A message of hope

All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17)

There have been times when I have used scripture to beat someone over the head - oh, not physically, but metaphorically. I have picked the most inopportune times, used the harshest scripture I could find that applied to the issue, and whammo! Yes, I am guilty of causing a 'scripture hit and run'! I was young, not really aware of how God could intervene without 'all my help', and kind of stubborn myself at times. I have mellowed a lot since then and have even been the 'victim' of a few 'scripture hit and runs' from others. Perhaps those helped me to realize the folly of spewing scripture 'at' someone. Scripture is all powerful, but it is a tool best used in conjunction with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit prepares his Word for a particular situation, it rings true in the heart of the one hearing it. When the heart is ready, the Words might just bring conviction, but they also bring great hope and comfort in response to that conviction. We can use words to 'condemn', but we will never be able to use words to bring 'conviction'. God's plan was always to use his people to help one another walk in the light of his truth, but to do it with grace and understanding. There is no room in his church for 'hit and run' preachers! All scripture is useful - in the hands of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit can move through us to bring a word to one in need of understanding, but we must be sure it is his leading and not our own.

The difference in timing, delivery, and outcome is made when he is behind the words because he has prepared the heart to receive them. If all scripture did was point out what was wrong in our lives, we'd dread ever discovering the truth within its pages. Scripture might bring conviction, pointing out some area where our lives require some adjustment, but it always shows us a certain aspect of light and life as it does. This is where grace bring hope into our lives. Truth uttered by our lips and empowered by the Holy Spirit will always bring hope - even in the midst of conviction. Just sayin!

Be at home here

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples." (John 15:5, 8)

A few moments this morning pondering this passage may help us to understand just how much God is concerned with our growth - not just our statements of faith or acknowledgements that he is God. He really wants us to know that he is a 'fruit inspector' - he looks for us to bear fruit! Yes, it will be over time because no fruit is instantaneous, but he still looks for signs of a harvest! Jesus points out the 'connection' that results in fruit-bearing without which we will be barren - something he refers to as 'deadwood'. I don't know about you, but if someone labeled me as 'deadwood' I would be pretty offended because I know it carries the connotation of being useless or a burden. In terms of writing, deadwood refers to those words that are added, but that may not always be necessary. For example, if I were to say, "The lamp on that table that is brown with a white shade", there is some 'deadwood' in that sentence. I could say, "The brown lamp with the white shade on the table", eliminating the 'deadwood' entirely. Deadwood serves very little purpose - it just 'takes space'. In God's kingdom, he doesn't need 'space occupiers' - he needs vital participants.

The relation we have with God is described as 'intimate' and 'organic'. When we hear the word 'intimate' today, it probably conjures up different meanings as it is used in different settings, but Jesus uses this to describe the closeness of the union necessary for growth to occur. A branch of a tree may be able to sprout roots and grow in a totally different location, but when the connection is lost there is a danger of death occurring. Closeness to the 'life source' is essential. Organic may simply refer to us being 'living' beings - participating in a close family relationship in God's kingdom. Both describe evidence of growth - of being alive. Separate we cannot produce a thing - that is pretty telling as to the necessity of maintaining a living (vital) connection with Jesus on a daily basis. Lose that connection and you lose the capacity to 'produce' - we become 'deadwood' - useless. How do we maintain this close union with Christ? We get to know the one we are in relationship with!

How is it we get to know each other on this earth? Don't we spend time with each other, listening to stories we each tell, recalling events of our lives so that we learn more and more about what went into who we are today? Don't we observe the movement of the other person - observing if they are hunched over and displaying fatigue or worry, or perhaps bouncy and giddy as though their world was about to explode with fireworks all around? We 'take note' because we want to understand what makes them 'tick'. We hope they do the same in getting to know us - so the 'union' or 'relationship' grows and has permanent roots that hold us through thick or thin, good or bad times. Why would it be any different in getting to know Jesus? It isn't! We need to take time to get to know him just as we do getting to know each other. In time, we won't even need to ask what he is thinking we should do right now because we will just sense it and move when he moves. 

Make God's Word at home in your heart. This isn't just us doing a little bit of reading every day and then expecting the short passage we take in will somehow change us. It is continual contemplation of the Word we are provided as 'intake' each day. Honestly, this is why I journal - writing this blog is a form of me journaling what God is speaking to my heart. In contemplating the passage, I am allowing it to impact those areas of my life where I need to have God's attention focused more intentionally. It is 'pruning' me so that I am readied for the production of the fruit in the right season! How about it? You up to a little 'pruning' today? Get close enough to Jesus, allowing his Word to be at home in your heart, and you might just be surprised what fruit you see produced over the next year in your life. Just sayin!

Not just words

We all probably have different things written on our hearts, don't we? I have been loved, committed to love, and then have had that love broken. The words written then maybe went something like, "You didn't really matter to me", "Your trust wasn't important to me", or perhaps "You weren't what I really wanted." I have been guilty of writing some words there over the years, as well. Words like "You aren't good enough at that", "You won't ever measure up", or "Your best will never make you as popular as that one." Words get 'written' on our hearts as we live life, don't they? Some of them are 'written' there by others and others are recorded there because we write them ourselves. Either way, most of those words aren't really the truth God believes about us. In fact, he goes to great lengths to reveal to us what he has written upon our hearts - the truths he places there are what we might just call "grace writings".

Doing something for you, bringing something to you—that’s not what you’re after. Being religious, acting pious—that’s not what you’re asking for. You’ve opened my ears so I can listen. So I answered, “I’m coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me, and I’m coming to the party
you’re throwing for me.” That’s when God’s Word entered my life, became part of my very being. (Psalm 40:6-8)

Grace words can very much 'undo' the other things written there by others and ourselves, but does it surprise anyone to know we sometimes take a long, long time believing what God says about us? It is like we find it impossible to believe we are loved in spite of all our wrong actions, selfish motivations, and prideful missteps. We couldn't love another as God loves us, so we measure his love for us against how we'd love others behaving the same as we have. We forget how much work God has gone to in order to erase those words we have allowed to be recorded that aren't really true words about who and what we are! His grace isn't easily embraced sometimes - especially when it comes to 'undoing' whatever it is we have formed or allowed others to form within us as 'opinion' about ourselves.

God's words are kind - they uplift. His words are beyond 'adequate' - they are all-powerful. They are grace words - truth-filled, liberating, and compassionate. They 'counter' the untruths we believe about ourselves - that we aren't worthy, we have gone 'too far', there is no one who will love us. They do more than erase the content of those words - they fill those spaces with words we can rely on, allowing us to stand firm upon them when untruth attempts to come again to fill us with words of doubt, discouragement, or distress. Mom used to tell sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. She was wrong! Words hurt. The stories we tell ourselves 'nurse' those hurts for a long, long time. Words are powerful. They carry life, or destroy it as quickly as they are said, believed, and 'recorded' in the recesses of our memories.

Back in the day, we had chalkboards in the classrooms. I remember loving to be the one to clean those boards at then end of the school day. We had those special erasers that would remove every hint of chalk dust and latent words upon those green surfaces. The boards would be fresh, readied to receive the next day's work and assignments. I would pass over those boards several times, taking those erasers outside and clapping them together to remove the dust from them until they were clean again. I think God has a 'special eraser', too. One he uses upon our lives to erase harmful and hurtful words written upon our hearts. His special eraser is grace. His purpose in 'erasing' is not to leave us 'sparkling clean', but to 'rewrite' the story on the freshly prepared slate! He doesn't just leave the 'board' of our hearts prepared to receive the next words, but he writes upon that clean slate the truth only he knows about us: We are deeply loved, dynamically redeemed, cleaned through and through, and exalted to a special place of honor in his presence. Now those are words worth placing upon any of our hearts! Just sayin!

I need this soooooo bad!

Have you ever been deprived of something you depend on? We depend on water to renew our bodies, oxygen to keep our cells renewed, and a certain set of vitamins/minerals to help us stay strong. We depend on these things because they are essential to the health and well-being of our body. I remember wrestling with my brother as a kid and being 'deprived' of 'breath' a few times. He is actually eleven years older, so it was never really a "fair" wrestling match whenever we 'went at it', but I loved to be with him! He'd pin me down with his full body weight, tickling me until the tears came, and I would find myself laughing so hard that'd I almost felt like I'd lose my breath at any moment. I'd wriggle harder, trying to escape his clutch. He'd just tickle more! The end of those 'matches' left me so elated, but gasping for breath. I wasn't really being deprived of breath, but it was close!

Don't ever deprive me of truth, not ever—your commandments are what I depend on. Oh, I'll guard with my life what you've revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; and I'll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; then I'll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed. I cherish your commandments—oh, how I love them—relishing every fragment of your counsel. (Psalm 119:43-48)

I used to think this was like being deprived of air until I actually experienced the total loss of breath for about a minute one day on the softball field. I went up for a fly ball, landing flat on my back - causing the air to be pushed out of my lungs. The force of the blow sent my lungs into a "spasm" of sorts - sports players know this as getting the air knocked out of you. There I lay, struggling to take a breath in, panic beginning to rise with each seemingly never-ending second, pain coursing my body and fear building as I realized I could not take even one breath in. The coach said I was without air for about a minute or two, but not much more. It seemed like an eternity to me, though! Why did I think hours had passed when only minutes had? Why was my coach calm while my response was one of panic? Simply put - perspective! She was still breathing! I wasn't! I was experiencing the pain - she was "coaching" me through! What a difference it makes in how we "interpret" the circumstances based on the perspective we have within those circumstances!

We all depend on air. When we are deprived of it, our body sets off a series of responses designed to help us get air into our bodies. When we cannot manage that because of the circumstances, the adrenaline released begins to send us into that fight or flight response we sometimes equate with panic or struggle. God's truth (his Word) is something we need to learn to equate to much as we equate life to "breath" - so much so that we would not want to be deprived of it! When we learn to depend on it as much as we depend upon breath itself, we have come to the place we value it!
Deprivation is always equated with dependency. We won't feel deprived if we have never developed any dependency toward whatever it is we are dependent upon (or codependent upon). If you have never tasted chocolate, developing a "taste" for it, you won't feel deprived of it when it is not available to you.

Develop a dependency on God's Word and you will find you would guard against something "robbing" you of the regular intake of the Word - regardless of how large or small that thing might be. Not having God's Word to guide our steps, give us strength in times of immense struggle, or to build us up when we fail, it would be like depriving us of air itself. Babies are dependent upon their regular intake of a mother's milk for their development. If they are deprived of it long enough, what do they do? They cry out! Even if we see ourselves as "babes" just taking in God's Word, we want to experience a regular intake! Deprive us of that intake and we begin to feel the effects! It is not long before we begin to cry out! As we grow a little older in our Christian faith, developing the ability to take in "meat", we still depend upon the Word - we just don't need it so "digested" for us to enjoy its intake! Whether babes, toddlers, teen, or mature - we cannot be deprived of that which we need for life. If you take something in long enough, you become dependent upon it. It is in the development of the "habit" of turning to God's Word that we develop a dependency on the counsel contained there. Just sayin!

Is that a diamond I see?

Rough diamonds may sometimes be mistaken for worthless pebbles. (Thomas Browne)

I'd have to admit - there are a few 'diamonds' I have kicked in life, all the while thinking they were just rough-edged stones not really of much value. I didn't mean to just kick them aside, but I didn't see the value in them at the time. I think we might all do this from time to time, not even cognizant of the fact we are. One thing is for sure - we can overlook some 'gems' in our midst - but God isn't content for us to just 'overlook' them. He wants us to look over those 'stones' we might have only given a cursory 'once over' in life and see them for the jewels contained within!

God’s Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool? Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over your work; Then I can start this day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of the grime of sin. (Psalm 19:10-12)

We sometimes have a tendency to take God's Word for granted - like a pebble we might just casually turn over, but never really closely examine for all the worth within. The more we explore the depths of God's Word, the more we realize there are treasures galore. We find what was cleverly hidden and required just a little more effort to discover. Why does God sometimes allow some of his greatest treasures to be a little 'hidden' like what appears to be worthless stones? I think it is because he wants us to get very skilled at seeing the potential within what isn't immediately obvious. There is much revealed in our tenacity to find the 'gem' within - it requires committed examination.

Some of the gems in God's Word? Might one of them be the very thing that keeps us from dangers before they occur? Could another be the ability to 'clean the slate' in our lives so nothing remains that is shameful? Perhaps the hidden gem is really the Word's ability to keep us from those stupid sins in the first place! We don't always appreciate the gem until we see it on full display. It has always been there, but we didn't know the extreme value in the tiniest of gems until they were on display in our lives.

Scrubbed clean of the grime of sin - this is probably the most beautiful of the gems we can discover in God's Word. Yes, we will make dumb mistakes in life, but let none of those mistakes be the overlooking of one of these beautifully disguised gems in God's Word. They are meant for our adornment and will always contribute to our beauty more than we realize at first glance. Just sayin!

Getting at the heart of it all

Have you ever seen someone so good with their skinning knife they can just peel away the hide of an animal without a rip or tear, no waste of any of the meat just below that skin? I have seen some fishermen able to fillet their catch with such skill not even one bone is found in the fillet. How do they learn this skill? I think it comes to them through practice and with the employment of the right 'tool' to do the job at hand. There is comfort in knowing that God means what he says and his Word will come to pass. His Word is like the scalpel in the skilled hands of a surgeon or the knife in the hands of the skilled hunter. As a nurse, I have seen the skillful use of the scalpel - dissecting away the finest of tissue to protect the healthy tissue and to expose the tissue that has become devitalized by disease or decay. I have also seen the damage done by a "blade" in the hands of one not trained or at all skilled in its use. The difference is beyond description.

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

Dissection is the process of taking apart the various parts until each part is exposed as uniquely separate from the other. The purpose is to bring separation.  In his hands, the Word cuts through our doubts. It reduces our defenses. In turn, it lays us open - not to bring damage through exposure of these parts, but to bring us to a place where we can see the aspects of our doubts and defenses at the "root". It separates our doubts and defenses away from our heart so he is free to get to work repairing the heart! No true analysis of our doubt is possible without understanding what contributes to that doubt - he needs to get at the root of the doubt. When we finally see the roots of our doubt (past hurts, inability to trust based on fear of rejection, etc), we are better able to allow him to show us how to bind up our wounds and to step out in faith. The purpose of exposure (separating those things from their attachment in our heart) was to bring us to a place of listening and obedience.

The same is true about our defenses. Without revealing the real reason we set them up (pride, anger, fear, etc), we will never be successful in seeing those defensive walls brought down. The walls did not go up in one day and they will not come down in one day! There is a process of taking apart the various "pieces" of the walls of our defense until all that is left is the total freedom of passage. That which remains hidden behind the wall is never truly able to be touched by God or others until we are willing for this "disassembling" or separating of the pieces. The reduction of our walls of defense may be catastrophic if a bulldozer simply pushes them down, but in the hands of Jesus, one stone is removed at a time until we no longer "need" to hide behind that wall any longer.

The really good news is that we cannot escape the Word of God. It has an impact in the lives of all that hear it - it has the same ability to separate in me as it does in you. We might not realize the complete impact of the "scalpel" until much later on, but once the health returns to the tissue, the realization of the healing is apparent. We don't realize what has been missing from our "line of sight" until the wall is finally down. That is what God is after when he uses his Word in his tenderly, skillful way. He brings health and he broadens our line of sight. Stop nursing your wounds - allow God to bring health to your life again. Stop limiting your "line of sight" - allow him to expand you beyond measure. His skill in doing both is beyond what you'd ever imagine possible! Just sayin!

Words like no other words

We sometimes struggle with what it takes to live a godly life, but Peter tells us that everything we need is provided to us IN CHRIST JESUS - not some of the things, not most of the things, but everything we need. Our part in the relationship is to grow in intimate relationship with him – depth and awareness come from him, consistency is what is required from us. We are called to receive his greatness and power – people who understand their calling will also understand the significance of what they have received IN Christ. We are given each of his promises and we can count on these promises because of his love for us. This type of growth comes as we apply the Word to our lives – because it has the effect of producing a life of moral excellence. If we will spend some time faithfully exploring the depths of it, it will produce the right character - but only if we are willing to be changed by it.

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books. 

(2 Peter 2:5-9)

Through the Word, we will come to know God better. We cannot read for too long without coming across the evidence of his love for those in intimate and growing relationship with him. We will come face-to-face with his compassion toward sinners, his repeated interventions to keep them safe, and his own hunger to be known by his children. We will come to a place of mature self-control when we allow the Word to begin to impact our choices and actions. The Word of God has a way of dissecting the various areas of our lives where we need to focus attention. We will periodically find ourselves saying, “Ouch, I really needed that!” There are indeed habits in each of our lives that need to be broken, attitudes that need adjusting, and worries that need to be finally resolved. This happens in the quiet moments of reflection on the Word of God.

We will come to a place of learned endurance the more we get into the Word and it has a chance to get into us. In other words, when the Word of God gets into us, it helps us “run strong”. We find that we walk with a sense of assurance and don’t give up so easily on what seems impossible, is difficult to face, or is frightfully annoying. We will come to a place of godliness in our daily walk - that place where our attitude is transitioned from one of independent self-assurance into one of dependent Christ-assurance. The ultimate outcome of spending time with Jesus in the Word is that we will be deeply affected by it! It changes how we “do business” in our daily walk. It is not rocket science – get into the Word, let it get into you, and things will change. No one who allows the Word of God a chance to do what it has the power to do will walk away unaffected by it! Just sayin!

A memory dump is needed

Hey, does anyone else out there ever feel like your life is just unraveling a bit? There are days where my ends seem a little frayed - how about yours? Those days don't always come that frequently, but when they do, man oh man...they can leave you exhausted! Some of mine come in the form of being there when the Department of Health walks in for an unannounced inspection or complaint investigation when I am the sole occupant of the office! Then maybe there is that moment when you see deadlines fast approaching, but you have put off that project you just didn't want to get to - now it looms like a spider coming closer and closer while you have no shoes on! You know the feeling - that moment of panic and dismay - wondering how you will ever get past it! What we must always recognize is that God is still in control - even when we have lost it!

Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words! (Hebrews 1:1-2 MSG)

I put that last portion of the passage in bold font for a purpose - we need to hear and appreciate the importance of those words. There is also something I'd like us to recognize from this passage - God speaks to us through various means - he doesn't just use one tool in his box! If we cannot see something one way, he helps us see it via another venue. If we don't heed his wisdom when it comes in one form, he delivers it in a different form, but it is the same wisdom! The very nature of God is to oversee and secure everything in his creation. That includes us. In fact, we are probably the most significant part of his creation - for we were created in his image and he desires for that image to always reflect him well.

What's God been saying to you? Those words aren't meant to tickle our senses - they are meant to hold us together and give us powerful anchorage. The words of God are not aimless or without purpose - they are creative and sustaining. As such, when God speaks, we need to listen! That's not easy, though, because we sometimes don't recognize the vessels he uses to speak to us. He even uses the looming deadline, unannounced visitors, and creepy crawlers of the world to speak into our lives! The thing is that we have to be open to hearing how he speaks through these various vessels. The openness of our heart is directly linked to the openness of our ears. We can hear and not do - link between ears and heart being broken somewhere. The broken part is usually our mind!

The mind is instrumental in trust because it is the center of our memory. What the memory files away often becomes the most influencing factor when the vessel God uses begins to speak to us. We fashion some type of response - sometimes even before he finishes speaking - all because of what we have stashed away in the recess of our minds. The mind is like the conduit between the ears and the heart. If the conduit is closed off or clogged, his word isn't getting through! Sometimes we need a memory dump in order to let his word get through to the part of us that most needs to hear it - our heart! Just sayin!

Let it soak in deep

Have you ever wondered what power there is in a word? I know there are times I don't have to say much to find I have lifted someone's spirits, while there are opposite times when a couple of words spoken at the wrong time or with the wrong intent create a whole lot of misery. Words are quite powerful, but none so powerful as those contained within the pages of our Bible, as these were put there to set us on fire. They have a creative power - bringing to life what had once been dead. They have a convicting power - revealing what we might not even have known was there so it can be completely dealt with and removed. Words, when used as they were intended, have power - especially in the hands of a graceful and loving God!

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said, The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop, God’s Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you. (1 Peter 1:24-25 MSG)

New for old - that has been God's movement down through the ages. Promise given - promise fulfilled. Hope birthed - hope realized. There is and always be great power in his Word, but we have to get it into us if it is to be of any benefit to us. Words simply spoken, but never heard, are not going to accomplish the mission they had when spoken, right? I have said things under my breath - not really wanting others to hear what I was saying right then - but God's words are not those type of words. There is nothing hidden in his Word - all is there to be revealed to us - if we just look and ask.

The life within each of us is conceived, first by natural means, then by the divine touch of God in our lives. The new birth experience - as some call it - is that transition of our lives whereby the words God speaks deep into our spirits ignite a passion, define a purpose, and create a passage from one way of living into another. There is power displayed on our behalf - all through those words. They may have been penned many years ago, but they remain equally as powerful today as they were when they were given to those men who took pen to paper to record them.

Truth changes us. There is nothing more damning than a lie. There is nothing more freeing than the truth. Our spiritual conception is accomplished with one word - "YES" - saying YES to Jesus. Our spiritual growth is accomplished through many words - those written for us to serve as examples of how to both act and not act. The promises he gives are ours for the taking - to stand upon with assurance. His process of creating us anew isn't just that momentary 'birthing' experience, but it is the putting off of the old and the putting on of the new - day after day, year after year. YES is the beginning - in between that beginning and eternity will come many words to restore, challenge, help us conquer.

Embrace his Word. Listen carefully to its challenges. Open wide to its hope. Come often to his feet to listen with intent. There is much to discover in the power of those words. Much to soak in until we are so saturated that we 'leak' his Word from within every fiber of our being. Discover it. You won't be disappointed in his Words, for they are life. Just sayin!

Be a life-flow

We church-goers hear the phrase, "Be a doer of the Word." Do we really understand what this statement means? Putting the Word of God into action in our lives is really more demanding than we often imagine - sometimes it is one of the most daunting tasks we can undertake. Learning the Word of God is one thing, actually doing what it says is quite another. Most of us do a very adequate job at 'learning' the Word of God, but I'd be the first to admit - the 'doing' of it is sometimes a little lacking!

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Here we find a reminder about the God we serve - the one who is unchangeable in his promises, righteous inside and out - the God of divine compassion who places man under a moral obligation to be righteous - to learn to do what it is we have come to learn. So, how do we get to the place that God looks at us as righteous? It begins with our belief in the finished work of the Cross of Christ - the blood shed as a substitution - a sacrifice for us, making atonement for our sins, certainly not his. Over the course of the rest of our lives, we move from the place of being "saved" into a continual walk of having that righteousness that was imputed (credited) to us at the point of salvation worked out in our daily choices.

Imputed really means to be counted as bringing our account into full payment - in other words, no debt is owing for our sins any longer as that debt was completely paid in full by Christ. God reminds us of some interesting things about how this daily walk progresses. First, he tells us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts. This type of love is a devotion that is based on a kinship experience - there are strong personal ties to the one we are loving. God brings us from a place of alienation into a place of closeness - in turn, we are adopted into his family, experiencing all the privileges of "kin". We are to cherish God - experiencing a repeatedly expanding desire for him.

We are to love him with our whole heart - our whole personality, including our intellect and emotions. We need to stop here and remember that love is more than a state of mind - there is a ton of emotional investment behind it. It may begin with emotion, get stalled a while until the mind catches up, then the mind gets reignited again with fresh emotion. The important thing is that it is growing and that it involves our whole being - every part of our character, feelings, inclinations involved in the pursuit of God. To the heart, he adds that we are to love him with our entire soul - "entire" means "all". The soul is that which we think of as animating us - it makes us different from every other creature roaming this earth. It is our moral and emotional nature - that which gives us that sense of conscience. Love that is animated is indeed evident to all who look upon it. There is an evidence of that love manifest deep within our soul.

If that is not enough, God asks us to love him with all our strength - with our total capacity. Nothing held back! There is to be an honest intensity, a potency, and a power in our daily walk with God. When we go through "dry seasons" it usually means this is missing from our walk and we wonder if we are really still "connected" with our God. We feel "dry" - vitality is missing in our spiritual walk. The reason God asks for us to give our total capacity is that he wants us to be filled to (and even over) capacity - with his love, grace, peace, truth, etc. When we hold nothing back, he is free to hold nothing back in filling us with these good things - allowing them to overflow so others get a sense of his goodness, as well. The instruction goes on to say that we are to impress them upon our lives, tie them to ourselves, bind them so they cannot be broken, and write them down so we remember them well. God wants his Word to be in constant contact with our innermost character, affecting every inclination we have. His words gives support to every choice we make. 

The Word is designed to influence us, but it is also meant to transfer or transmit to us that which will mark us as Christ's. When we tie the Word to our hands, we are using the Word as a restraining power, or an influence, that affects everything we set our hands to do. The Word is a symbol (a visible sign) that is manifest through the hands. Binding the Word to our foreheads can be likened to causing our thoughts to be confined to, restrained or restricted to that which is honoring, worthy, and holy. This will make our minds firm and settled - experiencing peace in our thought life. The Word of God is to be written ALL OVER our lives - in our speech, our actions, every impulse we respond to. It affects our entire being, directing our entire course of action. In turn, we become a channel for the life flow of God. This is what it means to be a "doer" - become a life-flow of God's grace today! Just sayin!

Wildfire

It is wildfire season in Arizona and our very dry winter has created the perfect conditions for dry forest lands which can quickly burn out of control. Already many fires have taken out way too much forest land, burned down homes and structures, and tormented animals seeking a safe place to find food and shelter. Fire is a devastating force. The words of our mouth are more powerful than a small spark that can set an entire forest on fire – or so scripture tells us. If our words are this powerful, just imagine the extreme power of the words of God! His words are instruments of grace, love, healing, direction, and even chastisement, if warranted. Regardless of the types of words he speaks, they are filled with power - power not matched by any other power in this world or in the heavens above. They are spoken to hearing ears and responsive hearts. Those who will listen intently to their meaning will be blessed by these words, but one must apply themselves to listening and being open to what is heard. 

How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you, don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, GOD, train me in your ways of wise living. I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you; I attentively watch how you’ve done it. I relish everything you’ve told me of life, I won’t forget a word of it. (Psalm 119:9-16 MSG)

We think of a word as something said or expressed. Words do a great deal to reveal intention and inner thought. They can declare meaning – proclaiming truth not before evident until the meaning was given. They are also spoken as a form of promise – opening the possibility of hope afresh in the heart of the hearer - giving a hint of something that is to come, but may not be fully realized yet. Words are a valuable possession or a resource at our disposal in times when we need to impart wisdom, change the course of an event, or challenge someone to consider a new perspective on a matter at hand. Words carry an abundance of supply in them – they can build up, create vision, give perspective, challenge movement, increase faith, and impart hope. They are worth a great deal and should be handled accordingly.

Words are most valuable when they are openly shared, not locked up or shut up in the recesses of our minds or hearts. As a believer, we have a responsibility to be free in the expression of wise counsel that is granted or revealed to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit has deeply affected our lives, the words that we speak will be so pure that there is no need to conceal them. We will be able to use them in an unrestricted manner, in just the right way that God prepares those words to be expressed. God’s words to us are made known to us through divine inspiration and instruction. His wisdom has been made open to us through is words. In turn, we are called upon to make known what was once concealed or hidden to us – the deep truths of his love, his compassion, and his grace as we have come to know them through his words and actions on our behalf. We are called to share even the small pieces of truth contained deeply in the Word that we find helpful as others may be as deeply affected as we have been.

It is God’s intention that our words spoken to him be something that makes clear the intentions and desires of our hearts. As we are transparent with him, he is transparent with us in the discoveries of the deep truths in his Word that make clear to us the essential qualities of his character, set forth the meaning of his actions, and define with clarity the path we are to walk. As we reveal our desires, we aren't just telling him our wants - we are openly admitting where our heart struggles and where our mind wanders. His words give meaning to our lives – helping to show the importance of our actions, the value of our deepest thoughts, and the danger in concealing anything from his tender touch. In the spoken or written word, meaning is conveyed. We often cry out for our lives to be filled with meaningful pursuits – desiring to know the purpose of it all. God declares the significance of a life in the power of his words. It was by a word that he created all that we see around us today – and by that same word, he holds everything in order today.

Words are indeed God’s way of conveying to us in limitless ways that he works to define and make distinct our significance in his kingdom. There is nothing “magical” in a word from God, but there is something creative and liberating in each word declared by him deep within our hearts. If we take in the word and make it part of who we are, the word of God will impact our lives. The Word of God is indeed sharper than a two-edged sword or the skilled use of a scalpel in the hand of the surgeon. It defines us, reveals hidden things within us, supplies abundantly what we stand in need of, and helps us to stand assured in even the most uncertain of times. The power of a word – in the hands of God, one word is worth more than any material treasure we could possibly desire. We should not be stingy in our exchange of words with God, and we should not limit our intake of his word in our lives. Both are powerful ways to set our world on fire! Just sayin!

Nibble on this

Ignore the Word and you will certainly suffer! Did you realize that is actually a warning provided to us in scripture? It also offers a pretty awesome reminder of what happens when we don't ignore the truths of God - if we honor God's commands, we will grow rich! Okay, don't get me wrong, study of God's Word is not a "get rich quick" scheme!  It is actually a pretty orderly, sequential growth process that has many rewards for the one who takes the time to make the investment into taking it in. Yet, we can go days and days without any intake of the truth that has the potential to free us from our hurts and hangups. We toy with truth like it was something to we might find beneficial at some point, but not at others. The long and short of it is that if we merely toy with truth, it cannot have as deep of an impact in our lives as God intended!

Ignore the Word and suffer; honor God's commands and grow rich. (Proverbs 13:13)

All of scripture teaches us that an appetite for good brings much satisfaction.  We have many ways of satisfying the various 'appetites' we have.  If we want chocolate, we purchase a chocolate bar, peel back the wrapper and dig in.  If we want a salty snack, we may rip open a bag of peanuts and chow down. The Word of God is often referred to as that which satisfies the cravings, or longings, of our soul.  If we want some good "soul food", we need to just open the cover and dig in! God doesn't make this pursuit of truth impractical to us - it is quite simple! When we neglect, or disregard, what is given to us for our spiritual health and well-being, we soon become "starved" for that which our spirit literally craves or yearns for deeply.  There is a "weakened state" or spiritual "anemia" that occurs when we neglect to have a regular and consistent "intake" of the Word.  That is why scripture reminds us we will suffer if we ignore it!  What is fed grows - what is neglected weakens and eventually dies. We sometimes find ourselves complaining, "I am just not growing."  Well, if we aren't "feeding" on the right stuff, we might not actually have what it is we require to nourish our lives.

Another truth is that the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, but we need to heed the warning to stop drinking from "tainted" wells.  What we allow into our minds affects our spirit.  When we are filling our minds with a consistent intake of the Word, we are building our spirits and allowing the Word to reshape us.  When we are negligent in regular intake of the Word, we are "shaped" by whatever we are allowing as intake in its place. We need to learn to be as wise in our spiritual "food" intake as we are in our other types of 'food' intake. We cannot consistently eat "junk" food and expect to look like beauty queens (I could stand as an example of that one)!  We need a balance - not huge portions, just consistent intake. Let's learn to take God's Word in on a regular basis, shall we?  It is time to "peel back the wrapper" on what will really satisfy our hungry souls. Then, through regular intake, we might just find our 'anemia' in that problematic area of our lives begins to be reversed until what was once the weakest part of our character becomes the strongest! Just sayin!

It is an ALL-Inclusive thing!

5 You must love him with all your heart, soul, and might. 6 And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. 7 You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. 8 Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house! (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 TLB)

There are those of us who may postulate the hardest part of loving the Lord with ALL our heart is obeying him. I think it might just be the hardest part of loving the Lord this way is for our 'self' to get out of the way long enough to actually let God connect with our hearts! Pride keeps us at arm's length - shame helps us put up a good front - 'image' drives us to 'religious expression' instead of relationship. Indeed, to get close enough to love God and serve him with ALL requires a whole lot of other stuff in our lives to get out of the way!

I didn't realize I had some really good salvageable wood in my 'pallet pile' until I took some time to actually pull out about 8-10 of those pallets yesterday and start examining what I had. The more I pulled, the more that was exposed. The same happens with our relationship with Christ - the more we are pulled toward him, the more of us gets exposed - but...that applies to Christ, as well. The more we are drawn to him, the more of him we get to know! As Moses was delivering the commandments to the nation of Israel that day, I don't imagine he knew the total 'cost' of loving God in such a manner, but it didn't dampen his enthusiasm one bit.

We often want to know the cost up front - almost as though we were shopping for a new car. We don't want any 'hidden' costs. I think that might just be what Moses had in mind when he spoke these words - there is really no other meaning to ALL than ALL! It was pretty plain - the Word is to affect us deeply, be part of our daily lives, and be used to guide both family and business life. It was to be reverenced, obeyed, heeded, and trusted. It was to fill our conversation, but not just as 'passing commentary'. It was to be that which lent clarity, direction, and encouragement.

Coming - going. Working - playing. God didn't 'carve out' any hidden costs here. He was pretty plain - ALL of us needs to connect with ALL of him - keeping his Word in the forefront of all we do. Why is his Word so important? Perhaps it is because words connect us - they are the foundation of relationship. Yes, there are other 'actions' that occur in relationship, but without communication, we dry up and aren't really going to remain vitally connected. The emphasis on his Word being central in our lives is tied to us being able to live for him with our ALL. The ALL-inclusive plan of God is revealed in his Word! Just sayin!

Obstruction Free Zone

Lord, your rules are wonderful. That is why I follow them. As people understand your word, it brings light to their lives. Your word makes even simple people wise. My desire to hear your commands is so strong that I wait with open mouth, gasping for breath. (Psalm 119:129-131 ERV)

How do you "find out" things in life? Are you an inquisitive individual who searches out truth and seeks to understand the meaning of things, or perhaps how things "work"? I have two grandsons - one very mechanical and inventive, the other very artistic and creative. Each sees things just a little differently, but also kind of similarly. They have a way of picturing things and then creating them - especially my oldest one. We wanted a stand for our fishing poles and he had an small folding table (the type you use in bed) with a broken top. The legs were made of heavy duty metal tubing/wire. You guessed it - he took it apart, began sawing the pieces and bending into a top and stake for the pole holder. Then he fashioned a multi-part stake to attach all this to (while still allowing it to come apart into four pieces) to now have a "rest" for his fishing poles while shore fishing. When it was all said and done, he had created something out of what would be cast off - making what was once quite useless into something quite spectacular! It could just be he was doing what God does in each of us every time we come to him seeking to understand him just a little more!

Light comes when we seek it. I recently installed two solar lights into the backyard for a little bit of "security" and to have some low-lighting so I could enjoy the garden a little bit longer than the few hours I have after work. One is excellently placed to pick up lots and lots of sun rays during the day. The other will have to be moved around a little to pick up equally as many rays, because it didn't quite last as long on its "charge" as the other did. One was "turned toward" the sun without any obstruction in the rays coming toward it. The other likely suffered some "interference" from the patio overhang and/or the trees in the vicinity. It should not surprise us that an "unobstructed" path between us and the LIGHT produces the best "charge" or "recharge". The more obstructions there are in our path, the harder it is to obtain that same level of "charge". God's Word brings light - but when there are obstructions in the way - such as regret, anger, mistrust, or even guilt, it will impact how much we are "open" to receiving that light. Light is best received when there is no obstruction in its path! Any obstruction just leaves a shadow and where shadows exist, there is limited "reception".

To seek well, we first remove or "relinquish" the obstructions. Maybe that means we "seek first" God's grace and then we begin to bask in the warmth of his Light which comes from the Word. To really begin to understand God, to really figure out who he is and how he is moving in our lives, we need to be in the best place to receive what he is revealing to us by the Light that comes through to us. Just sayin!

Oh, I have to APPLY it?

21 So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you. 22 Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror 24 and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. 25 But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard. (James 1:21-25 ERV)

There are definitely times when I take a gander in the mirror early some mornings when my first inclination is just to turn away, believing there is absolutely no help! Hair askew, blemishes seeming to bud out of nowhere overnight, and eyes heavy with sleep - things don't look all that promising! But...rather than turn away, I do the best with what I have been given that day. It may not be perfect, but it the best with what I have to work with! In our spiritual lives, there are times when we look in the mirror, turning almost immediately away in a kind of disheartened manner, thinking things will not change in our hearts or minds. Things seem to just "stay the same", or worse yet, they seem to change, but in a negative fashion. We don't like what we see, but we don't know how to change it, either. The good news is that a humble heart and an open mind can actually be the framework by which God can "pile in" his word and create anew what we have no idea how to change!

The Word of God isn't there as a mirror that allows us to ignore or neglect whatever is reflected there - it requires us to deal with what we behold. If you have ever read a certain passage and then said something such as, "Oh my... That certainly hit the nail on the head", then you know exactly how the Word of God is a mirror that does more than "reflect" back to us an image of imperfection. It has a way of showing us not only where those flaws exist, but how to use what we have to see those imperfections made better and better over the course of time, but....we have to apply what we have been given. It is like having all manner of make-up available on the bathroom counter and then just thinking it is going to somehow affect your appearance by just looking at it! Well, duh...it isn't going to just apply itself! You have to do something with what you have at your disposal!

A lot of the time we really do not realize God has planted this good stuff we need in order to realize change in our hearts and minds - it is already planted - it just needs a little cultivating to make any difference! I don't know where you are today in your walk with Jesus, but here are some words of encouragement:

- You have what you need, even when you don't honestly see evidence of it right now. 

- You are the one to put into use what it is you have been given. God isn't slack in what he provides, but we are often "slackers" in what it is we do with what it he has provided. Take the first step and you may just be dazzled with the difference just a little step like that makes.

- You don't have to get it all right the first time you try. I remember putting on eye shadow the first time - I think it was green. Uhm...just so you know, green is not in my color pallet! It didn't look all the good and I put it on way to thick and way to "inexpertly". You have to try sometimes a whole lot of times until you get some of this right - but don't just give up when it doesn't go well the first time - eventually things will "click" and you will be amazed at the results. Just sayin!

Open ears, open heart

“And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful. Listen to my instruction and be wise.  Don’t ignore it.  Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home!  For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord. 36 But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:32-36 NLT)

The call is to "listen" - not absent-mindedly, but with deliberate attentiveness to what is being said, how it is said, and even when it is said - for all God says has a purpose and a plan and a specific timing.  God's instruction brings joy. You might ask how that can be since his Word sometimes brings conviction. The end result of conviction is repentance - the result of repentance is a "do-over" - a chance to do again what the heart had not done well the first time. How many times in this life do we actually get a "do-over"? In the natural sense, it isn't very often. In fact, even when there is a chance to do again or set something right that was done wrong, there is much work trying to do again that which wasn't done so well in the first place. As we look again at what is said to us in our passage, it reminds us that when we "follow his ways" we are joyful. Maybe it is because following requires watching with expectation - waiting with open hearts. This is what truly brings us joy - not the work required in the "do-over", but the trust declared in the hope and expectation of waiting on him.

Listening is probably one of the hardest things we have to do in this lifetime, not because it has anything to do with how well our ears "hear", but because of how poorly our heart actually pays attention! We might be sitting alone right now as we consider these words. If so, we likely don't hear much more than the words rolling around in our minds as we consider them. Now that I called your attention to what it is you are hearing, you probably hear that hum of the air blowing overhead from the vent, or even the low pitched hum of the refrigerator and the crackling of the coffee pot as the coffee drips slowly into the pot. You heard these things because you were attentive - but how long does it take for you to forget them - to allow them to become what is coined as "white noise" once again? Probably not very long! I wonder if this might just be the cause of some of our heart problems - the tendency we have to "forget we were listening" and drift into some other pursuit without even noticing.

There is likely no specific way or plan for how we "listen" to God's direction in our lives - it simply happens because we actually turn our attention to him for sometimes even a fraction of a second. Imagine what it might be like if we actually took that fraction of a second and multiplied it by a thousand or a couple thousand seconds! We might actually find our hearts settling into his timing, understanding his purpose, paying close attention to his warnings, and getting caught up in the joy of getting to know him a little better! There is something to be said for "purposeful listening" - paying attention because you don't want to miss what is right there at your doorstep or fingertips. To listen with this kind of "intent" opens the heart to actually being affected - and when the heart is affected, trust is built. God is after trust - the purpose of listening is to allow a trust to develop in someone other than ourselves. When we take in the Words he brings, we are opening ourselves to the possibilities of some other answer other than our own.

Perhaps the greatest means of building trust comes in the exchange that happens when two individuals actually get to know the ins and outs of each other. No one really does this apart from listening - for your sighs even declare something about our level of fatigue, contentment, and even the depths of our hope. The words of God are everywhere, but they aren't heard with the ear alone. They are caught in the sighs of the wind, the movement of the grass on a lazy afternoon, and the buzzing of the bees busily gathering nectar from the newly opened blossoms on the plants. They are intercepted in the happy laughter of children at play and the tender tears of a broken heart weeping with deep agony over loss. They are multiplied in the melody of a song of praise and cultivated in the moments we actually open the pages of the Bible to seek out his plan. Trust in God isn't just an attitude - it is an action - a desire to focus our attention toward another other than ourselves. If we really want to listen so that we will know the joy of the Lord to the fullest extent, we need to do more than open our ears - we need to open our hearts! Just sayin!

I gotta remember this stuff!

Remember the words that you heard from me. Retain them as the model for healthy and sound teaching in the faith and love that are available in Jesus the Anointed. As for the precious thing entrusted to you, protect it with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. (2 Tim. 1:13-14 VOICE)

The power to remember is one of our greatest gifts. As my mother approaches her 98th year on this earth, I see how much of her ability to remember even simple things impacts her daily life. She will call me at work, or I will call her, and somewhere in the expanse of a couple of minutes, she will have forgotten something "important" she needed to tell me. We all have things we desperately want to remember to tell someone, often stopped from sharing it right at that exact moment it comes to mind simply because the timing isn't right or the person isn't immediately available. We commit the thing to memory the best we can and hope we remember everything we needed to share once the timing or availability is remedied. For a parent, some of the things they want remembered are the words they have shared with their children as they have been growing up. Those were the words we hoped would convey some purpose, a lesson of sorts, that would help that child in their life's journey. God is much the same way with us - giving us words to live by. The problem is - we sometimes don't commit them to memory!

When God speaks to us through his words contained in the Bible, these aren't empty or hollow thoughts.  They are words committed to paper because they (in their totality) teach us great lessons by which we are to make life decisions.  The principles captured within the pages of this Bible of ours are the expressions of a parent's heart!  When retained, they become a model by which we pattern our actions.  Whenever we commit to take these words in, we are in essence committing to learn at the feet of our heavenly Father. We are gaining wisdom, but we are also building relationship. The exchange of words is not a thing to be taken lightly - for they can build us up, tear us down, create a sense of urgency within us, or give us moments to just enjoy.  As kids, we don't always appreciate the words of a parent - because we want to make a way for ourselves and we sometimes think our parent's wisdom is a bit outdated or just not what we need for the moment.  We can miss some of the greatest opportunities to actually learn from their mistakes when we quickly jump to the conclusion we don't need to listen to them, though!

Retain God's word - this is probably one of the most significant things we can do to bring balance into our lives. We retain a whole lot of other knowledge without much effort, so why is it so doggone hard to retain God's word? I think retaining all the steps it takes to make our favorite meal, change the oil in our cars, or even complete the laundry without forgetting fabric softener is a challenge sometimes. Yet, these prove to be easier than getting God's word into our minds, allowing it to affect our hearts, and then having it there in reserve to help us live healthy spiritually fit lives later on!  I have learned we commit to the things we think are important - they find "space" in our minds and hearts because we think they serve a purpose of some sort.  I like to wear clean clothing, so I have learned to do the laundry - all the steps from gathering the soiled clothes, sorting them, onto the finished product of folded and pressed garments. If I want to learn to live a healthy spiritual life, I had better learn to embrace the things God asks me to commit to memory from his teachings!  Just sayin!

Hit it again!

I have celebrated Your testimonies as though rejoicing over an immeasurable fortune.  I will fix my mind on Your instructions and my eyes on Your path.  I will find joy in Your ordinances; I will remember Your word forever.  (Psalm 119:14-16 VOICE)

I think the words of George A. Moore speak a lot about my heart at times:  "The wrong way always seems the most reasonable."  He also said, "The difficulty in life is the choice." How true!  We have lots and lots of paths in life to choose - knowing with a certainty which one is the "right" one is not always as plain as one may think.  Some of these paths are choices we make at the spur of the moment, such as when we choose to pick an argument with another over words or actions which just occurred.  We don't get a lot of warning, or foreknowledge they are about to happen.  It isn't like there is a natural, built-in "early warning system" ready to fire off in our minds which announces we are about to make a really unwise choice. In fact, we have to cultivate our minds in order to create a sense of awareness to these potential pitfalls.  It is like the one who is an experienced white-water rafter, able to recognize the patterns of changes in the water, constantly "reading" the horizon to be able to plan how the raft will have to be navigated through those waters.

The rafter observes things like the subtle changes in the pattern of the water's flow, revealing what may be hidden rocks just beneath the surface, causing the waters to divert ever so slightly around that obstacle.  He may also observe the change in the horizon where the waters seem totally flat against the walls of the canyon in which the water is flowing, suggesting a sudden drop-off such as a waterfall.  Did the rafter know all these things when he set out on the waterway?  No, but he develops his senses, such that of listening for a rise in the "roar" of the water, suggesting he is coming upon a place of rapids and tenuous passage.  He "tunes in" with all he has - sight, hearing, feel.  In turn, he learns to "read" the waters - but not always the first time he passes over them!  Sometimes he gets bumped up against some pretty big rocks because he wasn't paying attention!

As our psalmist points out, fixing our minds on learning will go a long way toward helping us develop this "early warning system" we need to navigate around or away from the things in our path which will spell our doom if unnoticed and unheeded.  There is no better place to learn what to avoid and how to avoid it, what path must be navigated, etc., than to spend time in God's Word and time allowing that word to take hold in our lives.  Too many times we give God's Word a cursory glance or two, thinking we have "spent time" with God in the process.  We really aren't taking time to celebrate his testimonies, engage with his instructions, or heed his warnings.  

I recently had to buy a new garage door opener because the other one just wore out after 22 years of very good service.  In the process, I had to reteach my car to communicate with the new opener.  It took a while to figure out the technology wasn't talking to the garage door opener, though.  I just kept following the instructions and rereading them to figure out if I missed a step, because it wasn't working.  Eventually, I read a little further in the instructions which came with the opener to realize I may need something referred to as a "learning repeater".  The car wasn't "learning" the signal, so it needed this repeater device to "teach" it to receive the signal.  I think maybe we are all a little like my car as it comes to learning how to make things work in our lives.  It isn't that a signal isn't being sent by God, it is that we aren't able to receive it until we get a "repeater" working to help us learn it!  Just sayin!

I need a little shoring up

Be strong and brave, and don’t tremble in fear of them, because the Eternal your God is going with you. He’ll never fail you or abandon you!  (Deuteronomy 31:6 VOICE)

Moses was about to "pass the baton" to Joshua, and in preparing for his leaving of this earth, as well as the future leadership of the Israelite nation, Moses gives final instructions to carry on without fear.  Great armies, vast in number and strong in "fighting force" would stand in their way, but greater forces would rear their ugly heads most of them knew nothing about.  Forces like stubborn pride, unyielding discontent, and unbridled lust.  Forces which indeed, if unchecked quickly, would lead to their fall as a nation.  I think Moses had a foreshadowing of this, since one of the very last things he did while on this earth was the recording of the words given to him by God so they could be brought out long after he had gone as a reference and reminder of all God required and promised. Charles Stanley says, "When God speaks, oftentimes his voice will require an act of courage on our part."  The problem is we often start well in our "acts of courage", but somewhere along the line, we dwindle in our resolve, or tremble in fear of the unknown which lies ahead.

We often associate "strong" as a word describing the powerful ability of something or someone.  When we buy a new cleaning product, do we buy it because it advertises gentleness or fluffy scent?  Not usually!  We buy it because it promises to remove "even stubborn stains" or that it "breaks through dirt and grime".  We want power!  We want whatever is in that bottle or can to be a force dirt will have to reckon with.  I'd like us to begin to change our thinking about "strong" - because strong isn't just "able", it is "firm".  When Moses commands the people to be strong and brave, he isn't saying he wants them to have all the "power" to fight the enemies they face, but to be strong in their resistance of those powers who will oppose them (especially the ones they won't see coming).

It isn't what we see coming which usually is our undoing - it is the unnoticed attacks which do us in.  At first, we don't notice them because we are distracted by something else, or we just plain don't recognize the "skill" at which these forces "invade" our lives.  I like to play board games like backgammon, and card games like Euchre.  On my tablet, I can play these with "virtual opponents" or "partners".  In a couple of these, I can set the "skill level" I want to play at - like novice or expert.  This gives me a hint about the skill with which the other player will "maneuver" to win.  I know this up front - something I think I'd like to know up front in most of my life's dealings, but which oftentimes remains hidden until I make the "first move".

The "first move" in life is often the hardest - not because we are cowards, but because we "fear the unknown".  As Moses is speaking with Joshua and the people, he is reminding them of the importance of not just trusting what we can see with our eyes alone.  We need to develop a sense of confidence in the one who walks with us into the unknown, so that we stand strong (firm) and don't succumb to the fear lurking at the doorways of our hearts.  What gives us the greatest problems in life aren't the things we know will oppose us, but those things from within and without which we don't know will give us more than a few challenges. What Moses did that day might just serve as a reminder of the tactic we need to take when asked to do something which requires courage.  He set into permanent record the words of God - so they could stand as a reminder of all he had done, what he promised to continue to do, and what we should be doing.  

Maybe the best strategy when facing the unknown isn't to "muster up" whatever courage we can on the inside, but to admit we aren't as "firm" as we need to be and allow God to "shore us up" through his Word.  Just sayin!