Wonderful Quote… February 27, 2008

Our questions can serve us well in a time such as this, a time of grave uncertainty, of soaring potential, of fragile yet resilient hope.  Our questions and questing are crucial, because they can help us live into the answer of the future.  I am certain of one thing: the love that is God is at the heart of the answer, just as it is at the heart of each moment–past, present and future.  Faith today, tomorrow, and always seeks to live, to love and to be loved fully.  It seeks the Holy and waits (though not always patiently) to be found; it nurtures and activates wisdom and compassion.  It chooses to embrace hope and to be embraced by hope, even when overwhelmed by despair; it seeks life even in the face of death.  We act in faith, knowing that we see only dimly.  But living in faith, we act anyway, choosing and doing the best we can.  We act and live in confidence that someday we will see face to face, that we will live into the answers.  For God’s grace embraces our questions as well as our answers and our blindness as well as our vision, just as the sun shines steadily through the night, waiting to illumine the sky at dawn.

~~~Jean M. Blomquist from Wrestling till Dawn

***Once again, someone said it much more eloquently than me!!!

Raising the Roof… February 27, 2008

To Carl:  “I feel deep unexplainable joy…”

To Helen:  “Don’t you think it is time?!…for both of us!”

This exchange of words…thoughts…reality… occurred about a week ago…I was seated on the couch and Carl leaning over the back of a chair…face to face…heart to heart…shared life to shared life…

There is much I could say…details that I could share that would throw light on our family’s path…parts are not my story to share…even if some of those pages turned over into my own story…but each one of us has details we could share with one another because life takes sharp and strange detours for all of us…I am not unique…this is a shared condition, all too common to man.

If you have read this blog for any length of time or if you know me personally…then you may know that the last 5 years have been life altering…faith shaking…faith rebuilding.

 Revisit one of my first posts on this blog…actually an assignment from a writing class entitled Faith…it was evident that I was trying to grapple with faith in the midst of trials…I knew that trials would touch my life…but not THESE kind of trials…and trials that seemed to multiply…how desperately I wanted to reestablish my faith yet I wanted it to come within the confines of smooth waters.

I was asked a few weeks ago, if I believed any good had come from the hard stuff.  It is so easy and sometimes instinctive to spit out a litany of all the right things to say…I had to pause for a moment…take a deep breath…and see what truly resided in my heart…

As devastating as some of the past years have been…in many ways the most shattering reality was that my faith had been built on faulty doctrine.  Did I really believe that if I did all the “right things” and “followed the rules” that it would somehow exempt me from suffering?  It was not something that I would broadcast but in my heart of hearts…I believed it.  My list of “goods” was long…good daughter, good sister, good wife, good mom, good friend, good worker, good volunteer, good neighbor, good citizen, good pet owner…all tied together by the bow of being a good Christian.

Do you remember the MC Hammer song…Can’t Touch This…and how he would do that little dance where he was scurrying along the stage…as if to say…you can’t touch or catch me…just look at my moves…I’m GOOD!

I think I lived  a lot of my life as if to say…Bad stuff…it can’t touch me…you can’t catch me…well, I am here to say…it can touch me and it did catch up to me…the good girl got tagged out by life.

The good girl learned that He alone is Good.

I have read that when we look at Jesus’ relationships…this should be a model for us as well…He had a multitude of followers…this would be our broad scope of acquaintances…they may know some basic info about you but not the nitty gritty….there were the disciples…this could be a smaller group of family and friends that are close to you…then there were the 3…Peter, James and John…this was the inner circle…His closest companions…I suppose this for us could be comprised of a spouse, parents, and intimate friends…those who see us with “bed head” and mascara stained cheeks and love us…and then there was His fellowship with His Father…this too is to be our deepest relationship.

This would accurately depict my relationships during this past season…some that knew things in part…those that knew a bit more…those that walked with me day in and day out…those that had no words or answers but prayed and sought God for me…for us…then there was my man…so strong in Him…the one God picked for me to walk hand in hand on this journey…he never wavered…never ceased to look me in the eye and let me know he AND He were steadfast and sure…never losing his sense of humor…and thankfully there was God…my tender Friend…Refuge…Hiding Place…Comfort…Shield…Ever Present Help…Redeemer…Companion…Rock…Sure Foundation…my Hope…

There are things that only He and I know…not secrets…just moments that are contained in the Secret Place…

A friend that was walking through the pain of her husband’s cancer said to me once…we used to just believe all those scriptures that we claimed…now we know that they are true…I feel the same.

It is interesting to look at the progression of scriptures that the Lord reveals to me.  My verse for 2005 was:

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

See I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43: 18,19

Three years later and I feel like I am just beginning to see a trickle of water on very parched land…can you see it…how water isn’t easily penetrated by the soil at first…streams are formed by mere drops of rain…drop by drop…verse by verse…He is beginning to saturate all the hard and thirsty places within me.  Sometimes I think this is where relationships are so key…friends remind us of Who God is…or they give us scriptures to cling to…and at first we may not be able to grasp the truth in the reality of our pain but slowly…drop by drop as I said before…it soaks in…friends…family…loved ones…friends in the blogosphere…you are so important…so vital…so encouraging…never underestimate the power of an apt word…I am forever grateful.

The verses I have memorized over the last few weeks:

“Surely he will never be shaken;
a righteous man will be remembered forever.
He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on all his foes.”

Psalm 112: 6-8

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls is faithful and he will do it.”

I Thessalonians 5: 23, 24

“May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”

Romans 15: 13 (AMP)

These verses lead into the verse I alluded to in a previous post for 2008:

“God will let you laugh again;
you’ll raise the roof with shouts of joy.”

Job 8: 21 (MSG)

I am beginning to laugh again…and it is because of God…Who He Is…not what my circumstances declare.  I can’t wait to raise the roof with shouts of joy…I hope they happen down here and not only in Heaven…I trust God that the happy dances are coming…the bubbling is starting…

As I end this post today, I am reminded of the opening line that I said to Carl and it seems so familiar…

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

I Peter 1: 6-9

Tenderly God whispers to me that I don’t possess an original thought, which is alright by me if it means that I can begin to  possess more of His mind than my own faulty one…how amazing to be able to express all of that in 4 verses instead of many paragraphs! 

Life today is not perfect…there is still much that I am waiting for God to accomplish and complete but in the midst of it God is my joy and because of this I can say ”the joy of the Lord is my strength!”
 
 

February 25, 2008

 

Last week’s verse:  “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole soul, spirit and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” 

I Thessalonians 5 : 23, 24.

This is such a powerful verse to me…I am so glad that I don’t have to “leave it behind” as I choose another verse…in fact, I intend to keep it close this year…

I realized that I had this scripture memorized fairly well already so it was really nice to focus on just a section at a time…

• May God himself
• The God of Peace
• Sanctify you THROUGH and THROUGH
• May Your WHOLE SOUL
• May Your WHOLE SPIRIT
• May Your WHOLE BODY
• Be kept blameless
• The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
• The One Who calls YOU
• The One Who calls you IS FAITHFUL
• AND
• HE WILL DO IT!!!!

Meditate on each part…it is life changing…shaking and mind blowing.

I was so taken by thinking about this God of peace that sanctifies me…setting me apart…cleaning me up…I will speak for myself…this will take some industrial strength cleanser…would I really think that it would be that attribute of God that would exhibit to do this…maybe it is because I am supposed to surrender…my whole soul, my whole spirit and my whole body to Him…wave my flag to enter His Peace.  Yes, it will take work on both our parts…but Paul reminds me that the One who calls me is faithful and He will do it…He will accomplish that which seems impossible…HE WILL DO IT!!!

The God of Peace gives me hope…here’s a verse that combines them both:

 “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”      

 Romans 15: 13 (AMP)

Don’t you want to bubble over?

Join Memory Verse Monday here.

Cover to Cover-Week 8 February 24, 2008

 

This week’s readings:  Leviticus 8-25

How interesting that I hit a figurative wall this week in the book of Leviticus…I didn’t seem to have as much energy towards my time in Leviticus and I got a bit behind…not a great place to lag behind.

As I have seen in Genesis, Job, Exodus and now in Leviticus…there is a wall between God and His people.  The wall that begin to be built in the Garden with pleasing looking fruit and a crafty serpent…continued as Job and those around him tried to explain and understand God’s ways…Moses not believing that God would use him to accomplish His purpose…the Israelites grumbling at their perception of a God would not meet their needs…and continuing to choose other things beside God to worship. 

There is a wall because God is holy and we are not.

“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
Leviticus 19: 2

Look at the difference between what I wrote and what God wrote…there is a wall…I see the vast differences between me and God…yet God says to me…to us…be holy because I am holy!  He is not a God from a distance that is too far removed in holiness to dwell with us…He is a God that desires that we walk in holiness as He is holy…oh my!

Leviticus was a manual to aid the children of God in how approach this Holy God…there was a right way to come before God.  If there was any question…read chapter 10…Aaron’s two sons made strange/unauthorized fire and the Lord consumed them with fire. 

As I was catching up in Leviticus and reading about the many offerings and instructions that God gave…I happened to open up my Daily Light one morning and was treated to the bridge that obliterates the wall…the wall that God never wanted to be present…the wall that is crushed to pieces by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!~ The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.~ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.  Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:  “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body prepared for Me.”  By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Abel…brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.  And the Lord respected Abel and his offering.~ Christ…has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.~ [Have] boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.

HEB. 12: 24; John 1: 29; Rev. 13: 8; Heb. 10: 4-5, 10; Gen. 4: 4; Eph. 5: 2; Heb. 10: 22; Heb. 10: 19

What offering are you bringing before God today?  Will it be an offering of your whole life or only a part?  Will the offering bring a pleasing fragrance to the Lord?  Will you join me in giving Him thanks today that we can approach Him at any time and at any place because Jesus has torn the veil?  We have been invited into the Throne Room!

Thank You Lord that that the wall is gone…Help us not to reconstruct it with sin…Amen.

Join us at Bev’s place 

A great resource that helped me with my “wall” this week…What the Bible Is All About by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears.  Despite having a difficult week in Leviticus…I continue to be amazed by God’s Word…there is not one extra stroke of the pen that should not be there…every word has meaning and a purpose and some are so far reaching that it is a bit of a mind bender.  I stand in awe and continue to realize the importance of the whole counsel of God’s Word… 

Memory Verse Monday (Thursday) February 21, 2008

 

Alright…it’s not Monday…I know…but I woke up on Tuesday and I thought it was Saturday.  The house was quiet…Carl was not in bed next to me…so I assumed he had already left for his Saturday morning basketball ritual…I wondered why we hadn’t mentioned it the night before like we usually do…but oh well, I thought…as I cleared the sleep out of my eyes…in came Caleb bounding on top of me in bed…this was weird as we have a “rule” that our little ones stay in their rooms until they are told to get up…why did he come down on his own…then came Carlen all dressed in her cute new polo shirt…I asked her what she was doing up so early…she said she had just gotten back from getting gas for her car…why I asked…where are you going?  She looked at me with a puzzled expression and said…to school Mom!  Then it dawned on me that it definitely was not SATURDAY and beyond that…I had seriously overslept.  I was disoriented all day and most of this week…so by my miscalculations…it’s actually is Monday!

I love God’s Word…you know the scripture of how God’s Word does not come back void until it has done what it is intended to do…my wonderful paraphrase…well, I am realizing that however I read His Word…there is greater benefit than I would envision…regardless if I study it, meditate on it, pray it, hear it preached, read it devotionally or memorize it…it never comes back void!

Last week, I had several opportunities to share my verse…it wasn’t forced…it was in the natural flow of conversation…I loved that…

“Surely he will never be shaken,
a righteous man will be remembered forever.

He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast,
trusting in the Lord.

His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”

Psalm 112: 6-8

These verses gave me strength and a change in my mindset…I had to laugh today as my daughter played a joke on me…telling me that she didn’t make her softball team…I got that momentary feeling of “OH NO…How is that possible?”
“Was the coach not being truthful when he said they had been waiting for 2 years for Carlen to turn out?”

I realize how quickly my mind can devise so many scenarios that rob my joy, peace and lead me down a path of distrust…how desperately I want my heart to be secure and steadfast…I want to fully trust in the Lord…and today I realize that bad news is sure to come…but I don’t have to fear it because I have received the Good News…the best news of all that is for everyday…in the midst of days filled with less than stellar news.

I just finished the Beth Moore study called A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place…it is the study of the Tabernacle…I initially was to do this study with a group of women this summer but because of a number of conflicts, I decided to embark on the study by myself…I had many stops and starts in this study and this was difficult for me because I tend towards perfection and doing things “the right way”…but I believe it was by God’s design for me to take it slow…in so many ways, I didn’t want to see it end…it is an amazing study…I highly recommend it…

Last night as I was finishing the final day of study…I “stumbled” upon my verse for this week…actually I believe it is to be added to my other verse (Job 8:21) and comprise my verses for 2008…Someday soon I will write about the significance of the scripture in Job…it is pictured on my sidebar but for now here is my verse for this week and year:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

I Thessalonians 5: 23, 24.

Join others here…on Mondays…really!

 

 

Cover to Cover-Week 7 February 17, 2008

 

This week’s readings:  Exodus 28-Leviticus 7

There is so much that I could write about this week…so much happened to the people of Israel…in fact, it reminds me of  John when he closed the Gospel of John with these words:

“Jesus did many other things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would be written.”  (John 21: 25)

It is difficult to edit myself especially when there is so much material to write about…however, I have decided to just write about what grabbed my attention again when I read over my notes from this past week…something that reminded me of a personal situation of my own that relates to this past week…but in reverse.

My oldest daughter Carlen is now 18 and a senior in high school…when she was in the 4th grade, the Lord put upon my heart to begin a Moms In Touch group for our elementary school.  At that time, it was probably one of the biggest leaps of faith that I had encountered…but God was faithful and so were the other women that met weekly to lift up our children, their teachers and our little school.  God gave us such tremendous favor that first year…doors were opened that could only be by His hands.

The second year was faced with huge opposition…even recalling that time today fills my eyes with tears and my arms with goose bumps because it was devastating and intense.  At the beginning of Carlen’s 5th grade year, a sweet girl in her class committed the unimaginable and she took her own life.  I don’t even have to explain to you what this did to all of our lives…it was like a crystal vase being dropped from a high ledge…our little community was shattered.  Carlen still bears the scars from that time…it was a deep wounding.  My time table may be off slightly but a few weeks later, I was watching Carlen play basketball after-school and our other daughter Courtney was playing around in the gym with a friend…and she stood on the bench (of course, she had been told numerous times to stop) where all the spectators were sitting and she lost her balance and hit her head against a piece of metal…blood was everywhere and panic ensued…a multitude of stitches later and a few gray hairs for me…Then on a foggy morning, I pulled my minivan up to the front of the school, let both girls out of the car onto the sidewalk…waved goodbye…looked ahead…took my foot off my brake and as the car began to roll forward I heard a thud…stopping the car immediately, I got out and saw a young boy on the ground but before I could even respond…he jumped up immediately to his feet…initially I thought that I had run into him but in actuality he had run into my car,an impulsive little guy…thankfully he had only a few scraps and bruises.

As the six moms gathered for prayer the following Monday…we sat a bit dazed and confused…what was happening?  Where was God in all of this?

On Sunday, my friend Kim, who was one of the praying moms, grabbed me by the hand during worship and took me to the back of the sanctuary where the elders were waiting to pray for others.  She briefly explained what had transpired over such a short time and that she felt that not only was our group under spiritual attack but that the attacks were becoming more and more directed towards me as the leader.  We were prayed for and he said he would provide a prayer covering for us but I will never forget what he also said…”Just imagine if you had not been praying?!”

I had never taken that perspective before…my mind had said…God, what is happening…we are calling out to You and how could you allow all of this to happen…WHY?  It doesn’t make sense?  Truly, it will never make sense to me but now I have been given new eyes that see that God can prevent and protect…He can allow and He can hinder…He can push fast forward and He can push pause…we only see what is before our eyes but we don’t know…can’t even fathom the underground work of the Father or in some cases the mountain top work…

How does this tie into what I read this week and you are probably wondering if I forgot that I said that I was going to edit myself better…so here goes!

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us.  As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32: 1)

Vision:  What our eyes see can get us in trouble…remember Eve…”when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.”  (Genesis 3: 6)
When the Israelites saw with their own eyes that Moses was not coming down as quickly as they thought…they lost confidence and questioned their purpose…just what were we doing here anyway? 

When I saw all these hard things happening around me and yet I had been praying…it was tempting to lose hope…abandon the ship…it was easy to ask myself…Umm, didn’t You tell me to start this group…things were better before we started…

Patience/Steadfastness/Endurance: The people saw that Moses was so long in coming…the Psalmist cries…How long Lord…how long…I cried…When Lord…when will we see the fulfillment of Your promises?  The Israelite’s impatience led them to sin by making idols to serve as their gods…a whole generation of people would miss out on entering the land of milk and honey because they could not wait.  I don’t want to miss God rolling out the red carpet of His accomplished promises to me…I want to wait patiently with expectancy.

Leadership:  The people went to the second in command…Aaron.  The wording “gathered around” leads me to think this was a bit of a mob mentality event…Aaron’s leadership was quickly usurped and he gave into the Israelite’s pleas. 

When our vision is clouded make sure to seek earthly leadership that will steer in the direction of the Almighty God and not man made gods.  How thankful I am that my friend led me to one that could tangibly give wise counsel and heartfelt prayers and petitions.  I also want to make sure that when I am in the position of leadership that I seek the Lord and don’t act on impulse or because of peer pressure or trying to please man instead of God.

Live or Memorex:  Moses had tarried and the Israelites needed someone to follow…someone to lead them…they realized their need but they unwisely chose a cheap substitute to the King of Kings. I need to be careful who and what I choose to follow…I want the real authentic God.

Fickle or Faithful:  The Israelites called Moses “this fellow”…This fellow who had done mighty acts in God’s Name…who had been God’s mouthpiece and had lead them out of Egypt…he had been their visible leader and now he was just “this fellow”.  Will we be faithful to the end?  Will we serve Him with unswerving devotion no matter if we don’t see Him moving on our behalf?  Will we give Him the honor and glory due His Name…reminding ourselves of past intervention when our vision becomes obscured by a cloud?

The Hidden Work:  The Israelites didn’t know what had happened to Moses…I am sure there must have been some fear…they had seen lightning and a mountain engulfed in smoke and heard thunder and trumpets and the last glance they saw of Moses, he was approaching God in the thick darkness…what had happened to him indeed.

What the people didn’t know was hidden from them but was about to be revealed to them.  God was writing His law upon stone and He was exacting the pattern of worship for His people.  He was instructing Moses how He was going to dwell with the people…a loving God wanting to draw close to His people.

We can’t imagine or comprehend what God is doing beyond our view.  How it broke my heart when I read this week of Moses throwing down the tablets of stone…ones that were the very work of God…the very writing of God’s fingers…when I exchange the fullness of God for a lie…it is like removing that which He has inscribed upon my heart and choosing to change the font.  How God’s anger burned against His people…He had to physically remove Himself from their presence so He would not kill them…that my friends, is the age old definition of sin and it still continues to this day…how I never want to forfeit His presence!

Lord,

Make us a people that do not grow weary in waiting on You.  Help us to trust You and Your ways.  Help us to not exchange You for false gods that can do nothing to save us.
Thank You Lord that You are so patient with us as we learn more and more about You and Your ways.  We long to dwell with You…teach us to rest in You and finish well.

You deserve all the honor…all the glory…all the praise!

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen!

“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you’
Your name and renown are the desires of our hearts.”

Isaiah 26: 8

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Happy Heart Day… February 14, 2008

More of You…Less of me… February 12, 2008

Me in the wee hours of the night:

“I feel like You are this huge volume…bigger and more vast than I have ever seen or beheld…the pages are endless…to even try to hold You in my hands would be fruitless…my lap would not be able to contain You…how could I withstand Your weight?

Today Lord, I am one of those pages…today I fold down the corner of that page…to dog ear it so to speak…

Today I bow my knees before You and say…I want You…I want more of You…I am willing…I will follow You…I am not afraid of what it will cost and what is required…or what it will look like…I want You…wholly You…HOLY YOU…and because you are God and because You are Mighty and Vast…each one of us can bend down the corner of our given page…our lives…for there is room…oh so much room for us to fold our lives into the center of Who You Are…

AMEN!

David and Asaph say:

“O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Psalm 63: 1-5

“Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My heart and my flesh may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you,

But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.”

Psalm 73: 22-28

John Waller sings:

Memory Verse Monday February 11, 2008

Last week I read a post from my blog friend Susan about Memory Verse Monday…I thought…that’s great but I already do a Monday posting for the cover to cover Bible reading…this would be too much.

Today, I went to Susan’s site and read what the Lord had done this past week as a result of her hiding God’s Word in her heart and life.  I felt prompted but not enough to dip more than my toe in the water.

I wrote an email to a friend and as I was describing an area of trust that I want to have victory in…a verse from my time with the Lord the day before came back…now what was the complete verse?  Where was the verse located?  Thankfully I had written it in my journal as a remembrance…it had been a powerful verse to me last year as well.

So you guessed…I am desiring to hide more of God’s Word in my heart…will you pray for me?!

These are my verses for this week:

“Surely he will never be shaken;
a righteous man will be remembered forever.
He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast trusting in the LORD.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”
Psalm 112: 6-8

Thank you Susan for the example and for linking me to Karen at Karen’s Ramblings so I could sign up as well.

Have a blessed day…however you achieve it….take some time to hide God’s Word in your heart…I for one, am dusting off my spiral bound index cards right now!

Helen

Cover to Cover-Week 6 February 11, 2008

 

This week’s readings: Exodus 7:14-Exodus 27

Synopsis:  Moses pleads with an unyielding Pharaoh to let God’s people go…God sends 10 plagues…The first Passover…Pharaoh finally allows the Israelites to go worship God in the desert…Moses carries Joseph’s bones to their final resting place…Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues the Israelites…God appears to His people in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night…God parts the Red Sea to rescue his people…those pursuing God’s people do not escape the Red Sea…Moses and Miriam sing songs of praise and deliverance…God’s people grumble and blame…God hears and sends manna…He also sends quail…the people quarrel with Moses because of their thirst…God causes Moses to bring forth water from a rock…Joshua leads the battle against the Amalekites…Moses builds an altar called The Lord Is My Banner…Moses’ father-in-law Jethro visits him…Moses shares with Jethro and he believes in God…Jethro dispatches advice to Moses about handling the disputes of the people and receiving help…Moses does everything Jethro advises…the people consecrate themselves as they prepare to meet with God…God descends…Moses ascends…Moses returns with 10 commandments…other laws are given…Moses meets with God within the cloud for 40 days and 40 nights…God gives instructions in building the tabernacle where God will dwell among His people.

These are the words, questions, verses and thoughts that lingered with me this week:

“Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let my people go.” (7: 14)-What area(s) in my life is/are unyielding?  What area does the enemy not want me to yield?  Do I have a pharaoh in my life that I feel is stronger than God in me…that just won’t let me go?

“Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.” (7: 16)-Once again…what do I need to let go of so that I can fully worship God…especially when I am in the desert place?

“And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.” (7: 24) Due to Pharaoh’s disobedience, the the first plague of the water turning to blood occurred…disobedience causes more work than would ordinarily be necessary…for the person and those around them.

“Tomorrow” (8: 10) Pharaoh’s response to Moses says he will pray for the removal of all the frogs.  Do I say tomorrow to God when I am living in the midst of piles of stench…of death?  God tells us to choose this day who we will serve…not to choose tomorrow who we will serve.

“But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron.” (8: 14)-What is my response when I see my own consequences subsiding…do my convictions let up as well?

“How long will you refuse to humble yourself?” (10: 3)-How long indeed!

“Now forgive my sin once more…” (10: 17)-Do I ever get cavalier about my own sin or in asking for forgiveness?  Do I have a problem with besetting sins?

“God will surely come to your aid,” (13: 19)-These were Joseph’s words to the sons of Israel…words of faith and reliance on God’s word and promises…our words and life of faith can impact future generations…speak words of hope and trust in the Lord.

“Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (13: 22)-Today we may not have a physical manifestation of the Lord but we have His indwelling Holy Spirit that is always with us…we have our Ever-Present Help… He will never leave us.

“Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring today.  The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (14: 13,14)-Today…don’t be afraid…stand firm…and you WILL see the deliverance of the Lord. Don’t you love how Moses says that they will never see the Egyptians (again) that they see at that moment…what enemy would you like to never see again?  Rest assured that the Lord will fight for you…just be still.

The Desert of Sin-(16: 1)-sometimes our own times of desert can be a result of sin.

“If only…”  “But you…”(16: 3)-Am I quick to point the finger when I am uncomfortable?  Do I forget deliverance once I am hungry?  Do I think my old life of bondage is more desirable than the freedom God is taking me into?

“I will rain down bread from heaven” (16: 4)-Oh, the provision of the Lord.

“They looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.” (16: 10)-In the desert…God’s glory will meet you.

“…some gathered much, and some little…he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.  Each one gathered as much as he needed.” (16: 16, 17)-God’s provision and grace is available each day for us…there are days where we seem to need more and other days where we need just a touch…whatever our need…be it huge or small…it is there for us…we just have to go out and gather it.

“When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other–so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” (17: 12)-Do you have an Aaron and a Hur in your life?  We all need people in our lives that will help us in fulfilling our calling in the Lord especially when we grown tired.

“The Lord is my Banner” (17: 15)-Is He your Banner?  Is He the standard that goes before you each day?

“Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods…” (18: 11)-Moses’ father-in-law Jethro believes in God through witnessing the power and glory of God in Moses’ life.

“Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.” (18: 24)-I love this picture of honor and listening on the part of Moses to his elder.

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared…since my Name is in him.” (23: 20,21)
This very morning, our pastor spoke in church about angels and believing that God dispatches His angels on our behalf and that we each have at least one angel that is always with us…believe this today that you have an angel that’s Name is in him…that is bringing you to the place where the Lord has prepared.

“but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near.”
(24: 1)-Only Moses could meet with God…the others at a distance.  Today we can all draw near to God…let’s not stand at a distance.

“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” “Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”(25: 8,9)-It was always God’s desire to dwell with us…from the beginning…in the garden…God’s Word to us is completely about His endless desire to dwell with us and us with Him…He will show us how…

What a full week!  If you want to read more comments or to join us, click here.  Remember the current reading schedule is located in The Library…

Have a blessed week!

Helen