...and He said to them,

"If any one would be first,

he must be last of all

    and servant of all."

                Mark 9. 35

(How do I know

when I have a servant heart:

     What is my attitude 

     when I am treated

                  like one?)

Why are you cast down,

       O my soul,

and why are you

  disquieted within me?

Hope in God,

for I shall again praise Him,

my help and my God.

                Psalm 43. 5

(Why is my heart uneasy?

Because I have left God out

          of the equation.

The LORD is my first response,

               not last resort.)

For whoever would 

             save his life

     will lose it,

and whoever loses his life

          for My sake

          and the gospel's

  will save it.

                  Mark 8. 35

(What am I holding back?

Faithfulness is built

           on daily choices.

Don't miss out

on the incredible life

God intends for you.)

And Moses did

as the LORD commanded him.

               Leviticus 16. 34

(Not out of compulsion,

 but out of his love for God.

And as a result,

Moses followed the LORD

    into an astonishing life.

God is writing an incredible

        story in you.

Faithfulness to God

     always bears fruit.)

The goat shall bear

all their iniquities upon him

     to a solitary land,

and he shall let the goat go

in the wilderness.

               Leviticus 16. 22

(Confess sin,

repent of wrongdoing,

forgive

     and ask forgiveness,

and let the goat go.

God has forgiven it,

      live in that reality.

Let it go.)

"But constantly forgiven,

we have power to

   love others more."

           -- Henri Nouwen

I waited patiently

        for the LORD,

He inclined to me

   and heard my cry.

He drew me up

   from the desolate pit,

          out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my feet secure.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust

            in the LORD.

                  Psalm 40. 1-3

(God never intended for us

       to dwell in the miry pit,

but to seek Him through it.

The adversary says, 

          "You are stuck forever."

God says,

     "Follow Me."

He gives you a new song

  not dependent on circumstances,

but abiding in Him.)

And now, Lord,

   for what do I wait?

My hope is in You.

              Psalm 39. 7

(Not for an answer,

not for the solution,

   nor a way of escape,

nor a set of directions,

    but seeking the LORD.

Hope in the Bible

is not wishful thinking,

but that on Whom

       I can stake my life.)

LORD, 

all my longing

         is known to You,

my sighing

    is not hidden from You.

My heart throbs,

my strength fails me,

and the light of my eyes

  --it has also gone from me.

...But for You, O LORD,

           do I wait;

it is You,

O LORD my God,

     who will answer.

                Psalm 38. 9-10, 15

(Pray expectantly.

Pray against the odds.

Seek not the answer

   but the LORD who answers.)

Then Moses said, 

          to Aaron,

"Draw near

        to the altar..."

       Leviticus 9. 7

(What do I do

with this difficulty,

this fear,

this opportunity,

this unexpected 

             blessing,

this bad attitude,

this difficult person

(including myself)?

Bring it first

before the LORD,

listen and watch

for what only He

           can do.)

And other seeds

fell into good soil

and brought forth

                    grain,

growing up

and increasing

and yielding

   thirty fold 

and sixty fold 

and a 

      hundredfold.

             Mark 4. 8

(What God does

    in a willing heart.

God brings the growth.

God does not add.

          He multiplies.)

Be still 

  before the LORD,

and wait 

  patiently for Him.

               Psalm 37. 7

(Don't get

ahead of God

           in this.

There may be

--there probably is--

something profound

you cannot yet see.)

Your steadfast love,

O LORD,  extends 

       to the heavens,

Your faithfulness 

          to the clouds.

               Psalm 36. 5

(How much 

     are you loved?

God has a picture

      to show you.

Go outside

      and look up.

Even more

   than you can see,

beyond what

    you can imagine.)

...a pleasing odor

        to the LORD.

       Leviticus 2. 2

(What are my

    intentions today?

Do I even consider

 pleasing God in this?

No pleasant aroma

lingers if my attitude

                stinks.)

Say to my soul,

"I am your deliverance."

                 Psalm 35. 3

(Jesus meets me

      at my place of need

and at the point of realizing

              my need for Him.

This is too much

              for me alone.

Help me to see beyond this,

help me to see You,

help me to follow You 

                 through this.

The LORD's deliverance comes

not just through an exit

      but through many doors

and sometimes 

           right where I am.

   But never alone.)

And he made the laver of bronze

and its base of bronze,

from the mirrors

    of the ministering women

who ministered at the door

of the tent of meeting.

                    Exodus 38. 8

(What can God do with this?

We have no idea 

how God transforms

   even a single step of obedience

                   for His glory.

We have no grasp the extent

  of what God does

           with a willing heart.

The LORD does not just use

        what we bring before Him.

The LORD redeems.)

O taste and see 

    that the LORD is good.

                          Psalm 34. 8

(Just watch what the LORD

      can do with this.)

And when Peter went out
            to the porch,
another maid saw him,
and she said to the bystanders,
"This man was with
         Jesus of Nazareth."

              Matthew 26. 71

(Something different about him
    because he was with Jesus.
Something distinct about us
    because He has
changed our hearts
and recalibrated
     the trajectory of our lives.
The deep marks of His grace,
His healing hand,
His indwelling Presence,
the life-altering evidence
             of being forgiven
      and in forgiving others.
We are surrounded by bystanders
who desperately watch
not to see that we are perfect
but to know that God is real.
Right now, even in this.)

Therefore let every one who is godly

             offer prayer to You;

in a time of finding only distress,

in the rush of great waters,

     they shall not reach him.

You are a hiding place for me,

You preserve me from trouble;

You encompass me

         with shouts of deliverance.

                           Psalm 32. 6-7

(First response is to pray,

                not panic.

The LORD may not pluck you 

    out of circumstances,

but He will bring you through.

What is Your way in this, O LORD?

Praying is not just a 9-1-1 call,

but an ongoing conversation, 

                   speaking with God

                   and learning how to listen.

"Come to Me.  Come with Me!")

Watch and pray

that you may not enter

             into temptation;

the spirit is indeed willing,

   but the flesh is weak.

                   Matthew 26. 41

(Do not attempt

to do this on your own,

not just huge decisions,

           good intentions,

     but everyday details.

Everything is significant.

First order of action:

              Watch and pray.

"Listen to Me.

    I will lead you through.")

Then the righteous will answer Him,

"Lord, when did we see You hungry

               and feed You,

or thirsty and give You drink?

And when did we see You

   as a stranger and welcome You,

or naked and clothe You?

And when did we see You sick

   or in prison and visit You?

And the King will answer them,

"Truly, I say to you,

as you did it to one

of the least of these my brethren,

      you did it to Me."

                  Matthew 25. 37-40

(O LORD,

help us that we would not just

see a need and fill it,

or see it as ministry

              and fulfill it,

but see real people

         and see You in them

and serve and love You

                     in them.

My relationship with Christ

radically impacts

     how I  see others

         and how I love them.)

   

And see that you make them

after the pattern for them,

which is being shown you

on the mountain.

                      Exodus 25. 40

(Every tiny stitch

             of following Him

--even when it makes

no sense to me --

   bears great significance

             on His side of things.

That is what faithfulness looks like,

having no idea what I am doing,

          but knowing He does.

The LORD reveals not His purpose 

               not the outcome

but how I can trust Him

                   this one step

     and follow Him into the next.

Not my design,

                      but His.)

I will not drive them out
from before you in one year,
lest the land become desolate
and the wild beasts
        multiply against you.
Little by little
I will drive them out
                    before you,
until you are increased
      and possess the land.

               Exodus 23. 29-30

(This is a hard and scary place.
Where is God when I need Him?
God is at work.
There is a reason for His timing.
There is a reason
           for our faithfulness.
This may be a place
       of strengthening.)

Ascribe to the LORD,
       O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD
           glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD
    the glory of His name,
worship the LORD
            in holy array.

              Psalm 29. 1-2

(Worship impacts you
and impacts everyone around you.
There is a reason for it.
And worship was never meant
to be confined within church walls.
Stand in awe of God Almighty.
How you see Him
   changes everything about you.
Worship is not just acknowledging God
but inscribing His name
                on my life.)

...in every place
where I cause My name
      to be remembered,
I will come to you
               and bless you.

              Exodus 20. 24

(Even here.
Even now.
Do I bring
   the name of the LORD
        to this difficult situation,
    to this hard passage,
             to this rocky trail?
The very ground
           wherever He leads
           is sacred,
because of His Presence.
God may not change
     my place,
     my circumstances,
   or these difficult people,
but He transforms my heart
     and redeems every inch.)

Whenever Moses held up his hand,

                      Israel prevailed;

and whenever he lowered his hand,

                      Amalek prevailed.

                               Exodus 17. 11

(Praying matters more than 

          we can ever imagine.

What am I spreading out

      before the LORD?

Who am I lifting up to Him?

How different our lives would be.

How radically different

            this world would be.)

Then Moses led Israel onward

               from the Red Sea,

and they went into

      the wilderness of Shur;

they went three days

in the wilderness

           and found no water.

                    Exodus 15. 22

(We find His Presence

    in the most impossible places,

even in what

       is not what we would choose.

Even then

           God is faithful.

Even then

            His purposes prevail.

Even then

            the LORD provides

      His way through your wilderness,

      His surprises along the way.

"Trust Me a little deeper.

Come to know Me

                 a little more.")

But God led the people
around by the way
        of the wilderness
toward the Red Sea.

               Exodus 13. 18

(God leads
not always in the way
          that we expect.
God leads
even when
 it doesn't make sense to us.
But the LORD is leading.
"Trust Me in this.")