Alone with Him

I read today of the women caught in adultery. A familiar story.  The woman standing there, her shame revealed for all to see. Jesus casually asks the one with no sin to cast the first stone.  The oldest put down their stones first.  Soon everyone is gone and it is only Jesus with the women standing before Him.  He's there because it is Him! He is the One with no sin.  This perfect man, pure, sinless, holy and yet He merely tells her to go and sin no more.  We don't know what happened to her after that, whether or not she changed her ways.  But that is not the point.  The point is, Jesus, sinless and pure offered her, as He does us, the mercy, compassion and forgiveness of God. He really is the God of second chances. 

What convicted me today with this story (besides sheer gratitude for God's grace) is my tendency to be the one who wants to throw stones and not the one who exhibits the compassion and mercy of the Lord. How easy to point the finger at others and not at myself.

So the reminder.  We stand before God, alone, stripped down, known through and through.  The more aware of that, the better! His holiness and my sinfulness.  O God, thank you for your second chances.  Thank you for Your Son, Who made a way for us to even be able to stand before you at all.  Thank you for this beautiful picture of Jesus with this woman, His compassion and kindness shining through the centuries for us to see.  Help me to reflect Your kindness, Your forgiveness in my life! Thank You for your love.

The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

⁹ 

The Lord is good to everyone.

    He showers compassion on all his creation.

¹⁰ 

All of your works will thank you,Lord,

    and your faithful followers will praise you.

Psalm 145:8-10 nlt

Expectations

Expectations. This word came to mind this morning so I pursued it.  Expectations are tricky.  We need to live in expectation, with hope. Yet false expectations can quickly lead us to disappointment, resentment and even despair. In Luke 7, Jesus talks about how John was rejected because of his unusual lifestyle and Jesus was rejected because He ate with sinners.  The people had their various expectations of what the Messiah was going to be like and that completely blocked their ability to actually see Him even though He was standing right in front of them. Some expected the coming Messiah to fix the world. Then there were those who were healed and just raced off in joy without looking back, without thanks, to fulfill their dreams. And then there were those who thought they had a lot to loose. They had built their own little kingdoms and they were not about to give up control, their love of being noticed and flattered.  Basically it is all rooted in self-absorption. All of that said, what they expected did not fit with the Servant King Jesus. And they certainly did not understand that He Himself, was the fulfillment their hearts cried out for.

I am so convicted of missing golden moments.  Moments of God's shining Presence before me, in a sweet interaction with someone or just an observation of the beauty of creation.  So often I am tapping my foot with impatience with someone or even myself, waiting for things to be "just so" and when they aren't I miss the significance of the way things actually are.  How much of my life has been wasted moments.  Personal frustration to actual pain when if I had a different mindset, different expectations I would have experienced God's peace, God's perspective, heartfelt trust, peace and even joy?  

All of this is so rooted in my selfishness and need to control things.  God help me see what you are doing in my life and the lives of others (independent of how it may effect me).  Help me to be patient and trusting and encouraging as you do Your work in me and those around me.  Thank You because You are always at work. John 5:17 - Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I to, am working." 

Father, help me to see.  Help me to turn aside and look as Moses did when He saw the burning bush.  Your Word says in Ex 3:4 "When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the burning bush, "Moses! Moses!"  Moses noticed and God saw that and called to him by name. Help me to turn aside from my task oriented, overly busy, life to see You at work, Lord.  To join You there.  To trust You even when I don't get it (which is often). 

Forgive me for missing so much of what was really going on in my life and all around me.  Thank You for Your mercy Lord. Help me to rest in your tender care. Help me live in great expectation but to hold loosely as to what that looks like. Help me enjoy the beauty of life that is all around me. Thank you for family and friends that enrich my life and bring me such joy.  Help me to be patient and trusting and merciful.  Thank You for your patience with me.  

"I do not to concern myself with great matters 

or things too wonderful for me. 

But I have stilled and quieted my soul; 

like a weaned child with its mother, 

like a weaned child is my soul within  me." 

Psalm 131:1-2

Like a Child

My heart is not proud, O Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
    or things too wonderful for me.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
    like a weaned child with its mother,
    like a weaned child is my soul within me. 

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
    both now and forevermore.

Psalm 131

What a lovely picture of a peaceful soul.  Resting, leaning in, nestled in the arms of a loving mother.  This one of the most tender pictures, from the pages of scripture, of our relationship with our LORD. Yet how often am I off running around, doing, doing, doing? Resisting the rest, the nurture I need so desperately that is found only in/with Him. I so need to practice stilling and quieting my soul. How difficult that can be.  So interesting how this psalm ties this peaceful soul to surrender. And humility. I need to humble myself to Him and surrender the ideas I may have, of how I think things should to be.  Only the LORD knows the path of blessing for us, beginning to end.  He needs no help from me.

I surrender all I cling to, all I worry about, LORD, to You.  My hope is in You.  You alone see things that are too wonderful for me to even conceive of.  I am lost in the forest and can only see the trees. You see the entire forest nestled on a hillside surrounded by lush green meadows, fields of wild flowers, lofty mountain peaks, rivers, lakes and more.  Thank you that I can rest. I can lean on your shoulder in stillness and quiet and find peace for my soul. Thank you for being patient with me.  Thank You that You keep calling for me to come close to You. Thank You that you are always at work and You are good, all of the time. So much to be thankful for!

My Father's Kingdom

"Do not be afraid little flock, 

for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."  

Luke 12:32

This is Jesus to His disciples, His followers.  I love the tender way He addresses them.  He calls them little flock.  He is after all the Great Shepherd Who came to rescue His own.  This  Shepherd wants us to understand that God has given us everything we need. Everything. We are a part of His kingdom.  We are safe, secure and dearly loved.  But it takes so long for us to really get it, and so long to be able to live out of it!

He starts by addressing fear.  Always the the heart issue first. We come to Him, initially, full of fear, fending for ourselves in this hard and dangerous world.  How we fend for ourselves all depends on our circumstances but we all come from aloneness, using flawed coping skills in order to survive and live well.  Living well takes on different meanings as it is corrupted by our natural bent toward selfishness. So we come, a mess.  Jesus wants to assure us that we need not fear. We can lay down our weapons.  As His, we are residents of God's kingdom.  God was pleased to give us this amazing home which can never be taken from us.  

Then He goes on to give instruction in how to live as residents of this amazing kingdom.  He wants us to serve Him as we wait for the fulfillment of this kingdom life on earth.  We can only do this when we are focused on Him and the eternal perspective of our home with Him.  I am feeling a deep stirring within me to grasp the nature of my Father and His great love for me in order to let go of my grip of things that concern me too much.  He wants my heart to feel free and unencumbered, in order that I can look beyond myself to be of use in kingdom work.  But also, and maybe more importantly, so I can enjoy the moments I find myself in, trusting that He is there; I am safe and I am loved.  I am known, understood and valued.  Deep calling to deep.  My Savior calling to me, one of His little flock.  My Father, pleased to give to me, His kingdom.  If I could live completely out of that I would be free indeed. A heart untroubled by the cares of the world.

Help me Lord, to really know and understand, deep within my heart what You have been pleased to give me.  Forgive me for hanging on to things that are empty and useless, things I have no control over. Help me to see the opportunities you have place around me. Thank you for making a way for me by Your own sacrifice. Thank you for loving me and the entire world with your merciful grace.  The fact is,

For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:43

May I treasure You with all my heart!

He's at the Table

There is a story where Jesus was invited into a home. So He went in and took His place at the table.  I invited Him into the home of my heart, many years ago.  And so there He is, very present within me.  It didn't take long for me to notice Him there and He has never left, I am thankful to say, these many years later.

So there He is at the table, but there are others there too.  It is a big table like at the holidays, full of food and conversation. Loud and colorful. So the question is, am I listening to Him?  Am I hearing His Words to me as He speaks within my clamoring heart. Or are the other voices, which are much louder, drowning Him out?  Okay, truth be told, both.

As the story goes on, it is about being cleansed from within. And He doesn't mince words either.  It is also about doing, not just knowing. He speaks to those at the table and tells them they hide the key to knowledge and don't use it to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven themselves.  They know the truth but they don't enter in.  They prefer to shut their ears and enjoy the deceptive glitter of their own little kingdoms rather than pursue truth, use the key and enter into God's Kingdom, where the real joys, the real feast, the real life resides.

God help me to listen to you, to put You at the head of the table. To follow through and live as you direct.  Thank you that You enter in and you give me the key to enter into life forever with You. Thank you that it is one key and not many keys.  One Way, One Life, One Truth.  Thank You Son and Spirit for being a part of the banquet of knowing.  Guide and direct me Lord. Today.
From Luke 37-52

Led by Love

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. 

Hosea 11:3-4

This is one of my favorite verses.  This treasure, this book of Hosea, tells of the incredible love and mercy of a pursuing God of provision, rescue and redemption.  He is the One who keeps on coming to us, who bends down to lift us up, who releases us from our bondage, who heals us, and leads us.  He takes us by the hand and feeds us.  Even when we don't realize it. I love the reference to a cord; it is something that binds us to Him.  This book is about the relentless pursuing love of God but it is also about our faithlessness, our short memories, our love affair with the world, our betrayal of this divine relationship with the One True God.  It is so much about His forgiveness which is the nature of His love.  

It is a wake up call to acknowledge His Presence, His Provision, His Way.  Every day, in big ways and in the ever so subtle ways, I forget.  I turn my heart towards the world and seek to have it satisfy me.  I live as though the world can protect me and love me.  I get creation mixed up with the Creator.

Help me Lord to walk, ever aware of the cord that binds my heart to Yours.  Help me to be consciously thankful for all you have done to set my heart free, as You have lifted the yoke of bondage from my neck.  Thank You for healing my heart, for feeding me day by day from your Word.

I pray for loved ones, that as You certainly continue to pursue them, they come to recognize and realize that it is You calling.  You are the One their hearts are yearning for.  Open their eyes to see that it is You who provided a way for them, You who send Your Son to die, as a sacrifice for us.  Help them to realize it, Lord! Help me to realize it too, in the way that I live.

I exalt you Holy One.  Thank you that You never give up on me.

Making Shelters

Luke 9:28-37

Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain with Him. Staggering.  Jesus, God, taking these mortal men up with Him to pray. And there they SAW His Glory!  His entire being shone with blinding, dazzling light that we can only imagine as He communed with His Father. Heaven come down.  Yes that is the story.  Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit came down. For us.  But I digress.

So where are the human heroes of the story after their trek up the mountain? Asleep!  Of course.  One of the most amazing things to ever see, ever in history, and they almost missed it. So how much do I miss,  that I am invited into as a daughter of the King.  Beloved child with the Holy Spirit of God living right inside me?  How much do I sleep through?  Or how much am I distracted, looking elsewhere, trying to figure things out on my own.  Like Peter.  Once they woke up and realized the glory they were seeing, what does he try to do?  He tries to contain it; make shelter for the King of Glory, the Creator of all things.  That too is what we do.  We try to get everything just right and then freeze!  That's it.  We have God right where we want Him. Silly, sad, shallow, dull witted as I am, that is what I do.  It is subtle sometimes. I don't know I am doing it but it is true.  I want heaven on earth, now. Freeze.

Bottom line.  His Kingdom is come.  It is here.  But we can not contain it. He is ever on the move. He is ever at work. He is always in control and He is ever good.  I am sad about change right now.  Probably in more ways and areas that I even know. And that is okay.  God is on the move and I need to move with Him.  I need to trust that He is orchestrating things to bring His glory to those He loves, which is everyone.  So as He is at work. I need to remember, God completely interrupted Peter to say. "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him." That is it.  The bottom line. For today.  For tomorrow. And forever. Listen to the Lord. Day by day.

He is the One who will never change.  He is the One who will never leave or forsake me (one of the first promises He gave me personally, many years ago when I was a new Christian). He is my constant, my true north.  And I can listen to Him. That is good news.  That is the life line. That is what I can cling to.

Help me Lord to keep my ear tuned to your Voice.  Help me to not fall asleep and get distracted and miss the amazing things you have for me, even the little things, like the humming birds in my yard, my granddaughter's delight in the smallest details of life around her, the sunset, the clouds, friends, family, and oh so much more.  Let me be part of what you are doing and not be looking for empty shelters to build. Jesus was talking about the mission He was sent to complete.  He was at work. Help me be apart of your life on earth, a giver, not a consumer.  And help me to be filled up by You, Lord.  You are the One who fills my soul, with peace, with love, with joy, with rest.  Thank you that You came. That you can not be contained, tamed, controlled or even understood.  Thank you for being God.  Thank you that I can listen. Forgive me when I don't! I give you all thanks and praise.