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Don’t just pretend — Do it real.

No astonishing, weighty, ground-breaking insights from me today. Just a humble confession that once again the Spirit has taken the Word and spoken into my day.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.
(Romans 12:9 NLT)

And what will I look like today if I really love others?

I will be patient and kind.

Jealousy and boasting and rudeness can have no place in my conversations or my thoughts. Stomp those impulses! Squash them before they have a chance to rise!

I will not have to have my own way. (ouch!)

Holding grudges and giving way to irritations can no longer be part of my life (banished, like cream sticks).

I’ll always be rooting for the good, the truth, the right.

And I’ll never give up or lose faith and hope!

I want to really  love. I want a new heart and a new mind.

Transform my loving, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

 

 

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If you’re wondering what God is doing in the world … and in our lives

Once upon a time …
just four months ago, actually,
in this living room where I’m now sitting
there began ….
no,
not a fairy tale.
But a story of promises fulfilled,
hope renewed,
faith foundations fortified.

***
December 2013. I was searching for the “perfect” study for our newly-formed small group to use in the coming months. With no idea what to suggest, I prayed for brilliant ideas.

Sometime during that week, I stumbled across a website by a man who does yearly Bible read-thrus. Every January, he issues a challenge to readers to join him reading through the Bible – in four months!

I read his challenge and could not forget it. I wanted to do it.

But such an intense reading schedule seemed like a daunting task to present to very busy people. Sometimes we even had trouble finding times to meet.

So I gave my group the information and the website link along with three other possible studies and asked them to consider which of the four they would like to do.

The next week, the vote was unanimous: Bible Read-Thru in four months!

That astonished me. I was flabbergasted when they said, “We want to do it.” I thought we’d all be too busy to commit to such a thing. But, like me, they had been grabbed by the excitement of what could happen.

We were going to do it! Yippee!

***

And so we began on January 1.

Now, what word conveys “Yippee!” times ten … or times one hundred?

I have yet to think of a word to fully describe what the last three months have been for us as we’ve read through God’s Word together.

But I want to tell you about this intense experience because it’s a blessing we would wish for every child of God. (And it’s also why you haven’t seen many posts from me recently.)

Keith Ferrin schedules these read-thru challenges each year from January to April. You may not want to wait until January 2015 to do this, because I will guarantee you that you can start this right now and it will be every bit as powerful as joining his BRT in 2015.

***

Here are the three guidelines for Keith’s BRT challenge:

Commit to read the Bible through in four months. Seems like a big bite to chew, doesn’t it? But about 45 minutes a day will get you there.

Read and note. Record thoughts and inspirations in a journal (paper or digital) or highlight as you read.

Talk about it. That is, make the commitment with others. Read. Then get together once a week and simply talk about how God’s Word has spoken to each of you in that week’s reading. You’ll be amazed, inspired, and energized by this sharing.

May I add two more things that have meant so much to me? —

Each day, ask the Spirit for new eyes and ears as you read. Do you wonder how the old, familiar passages could possibly have new things for you to hear and see? Try it ….

Read the Bible chronologically. Some things make more sense (and have more meaning ) when you read them in chronological order.

***

What will happen if you plunge into a Bible read-thru?

I cannot predict exact details of what will happen in your group. God will have for you exactly what you need. I am certain of that.

I can tell you some of the things that have happened to me.

* I’m walkin’ around these days, overwhelmed by the hugeness of what God’s Word says to us. And since I am a writer by mission, my thoughts now are, How can I ever capture this, write the wonder and excitement and hope of it all? I will spend the rest of my life trying …

* Familiar Scriptures open up in new dimensions, and, believe it or not, even in books like Leviticus and Obadiah, we saw new things, hearing words of God that breathed into our lives today.

* In this season of Lent, I want more of the one relationship that is life to me. The One I call Lord is showing Himself to me in a new way. I see Him now as He walked into our history to say, “I’ve come to tell you what God is doing.” (And by the way, you do realize He is alive today, right?)

* I am in awe of God’s persistent call, generation after generation, for people to come back to Him and find LIFE. A history of nations that is God’s plan to draw the world to Himself also becomes incredibly personal.

One example. And then I will try to close this post, I promise.

You’ve read the story of Simeon, the elderly, devout Jew who, in spite of God’s silence for 400 years, was holding on to the promises that God would send a Messiah. (Luke says he was “eagerly” waiting… I had to wonder if that word would apply to me when things looked rather hopeless…after 400 years.)

Simeon is not a great king David or a powerful prophet Elijah. He seems an ordinary man who knew the promises of God and made up his mind to wait and believe and hope … And somehow the Spirit of God gave him assurance that he would see the promises fulfilled; he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Wow. What a promise to keep one going!

So Simeon kept hoping and waiting… and living.

Until one day, “the Spirit led him to the Temple.” And that was the very day that Joseph and Mary appeared at the Temple to present their baby to the Lord as the traditional law required. God orchestrated the time so Simeon was there and could see his hope finally fulfilled.

This may sound like a nice little story – but it brought tears when I read it.

We’d just spent three months reading about God dealing with nations, wars, kings, and the entire history of the world. Now, after all that turbulence, we see God so tenderly and lovingly moving in one man’s life to reassure and comfort him. Simeon was an ordinary man who had tenaciously clung to God’s promises for many long years–and now God gives him a privileged preview of His Big Move. God tenderly rewarded the devotion and hope in one ordinary man’s heart!

Within God’s great love for all of His creation, He comes into every minute of each of our lives to draw us home to Himself.

This story we are reading becomes our story as we are included in all the covenant promises of God.

With all my heart, I believe I did not “stumble” on Keith’s challenge to a Bible read-thru. I believe, like Simeon being led to the Temple on one day at a one particular time, I was led through everything else on the internet to one website on one particular day because it was exactly what our small group—and each one of us individually—needed right now. (Yes, God uses the internet. And Facebook and Twitter.)

***

If you’re young, reading through the Bible in this way will give you God’s perspective on everything that is happening in the world around you, will give you a peek into what God is thinking and doing with nations, history, and the life of His world—and what He is doing in your own life! You’ll have solid ground on which to plant your feet as you go forward to meet whatever waits ahead. It will give you God’s gift of hope.

If you’re old, a four-month BRT shared with friends will surprise and delight and satisfy and comfort you. Scriptures you have read and treasured all of your life hold still more to be discovered! We have confirmation, again and again from our faithful God, that we have built on solid rock… and our hope is sure.

And if you are somewhere in between, juggling many things in the busiest and perhaps the most grueling part of your lives—then a BRT will shore up defenses against despair, give you new energy, and keep hope alive and shining.

To you, fellow pilgrim, child of the Lord God, I recommend a four-month read-thru of His Words.

Keith runs his BRT program from January to April. But don’t wait for him to do another. Do your own. Now. Get two or three friends to join you and get started. I can guarantee the journey will be just as powerful in May or August or October.

And I know, I know, that in ways far beyond anything you expect or hope for, God will bless the reading of His Word.

******

Keith offers a free chronological reading outline and gives us permission to share it. I’ll be happy to forward it to you.

If you do a read-thru, let me know some of the wonderful things that come of it!

Here’s the post that began it all for our group:

The 4-Month Challenge That Could Change Everything

And a p.s. promise–

Next month I’ll be back to a more normal routine in posting here — after Revelation!

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“Who am I to consider building…?”

King Solomon was about to make his father’s dream come true.

In addition to the huge fortune Solomon amassed himself, his father, King David, had set aside a wealth of precious metals and building materials, looking ahead to the day when his son would build a permanent Temple where the God of Israel would live in the midst of his people. David had dreamed of building the Temple, but it would be Solomon who made it a reality.

Solomon built lavishly, with gold and cedar and other precious metals and woods. Besides the reserved gold, silver, bronze and other materials he and his father had put in reserve, he went to other countries for prized cedar and cypress, and hired the most skilled designers and craftsman. His work force numbered over 150,000. The Temple must be magnificent, he declared, “because our God is greater than all other gods.”

And yet he knew that no one could build the Lord of lords a worthy home. “Not even the highest heavens can contain him! So who am I to consider building a Temple for him…?” (2 Chronicles 2:6).

At the dedication ceremony of the magnificent structure, Solomon lifted his hands in prayer and again marveled that God would really come to live on earth among his people.

“Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea…Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you. May you watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have said you would put your name” (2 Chronicles 6:18-19 NLT).

Even though this Temple was the most luxurious, lavish outpouring of riches the people had ever seen, Solomon understood the inadequacy of what he was offering to the Lord.

Yet God did come! A thick cloud moved into the Temple, and fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifices offered. Part of God’s response to Solomon’s prayer was:

“For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart” (2 Chronicles 7:16 NLT).

Now, God still comes and dwells with His people. Jesus said it first: “My father and I will love them and will come and make our home with them.” Paul writes of our bodies being the temple of the Holy Ghost, God dwelling in us. He also calls us “living stones,” all of us together being built into a temple of the living God, where He lives and His name is honored.

How can we even consider ourselves worthy of being His temple? We know our failings and our frailties. We know how far we are from being a holy temple for the Lord of lords. We know the inadequacies and struggles of His church.

We are all too aware of the many reasons why we are not a pure, perfect, blameless, worthy temple for the Lord God.

Yet God says we are His temple.
He says we are holy because we are His.
He makes His home with His children because He loves us.
He gives us His name.

We are His temple, chosen as the place He dwells on this earth.

Lord, hear our cry and the prayer that we make to you. Who are we, to think we are your dwelling place? But you have put your name on us and said this is where you will live. Because we are dear to your heart, watch over your temple day and night, unworthy though we are.

Amen.

 

 

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A few updates

If you came to my site yesterday, you might have thought you were imagining things:  One moment, these pages had one look, one photo, one color, and within another minute, everything had changed. Spring cleaning fever has set in, so it’s time for some freshening up. And like rearranging furniture, I changed my mind at least a dozen times. Sorry if I made anyone dizzy.

I had a winter scene up there for awhile, but in spite of the fact that we still have lots of snow on the ground and the temps are still in the teens, I just could not resist the cheerful, hopeful crocus. Spring is definitely on its way! (No, there are no crocuses yet … this photo was from a previous year.)

Just wanted to alert you to a new page on this site, the CONTACT tab just above the header photo.

I set up this page for two reasons.

First, I realize there are times readers may want to contact me but do not want their message to appear on the public pages in the Comments section. I’ve set up a new email address solely for this purpose. Any messages sent to that address will appear only in my private Inbox.

The second reason I created a new way to contact me is because some readers have reported that they tried to Comment, but encountered problems. Until I can troubleshoot that and find a fix, if you DO want to add a comment to a post and the site will not allow it, just shoot me an email with your comment and be sure to let me know you DO want it added. I’ll put it out there for you.

It’s not ideal, I know. But at least your thoughts will add to the discussion, even if the site is a bit stubborn and resistant.

Happy spring day! (Even if you’re shivering.)

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Still learning to trust

The first text came just as I was getting dressed, not quite ready to appear in public:

Put your head out the door and look at the sky.

I peeked out the door, then threw on whatever clothes were within reach and grabbed my camera. Had to get outside.

Just then another text came from someone else: Sunrise alert!

sunrise alert

God was simply putting an exclamation point after what He had been saying to me that morning. He knows me well, and He knows the effect morning light has on me. And this morning light was spectacular.

The conversation with God had actually started the morning before when, in our small Sunday-morning group, one man — who is in a situation most of us can hardly imagine — expressed his deep faith in Jesus’ promise:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

Jesus says the highest priority of His disciples is the kingdom of God, seeking to live out His kingdom right where we are in whatever circumstances we are. The kingdom of God is what is to have our prime time, the fullness of our energy, the urgency of our thoughts. The Father knows what we need in this life—not only spiritually, but also physically—and it is “His business” (said this believer on Sunday morning) to provide that for His children. He is the Great Shepherd.

Ah. Our business is the kingdom. God’s business is providing the necessities for the lives of His children.

That started me thinking about how I spend my days. What always gets first place on my to-do list. What gets my morning time (my prime time) and what is saved for oh-whenever-I-have-a-few-minutes. I tried to imagine a bar graph that would show in stark, colored detail the amount of time I spend tending to what I think are “necessary” things in life (or worrying and thinking about such things) compared to the time I’m giving to life in the kingdom.

I confess, I’m almost afraid to look too closely at the detail of that graph.

This man’s testimony was yet one more nudge from the Spirit. I’ve been grappling with one thing in my life, one thing that it seems I cannot let go of. The Spirit says I must let it go and trust Him fully. Prying my fingers loose is so hard. I’ve grown up in a culture that argues against fully trusting God for all things. Our culture says we must be our own providers, our own strength, our own … can I say it? … our own gods.

Then, on the spectacular-sunrise morning, I read this wonderful verse:

“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The [enemies] you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:13).

That’s Moses, telling a frantic, desperate people that God would indeed protect and provide for them. Those people saw absolutely no way out of the predicament they were in. So God turned a sea into a desert road in order to rescue them.

Just after I read that story, along came an email directing me to a blog that ended with the same verses in Matthew 6 that I had been thinking about: “Seek ye first …”

And then came the sunrise. A gift from One who loves me and wants me to trust Him in all things.

So I would like to shout this from the rooftop:

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE STARTING THE DAY WITH A DIRECT PROMISE FROM GOD!
(Source: Elaine, from her rooftop, under sunrise skies)

Nothing, just nothing like it!

I cannot doubt today that God is in this place where I now stand and He intends to keep every promise He’s made to me.

Oh, Father, help my unbelief.

*