Only let your manner of life

be worthy of the

            gospel of Christ.

                 Philippians 1. 27

(People are watching you

not to see if you are perfect,

but to know that

           God is real.)

I want you to know,

         brothers and sisters,

that what has

      happened to me

as really served

to advance the gospel...

             Philippians 1. 12

(Nothing is random,

and sorry,

but it may not be about you

                     after all.

But in this favorable time

            or really hard place,

seek out God's vision in this.

It may be a new opportunity

to proclaim the gospel.

                It most likely is.

You are strategically positioned

      and divinely appointed.

I am very aware that

if Paul was not placed in prison,

he would not have had the time

to write the epistles.)

Build up,

build up,

prepare the way,

remove every obstruction

       from My people's way.

                  Isaiah 57. 14

(Seek to prepare

the way of the LORD

in other people's lives.

Seize every opportunity

to love them well,

bring grace to the table,

     and point them to Jesus.)

Was it not You

who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep,

who made the depths of the sea

a way for the redeemed

                      to pass over?

                 Isaiah 51. 10

(No way

becomes His way through.

This insurmountable thing

is not the end of the story,

but only the turning point,

a path of redeeming

     through the impossible,

only explainable

     by the hand of God.)

But as for me,

my prayer is to You,

              O LORD.

          Psalm 69. 13

(Choose to pray,

   or choose to panic.

Prayer is the original

         first responder.

Seek God in this,

   not just an answer.)

Rebuke the beasts

   that dwell among the reeds.

                     Psalm 68. 30

(Am I fearful about

      imaginary monsters?

The LORD has already overcome

  anything that I can possibly fear.

Worry never works things out

             or gives me strength.

Worry always robs me blind

 and leaves me on the side of the road.

Worry shuts out the light

   on the deeper work God is doing.

The LORD is the one

who gives power and strength.

And He says to me,

"What if you trusted Me in this,

                and how would you do it,

      if there was nothing to fear?")

Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

Behold I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth,

do you not perceive it?

I will make a way

       in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

                Isaiah 43. 18-19

(Not just open to change

          in circumstances,

but open to the LORD

changing my heart in this,

changing my heart toward Him.)

When you pass 

    through the waters,

    I will be with you;

and through the rivers,

    they shall not

    overwhelm you;

and when you walk

             through fire,

    you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not

                consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

                your Savior.

                 Isaiah 43. 2-3

(Fear not)

In the wilderness 

prepare the way 

          of the LORD,

make straight 

in the desert 

  a highway for our God.

                   Isaiah 40. 3

(Why has God led me

to this desolate place?

Love others well and

bring the name of Jesus 

                    there.

Wherever the LORD 

strategically positions

                   you

for His name,

for His kingdom,

for His glory.

Hezekiah received the letter

from the hand of the messengers,

and read it,

and Hezekiah went up

         to the house of the LORD,

and spread it

                before the LORD.

And Hezekiah prayed

                to the LORD.

                     Isaiah 37. 14

(Did it even occur to me

     to pray about this?

Prayer is our first response,

             not last resort.

Spread it out before the LORD.

Seek Him through it,

       not just an answer.)

                         

                  

On what do you rest this trust of yours?

..."We trust

        in the LORD our God."

                      Isaiah 36. 4, 7

(Trusting God

always brings a different outcome,

always builds a deeper relationship

                       with Him,

and always reveals

      another path through this difficult place.

"Seek Me in this.

     Let Me bring My victory to it.")

For thus said the Lord GOD,

       the Holy One of Israel,

"In returning and rest

       you shall be saved;

in quietness and in trust

       shall be your strength."

                Isaiah 30. 15

(Trusting God

always has

an entirely different outcome.)

In days to come

Jacob shall take root,

Israel shall blossom

  and put forth shoots

and fill the whole world

                   with fruit.

             Isaiah 27. 6

(That's what faithfulness

                 looks like.

Even in what appears

     a forlorn barren wilderness.

God transforms the landscape

                    completely.

Even in ways

          we may never see.

Give God

       the space to work.)

I am crucified 

        with Christ.

It is no longer

         I who live,

but Christ

  who lives in me.

          Galatians 2. 20

(And that reality 

should look

        very different 

in this situation.)

Be merciful to me,

O God,

be merciful to me,

for in You

my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of Your wings

I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction 

                  pass by.

                   Psalm 57. 1

(Know to Whom to go

     in the hurricanes of life.

Taking refuge in the LORD 

is a place of strengthening.)

...to God

Who fulfills His purpose 

                for me.

               Psalm 57. 2

(Faithfulness to Him

        in all things.

In His Name.

Even in what appears

ridiculous or mundane,

His purposes are

   incredibly personal

   and seamlessly woven.)

...for great in your midst

 is the Holy One of Israel.

                Isaiah 12. 6

(His Presence 

changes everything.

Now watch what 

   God does with this.)

...for great in your midst

 is the Holy One of Israel.

                Isaiah 12. 6

(His Presence 

changes everything.

Now watch what 

   God does with this.)

...and He will 

lead people across

         in sandals.

             Isaiah 11. 15

(When we seek

and heed God about 

this impossible situation 

or even in the ordinary,

He leads in

utterly unexpected ways.

No way I can do that

              without Him.

That is the plan.

Run after Him,

     even in sandals.)

But I will trust in You.

         

          Psalm 55. 23

(Trusting Him,

       even in this impossible situation,

knowing full well

that trusting God in this

may mean an inconvenient path

or one not of my own choosing

                         but His.

Trusting Him

always reveals something else

                      on my radar.)

Behold,

     God is my helper;

the LORD is the upholder

             of my life.

                  Psalm 54. 4

(Even in this,

He sustains me, maintains,

preserves, protects, defends,

champions, keeps,

        and holds me fast.

Not "good luck with that,"

       but "I am with you always!")

...for the brothers

who came from Macedonia

    supplied my need.

                2 Corinthians 11. 9

(God provides help

from unexpected places

and through

  His faithful people at work.

Giving does not just meet

        obvious need,

   even that which is not material,

but giving builds community.)

And the idols

shall utterly pass away.

                 Isaiah 2. 18

 

(What are my trophies?

What energizes me?

What is the first thing

   someone notices?

No other gods

               before Me.

Idols take up space,

     crowd out God,

  and change my heart.

Idols are never neutral.)

The point is this:

whoever sows sparingly

will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows bountifully

    will also reap bountifully

Each must give as

  he has decided in his heart,

not reluctantly

           or under compulsion,

for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able

     to make all grace abound to you,

so that

having all sufficiency

          in all things at all times,

you may abound 

                 in every good work.

                 2 Corinthians 9. 6-8

(Giving and abounding

are never limited

        to a material dimension,

but in all things at all times

          and in every good work.

God bears the fruit,

and mostly that which

   we will never see fully ripe.)

   

Offer to God

a sacrifice of thanksgiving...

                Psalm 50. 14

(The "sacrifice" is thanking Him

even before the outcome

                  is in view,

even in what

     we do not understand,

even in what is unexpected

           or not on my list.

"Trust Me even in this.")

If the anger of the ruler

rises against you,

do not leave your place,

for calmness will lay

      great offenses to rest.

                Ecclesiastes 10. 4

(Respond to anger with healing,

excel in intentional

       and totally unexpected acts

           of undeserved grace.)

Be not quick in your spirit 

       to become angry,

for anger lodges

  in the heart of fools.

             Ecclesiastes 7. 9

(Don't even open the door,

don't let him in,

not easily evicted 

once he sets up house.

What do I choose instead?)

For we are the temple 

of the living God.

          2 Corinthians 6. 16

(In Whom we live

and move

and have our being.

That should look

very different 

         among others.)

God is our refuge

         and strength,

a very present help

        in trouble.

             Psalm 46. 1

(First response,

  not last resort.

Seek Him in this,

seek Him through this.)

I know that

You can do all things,

and that

no purpose of Yours

    can be thwarted.

               Job 42. 2

("Trust Me in this."

His purposes run deeper 

than we can ever realize.

God never works

   in singular outcomes.)