Category: Bible

Oops. I guess sometimes scheduling blogs posts to go when you’re not finished with them yet doesn’t quite work out. Here we go again!

Take two:

My dear friends in St. Louis have an annual tradition of choosing a “word of the year.” This year they chose one for me. Guess what it was???

Wisdom.

So I began studying the word ‘wisdom’ in the scriptures.  One thing I decided to look up was where the word ‘wisdom’ and the word ‘heart’ appear together which led me to Psalm 90.

So turn with me to Psalm 90.  The subtitle for this psalm is “A prayer of Moses,  the man of God.”

Read along with me.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

These first four verses show us the everlasting, eternal nature of our God, in stark contrast of the temporary, temporal nature of human life here on earth. This is how this psalm begins – pondering the nature of God as compared with the nature of man.

The next seven verses continue this theme but emphasizing God’s righteous judgment and wrath on sinful humankind.

But then you come to verse 12. A special verse nestled in the middle of reflection on God’s eternality and our brevity.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. “

So, how do we get a heart of wisdom?

By numbering our days. By realizing how brief our lives are. Living them out in a daily appreciation for how short life is in light of the nature of God who is from everlasting to everlasting.

And then this beautiful psalm ends with

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

In God’s perfect timing, I’ve been thinking about this blog post for several days but was never quite able to finish it. Yesterday, two significant events happened.

One, Bill’s 87-year-old grandfather ended up in the hospital again. The third time in a month. Heart problems.

Two, my pastor and his wife who had just announced Sunday that they were expecting their third baby, shared that their newest baby blessing had passed from this life into the presence of the everlasting God.

And there it is. The critical importance of numbering our days, from first to last. From the youngest little babe to the ripe old age.

Father, teach us to number our days. To live every moment as it might be our last. To thank You and be glad even as many days as we are afflicted, to rejoice and be glad all our days as we are satisfied with your steadfast love.

Amen

TWIG

Please, go open your Bible right now, or you can click here and read Psalm 107.

This beautiful Psalm begins like this:

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is GOOD, for His steadfast LOVE endures forever!”

and ends like this:

“Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast LOVE of the Lord.”

But, you see, in the midst, in the middle of God’s goodness and love, is lots of trial and pain and hardship.  Lots of darkness and shadows. Plenty of labor and distress. Even affliction and destruction.

Yet, in the midst, in the middle, there is also the steadfast LOVE of the Lord.  The Lord’s love does not waiver.  It does not end when His people rebel against His words and spurn His counsel.  His love causes Him to discipline His children, yet His love does not end.  His love is steadfast.  And the wise pays attention and remembers this.

Father, help me to be wise.  Fill me, Lord, with your wisdom.  Grow me in patience and help me to pay attention to what You are doing in my midst.

TWIG

“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 (ESV)

For any of you who knew me well, you know that patience is not my strong suit.  It does not come naturally to me. I prefer a quick ending to a thing, to any thing. I like to be on time, and I like others to be on time, too.  I hate to be kept waiting. I like to hear “the point” of a story right from the start, so that I can enjoy a long, detailed tale.

But I’m learning that this is just not the Lord’s way. His way is long. His way requires patience and waiting. He rarely tells you how the story is gonna end right from the start.

And I’m learning that wanting things on my time line is, at its heart, pride. This pride leads me to prefer myself and my ways over His and this pride leads to anger.

And anger lodges in the heart of fools. It rests there.

But, I am no fool.

God has given me wisdom, by His Spirit and His Word, and I pray that wisdom would give me a heart filled with patience, not pride, not a quick spirit, not anger.

  Most mornings you will find me enjoying some sweet time with the Lord in His word before my household responsibilities get too busy.
   Last April, I started recording in a journal Bible in preparation for my oldest daughter Emily’s graduation from high school in May. It’s kinda like this.

   Typically, I read about two pages or so and then write out a prayer based on that scripture passage in the journal section on the side. I journal a prayer of my own adoration, gratitude and supplication, followed by a prayer of gratitude and supplication for Emily.
Right now I’m reading through the Psalms.  Today I fed on Psalm 16. I pray it would bless you.  Enjoy.

Psalm 16 (ESV)
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;  you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

   Father, thank you for your goodness and mercy. There is indeed no good apart from you.  You are my Lord. I worship you who gives me wisdom and guides me in truth. I humble myself, saying You are my chosen portion and my cup. You hold my lot.  It is in You I find my strength. Thank you for giving me counsel. Your ways are not my ways and I thank you for showing me the way that is right, for being a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You have indeed shown me the path of life. In Your presence is the fullness of joy and eternal pleasures.
  
I lift up my beloved daughter, Emily, to you.  Bless her, Lord, with your wisdom and guidance and fullness of joy. May she seek Your face earnestly today and every day. I pray her heart would be glad in You. May she walk humbly in your presence, at your right hand.
Amen.

Bear with me. I know that title was bizarre, but as I lay quietly in bed last night meditating on God’s goodness, I had this amazing visual illustration. It went something like this.

Imagine you’re sitting down for a quiet lunch. It’s just you. You’re sitting at a large, round, oak dining room table. In front of you sits a tall glass of skim milk and a small white plate holding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread and a half dozen of those little, bite-sized raw carrots.

Maybe you’ve heard the analogies about Jesus in your life like He’s in a house — like do you keep Him on the porch, or in a closet or maybe He’s allowed into the formal living room … Or do you invite him in to the kitchen where you really live?

Well, I’m kinda a foodie — No, I’m seriously a foodie and God spoke to me through this FOOD-related spiritual picture. Let’s see if any of you can track with me.

So, is God my nice, healthy, good-looking tall glass of clean, white skim milk? Kept at arm’s length, and good for washing down anything distasteful in my life?

Or is He my side of carrots? Good for me, full of vitamins and crunchy to the teeth? He’s made it on the plate, but not because I want Him there — more because He’s supposed to be there. You know, like a necessary but not desirable part of my life. I don’t hunger for Him, but I know that I need Him.

Or is He the crust on that PB&J sandwich? All around the outside. Visible to the onlooking world. But in my real, every day activities when no one’s watching, I peel Him off and cast Him off on the plate. Maybe when I’m really hungry and I’ve finished off everything else, I pick Him up as a last resort.

Or is He the peanut butter and jelly of my life? Sweet? Appetizing? Spread thick from edge to edge, filling every empty space and oozing out with every bite I take? Is He my “go-to” favorite? What I run to at every point of need, knowing that He will satisfy both my needs and my desires?

I pray that Jesus would fill my life with all that is good and beautiful to overflowing, that He would ooze out of me with joy and gratitude and that He would be my go-to-first response to whatever my day brings.

TWIG

Every year this time of year people think about their New Year resolutions.

I’m not real sure about that myself because I seem to have a hard time following through on the promises I want to make, but I do start every year with some reflection on the past year and prayer for the coming year.

With that in mind, these are my prayers for this year.

Father, teach me to number my days.  May I make the most of every moment.

Every moment with my rapidly growing children.  Every moment with my husband.  Every moment out in the world where my life is on display.  Every moment You give me to proclaim Your truths in word and in deed.

Father, please guide me in how to spend my free time.  Show me by Your wisdom and grace in how to spend those extra little moments and minutes and hours when nothing is pressing for my attention.

Father, I pray that I would remember that I have been chosen, been made a royal priest, been made holy, made your very own possession, that I would PROCLAIM the excellencies of Him (that’s YOU) who called me out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Once I was not part of God’s family, God’s people, Your people, but now I am.  Once I had not received mercy but now I have received mercy.  Now, as a sojourner and exile, I pray that I would abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against my soul.  I pray that I would keep my conduct among the world honorable so that when they seek to speak evil against me, they would see my GOOD deeds and glorify GOD. (1 Peter 2:9-12)

May I live my life as Yours.  Your servant.  Your slave.  Your chosen, adopted child.  Your daughter.

May I remember that my life is not my own, that I have been BOUGHT with a price.  The blood of Jesus has ransomed me from my slavery to sin.  I have become Your bond servant.  I have sold myself willingly into Your service.

But, no, it’s more than that.  I am MORE than a mere bond servant.  I have been made a daughter of the King of kings, Lord of lords, ruler supreme of the universe.

Father, please give me the strength, passion and wisdom to live boldly in the grace and power which that gives me.  May I be about my Your business, my Father’s business, today and every day.

Not by my might, nor by my power, but by Your Spirit,

TWIG

I don’t know if our earthly birthdays are still celebrated in Heaven, but if they are,

Happy Birthday, Brady.

My first of many nephews.

You are still loved, missed and remembered.

When we wake up in the morning, we may not know what grief that day might hold.

And for that, I am thankful.

Yet, in the same way, we don’t know what JOY awaits us either.

May we choose joy.  May we choose hope.  May we choose faith and love and life.  May we live every day giving thanks, trusting that God is good.  May we wake up each morning and live each moment with grateful hearts to God from whom all BLESSINGS flow.

Brady’s life was a blessing.

We thank the Lord for each day he had.  486 days of life after birth.

We give thanks for his big smile, his contagious laugh, his sparkling blue eyes.

And we give thanks for the blessed hope that we will see him again one day in the glory of Heaven that awaits us.

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of NT Words:

Strongs: G79

Greek: adelphe

Sister:

(a) of natural relationship, e.g., Mat 19:29; (“and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life”), of the “sisters” of Christ, the children of Joseph and Mary after the virgin birth of Christ, e.g., Mat 13:56;

(b) of “spiritual kinship” with Christ, an affinity marked by the fulfillment of the will of the Father, Matthew 12:50 (Jesus says: “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”); Mark 3:35 (Jesus says, “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother”); of spiritual relationship based upon faith in Christ, Romans 16:1 (“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae”); 1Corinthians 7:15 (“But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so.  In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved.  God has called you to peace.);  1 Corinthians 9:5 (“Do we not have the right to take along a believing (adelphe) wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?”) …

Lord Jesus, thank You for the blessing of sisters.  Thank You for my sisters in the body of Christ.  Truly, they are sisters in blood – Your blood.  They are sisters in my family – the family of Christ.  Thank You for the kinship of believers.  Thank You for the fellowship that is only made possible by the grace and forgiveness that is ours in Christ.

I praise Your name for the gift it is to have my dearest sister not only a part of my earthly family, but of my heavenly one as well.  I praise You for the gift it is to have married into a family where I have sisters in the faith.  I praise You for the gift of sisters both close by and across the nation, sisters who lift me up before Your throne of grace, sisters who see all my faults and imperfections and issues and love me anyway.

Thank You, Jesus.

TWIG

Nichole Nordeman – REAL – lyrics video LINK

Frozen statues in the cold, washed in moonlight blue and gold.
Mary’s babe in plastic cape, quiet wonder on her face.
Mary, you look so serene, far too pretty, much too clean.
We might think we know you well, but what stories would you tell?
Of all the dirt and dust and shame, every burning labor pain,
And as I turn to walk away, I hear you say…

I am real.
Don’t turn me into memory or myth.
Let me be real. Real.
And I’ll show you what it means to love like this.
To be real.

Shepherds bending to the ground, Bethlehem is safe and sound.
Joseph, you look brave and true, but do we know what it was like to be you?
How many sleepless nights awake found you desperate and afraid?
And as I turn to walk away, I hear you say…

I am real.
Don’t turn me into memory or myth.
Let me be real.
And I’ll show you what it means to love like this.

To love like you don’t even care about the hurry and the hussle,
Like you are unaware December comes with so much trouble
Cause you believe a baby came not in paintings or in plains
But every minute, every hour, every day.

To be real,
Real

You are real, real
Show us what it means to love like this.
To be real To be real
More than a memory,
More than a story.

Real.