Monday, July 31, 2017

And Hezekiah 
  and all the people rejoiced
because of what
  God had done for the people,
for the thing
          came about suddenly.

             2 Chronicles 29. 36

(When we follow God into it
    by His unfolding a new trail,
    or a new heart in the same
              difficult place,
God always blesses
    in unexpected packages
           and unlikely passages.
God is already at work in this
        for His glory.
Sometimes His redeeming
         is on slow cook,
sometimes in a startling 
               knock on the door.
In all ways,
in all dimensions,
             God redeems.
Even when we cannot yet see).

Sunday, July 30, 2017

He set himself
          to seek God...
...and as long as 
        he sought the LORD,
God made him prosper.

              2 Chronicles 26. 5

(Do I miss that connection?
To grasp, to thrive, to grow,
        to become strong.
It changed the course of his day
   and the course of his life
and impacted everyone around him
            for tremendous good).

Saturday, July 29, 2017

And Amaziah said to the man of God,
"But what shall we do
about the hundred talents
which I have given
         to the army of Israel?"
The man of God answered,
"The LORD is able
to give you
     much more than this."

            2 Chronicles 25. 9

(It is not giving up anything,
but on what we are missing out,
the grand opening up
     of God's incredible design in this.
Trust God in what He is doing,
far more profound than I can see.
I don't have to know
      where God is taking this.
I just need to be
    faithful to Him in it).



Friday, July 28, 2017

...the large and small shields...

                 2 Chronicles 23. 9

(Even that which we do not recognize 
      that protects us like a shield:
Scripture, praying, fellowship, service,
loving God, loving others, testimony,
praise, worship, faithfulness,
fruit of the Spirit, mindset, heart set,
even my attitude and
         forgiveness towards others.
Shields are not just meant
to hide behind,
but a strength to go forth,
    even in harrowing places).

Thursday, July 27, 2017

For we are powerless 
against this great multitude 
that is coming against us.
We don't know what to do,
    but our eyes are on You.

                2 Chronicles 20. 12

(The antidote to panic:
In the every days,
     and in the crisis,
   --which are sometimes the same!--
O LORD,
show me Your way in this,
   my eyes are on You).

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Now I know
that the LORD
    will help His anointed;
He will answer him
  from His holy heaven
with mighty victories 
   by His right hand.

                Psalm 20. 6

(Now watch what God
   will do with this.
The LORD's triumphs
  come in unexpected packages
     and unlikely passages).

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

And Asa cried 
to the LORD his God,
"O LORD,
there is none like You to help 
   between the mighty
                   and the weak.
Help us, O LORD our God,
   for we rely on You,
and in Your name
we have come against
           this multitude.
O LORD, You are our God;
let not man
          prevail against You."

           2 Chronicles 14. 11

(Name your multitude.
Seek God in it,
      into it,
      through it,
           for His glory,
     and He will reveal Himself.
God redeems every situation.
Even this.
Go into whatever is before you
             in His Name.
Asa's prayer.
God's triumph).

Monday, July 24, 2017

...for this thing
          is from Me.

            2 Chronicles 11. 4

(That changes everything.
There is nothing random at all,
         but deep in His purposes.
The unlikely,
the unexpected,
even the most bizarre turns
                 in the road,
even in this,
     The LORD lives.
You can stake your life 
              on that reality.
Being faithful,
      in what I understand,
even more in what I can't.
The more I know,
the more I realize
    I need to trust Him in it).

Sunday, July 23, 2017

If you will be kind to this people
              and please them,
and speak good words to them,
they will be your servants for ever.

                    2 Chronicles 10. 7

(Kindness always leads to
     an entirely different outcome.
If we only knew how radically
         good words endure
                  for generations,
we would consider nothing else.
There is always another way through,
    and that would be grace).

Saturday, July 22, 2017

O LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like You,
in heaven or on earth,
keeping covenant
and showing steadfast love
to Your servants
who walk before You
      with all their heart...

             2 Chronicles 6. 14

(When I walk before the LORD,
    nothing can remain the same.
Even if circumstances don't alter,
         God redeems everything 
and changes me instead).

Friday, July 21, 2017

...that My name might be there...

                    2 Chronicles 6. 5

(What am I doing here?
What is all this about?
That His name would dwell there,
          even here,
          even in this impossible place.
His profound purposes
   are deeper than I can know).

Thursday, July 20, 2017

...we too might walk
        in newness of life.

                Romans 6. 4

(What does that look like today?
Not the same ol' thing,
the same patterns of thought
the same path,
but how can I walk differently 
                in this?
My circumstances may not change,
     but God changes me in them.
A new heart,
a new mindset,
a new story
        for His glory.
God unfolds His extraordinary 
   in what only appears 
                   as ordinary).

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Be strong and
  of good courage,
and do it.
Fear not,
be not dismayed,
for the LORD God,
  even my God is with you.
He will not fail you 
       or forsake you,
until all the work
for the service 
of the house of the LORD 
            is finished.

         1 Chronicles 28. 20

(What has God placed
before me today?)

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

...the presence of God
      in whom he believed,
who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence 
the things that do not exist.

                    Romans 4. 17

(God is not just in control
        of this situation.
The reality is that
               He is sovereign 
 even in what does not yet exist.
What is impossible to us
     is completely visible to God.
There is so much more to this
         than we can see,
         than we can know).

Monday, July 17, 2017

How long must I
  bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart
            all the data?
How long shall my enemy
   be exalted over me?
...But I have trusted 
         in Your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice 
          in Your salvation .
I will sing to the LORD,
because He has dealt
    bountifully with me.

                      Psalm 13. 2, 5-6

(Even in the struggle,
   God draws me closer to Him.
Even in the things
     I cannot understand,
                God is good.
Even in what appears 
     as silence or injustice,
     God whispers,
            "Follow Me deeper."
The return to peace
   is only in the Presence of God).
            

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Be strong 
   and of good courage.
Fear not;
   be not dismayed.

         1 Chronicles 22. 13

("Walk with Me."
Love God,
love people,
and be not afraid).


Saturday, July 15, 2017

...and called upon the LORD,
    and He answered him...

                  1 Chronicles 21. 26

(Calling upon the LORD 
draws me to
   an entirely different outcome.
Following the LORD into it,
    as first response not last resort,
changes my course
and radically influences 
       everyone around me
       and everyone who comes after.
It always comes without regrets.
"Did you ask Me
               about this?")


Friday, July 14, 2017

And the LORD
gave victory to David
    wherever he went.

              1 Chronicles 18. 6

(When we follow the LORD
    into the day
          into His ways in it,
victory comes in many sizes
   and in unexpected packages.
There are no small victories,
     nothing God cannot redeem.
Even in this).

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Ever since 
       the creation of the world,
     His invisible nature, namely,
His eternal power and deity,
have been clearly perceived
in the things 
          that have been made.

                    Romans 1. 20

(Where do you think
     the awe and the wonder
                    come from?
Creation is only one of the ways
    God reveals Himself to us).


Wednesday, July 12, 2017

...and David said,
"God has broken through
my enemies by my hand
     like a bursting flood."
Therefore the name of the place
    is called Baal-perazim.

                1 Chronicles 14. 11

(Which literally means in Hebrew,
the "Lord of breaking through."
He still is
the Lord of breaking through 
    whatever overwhelms me,
  even in this impossible situation.
The most important first step
appears in verse 10:
"And David inquired of God..."
First response, 
             not last resort.)

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

For your God
          helps you.

         1 Chronicles 12. 18

(A daily reminder 
that I can respond differently,
even in this,
because God helps me.
Practicing His presence
      in the every days,
learning how to
      "Trust Me in this."

"If we do not do the running 
steadily in the little ways,
we shall do nothing
           in the crisis."
   -- Oswald Chambers
    My Utmost for His Highest)

Monday, July 10, 2017

...for upon them
lay the duty of watching...

             1 Chronicles 9. 27

(Don't miss God in this.
Watching,
waiting,
listening,
expecting,
responding 
   are never passive.
Live  and pray
on the edge
        of your seat).

Sunday, July 9, 2017

We sailed slowly
for a number of days,
and arrived 
     with difficulty...

             Acts 27. 7

(God's hand and shield,
         even in that,
not the prevailing winds,
    but His purposes.
God does not just have
      "a reason for it,"
but you in it,
by His design
     and for His glory).
   

Saturday, July 8, 2017

...when the LORD sent
Judah and Jerusalem 
                 into exile 
by the hand
         of Nebuchadnezzar.

              1 Chronicles 6. 15

(Not where I choose to be,
even then,
even there,
        God is at work.
There really is 
   no place of exile.
We are each
strategically positioned 
    for His purposes,
even when,
maybe especially when,
     we cannot understand.
"Seek Me in this.")

Friday, July 7, 2017


O LORD,
in the morning 
You hear my voice;
in the morning 
I prepare a sacrifice to You,
        and watch.

                Psalm 5. 3

(Not "lay my day before Him,"
but pray, listen and watch
as God lays out His day for me,
His way in this,
His say in this,
His slender scarlet thread
   through impossible places.
If I am only praying for an answer,
    I am missing out on Him.
"In the morning"
    captures the day).

Thursday, July 6, 2017

A man's gift
makes room for him
and brings him
   before great men.

           Proverbs 18. 16

(We can never comprehend 
   nor determine 
   nor limit
how God is using us,
and for what or whom
   He has equipped us.
Just what He has placed
  in front of me today
       to follow Him into.
For His Kingdom.
For His glory.
And sometimes 
  that will surprise you.
"God makes room
for His gifts
     to be used."
   -- Chuck Swindoll

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Deliverance 
belongs to the LORD.

             Psalm 3. 8

(Worry has 
never opened a door,
   nor parted a sea.
Follow God through this.
What is Your way in this,
              O LORD Almighty?
God will probably 
            surprise you).

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

The following night
the Lord stood by him
and said,
"Take courage,
for as you have 
    testified about Me
    in Jerusalem,
so you must bear witness 
also in Rome.

                 Acts 23. 11

(God has strategically 
            placed you
   to bring His name there,
more perfectly and precisely
      than you can know.
Hearts around you
        are already prepared.
Jesus is standing 
   right there with you.
Say something.)

Monday, July 3, 2017

...for you will be
a witness for Him
to all men
of what you have seen
        and heard.
   
               Acts 22. 15

(God's redeeming is translated
  into what others see and hear,
by the stories
     God has given you,
by the changed life
              they see.
Every opportunity,
     bring His grace 
     to impossible places).

Sunday, July 2, 2017

After greeting them,
he related 
      one by one
the things that
  God had done....

            Acts 21.19

(What stories of redeeming 
    has God woven into your life?
These tales were not designed 
  to be kept to yourself.
Speak boldly
and point others to Him).

Saturday, July 1, 2017

But if you say to me,
   "We rely 
    on the LORD our God"....

                 2 Kings 18. 22

(That is when
    things really begin to change.
And it starts in my heart.
God specializes 
    in impossible situations.
Rely on Him
           through this).