Day 29, 30, & 31
1 Chronicles
That God knows each one of us by name and that he never gives up on us is what stands out.
1 Chronicles names endless names - but in the monotony of skipping over all of them, I get a sense of just how many pages and pages could be filled with each of our names and just the sheer realization that God does indeed, know each of us by name. I'm not just "Brandon's mom" or "Todd's wife" or "That lady" or the "Pain-in-the-ass" who hounds warranty repair services until they do their job -- but rather to God I am "Michelle Marie Guppy" - daughter of Barbara Buttram. I have a name in the present, I have a heritage from the past. I am as God is, and on the days I feel as if I'm an invisible no-one, I can read those lists of names and know that to God I am a very real someone.
In 1 Chronicles 17:16 King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God...."
That pretty much sums up any identity crisis I can have in wondering who I am...
God has answered that already...
The most exalted...
The chosen...
The one he loves...
The one he sent his son to die for...
From page after page of disobedience and ruin, these days readings are about the blessings and rewards of hearts turned back toward home in obedience. Rebuilding of faith. How service to God is more important than status in society. How the most important aspect of a kingdom is not in how political it is, but on how spiritual its leaders are.
As seen with David's desire to build the temple, it is not our timing, but God's.
I like in 1 Chronicles 16:8, David's "Psalm of Thanks" which reads:
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God, his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit."
When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
He allowed no man to oppress them;for their sake he rebuked kings: "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!"
Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise."
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the Lord."
I love this reminder to Solomon is 1 Chronicles 28:9 which says, "....acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion an with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."
What better way to end these readings than with 1 Chronicles 29:10 -- David's Prayer:
"Praise be to you, O Lord,
God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
It's not the sky that's falling, it's the Kings!
Day 27 & 28
2 Kings
Sin and spiritual blindness cause King after King to rise and fall, refusing to listen to the message the prophets have tried to share.
2 Kings 17:7 shares that "All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharoah king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right.....But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless......So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence."
Once again the lines of black and white are allowed to become gray and morality unravels. In my Bible I have a commentary section and this sums up these days pretty well: "Compromising God's standards will result in moral and physical collapse. Obedience is the only sure path to blessing."
(Women of Faith Study Bible)
I want to go back to 2 Kings 17:7. It speaks to me quite loudly in how quickly I forget my blessings. In how quickly this Easter season can be turned into the commercialism of bunnies and Easter egg hunts and gardening and spring cleaning. When this season, this Lent season that I have chosen to do this "Bible in 90 Days" challenge, -- is for Christians to remember why Easter took place in the first place! All of what I have in eternal life takes place because God first sacrificed his son on a cross for my sins. If there is sin in my life, I need to read that line and think about why 'all this is taking place.' If there is unease in my life, I need to go back and perhaps make things right. When there is bad in my life, I need to think about all the really bad things in life God has saved me from! Where he has 'brought me out from' in my own captivities of the past. All of the things in our life take place because of something. All the blessings, all the challenges, all the joys and all the sorrows.
"All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt..."
And sometimes when you can't think why 'all this took place' - when it's not because of your sin or your child's -- it's simply because of God's sovereignty and because there is a purpose in it we are not ready to know or simply don't need to know in this life.
For all that God has done for them since their captivity in Egypt to the freedom of the promised land - they showed their thanks by disobedience and I just can't help but gulp at that -- in my own disobedience at times. That sentence is like God asking me, "Do you remember where I brought you from? Brandon from? Do you remember how I provided?"
I can see how many of the Kings fell into the traps they did. It's easy to lose sight of God when things are going good, and only call on him when things aren't going so good. What chuckles me most is seeing people post when they're having a good day, about how "Life is Good!" I want to ask them where that status update was on the days when it's not so good. Those are the days, being able to say "Life is Good" -- counts. Sometimes you have to be like the widow in 2 Kings 4 where in times of such hardship and basic needs - you just listen to how the Lord said he would provide and just shut your door to the outside world, do what the Lord said for you to do, and simply trust! As she found out, God does provide, above and beyond. And when others around us are tempting us to not trust, or pull us away from God, we just need to shut the door to those lies and pour the last drop of oil we have into more jars than we can count. Pour out the last shred of faith we have and watch it get us through more than we could have ever imagined.
In short, I want to be Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18:5 which says, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook...."
I want it to be said of me that I trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, who delivered me from all my "Egypt's". There was no one with a faith like mine... I held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him.... I kept the commands the Lord had given me....
That the Lord was with me and I needed more jars to pour my faith into.
(And that I did it all wearing Camo....)
2 Kings
Sin and spiritual blindness cause King after King to rise and fall, refusing to listen to the message the prophets have tried to share.
2 Kings 17:7 shares that "All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharoah king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right.....But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless......So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence."
Once again the lines of black and white are allowed to become gray and morality unravels. In my Bible I have a commentary section and this sums up these days pretty well: "Compromising God's standards will result in moral and physical collapse. Obedience is the only sure path to blessing."
(Women of Faith Study Bible)
I want to go back to 2 Kings 17:7. It speaks to me quite loudly in how quickly I forget my blessings. In how quickly this Easter season can be turned into the commercialism of bunnies and Easter egg hunts and gardening and spring cleaning. When this season, this Lent season that I have chosen to do this "Bible in 90 Days" challenge, -- is for Christians to remember why Easter took place in the first place! All of what I have in eternal life takes place because God first sacrificed his son on a cross for my sins. If there is sin in my life, I need to read that line and think about why 'all this is taking place.' If there is unease in my life, I need to go back and perhaps make things right. When there is bad in my life, I need to think about all the really bad things in life God has saved me from! Where he has 'brought me out from' in my own captivities of the past. All of the things in our life take place because of something. All the blessings, all the challenges, all the joys and all the sorrows.
"All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt..."
And sometimes when you can't think why 'all this took place' - when it's not because of your sin or your child's -- it's simply because of God's sovereignty and because there is a purpose in it we are not ready to know or simply don't need to know in this life.
For all that God has done for them since their captivity in Egypt to the freedom of the promised land - they showed their thanks by disobedience and I just can't help but gulp at that -- in my own disobedience at times. That sentence is like God asking me, "Do you remember where I brought you from? Brandon from? Do you remember how I provided?"
I can see how many of the Kings fell into the traps they did. It's easy to lose sight of God when things are going good, and only call on him when things aren't going so good. What chuckles me most is seeing people post when they're having a good day, about how "Life is Good!" I want to ask them where that status update was on the days when it's not so good. Those are the days, being able to say "Life is Good" -- counts. Sometimes you have to be like the widow in 2 Kings 4 where in times of such hardship and basic needs - you just listen to how the Lord said he would provide and just shut your door to the outside world, do what the Lord said for you to do, and simply trust! As she found out, God does provide, above and beyond. And when others around us are tempting us to not trust, or pull us away from God, we just need to shut the door to those lies and pour the last drop of oil we have into more jars than we can count. Pour out the last shred of faith we have and watch it get us through more than we could have ever imagined.
In short, I want to be Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18:5 which says, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook...."
I want it to be said of me that I trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, who delivered me from all my "Egypt's". There was no one with a faith like mine... I held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him.... I kept the commands the Lord had given me....
That the Lord was with me and I needed more jars to pour my faith into.
(And that I did it all wearing Camo....)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A fiery duel: God vs Baal.
Day 26
1 Kings
It seems that one king blends into another as a pattern of failure continues. God sends prophets to go against the godless nation to warn them of the consequences of disobedience to God. Elijah & Elisha the only lights through that darkness.
Through Elijah we glimpse yet again the power and provision of God to those who worship only him and who are obedient to only him.
In 1 Kings 17 we see how God provides for Elijah through a widow. "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
"As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread -- only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug."
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid." For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."
God provides to the faithful.
In 1 Kings 18:22 Elijah says to the people, "I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire -- he is God."
Ahhh, I love a good fiery duel. Especially when I know God is on my side.
We find that the prophets of Baal called on their gods all day, and nada. Nothing. No go. Zip. Zero.
The prophet of God, Elijah, had the people drench his offering three times before calling on the Lord.
Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord -- he is God! The Lord -- he is God!"
He is indeed.
And I'll leave this day....at that.
1 Kings
It seems that one king blends into another as a pattern of failure continues. God sends prophets to go against the godless nation to warn them of the consequences of disobedience to God. Elijah & Elisha the only lights through that darkness.
Through Elijah we glimpse yet again the power and provision of God to those who worship only him and who are obedient to only him.
In 1 Kings 17 we see how God provides for Elijah through a widow. "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
"As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread -- only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug."
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid." For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."
God provides to the faithful.
In 1 Kings 18:22 Elijah says to the people, "I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire -- he is God."
Ahhh, I love a good fiery duel. Especially when I know God is on my side.
We find that the prophets of Baal called on their gods all day, and nada. Nothing. No go. Zip. Zero.
The prophet of God, Elijah, had the people drench his offering three times before calling on the Lord.
Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord -- he is God! The Lord -- he is God!"
He is indeed.
And I'll leave this day....at that.
Walking down the forbidden path, yet again.
Day 24 & 25
1 Kings
King David anoints his son Solomon King...
1 Kings 2 says... When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires; Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
1 Kings 3:6-14 we see a humble King Solomon asking God for help in doing his job the best he can... "Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong."
And then the Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked fro this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for -- both riches and honor -- so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."
In 1 Kings 6:11, the word of the Lord came to Solomon: "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."
In 1 Kings 9:6 we read, "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name."
...and then in Chapter 11 we see the same ol' same ol' in yet another King going down yet another forbidden path in King Solomon turning from God, worshiping other gods, and then as he has said he would do time and time again, God punishes.
Honestly, if I were God, I would have just clapped my hands together and banished the entire existence I created way back in day one of Genesis! But I guess that's why he's God and I'm not. He's got the patience, love, grace, and mercy of a God. I don't.
All these days I've been reading about the rise and fall of so many kings, about how pathetically stupid they are for falling into the same ol' traps over and over -- all these days I've been thinking, "How could they?" ---
And I had to stop and laugh at myself with the realization that I am them!
I am sometimes just like those kings of past!
I have been given everything I could ever want or need, and the only thing asked of me in return is simple obedience to the One who gave his all, and who daily gives me my all...
Gulp...
Point taken Lord...
Point taken.
1 Kings
King David anoints his son Solomon King...
1 Kings 2 says... When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires; Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
1 Kings 3:6-14 we see a humble King Solomon asking God for help in doing his job the best he can... "Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong."
And then the Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked fro this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for -- both riches and honor -- so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."
In 1 Kings 6:11, the word of the Lord came to Solomon: "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."
In 1 Kings 9:6 we read, "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name."
...and then in Chapter 11 we see the same ol' same ol' in yet another King going down yet another forbidden path in King Solomon turning from God, worshiping other gods, and then as he has said he would do time and time again, God punishes.
Honestly, if I were God, I would have just clapped my hands together and banished the entire existence I created way back in day one of Genesis! But I guess that's why he's God and I'm not. He's got the patience, love, grace, and mercy of a God. I don't.
All these days I've been reading about the rise and fall of so many kings, about how pathetically stupid they are for falling into the same ol' traps over and over -- all these days I've been thinking, "How could they?" ---
And I had to stop and laugh at myself with the realization that I am them!
I am sometimes just like those kings of past!
I have been given everything I could ever want or need, and the only thing asked of me in return is simple obedience to the One who gave his all, and who daily gives me my all...
Gulp...
Point taken Lord...
Point taken.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Winning battles, Losing wars...
Day 22 & 23
2 Samuel
I guess the question of these readings would be the same one we are faced with today:
Is it worth it to win wars on the battlefront, yet lose wars at home?
These readings are about King David's highest achievements, and his lowest failures. His highest achievements being on the battlefield, his lowest failures unfortunately at home.
This book reminds me that success outside the home, cannot come at the expense of the home.
This scripture stood out for me, 2 Samuel 7:22 in David saying, "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears."
I think that's why I like that scripture so much -- so often I have succeeded on many fronts with autism - yet later realized it came at the expense of not cooking for my family, not taking care of myself, not doing anything but feeding that "autism god" I had allowed to rule 'my kingdom'.
Sure, I was successful, but couldn't it have come at better balance?
I must say yes, it could have. Should have.
I'm glad I realized that when I did, and put things back in perspective. I will save my son from autism, but not all in one day. I realized that I had to let go of a few of those flaming swords I was juggling before they eventually stabbed and burned me.
I had to realize, as hard as it was, that GOD was great. Sovereign. That there could be no other God, except for God.
I had made autism my God and had things all backwards.
That acceptance was liberation. Not defeat.
And it once again allowed my greatest successes to be on the home front, which then spread out to the battlefield called autism.
Which has allowed me to sing my own "Song of Praise" as found in 2 Samuel 22.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior -- from violent men you save me.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his canopy around him -- the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them -- to the Lord, but he did not answer.
I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; you have preserved me as the head of nations.
People I did not know are subject to me, and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me.
They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
Life is a battle.
Autism is a battle.
But if we remain true and obedient to God above all -- we will each have our own "Song of Praise" one day...
Can I have an AMEN and a HOOYAH to that?
2 Samuel
I guess the question of these readings would be the same one we are faced with today:
Is it worth it to win wars on the battlefront, yet lose wars at home?
These readings are about King David's highest achievements, and his lowest failures. His highest achievements being on the battlefield, his lowest failures unfortunately at home.
This book reminds me that success outside the home, cannot come at the expense of the home.
This scripture stood out for me, 2 Samuel 7:22 in David saying, "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears."
I think that's why I like that scripture so much -- so often I have succeeded on many fronts with autism - yet later realized it came at the expense of not cooking for my family, not taking care of myself, not doing anything but feeding that "autism god" I had allowed to rule 'my kingdom'.
Sure, I was successful, but couldn't it have come at better balance?
I must say yes, it could have. Should have.
I'm glad I realized that when I did, and put things back in perspective. I will save my son from autism, but not all in one day. I realized that I had to let go of a few of those flaming swords I was juggling before they eventually stabbed and burned me.
I had to realize, as hard as it was, that GOD was great. Sovereign. That there could be no other God, except for God.
I had made autism my God and had things all backwards.
That acceptance was liberation. Not defeat.
And it once again allowed my greatest successes to be on the home front, which then spread out to the battlefield called autism.
Which has allowed me to sing my own "Song of Praise" as found in 2 Samuel 22.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior -- from violent men you save me.
I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his canopy around him -- the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.
You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them -- to the Lord, but he did not answer.
I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; you have preserved me as the head of nations.
People I did not know are subject to me, and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me.
They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.
He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
Life is a battle.
Autism is a battle.
But if we remain true and obedient to God above all -- we will each have our own "Song of Praise" one day...
Can I have an AMEN and a HOOYAH to that?
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
David and Goliath
Day 21
1 Samuel
In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel replied (to Saul): "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."
And that was that!
1 Samuel 16:7 says, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
The Lord recognized that in making David a King. David knew that a true King recognizes that God is the ultimate King.
A true King recognizes that battles are won by God's power, not theirs, as we see in this story of David and Goliath.
In 1 Samuel 17:45, David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head......... All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
When we fight our battles with God's might, and not ours, we ultimately win.
When we look at God's power, not ours, we are empowered.
When we aren't anyone but ourselves, that is good enough. David didn't want to wear the armor of a soldier, it wasn't him. He wasn't comfortable in it. So he went in battle dressed as David. Not a soldier, not anyone else but himself.
I like that.
1 Samuel
In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel replied (to Saul): "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."
And that was that!
1 Samuel 16:7 says, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
The Lord recognized that in making David a King. David knew that a true King recognizes that God is the ultimate King.
A true King recognizes that battles are won by God's power, not theirs, as we see in this story of David and Goliath.
In 1 Samuel 17:45, David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head......... All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
When we fight our battles with God's might, and not ours, we ultimately win.
When we look at God's power, not ours, we are empowered.
When we aren't anyone but ourselves, that is good enough. David didn't want to wear the armor of a soldier, it wasn't him. He wasn't comfortable in it. So he went in battle dressed as David. Not a soldier, not anyone else but himself.
I like that.
Getting what you ask for
Day 20
1 Samuel
I find it funny that today's reading is coming at election time. After living in corruption for centuries, the people come to the conclusion that the problems they are facing do not lie with them, but on lack of leadership. They think the solution is a political one, not a spiritual one.
Where God has specifically told them that HE alone is King, they instead opt for a human King.
What comes to mind is, "Be careful what you ask for, you may get it." They didn't want God's leadership, and they didn't get it. Even today, I have to laugh that if we would have just clung to God's word from centuries ago in following him, obeying him, worshiping only him, we wouldn't be still be seeking political solutions to spiritual issues.
We haven't been asking for God to lead us, and so he hasn't. I guess we have proven to be as stubborn as the donkey's Saul was seeking!
This day's reading starts with Hannah. I like her heart. In 1 Samuel 1:11 she prays, "O Lord of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime."
God answered.
In 1 Samuel 1:26 she has brought her son to the house of the Lord and says to Eli, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord."
Samuel is that son, and his obedience to the Lord has allowed him to represent the people before God as a priest, be recognized as a prophet to the Lord, and the one who has shared God's word with all of Israel.
I love the family story in this beginning with a woman who prays for a son, whose prayers are answered, and who continues that faithfulness by dedicating that son back to the Lord.
Too bad everyone wasn't like Hannah and Samuel, because later we once again are faced with yet another verse like this in 1 Samuel 12:14 which says, "If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God -- good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers."
The people saw that Samuel was getting older and were worried about having a King over them to lead them and fight for them. Even though God had said he would be their King, they wanted a "real" one I guess!
Gosh, how often do we do that today? I know I can't count how many times I've said I trusted God to lead me, but forged my own way instead, or worse, allowed someone else to lead me!
So Samuel does what the people ask. The people gave Samuel their specifications in a King, Samuel shared that with God, and God answered Samuel in giving them who the people wanted according to their criteria.
Saul.
And they got what they asked for.
Much like we are today.
1 Samuel
I find it funny that today's reading is coming at election time. After living in corruption for centuries, the people come to the conclusion that the problems they are facing do not lie with them, but on lack of leadership. They think the solution is a political one, not a spiritual one.
Where God has specifically told them that HE alone is King, they instead opt for a human King.
What comes to mind is, "Be careful what you ask for, you may get it." They didn't want God's leadership, and they didn't get it. Even today, I have to laugh that if we would have just clung to God's word from centuries ago in following him, obeying him, worshiping only him, we wouldn't be still be seeking political solutions to spiritual issues.
We haven't been asking for God to lead us, and so he hasn't. I guess we have proven to be as stubborn as the donkey's Saul was seeking!
This day's reading starts with Hannah. I like her heart. In 1 Samuel 1:11 she prays, "O Lord of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime."
God answered.
In 1 Samuel 1:26 she has brought her son to the house of the Lord and says to Eli, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord."
Samuel is that son, and his obedience to the Lord has allowed him to represent the people before God as a priest, be recognized as a prophet to the Lord, and the one who has shared God's word with all of Israel.
I love the family story in this beginning with a woman who prays for a son, whose prayers are answered, and who continues that faithfulness by dedicating that son back to the Lord.
Too bad everyone wasn't like Hannah and Samuel, because later we once again are faced with yet another verse like this in 1 Samuel 12:14 which says, "If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God -- good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers."
The people saw that Samuel was getting older and were worried about having a King over them to lead them and fight for them. Even though God had said he would be their King, they wanted a "real" one I guess!
Gosh, how often do we do that today? I know I can't count how many times I've said I trusted God to lead me, but forged my own way instead, or worse, allowed someone else to lead me!
So Samuel does what the people ask. The people gave Samuel their specifications in a King, Samuel shared that with God, and God answered Samuel in giving them who the people wanted according to their criteria.
Saul.
And they got what they asked for.
Much like we are today.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Seeking God...and finding him.
Day 19
The Book of Ruth
How faithfulness of one person to another highlights the faithfulness of God.
Ruth 1:16
Ruth to Naomi:
"Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."
In a world where "in-laws" are deemed more like "out-laws" - this book, the relationship of Ruth and Naomi, gives me hope in how things could be, should be, in families!
The book of Ruth shows us faithfulness, sacrifice, and genuine love. Not the fake kind that is so often seen.
It's about Ruth's commitment to Naomi, their commitment to each other, and most importantly how they are both committed to God! Oh if we would all put that as the priority in our families!
Ruth 2:12 says, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband -- how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
Even after such hardship of both women being widowed....After such a period of unfaithfulness in the country, they remained loyal to each other, and to God. And God rewarded that loyalty. Ruth as she remarried and became a mother. Naomi in becoming a grandmother.
The book of Ruth reminds us that when we seek God, we find him.
The Book of Ruth
How faithfulness of one person to another highlights the faithfulness of God.
Ruth 1:16
Ruth to Naomi:
"Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."
In a world where "in-laws" are deemed more like "out-laws" - this book, the relationship of Ruth and Naomi, gives me hope in how things could be, should be, in families!
The book of Ruth shows us faithfulness, sacrifice, and genuine love. Not the fake kind that is so often seen.
It's about Ruth's commitment to Naomi, their commitment to each other, and most importantly how they are both committed to God! Oh if we would all put that as the priority in our families!
Ruth 2:12 says, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband -- how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
Even after such hardship of both women being widowed....After such a period of unfaithfulness in the country, they remained loyal to each other, and to God. And God rewarded that loyalty. Ruth as she remarried and became a mother. Naomi in becoming a grandmother.
The book of Ruth reminds us that when we seek God, we find him.
Blessed Assurance
Day 18
Judges
If anything stands out on this day's reading, it's the ping pong of pigheadedness! The people of this time just refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways! After how far they've come, after all God has, does, and will continue to do for them, they still revert right back to their evil ways, worshipping other Gods. Then expecting "the" God to bail them out!
In Judges 6, the Lord sent the Midianites a prophet who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
I like how God once again shows grace and mercy in equipping Gideon.
Judges 6:14
The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest and I am the least in my family."
The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
I love how I can relate to this. So often our biggest fears in not doing is because we don't think we're smart enough, important enough, or strong enough.
That verse begs the differ. If God calls you, he equips you.
God doesn't tell you to go conquer the world with the strength of an army. He doesn't tell you to solve the worlds problems with the intelligence of a genius, ---- he simply tells us to "Go with the strength you have..."
Not with anyone elses strength that might be greater. But that YOUR STRENGTH will be sufficient to succeed!
I'm comforted by that!
Again and again in this book, it is that ping pong. Doubt. Disobedience. Doubt. Disobedience.
Finally in Judges 10:11, God seems to have had enough. The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"
I just love this personal reminder over and over, of how very blessed we are and how God asks so little of us in return, yet we make it seem like so much.
If we're too busy for God on Sunday, we have no business to ask him to save us from a deadline or test on Monday.
If we worship our free time more than the sacrifice of serving others or spending some time each day getting to know God more, then we should call on those other more important 'gods' in our lives to save us. Not call on God, the one we put last.
I know people call the Old Testament just a book of rules....
I'm beginning to see it as simply blessed assurance.
Where God assures me my obedience will be blessed.
Judges
If anything stands out on this day's reading, it's the ping pong of pigheadedness! The people of this time just refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways! After how far they've come, after all God has, does, and will continue to do for them, they still revert right back to their evil ways, worshipping other Gods. Then expecting "the" God to bail them out!
In Judges 6, the Lord sent the Midianites a prophet who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, "I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me."
I like how God once again shows grace and mercy in equipping Gideon.
Judges 6:14
The Lord turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest and I am the least in my family."
The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."
I love how I can relate to this. So often our biggest fears in not doing is because we don't think we're smart enough, important enough, or strong enough.
That verse begs the differ. If God calls you, he equips you.
God doesn't tell you to go conquer the world with the strength of an army. He doesn't tell you to solve the worlds problems with the intelligence of a genius, ---- he simply tells us to "Go with the strength you have..."
Not with anyone elses strength that might be greater. But that YOUR STRENGTH will be sufficient to succeed!
I'm comforted by that!
Again and again in this book, it is that ping pong. Doubt. Disobedience. Doubt. Disobedience.
Finally in Judges 10:11, God seems to have had enough. The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"
I just love this personal reminder over and over, of how very blessed we are and how God asks so little of us in return, yet we make it seem like so much.
If we're too busy for God on Sunday, we have no business to ask him to save us from a deadline or test on Monday.
If we worship our free time more than the sacrifice of serving others or spending some time each day getting to know God more, then we should call on those other more important 'gods' in our lives to save us. Not call on God, the one we put last.
I know people call the Old Testament just a book of rules....
I'm beginning to see it as simply blessed assurance.
Where God assures me my obedience will be blessed.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Crossing the Jordan River
Day 16 & 17
Joshua
Joshua is now being counseled to "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
These people who have been traveling for so very long, are at the edge of the Jordan River. About to cross over into the promised land that they've heard about for so very many years. I wonder if they truly had a sense of what that means. Did they think like so many of us today, that God's blessings are nothing to be in complete reverence about because they're handed out so much and so often like candy at Halloween? Or did they, like most of us living with autism who have had to fight for each and every little thing - just stand in complete amazement of the miracle of it.
Like God did in parting the Red Sea, he caused the flood-stage waters of the Jordon to not flow so that they could cross it on dry ground.
Joshua 4:24 says, "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."
I just pray that I always have that sense of reverence and awe and amazement about all that God does.
How many of us have been standing at the edge of a long journey, afraid to believe. Afraid to believe that when we cross we will not be drowned. Afraid to believe in God's power. God's forgiveness. God's mercy. God's love. God's miracles. How many of us are afraid of what might happen if we do believe with all our heart, soul, and mind, and cross over, but our prayers are still not answered?
Ahhhh.
I can't say I haven't wrestled with those thoughts and questions! It is amazing just how many times God has said, "Do not be afraid..." He says it over and over and over!
And once they crossed it as long as they were obedient they defeated enemies. Just like it says in Joshua 10:13 --- "So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies."
That pretty much makes me think that no matter what, I'm crossing. I'm believing. I'm clinging to faith. I'm hanging on to Hopeism.
Just as Joshua did.
Joshua 23:14 says, "....You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed...."
Reason enough for me to start running across the Jordan!
And I think I'll leave this day....with that.
Joshua
Joshua is now being counseled to "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
These people who have been traveling for so very long, are at the edge of the Jordan River. About to cross over into the promised land that they've heard about for so very many years. I wonder if they truly had a sense of what that means. Did they think like so many of us today, that God's blessings are nothing to be in complete reverence about because they're handed out so much and so often like candy at Halloween? Or did they, like most of us living with autism who have had to fight for each and every little thing - just stand in complete amazement of the miracle of it.
Like God did in parting the Red Sea, he caused the flood-stage waters of the Jordon to not flow so that they could cross it on dry ground.
Joshua 4:24 says, "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."
I just pray that I always have that sense of reverence and awe and amazement about all that God does.
How many of us have been standing at the edge of a long journey, afraid to believe. Afraid to believe that when we cross we will not be drowned. Afraid to believe in God's power. God's forgiveness. God's mercy. God's love. God's miracles. How many of us are afraid of what might happen if we do believe with all our heart, soul, and mind, and cross over, but our prayers are still not answered?
Ahhhh.
I can't say I haven't wrestled with those thoughts and questions! It is amazing just how many times God has said, "Do not be afraid..." He says it over and over and over!
And once they crossed it as long as they were obedient they defeated enemies. Just like it says in Joshua 10:13 --- "So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies."
That pretty much makes me think that no matter what, I'm crossing. I'm believing. I'm clinging to faith. I'm hanging on to Hopeism.
Just as Joshua did.
Joshua 23:14 says, "....You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed...."
Reason enough for me to start running across the Jordan!
And I think I'll leave this day....with that.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Which do you choose? Life or Death
Day 15
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 26:7 - "...we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me."
Really, can we do no less than that? Of all we are given, of the many ways God provides for us, can we not give back but a tiny portion to the Lord?
I'm convicted of that each and every time I read that verse above.
The renewal of the covenant comes after yet again, we read about the blessings of obedience to God's rules and laws, and the harsh punishments for disobedience of them.
In Deuteronomy 29, Moses is reminding the people of all that the Lord has done for them in feeding them, providing for them, clothing them, and defeating their enemies for them. He is saying, "Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. All of you are standing today in the presence of the LORD your God -- you are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath..."
I like in Deuteronomy 30:11 how it says, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."
I like that.
Nothing like taking any excuses away before we have a chance to make them, huh?
It goes on... "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him."
I also love the reminder of Deuteronomy 31:8 which says, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
I love how that says to me that no matter where I've been, no matter how long that dark tunnel I've had to walk through at times, no matter what -- God has always been there ahead of me. Even though at times I've felt alone, I haven't been. God goes before us. Making a way where there is none. Showing us the way when we've lost it.
That verse bears repeating and memorizing:
Deuteronomy 31:8
"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Deuteronomy ends with the death of Moses...
Deuteronomy 34:4 says, The the Lord said to him, (Moses), "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
Humbling to me...in putting a different perspective on obedience and loyalty to the Lord. I don't want to have come so far in my life and not see the promised land God has waiting for me, just because of disobedience in not following him with all my heart, soul, and mind as he commands.
I want to pursue the muchness of my Messiah.
I want to experience the promised land.
Not just see it.
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 26:7 - "...we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me."
Really, can we do no less than that? Of all we are given, of the many ways God provides for us, can we not give back but a tiny portion to the Lord?
I'm convicted of that each and every time I read that verse above.
The renewal of the covenant comes after yet again, we read about the blessings of obedience to God's rules and laws, and the harsh punishments for disobedience of them.
In Deuteronomy 29, Moses is reminding the people of all that the Lord has done for them in feeding them, providing for them, clothing them, and defeating their enemies for them. He is saying, "Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. All of you are standing today in the presence of the LORD your God -- you are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath..."
I like in Deuteronomy 30:11 how it says, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."
I like that.
Nothing like taking any excuses away before we have a chance to make them, huh?
It goes on... "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him."
I also love the reminder of Deuteronomy 31:8 which says, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
I love how that says to me that no matter where I've been, no matter how long that dark tunnel I've had to walk through at times, no matter what -- God has always been there ahead of me. Even though at times I've felt alone, I haven't been. God goes before us. Making a way where there is none. Showing us the way when we've lost it.
That verse bears repeating and memorizing:
Deuteronomy 31:8
"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Deuteronomy ends with the death of Moses...
Deuteronomy 34:4 says, The the Lord said to him, (Moses), "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
Humbling to me...in putting a different perspective on obedience and loyalty to the Lord. I don't want to have come so far in my life and not see the promised land God has waiting for me, just because of disobedience in not following him with all my heart, soul, and mind as he commands.
I want to pursue the muchness of my Messiah.
I want to experience the promised land.
Not just see it.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Remember me you stiff-necked people!
Day 14
Deuteronomy
Ha ha ha, leave it to my sarcastic-self to let that title of this day's reading be what stands out!
But seriously, the summary of this day's reading is to not forget the Lord. What he has done for the Israelites of yesterday, what he continues to do for us today.
Starting off in Deuteronomy 8 with, "Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers..." Continuing with, "....Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him...." And ".....Praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you....Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God...."
He is telling us to not forget that it was "the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery....He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land...."
"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth..."
Deuteronomy 9 reminds that, "It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going tin to take possession of their land..." and "Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people...."
Ha ha ha, hence the title of this day's post.
I have to stop the quote here because I just love that word God uses to call us out in our stubbornness, conceit, pride, rebellion, and disbelief!
As if they, the Israelites, had any reason to think they would see the promised land because they were just so very faithful and never doubted!
As if we today could stand on the edge of any modern-day promised land thinking we deserved it because of our awesomeness and obedience all these years!
No... not that at all...
God continues, "...but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
Well if that ain't a mood-killer, I don't know what is! You're not going there because you're that good, you're going across to the promised land to run them off because they're so bad!
Bwaaaaaa! I have to laugh only because I can relate to their pathetic thinking. I've fallen victim to it a time or two.
But in all seriousness, I get a sense God is trying to instill in them a sense of humility before they enter. To not think they will possess that land and defeat those enemies because of anything they did. Any of their ability. Any of their feeble faith! But that they will accomplish those things because of God's ability. In keeping with God's promise to those who were faithful.
It's important for me to embrace that for each step of my journey. Nothing I accomplish will have been by my might, but by God's. I didn't accomplish anything good because of my righteousness (stop laughing), but because of God's.
I like that reminder.
God has done so very much for the Israelites (and for us!) and all he asks in return is this, from Deuteronomy 10:12, "What does your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?"
"...the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing...Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God."
"Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always."
"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today -- to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul -- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains..."
I really think that last verse is why our country is experiencing such drought and hardship.
Disobedience.
As a nation, as a citizen, as a Christian, we have not honored those simple requests of God. To honor him. To honor his Sabbath. To not put anything before him. We haven't listened to a thing he has asked of us! Honor him? We just about spit on him!
We read the Bible if we have time after our Home & Garden or Trucking magazines. We make an appointment with him only if we have time in between our "other" appointments. We go to church if we're not too tired or if our lawn doesn't need mowing.
Honor him? With all our heart and with all our soul? Not even with a fingernail most times!
Reading just as little as I have so far about all the things God has already done for us and realizing I'm still in the first few books of the Bible -- it's just sickening how God has done all he has for us, (and by us I include a big ol' me) and we today, don't do a darn thing for him if it's not convenient.
I'm getting it drilled in my own head, that God. Is. First.
Humbling!
Deuteronomy 11:16 warns, "Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."
I think that last sentence pretty much sums up how to get back on track.
Deuteronomy
Ha ha ha, leave it to my sarcastic-self to let that title of this day's reading be what stands out!
But seriously, the summary of this day's reading is to not forget the Lord. What he has done for the Israelites of yesterday, what he continues to do for us today.
Starting off in Deuteronomy 8 with, "Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers..." Continuing with, "....Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him...." And ".....Praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you....Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God...."
He is telling us to not forget that it was "the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery....He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land...."
"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth..."
Deuteronomy 9 reminds that, "It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going tin to take possession of their land..." and "Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people...."
Ha ha ha, hence the title of this day's post.
I have to stop the quote here because I just love that word God uses to call us out in our stubbornness, conceit, pride, rebellion, and disbelief!
As if they, the Israelites, had any reason to think they would see the promised land because they were just so very faithful and never doubted!
As if we today could stand on the edge of any modern-day promised land thinking we deserved it because of our awesomeness and obedience all these years!
No... not that at all...
God continues, "...but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
Well if that ain't a mood-killer, I don't know what is! You're not going there because you're that good, you're going across to the promised land to run them off because they're so bad!
Bwaaaaaa! I have to laugh only because I can relate to their pathetic thinking. I've fallen victim to it a time or two.
But in all seriousness, I get a sense God is trying to instill in them a sense of humility before they enter. To not think they will possess that land and defeat those enemies because of anything they did. Any of their ability. Any of their feeble faith! But that they will accomplish those things because of God's ability. In keeping with God's promise to those who were faithful.
It's important for me to embrace that for each step of my journey. Nothing I accomplish will have been by my might, but by God's. I didn't accomplish anything good because of my righteousness (stop laughing), but because of God's.
I like that reminder.
God has done so very much for the Israelites (and for us!) and all he asks in return is this, from Deuteronomy 10:12, "What does your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?"
"...the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing...Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God."
"Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always."
"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today -- to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul -- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains..."
I really think that last verse is why our country is experiencing such drought and hardship.
Disobedience.
As a nation, as a citizen, as a Christian, we have not honored those simple requests of God. To honor him. To honor his Sabbath. To not put anything before him. We haven't listened to a thing he has asked of us! Honor him? We just about spit on him!
We read the Bible if we have time after our Home & Garden or Trucking magazines. We make an appointment with him only if we have time in between our "other" appointments. We go to church if we're not too tired or if our lawn doesn't need mowing.
Honor him? With all our heart and with all our soul? Not even with a fingernail most times!
Reading just as little as I have so far about all the things God has already done for us and realizing I'm still in the first few books of the Bible -- it's just sickening how God has done all he has for us, (and by us I include a big ol' me) and we today, don't do a darn thing for him if it's not convenient.
I'm getting it drilled in my own head, that God. Is. First.
Humbling!
Deuteronomy 11:16 warns, "Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads."
I think that last sentence pretty much sums up how to get back on track.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wholeheartedly
Day 12 & 13
Numbers & Deuteronomy
Still in the book of Numbers and still God is a bit peeved at the disbelief of the people he's attempting to deliver to the promised land!
Numbers 32:10 says, "Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- not one except Caleb and Joshua, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly."
"Wholeheartedly" is used many times -- so I looked up the definition:
Doing or done with all one's energy, enthusiasm. Sincere, earnest...
Wow. That really spoke to me about how we should be living our life for Christ.
With all our energy.
With enthusiasm.
Sincere.
Earnest.
I know I am all those words as it relates to "autism" but am I all those things as they relate to my pursuit of Christ?
Sadly, I'd have to say most times, no. To do that, the pursuit of Christ must be first in our life and until we make that choice to pursue God "wholeheartedly" - more than we pursue loving a boyfriend/husband/hobby/dream/career, etc -- I believe that like the Israelites, we will not receive the full portion of our promised land.
Humbling thoughts...
Again in Deuteronomy 1, God is saying, "......not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly."
Again, wholeheartedly....
We can't just "say" we are Christians and we can't just sit in pew and think that makes us Christians. We can't pursue, believe, follow Christ only when we have time leftover from other pursuits to.
We must pursue him wholeheartedly.
In Deuteronomy 4, it says, "Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. (You mean there's more laws and rules? Ha ha ha) Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you."
Again God speaks about idolatry and how it is forbidden to put anything before God. To worship anything but God, as God is "a consuming fire, a jealous God." But that yet if we have sinned, if we did worship other things before God, "...but if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul...for the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with you..."
Again, "wholeheartedly". If we seek him wholeheartedly....
Deuteronomy 6:4
"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."
I couldn't help but come away with a sense that God is asking, no begging, us to embrace those principles today. Obey my laws and commands and I will give you the promised land of provision and peace. Perhaps not pain free -- but a promised land of the fullness of God in our lives.
If we would believe him, pursue him, obey him -----
Wholeheartedly.
Numbers & Deuteronomy
Still in the book of Numbers and still God is a bit peeved at the disbelief of the people he's attempting to deliver to the promised land!
Numbers 32:10 says, "Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- not one except Caleb and Joshua, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly."
"Wholeheartedly" is used many times -- so I looked up the definition:
Doing or done with all one's energy, enthusiasm. Sincere, earnest...
Wow. That really spoke to me about how we should be living our life for Christ.
With all our energy.
With enthusiasm.
Sincere.
Earnest.
I know I am all those words as it relates to "autism" but am I all those things as they relate to my pursuit of Christ?
Sadly, I'd have to say most times, no. To do that, the pursuit of Christ must be first in our life and until we make that choice to pursue God "wholeheartedly" - more than we pursue loving a boyfriend/husband/hobby/dream/career, etc -- I believe that like the Israelites, we will not receive the full portion of our promised land.
Humbling thoughts...
Again in Deuteronomy 1, God is saying, "......not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly."
Again, wholeheartedly....
We can't just "say" we are Christians and we can't just sit in pew and think that makes us Christians. We can't pursue, believe, follow Christ only when we have time leftover from other pursuits to.
We must pursue him wholeheartedly.
In Deuteronomy 4, it says, "Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. (You mean there's more laws and rules? Ha ha ha) Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you."
Again God speaks about idolatry and how it is forbidden to put anything before God. To worship anything but God, as God is "a consuming fire, a jealous God." But that yet if we have sinned, if we did worship other things before God, "...but if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul...for the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with you..."
Again, "wholeheartedly". If we seek him wholeheartedly....
Deuteronomy 6:4
"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."
I couldn't help but come away with a sense that God is asking, no begging, us to embrace those principles today. Obey my laws and commands and I will give you the promised land of provision and peace. Perhaps not pain free -- but a promised land of the fullness of God in our lives.
If we would believe him, pursue him, obey him -----
Wholeheartedly.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Obedience vs Disobedience
Day 10 & 11
Leviticus & Numbers
Finally seeing the light at the end of the endless rules tunnel!
And finally we see the benefit of obeying those rules!
I like what Leviticus 26:3 says in "If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your contry. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high."
And then what happens if you think you're "Above the Law" and don't follow rules and live in disobedience, you ask? I shall answer with Leviticus 26:18 which says, "If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit. If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve."
Ha ha ha, gotta love a God who tells it like it is!
The world today needs more of that.
In the book of Numbers it goes on to say in 14:17 that "The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished....."
I take comfort in that. All around me with Autism and how everyone else can break the rules, at least I know that it will not go unnoticed. Unpunished.
The Lord is talking about punishment in response to the whiney-bag Israelites who constantly doubt God's provision and promise of a promised land.
The LORD replied to them even further, "I have forgiven them. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times -- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit adn follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he wnet to, and his sescendants will inherit it."
Wow.
Makes me want to be a Caleb and follow God wholeheartedly and live in obedience!
I think I shall try...
I could sure use that land of milk and honey.
(smile)
Leviticus & Numbers
Finally seeing the light at the end of the endless rules tunnel!
And finally we see the benefit of obeying those rules!
I like what Leviticus 26:3 says in "If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your contry. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high."
And then what happens if you think you're "Above the Law" and don't follow rules and live in disobedience, you ask? I shall answer with Leviticus 26:18 which says, "If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit. If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve."
Ha ha ha, gotta love a God who tells it like it is!
The world today needs more of that.
In the book of Numbers it goes on to say in 14:17 that "The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished....."
I take comfort in that. All around me with Autism and how everyone else can break the rules, at least I know that it will not go unnoticed. Unpunished.
The Lord is talking about punishment in response to the whiney-bag Israelites who constantly doubt God's provision and promise of a promised land.
The LORD replied to them even further, "I have forgiven them. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times -- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit adn follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he wnet to, and his sescendants will inherit it."
Wow.
Makes me want to be a Caleb and follow God wholeheartedly and live in obedience!
I think I shall try...
I could sure use that land of milk and honey.
(smile)
Rules, Rules, & more Rules...
Day 7, 8, & 9
Exodus & Leviticus
Ok, call me shallow, but I had to combine these days.. I admit I skimmed much of them because if I'm not mistaken there was a rule about not going out in the back yard on the third day of an odd numbered month if it had rained the day before and you saw a cow jump.
What I did get from all of those rules, is the conviction that we must obey.
Obedience.
Too often we even mistake what obedience means. We use that as an excuse to quit something, to write someone out of our lives, or to explain not something God truly called us to do, but something that we convinced ourselves we were being obedient to God in doing.
I want to be very careful to make that mistake in my life.
In these readings, my notes all came back to the fact that when you follow the rules, you are blessed and provided for. When you do not, God punishes. Maybe that's what's wrong with the world today. There is no punishment for broken laws or rules. Not always. In Exodus when the people disobeyed the Lord's cmmand to only gather what they needed for the day - and in disobedience they gathered too much food to try to "save" it in doubt that God would provide for them tomorrow as well, -- he punished them by bringing maggots and rot to the uneaten food they were saving.
As terribly long (and boring) as it was to read those rules, and as terribly stupid as the rules of today seem, -- when you read through them you can't help but get a sense of reason for it. The rules that is. God blesses obedience, he punishes disobedience.
It's really as simple as that. We can think we can get away with it, or out of it, but some way, some how, some time, disobedience will bite us in the butt.
Always.
Truly, that is changing the way I think about rules.
And it's hard to do that. There are some really tough rules in these couple of days that in this day rage on and cause much misunderstanding and hatred.
Obviously homosexuality and tattoo's are the biggies here - in terms of present-day "rule-breaking" that is.
I'll have to disable comments on this entry I suppose, because I don't want an ugly debate, but as for me and what I'm reading, I don't understand how people who say they are true Christians, can defend homosexuality as "something someone is born with". How does that pass the Leviticus 18:22 test which clearly states, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." Do Christians who defend homosexuality but who believe in a perfect God really think that that perfect God would create a human being to have a sexual preferance for someone of the same sex, when God himself commands us not to do and who calls that "detestable?"
I think we're blaming "DNA" when we should be blaming "free will of choice".
The flip side is that when you share what the Bible says, you are accused of being judgemental. And I would have to answer with that people do not know the difference between what's "Right from Wrong" and "Being Judgemental".
The Bible says to follow the rules as right from wrong. It does not say to hate the person, it says to hate the sin.
We are to love all people, not just those who don't commit sins. Which would be a rather short list!
It goes on in Leviticus 19:28 to say, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
Which also, as widely popular as tattoo's are - begs the question of, "If you are a Christian, and you believe the Bible and you want to draw closer to the Lord and obey him for his full measure of blessings, do you get to pick and choose the things you want to obey?"
As much as I want an autism ribbon tattoo -- I have to admit, it has to be a "No."
Does it mean you must hate or not be a friend to anyone who is a homosexual, has tattoo's, or is anyone of any other type of sin? "No!"
What all that does mean to me is that if you are a Christian and you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that again, in order to receive the FULL MEASURE of all God has for you, we've got to obey. And really, I'm thinking out loud here, but what does your Christianity mean to you if you do profess God as your Lord and Savior, but not enough to be obedient to him in all things?
Living like that to me, is like God saying to us, "Well, I love you but will only provide for you some of the time. I love you but will only forgive you some of the time. I love you but will only bless you when I feel like it.
No, God loves and forgives and provides for and protects and blesses us ALL OF THE TIME.
Shouldn't we at least do the same in obedience for him?
In Leviticus 19:37 God says, "Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD."
Again in Leviticus 20:8 God says, "Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy."
Hmmmmm....
A tough couple days worth of reading about things that'll get you get unfriended on FB....
(smile)
Exodus & Leviticus
Ok, call me shallow, but I had to combine these days.. I admit I skimmed much of them because if I'm not mistaken there was a rule about not going out in the back yard on the third day of an odd numbered month if it had rained the day before and you saw a cow jump.
What I did get from all of those rules, is the conviction that we must obey.
Obedience.
Too often we even mistake what obedience means. We use that as an excuse to quit something, to write someone out of our lives, or to explain not something God truly called us to do, but something that we convinced ourselves we were being obedient to God in doing.
I want to be very careful to make that mistake in my life.
In these readings, my notes all came back to the fact that when you follow the rules, you are blessed and provided for. When you do not, God punishes. Maybe that's what's wrong with the world today. There is no punishment for broken laws or rules. Not always. In Exodus when the people disobeyed the Lord's cmmand to only gather what they needed for the day - and in disobedience they gathered too much food to try to "save" it in doubt that God would provide for them tomorrow as well, -- he punished them by bringing maggots and rot to the uneaten food they were saving.
As terribly long (and boring) as it was to read those rules, and as terribly stupid as the rules of today seem, -- when you read through them you can't help but get a sense of reason for it. The rules that is. God blesses obedience, he punishes disobedience.
It's really as simple as that. We can think we can get away with it, or out of it, but some way, some how, some time, disobedience will bite us in the butt.
Always.
Truly, that is changing the way I think about rules.
And it's hard to do that. There are some really tough rules in these couple of days that in this day rage on and cause much misunderstanding and hatred.
Obviously homosexuality and tattoo's are the biggies here - in terms of present-day "rule-breaking" that is.
I'll have to disable comments on this entry I suppose, because I don't want an ugly debate, but as for me and what I'm reading, I don't understand how people who say they are true Christians, can defend homosexuality as "something someone is born with". How does that pass the Leviticus 18:22 test which clearly states, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." Do Christians who defend homosexuality but who believe in a perfect God really think that that perfect God would create a human being to have a sexual preferance for someone of the same sex, when God himself commands us not to do and who calls that "detestable?"
I think we're blaming "DNA" when we should be blaming "free will of choice".
The flip side is that when you share what the Bible says, you are accused of being judgemental. And I would have to answer with that people do not know the difference between what's "Right from Wrong" and "Being Judgemental".
The Bible says to follow the rules as right from wrong. It does not say to hate the person, it says to hate the sin.
We are to love all people, not just those who don't commit sins. Which would be a rather short list!
It goes on in Leviticus 19:28 to say, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
Which also, as widely popular as tattoo's are - begs the question of, "If you are a Christian, and you believe the Bible and you want to draw closer to the Lord and obey him for his full measure of blessings, do you get to pick and choose the things you want to obey?"
As much as I want an autism ribbon tattoo -- I have to admit, it has to be a "No."
Does it mean you must hate or not be a friend to anyone who is a homosexual, has tattoo's, or is anyone of any other type of sin? "No!"
What all that does mean to me is that if you are a Christian and you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that again, in order to receive the FULL MEASURE of all God has for you, we've got to obey. And really, I'm thinking out loud here, but what does your Christianity mean to you if you do profess God as your Lord and Savior, but not enough to be obedient to him in all things?
Living like that to me, is like God saying to us, "Well, I love you but will only provide for you some of the time. I love you but will only forgive you some of the time. I love you but will only bless you when I feel like it.
No, God loves and forgives and provides for and protects and blesses us ALL OF THE TIME.
Shouldn't we at least do the same in obedience for him?
In Leviticus 19:37 God says, "Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD."
Again in Leviticus 20:8 God says, "Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy."
Hmmmmm....
A tough couple days worth of reading about things that'll get you get unfriended on FB....
(smile)
Doubts, doubts, and more doubts...
Day 5 & 6
Exodus
Still in Exodus and still amazed as how we today still do what Moses did all those yesterday's ago, in asking, "Who am I that I should go and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
We ask that and we doubt that we heard from God "to go" and then once we know we are "to go" and do something for God, we start to doubt whether we can! Whether we are right for the job.
It was an episode of "Doc" where Clint was saying in his end-of-the-show commentary back home to Montana that sometimes the worse prisons we are thrown into, are the ones we create for ourselves with our self-doubt, with letting satan creep in and tell us we can't because of this or that.
When those things happen we need to remember how God answered Moses, with "I will be with you..." Such a simple remark but it's when we make things more complicated that we trip up. He wouldn't ever tell you to do something he knew you couldn't do! When God brings you to it, he will be faithful to deliver you through it! Ha ha ha, I'm reminded of a warrior-mom quote I like: "When you're going through hell, just keep going -- you'll eventually get through it!"
Well, maybe that's not the message here, but we can certainly apply it to God's promise of deliverance! I'm ahead of myself here, but if only the Israelites wouldn't have doubted so much that God would indeed deliver them! He delivered them from the captivity of the Egyptians. He delivered them from aimless wandering. He delivered them through hunger, thirst, and their enemies along the way! And he will deliver us through anything his sovereign-self sees fit to allow us to go through! Whether that be autism, seizures, unemployment, etc.
As a parent, and as I emphasized to my son when I sent him letters on these readings on the laws, I pray that my son fully grasps what Exodus is saying about punishment and laws. I think too many children, youth, teens, and even adults think breaking laws is cute or funny or no big deal. If there's anything I got out of the tedium of reading (ok skimming) all of the laws about this and that, is that the stakes are high and often there are no second chances. Perhaps God doesn't send 'plaques' on us for disobedience as he did on Pharaoh in those days, but I certainly feel he withholds blessings when we think it ok to live in disobedience, even of the most stupid law or rule in our own opinions. Just as God punished Pharaoh's people back then for disobedience -- make no mistake, there is a punishment for disobedience in this day and age.
The Ten Commandments were a great reminder - and the three that especially made me stop and think were having no other gods before God, Idol's, and Honoring the Sabbath.
Do I with my time, make autism my god? I do if I spend more time studying it and researching it than I do learning about God.
What are my hidden idol's? Again, autism?
Do I honor the Sabbath as I should? You can be in church and not honor the Sabbath. You can not be in church and think you are home honoring the Sabbath, but really not be.
Even as the Israelites were wandering in the desert, the Lord provided them enough food on Saturday, to cover Sunday so they wouldn't have to work in gathering food that day. Reading how much emphasis was placed on that really humbled me and made me want to better honor the Lord on Sunday's. Sheesh, I mean really, can I give the Lord one measley day after the other six that he provided for me?
Just obedience. That's all God is asking of us. He's not asking us to cut off an arm or leg or sacrifice a child.
He's asking for simple obedience.
Yet so very often, we say no.
Exodus
Still in Exodus and still amazed as how we today still do what Moses did all those yesterday's ago, in asking, "Who am I that I should go and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
We ask that and we doubt that we heard from God "to go" and then once we know we are "to go" and do something for God, we start to doubt whether we can! Whether we are right for the job.
It was an episode of "Doc" where Clint was saying in his end-of-the-show commentary back home to Montana that sometimes the worse prisons we are thrown into, are the ones we create for ourselves with our self-doubt, with letting satan creep in and tell us we can't because of this or that.
When those things happen we need to remember how God answered Moses, with "I will be with you..." Such a simple remark but it's when we make things more complicated that we trip up. He wouldn't ever tell you to do something he knew you couldn't do! When God brings you to it, he will be faithful to deliver you through it! Ha ha ha, I'm reminded of a warrior-mom quote I like: "When you're going through hell, just keep going -- you'll eventually get through it!"
Well, maybe that's not the message here, but we can certainly apply it to God's promise of deliverance! I'm ahead of myself here, but if only the Israelites wouldn't have doubted so much that God would indeed deliver them! He delivered them from the captivity of the Egyptians. He delivered them from aimless wandering. He delivered them through hunger, thirst, and their enemies along the way! And he will deliver us through anything his sovereign-self sees fit to allow us to go through! Whether that be autism, seizures, unemployment, etc.
As a parent, and as I emphasized to my son when I sent him letters on these readings on the laws, I pray that my son fully grasps what Exodus is saying about punishment and laws. I think too many children, youth, teens, and even adults think breaking laws is cute or funny or no big deal. If there's anything I got out of the tedium of reading (ok skimming) all of the laws about this and that, is that the stakes are high and often there are no second chances. Perhaps God doesn't send 'plaques' on us for disobedience as he did on Pharaoh in those days, but I certainly feel he withholds blessings when we think it ok to live in disobedience, even of the most stupid law or rule in our own opinions. Just as God punished Pharaoh's people back then for disobedience -- make no mistake, there is a punishment for disobedience in this day and age.
The Ten Commandments were a great reminder - and the three that especially made me stop and think were having no other gods before God, Idol's, and Honoring the Sabbath.
Do I with my time, make autism my god? I do if I spend more time studying it and researching it than I do learning about God.
What are my hidden idol's? Again, autism?
Do I honor the Sabbath as I should? You can be in church and not honor the Sabbath. You can not be in church and think you are home honoring the Sabbath, but really not be.
Even as the Israelites were wandering in the desert, the Lord provided them enough food on Saturday, to cover Sunday so they wouldn't have to work in gathering food that day. Reading how much emphasis was placed on that really humbled me and made me want to better honor the Lord on Sunday's. Sheesh, I mean really, can I give the Lord one measley day after the other six that he provided for me?
Just obedience. That's all God is asking of us. He's not asking us to cut off an arm or leg or sacrifice a child.
He's asking for simple obedience.
Yet so very often, we say no.
Me? You want me to do what?
Day 4
Exodus
I can relate to Moses here.
In the book of Exodus where God is using a burning bush (that's not consumed by the fire, by the way) to speak to Moses.
I love the verse where Moses asks, "Who am I that I should go and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God answers, "I will be with you....".
I love in these readings how God promises deliverance, no matter how long, or how severe the oppression.
I needed to read that and know that in regard to Brandon and how long and how severely he's been oppressed by seizures and the things about his autism that make him not able to have a good day where he can run and jump and just be his joyful self.
I love that how if we remain faithful, no matter how imperfect we are (Moses questioned God because of his speech) God can use us. God can, and will, deliver us.
No matter how much greener the grass is on the other side, -- if we remain faithful God can deliver us through whatever it is we're facing.
I want my Navy-son to embrace that as he faces the toughest challenges he'll have to face. To not be intimidated by others who may be faster, stronger, more experienced. God can and will use him to complete that task before him.
I want to embrace that as I live my life knowing that others are way more educated, earn way more money, get to do way more things. God can still use me for what he wants to accomplish through me.
I love this "Song of Moses" that was written after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea that Moses, through God, had parted....
I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my son; he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like a stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'
But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?
Who is like you ---
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them.
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone --- until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you bought pass by.
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance -- the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O LORD, your hands established.
The LORD will reign for ever and ever.
Exodus
I can relate to Moses here.
In the book of Exodus where God is using a burning bush (that's not consumed by the fire, by the way) to speak to Moses.
I love the verse where Moses asks, "Who am I that I should go and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God answers, "I will be with you....".
I love in these readings how God promises deliverance, no matter how long, or how severe the oppression.
I needed to read that and know that in regard to Brandon and how long and how severely he's been oppressed by seizures and the things about his autism that make him not able to have a good day where he can run and jump and just be his joyful self.
I love that how if we remain faithful, no matter how imperfect we are (Moses questioned God because of his speech) God can use us. God can, and will, deliver us.
No matter how much greener the grass is on the other side, -- if we remain faithful God can deliver us through whatever it is we're facing.
I want my Navy-son to embrace that as he faces the toughest challenges he'll have to face. To not be intimidated by others who may be faster, stronger, more experienced. God can and will use him to complete that task before him.
I want to embrace that as I live my life knowing that others are way more educated, earn way more money, get to do way more things. God can still use me for what he wants to accomplish through me.
I love this "Song of Moses" that was written after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea that Moses, through God, had parted....
I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my son; he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like a stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'
But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?
Who is like you ---
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them.
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone --- until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you bought pass by.
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance -- the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O LORD, your hands established.
The LORD will reign for ever and ever.
Mizpah
Day 3
Genesis
I'm sure is blasphemous to say that a days Bible reading was boring -- but hence all the who is related to who has cured insomnia for a night or two!
(smile)
But one thing I did get from today was the word "Mizpah" which means "watch tower". Genesis 31:49 says, "May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other."
I like that.
I will now pray that over my son who is at Boot Camp. In fact, before I knew there was a "Mizpah Pendant", I bought him an "Anchor of Hope" pendant of a cross/anchor to wear on his dog tags, while I have the matching ring to wear. As a symbol of connection while he is away from mom. My husband and I have similar "Mizpah's" in wedding bands.
In that passage of scripture where "Mizpah" is mentioned, it also shares how mizpah serves as a witness. God being that witness, so that even if no one is around, God is still that witness and sees the sin being spoken of in that passage. What a great reminder that even though we think we are alone and no one sees our "sin" -- that God still does. God is that witness. And man, I sure don't want to go against him in court. As many will....
I guess to me it is really speaking of the honor we must possess in our different roles in life. For my Navy son - in upholding the honor that binds them all as brothers. For my husband and I in the honor of marriage. That even though no one may ever see you doing something wrong -- God is that watchtower, that witness. He watches over us not to condemn us, but to protect us.
I like that accountability.
We all need it.
Genesis
I'm sure is blasphemous to say that a days Bible reading was boring -- but hence all the who is related to who has cured insomnia for a night or two!
(smile)
But one thing I did get from today was the word "Mizpah" which means "watch tower". Genesis 31:49 says, "May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other."
I like that.
I will now pray that over my son who is at Boot Camp. In fact, before I knew there was a "Mizpah Pendant", I bought him an "Anchor of Hope" pendant of a cross/anchor to wear on his dog tags, while I have the matching ring to wear. As a symbol of connection while he is away from mom. My husband and I have similar "Mizpah's" in wedding bands.
In that passage of scripture where "Mizpah" is mentioned, it also shares how mizpah serves as a witness. God being that witness, so that even if no one is around, God is still that witness and sees the sin being spoken of in that passage. What a great reminder that even though we think we are alone and no one sees our "sin" -- that God still does. God is that witness. And man, I sure don't want to go against him in court. As many will....
I guess to me it is really speaking of the honor we must possess in our different roles in life. For my Navy son - in upholding the honor that binds them all as brothers. For my husband and I in the honor of marriage. That even though no one may ever see you doing something wrong -- God is that watchtower, that witness. He watches over us not to condemn us, but to protect us.
I like that accountability.
We all need it.
What would you sacrifice in obedience?
Day 2
Genesis
I came away with the overwhelming question of "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
God was testing Abraham's faith, in asking him to sacrifice the son he waited all his life to be blessed with. It made me think about what I would be willing to put on the "offering table" for the Lord. My own son? In some ways, I feel I have. I've surrendered Brandon to God because there's just no way my husband and I have kept that boy alive through all his seizures and falls from seizures. God has. And in a sense with our oldest son in the Navy. We've had to (reluctantly) come to terms with how he is not "ours" - how we have had to give his life to the Lord for the kind of protection only the Lord could give anyway!
That offering thing is really a tough test of faith in all other matters. What in my life would I not want to give up for God? Would I give up being what I've always dreamed of being - if I felt God was calling me to do that? Would I give up the chance my son with autism and seizures could be healed if God asked me to put that on the "offering table" for him? Would I give up my Navy son's dream of becoming what he has dreamed of becoming for years now if God said I had to give his dream up as an offering?
Dang. Why you gotta hit below the belt God?
The faith Abraham must have had in just obeying. In offering up to God for a sacrifice, the very blessing he prayed all his life for!
I just have to type that again. Abraham, in faith and obedience, has his only son Issac on the offering table, tied on top of a pile of wood. He has his knife ready for that sacrifice!
God stopped Abraham and said, "Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." And Abraham called that place, "The Lord will provide". The Lord then said, "You will be blessed because you have obeyed me."
It's always a sacrifice to obey the Lord.
But when you truly obey God - the rewards are always worth it.
Genesis
I came away with the overwhelming question of "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
God was testing Abraham's faith, in asking him to sacrifice the son he waited all his life to be blessed with. It made me think about what I would be willing to put on the "offering table" for the Lord. My own son? In some ways, I feel I have. I've surrendered Brandon to God because there's just no way my husband and I have kept that boy alive through all his seizures and falls from seizures. God has. And in a sense with our oldest son in the Navy. We've had to (reluctantly) come to terms with how he is not "ours" - how we have had to give his life to the Lord for the kind of protection only the Lord could give anyway!
That offering thing is really a tough test of faith in all other matters. What in my life would I not want to give up for God? Would I give up being what I've always dreamed of being - if I felt God was calling me to do that? Would I give up the chance my son with autism and seizures could be healed if God asked me to put that on the "offering table" for him? Would I give up my Navy son's dream of becoming what he has dreamed of becoming for years now if God said I had to give his dream up as an offering?
Dang. Why you gotta hit below the belt God?
The faith Abraham must have had in just obeying. In offering up to God for a sacrifice, the very blessing he prayed all his life for!
I just have to type that again. Abraham, in faith and obedience, has his only son Issac on the offering table, tied on top of a pile of wood. He has his knife ready for that sacrifice!
God stopped Abraham and said, "Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." And Abraham called that place, "The Lord will provide". The Lord then said, "You will be blessed because you have obeyed me."
It's always a sacrifice to obey the Lord.
But when you truly obey God - the rewards are always worth it.
Crouching Sin, Hidden Shadows
Day 1
The beginning of Lent: Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2012
Genesis
"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door: it desires to have you, but you must master it."
I thought that was really cool. Sin crouches in the shadows -- language, pride, etc.
But we must daily decide to master it so it does not have a chance to master us.
As that passage was in the first day of my reading -- and as Genesis is about beginnings --- even if sin does bite us in the butt --- Genesis reminds us that each day is a new beginning. A fresh start.
Most days, I need that assurance.
The beginning of Lent: Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2012
Genesis
"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door: it desires to have you, but you must master it."
I thought that was really cool. Sin crouches in the shadows -- language, pride, etc.
But we must daily decide to master it so it does not have a chance to master us.
As that passage was in the first day of my reading -- and as Genesis is about beginnings --- even if sin does bite us in the butt --- Genesis reminds us that each day is a new beginning. A fresh start.
Most days, I need that assurance.
The Bible in 90 Days
For Lent this year, I wanted to do the "Bible in 90 Days" reading program. It's the perfect time to do that as my oldest son has been in Boot Camp and will be furthering his intense training in preparation to what he hopes to be a dream-come-true career. The last eighteen months with our younger son who has autism and epilepsy have been trying. These past few months for our family have been intense with the abrupt changes of "Navy life" that cannot be planned for, only faced. These next several months will be critical for our Navy son, and a testing of our faith as parents. So what better thing to do than add another challenge!
I think God likes that.
When we face worldly challenges by pursuing Spiritual challenges.
So here I go... for hopefully the next 90 Days I will draw closer to the One who can make those worries and challenges seem light-years away.
I chose to begin this new blog just for this purpose. To have one specific place to record my personal insights from each day's reading. So that as I go back to a specific book of the Bible after I have completed the 90 days... I can perhaps add new insight or better (perhaps corrected) interpretations of what God is teaching. Wanted me to learn but that I didn't at that time!
As I read each day, I mail essentially what I share here to my son - so we remain connected in Christ that way. This journey started while he was in Boot Camp, and hopefully never ends.
What a legacy to leave our children -- not gifts or things, but our collective thoughts on Christ.
Here we go God...
I'm listening...
Those of you going through this "Bible in 90 Days" journey, feel free to add your insight!
I think God likes that.
When we face worldly challenges by pursuing Spiritual challenges.
So here I go... for hopefully the next 90 Days I will draw closer to the One who can make those worries and challenges seem light-years away.
I chose to begin this new blog just for this purpose. To have one specific place to record my personal insights from each day's reading. So that as I go back to a specific book of the Bible after I have completed the 90 days... I can perhaps add new insight or better (perhaps corrected) interpretations of what God is teaching. Wanted me to learn but that I didn't at that time!
As I read each day, I mail essentially what I share here to my son - so we remain connected in Christ that way. This journey started while he was in Boot Camp, and hopefully never ends.
What a legacy to leave our children -- not gifts or things, but our collective thoughts on Christ.
Here we go God...
I'm listening...
Those of you going through this "Bible in 90 Days" journey, feel free to add your insight!
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