Where is God?

Augustine said: “If there is no God, why is there so much good?  If there is a God, why is there so much evil?

“My mind shifted to the life of Christ on earth, and attacks directed against him:  a slaughter of babies, temptations, betrayal, and finally death.  Yet God transformed seeming defeat, even the unimaginable death of his own Son, into victory.—Where is God When it Hurts?---Philip Yancey  

There are people asking "Why didn't God do a miracle to protect the innocent little children in Newtown, Connecticut?"  I thank God that he did do a miracle by limiting the massacre of the hundreds of children in their school Friday.  I thank God that He protected the sisters of one little boy who died that day.  Jesus too experienced the slaughter of the innocent, He wept over his city.  The heartbreak of the families who are burying their children, as well as those who are burying their moms, sisters, aunts, grandmas, must be beyond measure.  I know that God cares for these people.  I know that God loves each one.  He hears their cries.

Both this school shooting and the mall shooting last week have focused our thoughts on the darkness of evil and death, even as the Light of Christmas is being celebrated.  I don't have great, wise words, to explain the unexplainable,  but I do trust in the Word of God to speak into our hearts and lives.  

Psalm 11:4 says; "But the Lord is in his holy Temple;

    the Lord still rules from heaven.
He watches everyone closely,
    examining every person on earth."  


God is still ruling over all creation.  God is Love.  Completely, totally love.  What I see on my TV screen, is sorrow, anger, blame, madness, suffering.  But God is not absent.  He gives strength to those who suffer and asks those of us who have faith to share that faith with those who need it.  He asks us to mourn with those who mourn.  I don't know any of these families in Connecticut, but I can still pray for them, asking God to provide them with strength to endure, comfort from family and friends and a peace that can only come from God himself.

Revelation 21:4 says, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  Comfort can be found in trusting that God is now caring for the children who have died.  That One Day, there will be no more sorrow, no more death, One Day He will make everything right!

In Matthew 10:29-31 the words Jesus spoke are recorded: "What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin?  But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows."  Every person that God has created is valued by God.  He showed us His love, by sending Jesus into the world as a helpless baby, to live among us and experience life here in a fallen world, where violence, oppression and poverty are all around.  Jesus lived and died sinless and took his life back again to complete God's salvation plan.  Jesus showed us the heart of God.  He cared so much he gave his life for us.

One thing that stands out to me when tragedy, accident or illness takes the lives of young children, is that it is of the utmost importance to teach our youngest ones to truth that God loves them and is in control.  What a blessing to know as you send them out the door that no matter what happens they can believe, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid."  (Hebrews 13:6)


If you are interested in much more profound words then mine on suffering and where God is when evil destroys, you should read Philip Yancey's books, "Where is God when it hurts? and "Disappointment with God".

Talk to you again soon.  

God's Will For You!

November has been a busy month!  Helping my son's family settle into their new home has keep me on the road.  As well as celebrating with my daughter's family the baptism of their oldest.  Planning, shopping and preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 24 people.  And yesterday (11/25/12) my husband and I had the privilege of listening to our son speak on Living Quiet In a Loud World in his church, you can hear it at Waterfordwired.org.  He spoke from Mark 1:21-39, Jesus was just starting his public ministry and he was busy!  He began teaching, casting out evil spirits, healing people, yet after resting his body, instead of getting right back at it the next morning, he went off by himself before anyone else was awake to pray.   The Big Idea from the message was, Seeking quiet gives us opportunity for:
1. Perspective, clarifying what God wants us to be doing.
2. Learning, being taught from God himself.
3. Listening, really being still and listening to God.              

I am struck this morning that I have so much to be thankful for!  So I want to linger here in Thanksgiving, not run head long into Christmas yet.  Just be still and gain some perspective on what God's will is.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Did you catch that?  God's will for you in Christ Jesus is to be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.  There is a quote attributed to Dwight L. Moody that says, "I have noticed this, that when a man is full of the Holy Ghost, he is the very last man to be complaining of other people.  He loves everybody too tenderly.  He loves even a cold church, and is anxious to lift them up and bring them to a kinder feeling and sympathy."  

When you and I take the time to be with Jesus we gain perspective on God's kingdom and our place in it.  I can experience Joy because he saved me from sin and called me his child! (1 Peter 1:17-19, "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to your from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.")    

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The Joy of the Lord is your strength."  JOY is part of the Fruit of The Spirit.  Spending time with Jesus changes your perspective by giving you Joy when you view your current struggles in light of eternity.   2 Cor. 4:16-18 says, "Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  Remember, Joy is not being Polly Anna happy all the time.  It is being content in any and every situation, doing everything through him who gives me strength.  Remembering that whatever happens to you has really served to advance the gospel.  (Phil 1:12) "The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached  and because of this I rejoice."  (Phil. 1:18)  Joy is having faith in God's plan and purpose for you!

God has been teaching me about JOY the entire month.

Next, PRAY continually.  This too is God's will for you.  To stay in contact with God.  Tell him your sorrows, let him comfort you.  God wants to hear your desires.  He knows what your heart desires, "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted, you encourage them, and you listen to their cry"  Psalm 10:17.  "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."  Col. 4:2.  He wants you to pray for your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, your enemies, your church.  His will is that you talk with him.   

Finally, GIVE THANKS.  No matter what circumstances you are in, God is near.  You are reconciled to God in Christ.  You have the fruit of the Spirit in you!  When you remember that God is faithful, you can give thanks even in very bad places, with very lame people!  God is watching over you, even when it seems like he is far from you. Take time to be quiet and read his word, give yourself the joy of hearing from God.  " Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him"  Col.  16-17.

Magnify Christ by serving him with Joy, Praying always, giving Thanks that he is faithful.

Seasons-Winter

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under heaven:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

As the season changes from fall to winter, I am reminded again that I don't want winter to come.  I don't like the cold, the dirty snow, the lack of vegetation.  But there is nothing I can do about Winter, it comes whether I like it or not.  

The teacher writes in Ecc. 3, that there is a time for everything a season for every activity.  Seasons were created for good reason.  Winter has its purpose.  The fields rest (except for winter wheat, which is already getting a head start for next years harvest), the bushes are pruned, the weeds in the garden die back, but winter is cold and dark, nothing I long for.  

I have found myself to be in winter.  Some call it "the dark night of the soul", "the wall", "a crisis of faith".  It is a place that is very unnatural to me, I am one who chases after God refusing to left out in the cold.  I sing with the Psalmist "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord".  Yet even when I am there I feel the cold, dark, Winter in my soul.  Have I left God?  Has He left me?  Why am I in the unproductive season of Winter?

In Psalm 88:13, "O Lord, I cry out to you.  I will keep on pleading day by day.  O Lord, why do you reject me?  Why do you turn your face away from me?  And in verse 18, "You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend."  Sounds like the cold, dark, lonely, Winter.  

I refuse to believe that God has rejected me.  I know that He is love.  I know that He wants to reveal Himself to me through His Word.  I know that Christ Jesus died for me, so why am I in the dark, cold, Winter?  

Spiritual Rhythm, Being with Jesus Every Season of your Soul. by Mark Buchanan.  Nearing Home, Life, Faith, and Finishing Well, by Billy Graham have helped me to see the value of Winter.  Just as my lot in life is chosen by God with all its joys, accomplishments, beauty, irritations, trials and difficulties:  Psalm 16:5 says, "Lord, you have assigned my portion and my cup-you have made my lot secure", so too He has allowed this season to come for His purposes and my good.  

Mark Buchanan says " when Christ dwelt on earth, he certainly had such moments, and he sought both the consolation of his Father and the companionship of his friends to ease his dread and his sorrow.  "Will no one stay awake with me?"  Jesus asked.  Sometimes, I think, he still asks it.  Is it possible that in this winter of yours, when you desperately need Jesus to stay with you, he's just as happy for you to stay with him?"  

Could it be that in my business of relationships and service, I wasn't spending the time with him that he wanted?  The Shepherd of my soul, wants me to yield to him and come along side him.  To just stay awake with him, to be content beside him.  

Billy Graham says, "True joy is derived from depending on the Lord Jesus.  He is the One who supplies our strength in weakness, "for when we are weak, He is strong", (2 Cor. 12:10)".  Remember "the righteous will live by faith" (Hak. 2:4, Heb. 10:38).  Graham teaches that when you are friendless and lonely focus on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-3), encourage others and pray for others (Heb 10:24-25), and continue to study and meditate on God's Word to present yourself to God as one approved (2 Tim. 2:15).

Winter is a time of different work, a time to prune back, a time to prepared yourself for the spring.  A time to focus on Christ and wait.  There is a calm in Winter, you can't do all of the work of summer, you have less responsibility.  You have time to look back and remember how you have experienced God in the past.  You have time to think ahead to what will come.  And you have time to enjoy being in his presence today and trusting Him.

The Winter is a the place where I can't survive without faith.  I don't feel His presence, I don't see His face, yet I still believe He loves me and I know that Spring will come, because he is in charge of the seasons.  

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful"  Hebrews 10:23.

Living Biblically

I saw a story on the Today Show this morning about blogger Rachel Held Evans who wrote a book about "Living as a Biblical Woman".  Maybe it is similar to the book "The Year of Living Biblically" by A. J. Jacobs.  Evans lived by Old Testament laws for festivals, food, drink, bodily functions, etc.  She twisted the meaning of  Proverbs 21:9;  "It is better to live on the corner of a roof, than to live with a contentious woman." By going up on the corner of her roof "to pay penance" for being contentious, instead of sending her husband up there to get away from her when she was being contentious.  I think she was trying to show that we aren't to live literally under the law, by being absurd, but what she said may have confused those who watched her sound bite on a network news program.

Last week in this blog, I talked about reading the Bible, praying for insight, remembering who it was originally was written to, thinking about the type of literature the portion you are reading is, and applying the truth to your life and acting on what God has revealed to you.  There is much of the Biblical record that teaches history and lists rules for God's chosen people to set them apart.  I do believe that all of God's Word is valuable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, I also believe that we now live under the finished work of Christ and have a relationship with God through Him, so we no longer live under the law.  God is concerned with our hearts, not rules.

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, He said,  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  (Matt. 22:37-40).    To live Biblically we need to remember God in all we do and we need to remember the needs of others, just like we remember to care for our own needs.

What does it look like to live Biblically?  How am I suppose to live to glorify God?  Is it all too difficult to figure out?  Does God want everyone to be the same?  What did Jesus mean that His yoke is easy and his burden is light?  Living Biblically like Evans did, was a heavy burden of rules (A.J. Jacobs said he found over 700 rules when he read through the Bible for his year long experience).  If you love Jesus as your Savior you obey him out of that love relationship.  I live for Him who died for me out of a thankful heart.  He gave everything so that I could be made right with God.  I am in relationship, a child of the King!  I don't do it perfectly,  I don't have to, Jesus paid the debt that I could not pay.  I am free to live for Him under grace.  He empowers me to love when I yield to His Spirit.

Paul's letter to the Ephesians speaks to the fact that we obey God in response to the salvation we have already received.  Paul's prayer in Ephesians chapter one says, "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."  (Eph 1:15-23).  

Later in the same letter, Paul continues in prayer for these people, "For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen."  (Eph. 3:14-21).    

If you want to live Biblically, confess your need for Jesus to be your Savior and follow the Spirit's leading in your life.  Love God and Love Others.  All other laws hang on these two things.  Read the first three chapters of Ephesians, pray these prayers for yourself, thank God for what he has done for you and in you.  Read the last three chapters of Ephesians to see how to live out your faith in the church, in your family, in the workplace and how to be strong in the Lord.

Praying for you.  Talk to you again soon.

Happy People

"Truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it.  They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says.  Those who do this will be made happy.  (James 1:25)

Daily Bible reading keeps me in range of God's voice.  The more I read, the more I understand God's story, His character, His heart.  I need to pray for the desire to read and for the Holy Spirit to illumine what I read.

The Bible is God's love story.  The Bible was recorded by men, who were inspired by God Himself.  The Bible claims to be the very Word of God.  "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Certainly there are obscure and confusing passages, but that is one more reason to read the Bible in entirety to get the big picture.  Struggling with something that you have read?  Pray for understanding.  God is asking us to live in the grace of what we do understand.  God wants to nourish us spiritually, He gave us His truth that is "able to build you up"  (Acts 20:32).

The Bible is God's love story, of how He created people for relationship, how people chose to sin against God and how God planned to redeem people back from sin.  The Old Testament looks forward to a Savior, the New Testament looks back to how God would bring a Savior out of the nation that He set apart.  The final chapter in the story we look forward to, when Christ will come again to make all things new.  All creation will praise Jesus who gives all glory to god the Father.

Do I matter to God?  Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so!  Dive in read the Gospels.  Read the Psalms, read the doubt and the faith.  Read the description of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, then read the description of the crucifixion of Jesus.  The Bible says, "Christ died for the ungodly.  But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.....we have now been justified by the blood"  (made right through what Jesus did)  (Romans 5:6, 8).

Warren Wiersbe says, "We use the Bible devotionally when we allow it to speak to us personally as we are taught by the Spirit of God (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-15).  All Scripture was not written to us, but it was written for us."

I heard a story about a dad asking his daughter to go clean her room.  First, notice the relationship, she was his daughter.  You are God's child when you trust by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.  The girl went to her room and came back a little later and said, "Dad I memorized what you said."  The faither was surprised  "you memorized what I said?"  "Yes", the girl answered, "Go and clean your room."  "That's great the father replied, "did you do it?"  "No", she answered, "but I discussed what you said with my girlfriends.  We all agree, Great Words!"

The Bible is God's story, He wants you to enjoy an abundant life as His follower.  The Bible does contain Great Words.   But don't just read the Bible, memorize it and spend time with others discussing it, do what it says.  Show Him that you love Him by spending time hearing Him speak to you through His Word.  Pray His word back to Him.  Act on what you do understand.  "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:22-24).  

The Bible says, that we will grow in our understanding, you won't understand everything, but God wants you to know and understand Him.  1 Corinthians 13:11-13 says, "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 childish things behind me.  Now we see but a poor 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 know.  And now these three remain;  faith, hope, and love.  but the greatest of these is love."

The Bible says, you will be happy when you study and obey.  Jesus told His followers, "if you love me you will obey me."  He said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house;  yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock"  (Matthew 7:24-27.  Truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it.  They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says.  Those who do this will be made happy (James 1:25).  

Trust and obey, there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Safekeeping All Valuables

"...for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day"  2 Timothy 1:12 NASB.

Do you trust that God is in control?  In His Sovereignty and through His Love, He cares for all His children.  Nothing can touch the Christian that hasn't come through His hand.  Your future is secure.  No matter what you are battling, or who you are worrying over, God can be trusted to care for you and your loved ones.

Jesus said, "I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or your body, what you will wear.  Life is more than food and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens, God feeds them.  And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"  Luke 12:22-26.  

I worry about my children and my grandchildren.   But aren't they more valuable than the birds?  God asks me to trust Him with them.  He asked me to be open handed with my very first child, I knew from the beginning that she was a gift from God that I was only God's caretaker of this precious life.  Every child belongs to God, I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him.  I have entrusted my soul to Him, by faith in Christ Jesus.  I have entrusted my loved ones to Him.  I have entrusted the Church, universal and each local congregation that I love, to Him.

This is not an attitude of "oh well I can't do anything about this anyway, I'll let go and let God."  No, it is an attitude of recognizing that the One who I offer things to with an open hand is trustworthy.  First and foremost I offer Him all of me, I trust Him with my soul, my life, my loves.  I trust Him with the blessings He pours out on my life.  I trust Him with the struggles and the sorrows He brings my way.  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:  'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"  Romans 8:35-39.

I have no fear because I know that God is watching over those I love.  "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" 3 John 4.  Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.  I have confidence in Him.

Drawing Near

"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...."  Isaiah 49:16.

The closer we get to Jesus, the more we see His love for us.  If you are standing far away from Him you can't see the nail marks in His hands.  But when you come close and spend time with Jesus you will see His amazing love for you, that He demonstrated on the cross.

Isaiah 25 says: "O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt you and praise Your Name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.  ....You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.  ......On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever.  The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth.  The Lord has spoken.  In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.  This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Are you struggling with your health, your finances, your job, your relationships?  Worried about your family, your parents, your children?  Fearful of the unknown?  Focusing on the One who gave His life for yours quiets your fears.  Come close to Jesus, read His words; "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"  Mark 10:45, remember the scars in His hands, He gave His life as a ransom for you.  He is your Savior.  "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.  He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.  When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." Luke 6:48.  Even when troubles come, your life is held firm, your foundation is sure.  Jesus said, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart I have overcome the world."  John 16:33.  

There is no substitute for knowing that your Shepherd is near.  Even when all is dark, trust that His eye is on you and that His love is proven.

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:8.

The God you can know.

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...that our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us." A. W. Tozer

Someone told me that "we can't know God", this person believes that God is unknowable.

And yet Jesus said, If you know me, you know the Father.  In John 14:6-9, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.".....Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."  

When I am struggling with issues in life, I come back to what I know is true about God.  God is holy.  God is just.  God is love.  God created us to be in relationship with himself and with other people.  He created us to love God and love others.

When the kids were little, I would say playfully, "What are you good for?"  and they would answer me, "good for loving."  We would hug.  They had learn from their dad and I that that was what children where for....loving.  That's what God created us for, for loving.

Philip Yancey, in one of his books said; "Jesus' response to suffering people and to 'nobodies' provides a glimpse into the heart of God.  God is not the unmoved Absolute, but rather the Loving One who draws near."

Do you want to know more about God.  Read and meditate on the scriptures!  The Word of God will show you the heart of God.  The Word of God is what the Spirit of God uses to change the life of the child of God.  Jesus revealed the heart of God.

"And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe"  1 Thessalonians 2:13.

As you study the scriptures, recognizing the effect that sin has had on all of creation, how it broke our love relationship with God and other people, how God had a plan from the very beginning to redeem us through the cross of Christ, remember that He created us for love.  We feel like hypocrites and fools coming back and asking for God to forgive us of the same sin, again and again.  But He is glad to hear from us, and He doesn't even remember that sin for which you asked forgiveness yesterday or the day before (Is. 43:25).  God is the God of Grace, He wants to love you.  The God who created us loves us so much that HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON to DIE that we might live with His Spirit guiding us forever into eternity (John 3:16, 1 John 3:16).  That's the God who is waiting for you to spend time with Him.  The God who created you for loving.  The God you can know!

Ready While Waiting

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but in the one to come."  Ephesians 1:17-21

The Prophet Habakkuk struggled with questions, why God doesn't do something about wickedness in his people, and why would God do something about wickedness by allowing those who are even more wicked to rule over his people.

Habakkuk's perspective changed as he waited to see what the Lord would say and focused the eyes of his heart on the hope he had in God Himself.

"I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the Lord will say to me and how he will answer my complaint.  Then the Lord said to me, "write my answer in large clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.""  Hab. 2:1-2.  

"Look at the proud!  They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith."  Hab. 2:4.

Jesus taught in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, to be prepared while waiting.  Just as Habakkuk climbed up into the watchtower and waited to see what the Lord would do; so the Wise Virgins where ready while waiting, it didn't matter how long it took the Bridegroom to arrive, they had oil with them to keep their lamps burning (Matt. 25, also see Luke 12:35-38).

St. Augustine said, "Do not rejoice in earthly reality, rejoice in Christ, rejoice in His word, rejoice in His law...There will be peace and tranquility in the Christian heart; but only as long as our faith is watchful; if, however our faith sleeps, we are in danger."

Are you living your Christian life watchfully, being faithful to humbly wait on Lord?  Keeping your faith burning by His Spirit as your meditate on the Word?  Warren Wiersbe says, " it is good to wrestle with God about questions that perplex you--just be sure to stop talking long enough to listen.  It is good to "be still and know that He is God"  Ps. 46:10."  Keep your faith burning bright while you serve and wait, by being filled daily with the Spirit as you yield to Him.

Remember what is true about God.  God is Love, God is Just, God is Faithful, God will bring about His Purpose and His Plan.  "But the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth be silent before Him."  Hab. 2:20.  Instead of questioning God, be still and wait.  Instead of scheming to make things the way they "should be", be silent before Him.  Remember God is the Ruler and the Lord of all and trust that all that He decrees is for our ultimate good and for His glory, not only in this present age but in the one to come!  Be ready while you are waiting.

Still Joy!

Still Joy

Be Still and Know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.  Exodus 14:13

I find myself in a new season of life, with no "active ministry" before me.  God has been teaching me contentment, stillness, and trust.  I am drawn to the "go and make" teachings of the Bible.    Let us "do" this and Let us "do" that.

I heard a man speak on Psalm 46 when I was super busy with ministry.  My husband spoke on it at a funeral of a young co-worker just a couple of weeks ago.  It has become a theme of my life lately.

Commentators say Psalm 46 was written when Jerusalem was delivered from the Assyrians (2 Kings 18-20). Martin Luther based "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" on the teachings of this Psalm.  He is with you, He is your refuge, He is your ever present help in trouble.  The Message translates "Be still and know" as "step out of the traffic and take a long, loving look at me".  Read Psalm 46, it has become a great source of security and peace in my life:

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, through its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  

God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

"Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth.  He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.  

""Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

"The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Our times are in His hands and if we are still, trusting in what is true of God, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way: walk in it.""

Step out of the traffic and take a long loving look at God.  Remember how He found you, how He saved your soul for eternity and how He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.  Thank Him for guiding you and tell Him you are ready to wait on Him.

You may want to read John 15 and enjoy taking a long loving look at heart of Jesus.  Talk to you soon.

Joy on the Journey

I have long enjoyed studying the Bible and have found assurance of my faith, strength for the day, practical wisdom, guidance for life and hope in the love of God.  So as I study, I will put thoughts, lessons and stories from my life walking with Jesus out on this blog.  I still have Joy in Knowing and Serving Jesus.