All In This Together

 

And let us consider

how to stir up one another

   to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together,

as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another,

and all the more as you see

    the Day drawing near.

             Hebrews 10. 24-25

The phrase one another

   appears 100 times 

   in the New Testament

     because it is so important. 

It underlines the profound 

       significance of fellowship

for our spiritual, relational,

emotional, physical and mental

    well being and growth.

Church is not just yet 

  another thing to do,

but a vital part of loving God

  and loving each other.

When we encourage someone,

it strengthens us too and forms

  a deeper kind of community.

Let us appears 13 times 

        in the book of Hebrews.

We are all in this together.

O LORD,

Help us to not just see 

      our need for each other,

but to do something about it

   even today

in ways both big and small.

Getting together with Your people

   is not just a weekly routine,

but a way of worshipping You,

and You change us through it.

Stir up our love for each other,

and as it says in my cookbook,

         rigorously.

Go Forth Differently

 

Where there is forgiveness of these,

there is no longer

   any offering for sin....

            Hebrews 10. 18

No need to beg for forgiveness,

    but to accept it.

We are already covered

   by forgiveness,

because that is why

            Jesus came. 

Why then do we have

  such a hard time

forgiving others

       or even ourselves?

What does forgiveness

             make possible?

Go forth differently.

O LORD,

You have taken our sin

     upon yourself

that we may be empowered

   to go into this life

not just relieved of our wrongdoing,

but able now to go forth forgiven.

And that changes us

      to our very bones.

Help us today to see 

  everything around us

      with a new heart

and Your grace 

        all over us.

Standing In The Gaps

 

And I sought for a man among them

who should build up the wall

and stand in the breach

before Me for the land....

           Ezekiel 22. 30 

Sometimes we find ourselves

in a situation when

     it is our turn at the plate.

It may be on the most

         ordinary of days,

seeing an unexpected gap,

or finding a crisis bearing down.

We look around

   and no one else

     is rising to the occasion.

Suddenly we realize

         it's our turn.

How are we responding

  to those around us?

What are we doing 

     in building God's kingdom

     right where we are?

One kindness heaped on another,

one sacrifice given

    that no one may ever notice,

paying attention to what

          is needed or crumbling.

If we always wait for someone else

       to take the initiative,

   the gaps get bigger.

What brick can we put into place

     today in this situation

for the spiritual well being

    of those we know

         and those we don't yet?

Standing in the breach

is taking responsibility

  when others can't,

         don't or won't,

   justifying inaction by saying,

          It's not my problem!

But being faithful means

defending, providing, protecting, 

          and acting on it,

seeing a need

            and walking toward it.

O LORD,

Grant us the courage

   to stand up

   and stand in the gaps

                for Your glory,

      just because we can.

You have strategically 

       placed us right here.

Help us faithfully follow You.

We don't know the outcome,

nor realize what we'll find

when we are faithful to You.

A lot hangs in the balance.

        It always does.

God's Goodness on Repeat

 

Let the redeemed of the LORD

            say so.....

             Psalm 107. 2

God has given each of us

   a story for His glory

and to point others to Him.

"Look what God has done"

and "Look what God is doing"

should grace our conversations.

Not "oh, everything works out"

   nor "I was so lucky,"

but acknowledging God in this. 

We talk about everything else.

God says,

   Tell them about Me

    in your own words

             and experience.

If we are silent,

how will others ever know

     His steadfast love?

O LORD,

You have carried us through

the ordinary, the impossible,

  and our personal calamities.

Help us to be faithful

   in telling others about You.

We can never know

   how it seeps in another's soul,

           but it always does

   and changes lives along the way.

And in the telling,

   remind us as well

   of Your goodness

                  on repeat.

That Means Now

 

...a better hope is introduced

through which

we draw near to God.

          Hebrews 7. 19

The world views hope as

      wishful thinking.

But God provides

        a far better hope,

that on which we can

   stake our lives on Him.

When we draw near to God,

when we respond to Him,

we continually realize

a much better hope around us

    and before us.

Not a platitude of

  "oh things will turn out"

  or "I wish this will happen,"

as if our present and future

   depend on wishing hard enough.

But God's got us.

We don't have to wish,

     because God gives us hope.

We can trust Him,

even on the journey

   of walking through with Him,

even when the way is rocky

  and we can't see

           the next step.

Even in the dense fog,

   the sun is still there.

A friend told me

  the other day in a tight spot,

she suddenly remembered,

    not that God is near,

    but God is here.

And that 

     changed everything.

Our hope is not an expectation

        but rock-solid reality.

O LORD,

You do not just show up,

    but You show us.

We are not alone in this,

  but surrounded

  by Your Presence.

You are with us.

And that means now.

 

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Generating A Forest of Sequoias

 

...and to make the dry tree

         flourish.

             Ezekiel 17. 24

No matter where we are,

even the most barren places,

God intends for us 

   to send down roots,

   bear branches,

   and produce fruit.

God changes the landscape

       through us,

and starts with our very own

    little patch of rocky ground,

            right where we are. 

We have only to be faithful,

growing even out of sheer rock,

in the most unexpected places,

  or amidst difficult circumstances.

Trust Me in this

      and be faithful.

God works through us

    in the most amazing places

    and incredible ways.

God brings the flourishing.

And not just for our own well-being,

because in creation

    and in God's designs,

one tree transfers resources

below ground to another.

God is generating a forest

           of sequoias.

Even here.

Even now.

O LORD,

We may not be where

         we want to be.

But You have placed us

        strategically

  for the spiritual flourishing

          of many people.

Reveal to us 

        not just what to do,

    but how to be Your people

even in this rock-hard,

   difficult desert.

Help us to never underestimate

    how You bring life to our souls.

And how You are using us

      for Your glory in this place.

 

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Not Alone. Not Without Me.

 

He rebuked the Red Sea,

and it became dry,

and He led them

   through the deep

   as though a desert.

So He saved them

from the hand of the foe

and redeemed them

  from the power 

              of the enemy.

           Psalm 106. 9-10

We all have impossible

   Red Seas in our lives.

How in the world can I 

         face this?

God says, Not alone.

      Not without Me.

In His steadfast love,

God uses it to bring us

    closer to Him.

What does it take for us

  to realize God is God

              and we are not?

Standing on the shore,

 we are not left on our own.

Through the deep

        and through the desert,

God redeems us from foes

  we don't even know about.

God says, Walk with Me

             through this,

one step and then another.

O LORD,

You alone bring us through

  the impossible things

            in our lives,

drawing us ever closer to You.

Help us to be ever mindful

  of what You are forming in us

       through this situation.

Grant to us the courage

   to trust You,

   step out where we 

     cannot even touch bottom,

and swim, if necessary.

You bring us through

  to a deeper place in You

and a distant shore

     we cannot yet see.