Wednesday, February 28, 2018

...and He said to them,
"If any would be first,
he must be last of all
           and servant of all."

                       Mark 9. 35

(Countercultural then,
radically countercultural now.
How can I approach this situation differently 
         because I know Christ?)

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

And suddenly looking around
they no longer saw anyone with them
                 but Jesus only.

                                  Mark 9. 8

(Seek not a prescribed answer,
nor an outcome of your own choosing,
           but seek God in this.
Follow Him through it.
No limitations in what
       God is already doing.)

Monday, February 26, 2018

As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
           "Where is your God?"

                           Psalm 42. 10

(Others are always watching you,
           especially in adversity,
to see the hope of God in you,
because they are desperate to know
      if God is really true
and if He makes a difference in you.)

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Blessed is he who considers the weak.
The LORD delivers him
                  in the day of trouble;
the LORD protects him 
                     and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land;
You did not give him up
         to the will of his enemies.
The LORD sustains him on his sickbed;
   in his illness 
              You heal all his infirmities.

                            Psalm 41. 1-3

(The LORD is healer and redeemer.)

Saturday, February 24, 2018

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 steps 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 is using this for His glory.
Even this.
Give God time to work
      in His timing
      and in His way.
He always has deeper purposes
            seamlessly woven.)

Friday, February 23, 2018

But immediately He spoke to them 
and said,
"Take heart,
           it is I;
have no fear."

                    Mark 6. 50

(He is with you.
Even in this unlikely, unexpected place
or season
         or strange and scary situation.
Fear just blocks out the light.
And the "what if's?" 
      keep us from recognizing Him.
Give God time to work.)

Thursday, February 22, 2018

And now, Lord,
        for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.

                   Psalm 39. 7

(That on which I stake my life,
that of which
      is far more than I can imagine.)

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

"Go home to your friends,
and tell them how much
  the LORD has done for you,
and how He has had 
                    mercy on you."

                       Mark 5. 19

(What story has the LORD
given to you
to point others to Him?
That which has happened 
   is for His deeper purposes,
 the unfolding of His way for you,
just part of the grand narrative
                         of His glory.)

Monday, February 19, 2018

The steps of a man
   are from the LORD,
and He establishes him
  in whose way He delights;
though he fall,
he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD is the
                    stay of his hand.

                    Psalm 37. 23-24

(The LORD will hold you fast.
He has you, even in this.)

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Trust in the LORD,
               and do good;
so you will dwell in the land,
and enjoy security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and He will give you
   the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
     trust in Him,
                   and He will act.

                     Psalm 37. 3-5

(Not dependent on circumstances)

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Your steadfast love, O LORD,
        extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the clouds.

                               Psalm 36. 5

(More than I can measure,
      more vast than I can ever know.)

Friday, February 16, 2018

And in the morning,
a great while before day,
he rose and went out
to a lonely place,
and there He prayed.

                  Mark 1. 35

(Strength for today,
bright hope for tomorrow,
deeply engraved)

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Prepare the way of the Lord,
make His paths straight.

                     Mark 1. 3

(How do I do that today?
Grace and the love of Jesus 
in all I do and say,
His witness through me,
  even when I am unaware.)

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

I will bless the LORD
            at all times;
His praise shall 
    continually be in my mouth.

                  Psalm 34. 1

"At all times"
     is what distinguishes us.
Praise changes my heart,
           my vision,
           and my response.
Seeking to bless the LORD
   provides incredible strength
             in impossible places.
Even in this.)

Monday, February 12, 2018

...as he came down from the mountain,
Moses did not know
that the skin of his face shone
because he had been 
               talking with God.

                   Exodus 34. 29

(Praying, reading Scripture, and worship
    changes everything about you.)

Sunday, February 11, 2018

The LORD said to Moses,
"See, I have called by name Bezalel
...and I have filled him
       with the Spirit of God,
with ability 
      and intelligence,
with knowledge 
      and all craftsmanship...

               Exodus 31. 1-3

(God anoints us by name,
          appoints,
and gives us the tools.
Where God guides,
        He provides.
We have only
       to be faithful 
even in what is beyond
   what we are able
                  on our own.)


     

Saturday, February 10, 2018

...in the tent of meeting
     where I shall meet with you.

                     Exodus 30. 36

(Sacred space emerges
                wherever and whenever
       we dwell with Him.
It is not important where,
              but that we do.
The LORD is personal and intimate
   and can't wait to spend time with you.
You are greatly loved.)

Friday, February 9, 2018

...where I will meet with you,
      to speak there to you.

                      Exodus 29. 42

(What do I miss out
   because I am not listening
             for Him or to Him?
Intimacy in any relationship
   is based on interaction
and time together.
God will provide unexpected 
                 pockets of time with Him,
if I am looking for them,
   and if I am willing to grasp them,
                when they appear.)

Thursday, February 8, 2018

But I trust in You, O LORD,
I say,
     "You are my God."
My times are in Your hand."

                     Psalm 31. 14-15

(Even in what I don't understand,
      His deepest purposes prevail.
God never said it would be easy,
     but "I am with you."
Trust in His unexpected appointments
                        and divine timing.
Follow His scarlet thread
   through the thicket in front of you.)

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Well done,
      good and faithful servant;
you have been faithful over a little,
   I will set you over much.

                    Matthew 25. 21

(Faithfulness to God
      is never insignificant.
It always bears fruit,
   even that which is not obvious
                  but profound.
Be faithful in what is proximate.
What has God entrusted to me today?)

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Behold,
I send an angel before you,
to guard you on the way
and to bring you to the place
        which I have prepared.
Give heed to him
    and hearken to his voice...

                  Exodus 23. 20

(God will probably surprise you
with what is
far beyond your radar,
somewhere on the horizon
     or right beneath your feet.)

Monday, February 5, 2018

...the LORD sits enthroned
       as king for ever.

                     Psalm 29. 10

(No matter what.
Even in the unexpected.
Even in this.
There is profound purpose
   even in mystery,
even in what I do not see
                                 yet.
God's got this.
Follow Him through it.)

Sunday, February 4, 2018

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

             Exodus 20. 24

(Wherever He leads
      whenever we follow,
even in the 
     most unlikely places
and the most unexpected ways.
Seek Him there.)

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Whenever Moses held up his hand,
                       Israel prevailed;
and whenever he lowered his hand,
                       Amalek prevailed.

                              Exodus 17. 11

(Never give up praying.
Praying matters more than we can know.
Praying matters
    far beyond what we can see
    from the little spot where we stand.
"Where there is such prevailing prayer,
        something is bound to happen."
                       -- Corrie ten Boom
                            Amazing Love
We seek an answer to prayer,
    but God has a far greater victory
    already in the works.)

Friday, February 2, 2018

The LORD is my light
       and my salvation;
           whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold
                   of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?
...Though a host encamp around me,
      my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
          yet I will be confident.

                   Psalm 27. 1, 3

(You are loved.
You are not alone in this.
No matter how things appear
                on the surface,


His purposes run deeper still,
His glory emerges 
          in unexpected places.)

Thursday, February 1, 2018

But the people of Israel
   walked on dry ground 
              through the sea,
the waters being a wall to them
on their right hand and their left.

                        Exodus 14. 29

(Be not afraid.
"Trust Me in this."
God leads us in unexpected ways
        into His deeper purposes.
Be faithful
   and watch what God does with this.)