Take home messages: Do we worry? Do we give up worry and know God has it under control? Should we be overthinking or just doing our best?

Do we take the worry out of our lives knowing that Jesus took care of everything?

Do we run in delight to the first fish of our eyes and know, just know that Jesus clued us in to victory in a clueless world? Do we feel like we won the jackpot even if it’s the smallest of saves by God, one coin for one tax, one rescue for one bump in the road of life?

Do we pre-worry about the next bump in the road? Or appreciate LIFE IN THE MOMENT… do we take time to sit and fish for our peace?

And do we start checking all the fish mouths (like I used to check the whole line of vending machines as a kid for forgotten coins)? Or do we get just the one coin and only one we need (perfect provisions) and be satisfied that this is enough?

When do we simply realize that JESUS IS ENOUGH. The whole of GOD, JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT is enough for our holy wholeness? When will we “be still”?

Can we – and will we – take life one fish at a time? Just follow the light – not overthink complex maps of predicting the future – just step one step at a time – and can we actively participate in this process? Participate NOT anticipate! Jesus will lead one step, one casting, one fish, one coin, one soul at a time. We need to be caught by Jesus and be ok with that and be real in our faith to reel in our future.

Lesson 5) Peter and Jesus had become unrecognizable as local folk… this was Peter’s home and where Jesus lived for quite a while, they should have been recognized as hometown folk, not strangers, from whom tax collectors took tax… (the translation of this passage sometimes says strangers instead of subjects, in both versions Jesus says children are not taxed)…

Mathew alone recorded this (not the other gospels).  Matthew was writing to new Christians leaving the security of the Jewish community as they began to become the earliest Christian communities… they needed to see an examples of others like them,  on the outside of the norm… we don’t know if Peter in this real story was NOT recognized as a local or only Jesus as an outsider was asked to pay a tax, but either way Jesus asked Peter to pay for both of them.  Jesus kept Peter with Him. First Christians (and we) needed to know Jesus had them covered.

Peter AND Jesus were unbelievably changed in the opinion of their hometowns and the wisdom of Jesus teaching caught his hometown off guard.  A prophet is not without honor EXCEPT in his hometown…

Take home messages:

1. Jesus has us covered. Jesus is with the outsiders and unrecognizable. Jesus understands rejection and stumbling blocks. If you ever felt lost or alone, know that Jesus is with you. Know that this human earthly world is temporary and not our home, know that Jesus asks for protection and mercy for all of us because we are not OF this earth, just travellers. We can be ostracized for our faith. Also, we can be ostracized by the world “just because”.  Jesus stands with us. Jesus pays the price for us on the small scale and the ultimate scale… we are children of God with no tax on our entry into His kingdom.  Jesus was our ransom.
2. Peter and we are completely changed by the HOLY SPIRIT – a new creation – look at this new thing God is doing THRU us. It’s not unusual that the world won’t understand, be bold for God anyway…
3. Peter, a fisher for men, like Jesus, like us, so we need to cast nets for people – IMPORTANTLY WE NEED TO NOT THROW BACK ANY FISH WE DON’T LIKE… no favoritism…

Lesson 6) It’s a fish story – isn’t that memorable? Aren’t Jesus’s stories always memorable? Jesus spoke in ways that made people think. This was not a parable but a private conversation story that Matthew (and Peter) could recount in a memorable way… the fish too was better off without that coin stuck and was freed from the burden. Are we freed from our burdens by letting Jesus?

Another take home message: What are our memorable moments of when Jesus interceded and that caught us – hook, line and sinker? How were our burdens negated?… how blessed are we? BLESSED.

Lesson 7) Jesus reminds us ALL THE TIME that glory is for God, it is not glory earned for man’s achievement. That doesn’t mean we can’t aspire to doing great things, we can and are supposed to be the hands and feet of the Lord… But we just need to give credit where credit is due… But paying taxes? yup, there’s hoops in life for us to jump thru – along the way – Ceasar needs to build some roads and schools and, oh yeah, pick up the trash. Common tax for common good. Give Ceasar what is Ceaser’s – and to God give all that is God’s…

There are more lessons….

The end real take home lesson is the beginning lesson – that the Lord’s children get off free – (I give thanks to Michael Card for re-pointing that one out).

Jesus said, “Then the children get off free, right?… “

Take home message – people don’t know that they get off free – we are already God’s children – we already have our way to eternal peace – paid by Jesus’s death – we enter into our journeys EVERYDAY – pick up our cross EVERYDAY. These are our days to walk with our fellow children who are at various stages of understanding and purposefully help to get each other home – the price we pay is our obedience – the payoff is well worth it… HOME

Take home message is to take the MESSAGE home.

 

Keep walking.

Keep paying taxes.

Keep forgiving flubs.

Keep focusing on forever things…

Keep fishing for the truth. 

Keep the message real.

Keep the faith. 

Fish.

 

Jesus is the Word.

The Word is in you.

The act of imagining and knowing yourself thru the scriptures is the Word fleshed out…

Have faith…

Fish your hearts…

Fill and spill your soul…

Feel the Spirit flowing…

AMEN!