What Words Are We Repeating, What Words Are We Believing

 

And they sang responsively,

For He is good,

for His steadfast love

      endures forever.

           Ezra 3. 11

This truth is repeated

    41 times in the Old Testament.

God repeats in Scripture  

  what He doesn't want us

         to forget or ignore.

It is like putting it in BOLD type,

    underlined, 

    and in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

It is a call to worship,

a shout of praise

       and thankfulness,

and a daily reminder to us

   Who He is

   and who we are

             as His beloved.

Also translated as lovingkindness,

steadfast love spells out the goodness, 

    kindness and faithfulness of God.

When we recite these words,

     when we sing them,

when we engrave them 

                 on our hearts,

we put God in His rightful place.

If we start the day repeating this truth,  

 how differently we would live

     and respond to circumstances.

And at bedtime,

       grasp His immensity.

O LORD,

You are good.

You do good.

You cover us with Your goodness,

  even in unexpected ways.

Even in the hard stuff,

   we can know Your goodness there.

Keep our eyes on You.

Help us to know a hard thing

    may be an extreme grace. 

Your steadfast love

   does not just last,

but endures forever.

 

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Seeing Through A Different Lens

 

For Christ did not send me

            to baptize,

but to preach the gospel,

not with words of eloquent wisdom,

lest the cross of Christ

  be emptied of its power.

              1 Corinthians 1. 17

All through Scripture

           and through history,

God uses the most unexpected

  and unlikely people,

            like us,

    for His mighty purposes.

Who, me?

        Exactly, He says.

He did not send us

    into this situation by mistake,

nor to be successful

       or win accolades, 

nor to do anything else

but to livestream the gospel

             before others

with grace and love

          and forgiveness.

And to bring the name of Jesus

  here and now,

not with big thesaurus words

  but the language of the heart.

We don't have to impress others

     in order to bring Him glory.

Indeed in our strivings,

   shortcomings and struggles,

others are compelled to ask

   who lives like that.

Look differently at this hard thing before us,

a seeming failure,

  even an outstanding success,

      through the lens of the gospel.

God grants us peace

         in the midst of chaos,

strength where there

     should be none,

grace and love for the underserved

             and the undeserved.

This situation may not be

         about us at all,

but the exponential multiplication

              of the gospel.

And that touches more people

    than we can ever imagine.

O LORD,

Send us out into this day

   clothed with the gospel.

Help us to be aware of

    every opportunity

to bring Your name here

  in word, deed and attitude.

May others not see

    a difference in us,

but they would see You.

You turn even the hard stuff

           into a grace.

And difficulties into the means of loving

     the world right to You.               

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God Meets Us There

 

And stand in the

    Holy Place.....

     2 Chronicles 35. 5

Wherever we are,

among whomever, 

in whatever we are doing

    or struggling with,

is sacred ground,

a place to seek God,

worship Him,

serve every which way we can,

and having done all,

      to stand before Him.

What do we do 

   about the mess we are in,

the hard stuff,

the overwhelming-ness?

Stand in the Holy Place.

God meets us there.

God invites us in,

  a smorgasbord of His strength,

  a refuge from the storm,

that we may know Him more.

Right here.

Right now.

Even in this.

O LORD,

We yearn for Your Presence.

Help us to come to You

            first and foremost,

to realize Your holiness

even in this unexpected place,

and to know Your embrace

 when we need it so badly.

Empower us to stand still

     and know You are God,

to make a stand

         as a witness,

to rise up 

   and hold our ground.

This is no random situation,

  but a divine appointment

  and sacred encounter

for Your glory in this place.

May we run to You

   in this Holy Place

right where we are.

 

Walking Differently There

 

My foot stands on

         level ground.

         Psalm 26. 12

No matter the circumstances,

when we walk with God,

  we walk differently,

steady and faithful

          and strengthened.

When we seek God

          and follow Him fully,

we approach and hike

             the trail ahead of us

     with a fresh heart.

God's Word, continual prayer,

the with-ness of the saints,

and witness to the world

     prepare our path,

be it suddenly paved

or straight through the thicket.

God whispers, "This way.

Be not afraid. I am with you.

      Follow Me through it."

A level place does not mean

         easy.

Even the hard places

  are in the center of His will.

But He strengthens us

        in them

and prepares His way for us,

  one step and then another.

O LORD,

The path ahead seems daunting,

  but we can be assured

that You are with us.

May we walk that way,

   knowing You prepare our steps.

Help us to keep our eyes

               on You

and be faithful in following.

Strengthen us through this.

Form something new

               within us.

And may we be a witness

        to those around us,

  Your Presence with us,

no matter the terrain.

    

God's Got Us On Every Side

 

......and He provided for them

          on every side.

                  2 Chronicles 32. 22

When we pray,

God multiplies whatever 

     we are praying about

to cover and provide 

and guide in 

             far more ways

than we even know to ask.

When we set our eyes on Him,

God redirects our attention 

   to His way in this,

and consequently 

             a different direction,

vision, mind and heart

to trust Him 

            in so much more.

God's got us

         on every side.

O LORD,

As we keep our eyes on You,

   we can trust You

   to lead us through.

We don't have to know

   the outcome

   or even the bigger picture,

to realize Your Presence,

be assured of Your purposes,

and know Your embrace.

You provide in a million 

  eternal dimensions.

We are grateful to You.

Help us to know

             You are here.

We are surrounded on every side.

God Doesn't Want Our Leftovers

 

And they brought

         in abundantly

the tithe of everything.

      2 Chronicles 31. 5

When we tithe,

when we give a portion 

  from what we have done

  or been given,

it prevents our stuff

  from taking 

      God's rightful place.

We may not even realize

     our idols

     in many such disguises.

Releasing our iron grip,

increases our awareness

   of His strong hold on us.

May we hold tight to God,

not to anything that

stands in the way

or trips us up

  from loving and serving Him.

God doesn't want our leftovers

     nor our stuff,

            but our hearts.

O LORD,

May we be fully, deeply,

   and faithfully Yours

in all we do and say,

think and pray.

And to serve and love You

     even in the unexpected

with a whole heart,

   willing mind,

open hands and swift feet 

         down to our very souls,

our utmost for His glory.

Run Swiftly And Don't Let It Go

 

So then let us pursue

what makes for peace

and for mutual upbuilding.

          Romans 14. 19

What makes for peace

means making different choices, 

singing a new tune,

playing it in another key,

rewriting the chapter,

changing the words to the song,

pivoting on a dime when necessary,

and allow ourselves to be led

           by Jesus in this.

What does it take today

   to pursue peace

   in this volatile situation?

To pursue means to

  intentionally run swiftly

  and deliberately in order

       to capture it

and don't let it go.

Peace does not just happen.

We have to want it.

And insofar as it depends on us,

          to live that way. 

Souls are built on that.

Approaching difficulties

   peaceably

does not mean giving up

        but giving grace.

Run hard for it.

O LORD,

Guide our hearts

  even when 

  they are shattered.

Enlarge Your grace in us

  to pursue peace 

to the underserved

        and the undeserved.

Guide our thoughts,

     prayers and feet

to what makes for peace.

Even today.

Even in this.