Tuesday's slice of bread

A weekly post premised on this: Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord (Prov. 16:20)

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Location: Florence, Kentucky, United States

married to my best friend, writer, teacher, avid reader, occasional poet, volunteer

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

After Thanksgiving Before Christmas

Sunday my husband said, Do you realize that a month from today we will be celebrating Christmas?

After Thanksgiving Before Christmas
After the one before the other but the one leads to and from the other--
If you follow that is--Thanksgiving is the brother
Of Christmas, Easter, and of life from those--
Christ born Christ died Christ rose
And with Christ my birth and with Christ my death and with Christ my life.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

FOR WHAT AM I THANKFUL? [2007 EDTION]
Many items carry over from 2 January 2006:
Thankful:
God is
God is faithful
God is all powerful
God is unchanged and unchanging
God is compassionate
God is holy
God is righteous
God is sustainer
God is unflappable [OK, not a theological term]
God is merciful
God is sovereign
God is determined
God is focused
God is forgiving
God is unsurprised [also not a theological term, admitted]
God is creator
God is praiseworthy
God is self revealing
God is glorious
God is victorious
God is mysterious
God is saviour
God is judge
God is Father
God is Son
God is Spirit
God is One
God is eternal

To which list I would add:
I am thankful for trips we took [mine to South Dakota in February; ours to Arizona in May, Nevada in August, and Iowa in August-September]; tasks we undertook [tutoring and teaching, proofreading and editing, and those around the house which others helped with]; and ministries we added to our lives.
I am thankful for believing family members, and that both Garry's Dad and my Uncle Timer are with our Lord and Savior.
I am thankful for times when I am at a loss in myself because those are the times I experience more the sufficiency of God the Triune One and of Scripture.
He is always sufficient but I do not always rightly access that sufficiency.

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SOVEREIGN, SOVEREIGNTY

According to the M-W Dictionary,
A sovereign [noun] is one possessing or held to possess sovereignty;
One that exercises supreme authority within a limited sphere;
An acknowledged leader: ARBITER
A sovereign [adjective] is defined as
Superlative in quality: EXCELLENT;
Of the most exalted kind: SUPREME;
Having generalized curative powers;
Of an unqualified nature: UNMITIGATED;
Having undisputed ascendancy: PARAMOUNT;
Possessed of supreme power;
Unlimited in extent: ABSOLUTE;
Enjoying autonomy: INDEPENDENT;
Relating to, characteristic of, or befitting a sovereign;
Synonyms see FREE.
What a lot of words for sovereign [noun] and sovereign [adjective];
And yet, and yet
They only begin to describe
The Sovereign.
He is indeed arbiter/lawgiver/judge
He is in all ways most excellent
He is the most supreme
He is unmitigated in holiness
He is paramount in perfection
He is absolute governor as sustainer as creator
He is independent in ways we as creatures cannot conceive of
He has a freedom of which we cannot imagine
And yet, and yet,
These words only begin;
The Word is--without beginning, without end,
With control of all,
Even the most mundane of life's details,
As well as the most critical [seemingly critical].
He rules over all invisible [except to him]
He rules over all visible
He rules over all time and
Over all space and
Over all created beings and
Over all created other.
No detail escapes his notice;
No technology is beyond his grasp;
No relationships are too boring for his interest.
What comfort!
Amazing,
Grace.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Forgiveness
The church I attend has a communion service once a month and I always look forward to that time. Frequently the passage read is from 1 Corinthians 11:23ff. In Matthew 26, we read the words of the Lord as He established His supper. Verse 28 says: "For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins." It took me years to realize that He said that His blood was poured out for many, not, poured out for all.
How could the blood be limited to many rather than being shed for all?
Isaiah 55:7:
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts,
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
If the wicked does not forsake his way or the unrighteous man his thoughts and return to the LORD, he or she will not enjoy God's compassionate pardon.
Repentance is required, which is shown in the forsaking of the wicked way and of the unrighteous thoughts
As you or I or anyone repents, we are given abundant pardon, not stingy, not parceled out grudgingly, but abundantly from our compassionate Lord and God [a definition of compassion: suffering with another--imagine God doing that!]
Matthew 4:17 tells us that "from that time [after His baptism and 40 days including those of temptation in the wilderness] Jesus began to preach, saying 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"
In Luke 5, after the call of Levi [later known as Matthew] "the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' And Jesus answered them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." [ vv. 30-32; ESV]
After Jesus fed the five thousand, we have this recorded in John 6:35-40:
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but will raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
Comfort Food
"Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." [Matt. 11:28-30]

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POSITIVE NEGATIVES

On page 115 of his book ANXIETY ATTACKED, John MacArthur writes, "Contententment is a by-product of distress. It comes when you experience the sustaining power of Christ when you simply have run out of steam: 'To him who lacks might He increases power.' (Isaiah 40:29). We do well to experience enough difficulty in our lives to see Christ's power on display in us."

23 May 1993 journal entry

Short list of positive negatives: no house [no mortgage]; no kids [to uproot]; little debt.

22 July 1993 journal entry

Garry is on the phone to someone out west about work. . . . He's much more relaxed than he was a week ago.

26 July 1993 journal entry

It's still a challenge to think (realize) that five weeks from tomorrow is G's last day as a full time employee of Moody Press, or that it's 18 weeks since he learned it would be at or by the end of 1993. It'll be "by" rather than "at." I'm thankful for all that is known. And not. I'd rather move to Colorado Springs than to the L.A. area if we move west.

EXPANSION

Sometimes God may deny us what we most want in order to give us what we most need.

Garry and I had discussed options we might explore once he had put in his twenty years, and plans we would need to make in the intervening years. At that time, I was working part-time and he had been with his then-employer more than fifteen years--almost sixteen.

Those anticipated years proved to be months.

The day before our fourth wedding anniversary, Garry told me changes were under way which including phasing out his department by year's end. "Department" meant his position. No, no place else for him in the organization. Sorry, but.


Less than a month after Garry cleaned out his desk, my father died unexpectedly. For a long time, he had encouraged us to strike out on our own, to start a business of our own. Now that we were going to, before we could tell him that, he was gone.


Running our own business did not work out as we had hoped it would, but we did not know what else to do, or what possible dividends would might come later as a consequence of the contacts made or strenthened.

We ended up living with friends from our then-church for several months. (That is a story in itself. While we were wondering if we should ask them, they were wondering what help they might offer. It worked out as only God could cause it to. We joined their family on the weekend of our fifth wedding anniversary.)

Just when we reached the end of options we could think of, knowing we could not stay with our friends much longer, Garry was offered a position which could not have been more suitable. It did not come "out of the blue"; he had been making phone calls to everyone he knew who might either know of some work or have some to offer. We did not just say, ok God, here we are, take care of us.

However, the job was in California--Southern California. Near Los Angeles.

We lived in the midwest. Our roots went deep there: our families, our church, our lives. Never had the possibility of moving to California entered into any calculation I had made.

Yet, here we are, and gratefully.

What do positive negatives have to do with this story?

Not buying a house, as we were advised to do when we first married, meant not having to deal with that when things changed.

Not having let credit purchases get out of hand meant having credit to draw on. Garry plans and saves rather than acting impulsively. Being fiscally conservative has proved to be a blessing. That has not meant we've had no lean times, just no importunate creditors adding to the mix.

Not having children also meant being more flexible. Not that children were not wnted, but they too were not in God's design for us.

I have not "arrived" but I am aware that being denied what I had expected or wanted does not mean having been denied what I have most needed--and that I never will be denied what I most need.

On anxiety

Psalm 94:19: "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul."

Psalm 139:23,24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me; and lead me in the everlasting way."

Anxiety or being anxious

Strangle; choke

What wonderfully accurate synonyms those are!

When I am anxious, I am choked [by fear];

Strangled I cannot think clearly--

Of course not, being unable to breathe!

The Proverb is so true:

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down.

Emotion plus Exhaustion equals A Lack of Clarity

Emotion plus exhaustion equals a lack of clarity

And a paucity of verity

Leads to vulnerability

As emotion swirls cyclonic

Plus exhaustion equals second guesses not tonic

Too little clarity

Too little verity

Too much vulnerability

Every Idle Word

Every idle or careless word,

Whether spoken or unheard,

God knows and will judge,

Accurately--no place to fudge.

Every word thrown out unthinking

Will with recklessness be sinking

For God keeps track as is His right

And the time will come when from His height

He will call me to account--

And oh my wrong words, how they mount!

Words I've even only thought

Will weigh as if fully wrought

As my wickedness is in full light

God my judge will be in right

To punish me for each I've used,

For every word I've abused.

How wretched now I see why

Even these caused Christ to die.

God will forgive--but will He forget?

Every idle word its day will get

When I have to face, answer, admit

This word and that which did not fit

This word and that in anger spoken

This word and that which His law have broken.

How can I escape the righteous penalty prescribed?

Repent, repent, and in Him hide.

Passages from other years past:

Psalm 138:8 is so apt!: "The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Thy lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting. Do not forsake the works of Thy hands."

Again picked up Jerry Bridge's book TRUSTING GOD. Several passages from pages 150-151 and 159-168, and this on page 169: "The initiave is with the shepherd.... God sovereignly guides our lives, so that we do indeed live out in our daily experiences all the days ordained for us."

I still major too much in the small things and in how I think they ought to be. Context: Horatius Bonar excerpt used for November 7 in 1993 Moody Press devotional book THEY WALKED WITH GOD.

Then, too, over the last weekend, which of course was a holiday, one of the glass pation/balcony doors from our bedroom to the balcony inexplicably shattered, in slow motion, Sunday afternoon.

What does that have to do with this past week?

Even in this, God is sovereign, controlling all things at all times in all places.

We opt to respond with rejoicing, numbering the blessings: no one was hurt; we were home rather than away on vacation; it happened while still light outside; we were able to reach the office to inform them of the situation; a maintenance man came; and replacement will be made in good time.

Psalm 4:8 applies: "In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety."

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Psalm 19--The Heavens Declare

The Law of the LORD Is Perfect

Verses 1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs his course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Verses 7-11

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul, the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Verses 12-14

Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. [ESV]


Psalm 19 was the key passage for the GraceLife Fellowship retreat this past weekend, and then for a concert of prayer at Grace Community Church that Sunday evening.

The following is from my own thinking on this, not from notes I took during those events:
Verses 12-14 can be the prayer of all believers at all times. And verse 14 speaks to both our outer expressions -- the words of my mouth -- and the inner man -- the meditations of my heart -- and God is fully aware of both at all times.




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