Hmmmmmmmmmm! What have I learned this week? Where have I seen and experienced God? What meaningful encounter has sat with me all week and caused me to reflect on things of eternal value? Deep questions that cause me to slow down and consider all that has occurred and the meaning it holds for me. I guess if I were to write about one thing from my week I would write about the Scriptures I read over the last few days. For devotion time, I have been reading from the One Year Chronological Bible and two stories have lingered with me as the week has drawn to a close.
Did you know several chapters in the Gospel talk about Jesus going up on a hill or mountainside and sitting down? He sat down! That just blows me away! I know, I know, I know, we all sit down. Being a chaplain though, I have learned the special significance of that act, drawing up a chair at the bedside of a patient or sitting down in the family room with a family member who is caring for their loved one who is dying. Sitting down is significant because the act of it makes a powerful statement. Have you ever gone somewhere with your spouse, and you're on a time crunch! There's a lot to do that day and not enough time to do it! So you get to the mall, the one place you dread going on the weekend because you know it is crazy busy. There are crowds everywhere and as you short-cut through the food court you both see someone you know. The plan is to say "hi/bye" as quickly as possible, after all, you have somewhere to be! But then....they begin talking and you know! There's no way to stop it! There he goes, your husband has pulled out the chair and sat down!!!!!! You may as well join him because you know the message he just gave, "We have time." That's what Jesus did everywhere he went, throughout his ministry, he is sitting down with someone. There was nothing more important to him than being present with those around him!
The other thing I noticed in the Scripture passages this week was about the blind man brought to him for healing. Before Jesus healed him, he took him by the hand and led him out of the village (Mt.16). Jesus could have just opened his eyes, instead...he took the blind man by the hand and walked with him, out of the village! What a powerful picture I found here too!!!!! Jesus held his hand and walked with him! How many times has God done that with me? To many to count to be sure!!!!! Even now, I see my current situation and know that it is God who has taken my hand and is walking me out of the mindsets I have lived with for so long, out of the village in which I have lived blind (so to speak). I rejoice in the man's healing! I am excited at the fact Jesus led him! But what really touches me is what I find to be consistently present in each of the Gospels when they describe Jesus...His most powerful ministry was the ministry of presence!
Wasn't that what salvation was about? Emmanual, God with us! Isn't that what is so overwhelming? There is someone NEVER LEAVES ME, He never abandons me! He is always WITH ME! While the Scriptures never say, "God inhabits the praises of His people," they do say, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel" (Ps.22:3). The word "inhabits" is significant because it comes from a Hebrew root word, Yashab, which means "to sit down". God dwelling in a location, in the Old Testament Hebrew, was the same as God sitting down. It meant He had the time and had taken up residence. The New Testament goes on with the same thing when Paul writes to the Ephesian church, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith..." (Eph.3:17) God took a seat in the center of my heart on the day I said YES!!!!! And He's never left!
On a side note...did you notice the first thing the blind man saw were people? What is significant about that you ask? When Jesus took a seat in me, he opened my eyes to notice the hurting people around me. I saw them as they really were, in pain, lost, confused, tormented, angry, bitter, and so much more! As I reflect back over my week, I can't help but see Jesus sitting in the center of it all, from the little old lady who needed to find family, to the doctor providing my own care! As I reflect back over my week, I can't help but feel my hand still in His, as He continues to lead me out of the village that I might see more clearly the authentic people around me, even as He sees them. I am so thankful for a God who has time to be "present" with me!!!!!
10/12/14
10/5/14
Uncluttering the Heart
STORING IT UP
As you read this blog, keep in mind I grew up in a time when we were taught to memorize Scriptures by writing them on index cards and carrying them in our purses. Housewives, mothers, and women of all ages were writing Scriptures on cards and putting them on refrigerators, mirrors, and sticky notes throughout the house, to help them memorize them. Only in the last couple of years have I returned to this type of burning desire to read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God the way I used to. It was so easy to start because Target had these cute little index cards on key rings for students to help memorize things they needed to know for school. They were so inconvenient though. Cards would rip out, or the key ring and cards would get buried in my purse, or I would take a different purse. Imagine my delight to find the android telephone system has a widget that pops me up a new bible verse every morning with whatever photograph I have put with it on the widget. To make it even better, it stays visible on the screen all day and doesn't take up the whole screen! I left my iphone for it! There are times it has been annoying, and then there are times it has just kind of made me remember days gone by as I have reflected on God's Word; today was one of those days.
The verse on the screen this morning was Psalm 119:11 and read, "I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." It's so funny because re-reading that verse throughout the day has just brought a constant visual of our garage to my mind. It's full!!!!! I don't know how much more we can possibly put in there, but my husband keeps finding room. The girls will ask us to pack stuff up, tell us they don't have any more room, and ask us to store it for them. Daddy just gets another box and loads it up. They are all such a sentimental bunch, I think Kris likes to hang on to the stuff and reopen it down the road as much as they do! Consequently, they are all very annoyed when it has been in the garage for a year and the day after I get rid of the box, they ask me for something in it. I like to keep things uncluttered; therefore, I clean house. The rule is, if you haven't missed it over the last year, then you don't need it anymore! Understanding Psalm 119:11 becomes quite a challenge for me, the person who likes things uncluttered :)
"Stored up" comes from the original Hebrew word for hid, which is tsaphan, meaning to treasure and hide from discovery. WOW!!!!!! This means I am to collect the "Word of God" and put them away in a safe, like we see in the old movies. You know the ones I'm talking about! The movies where the rich ladies live in these fancy houses, owning a lot jewelry and keeping it locked in a wall safe behind a portrait or piece of art, or sometimes hidden in the safe under the floorboards, or behind the headboard of the bed. They are afraid if it is left out in the open, then they will get robbed. Shouldn't I feel the same sort of value, prize, and desire to protect and guard of the Word of God that has been deposited within me? YES! YES! and YES! I certainly should. Each time I read the word, I am given yet another jewel as the Holy Spirit ministers life, strength, joy, peace, hope, comfort, and so much more to me. Sometimes it is meant to address where I currently find myself, sometimes it is linked to things He has brought me through, and sometimes it is to anchor me with hope in the days to come. Nevertheless, no matter how I look at it, it is VALUABLE and needs to be safeguarded so it cannot be stolen! The bible talks about how the enemy of God comes and steals away the Word which has been sown in the heart of the one who fails to understand it. To "safe keep" and "guard" the jewels of the Word in me, I must have an understanding of the Word and what God is saying to me. Understanding is different than knowledge because it means to the ability to and obedience to apply the Word God has given me! It is not enough just to "know" the Word! This is just the mere formality of owning a beautiful piece of jewelry and then casually taking it off at the end of the night and leaving it out in the open on the dresser, careless with its care, and left for anyone to walk away with. IF I am understanding the Word sown into my life, then I am an individual who has heard and obeyed the Word God has ministered to me, it has changed me. In this, it is placed within a Holy vault and locked away from theft of the enemy. This, my friend, is what it means to "store up" the Word of God!
As you read this blog, keep in mind I grew up in a time when we were taught to memorize Scriptures by writing them on index cards and carrying them in our purses. Housewives, mothers, and women of all ages were writing Scriptures on cards and putting them on refrigerators, mirrors, and sticky notes throughout the house, to help them memorize them. Only in the last couple of years have I returned to this type of burning desire to read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God the way I used to. It was so easy to start because Target had these cute little index cards on key rings for students to help memorize things they needed to know for school. They were so inconvenient though. Cards would rip out, or the key ring and cards would get buried in my purse, or I would take a different purse. Imagine my delight to find the android telephone system has a widget that pops me up a new bible verse every morning with whatever photograph I have put with it on the widget. To make it even better, it stays visible on the screen all day and doesn't take up the whole screen! I left my iphone for it! There are times it has been annoying, and then there are times it has just kind of made me remember days gone by as I have reflected on God's Word; today was one of those days.
The verse on the screen this morning was Psalm 119:11 and read, "I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You." It's so funny because re-reading that verse throughout the day has just brought a constant visual of our garage to my mind. It's full!!!!! I don't know how much more we can possibly put in there, but my husband keeps finding room. The girls will ask us to pack stuff up, tell us they don't have any more room, and ask us to store it for them. Daddy just gets another box and loads it up. They are all such a sentimental bunch, I think Kris likes to hang on to the stuff and reopen it down the road as much as they do! Consequently, they are all very annoyed when it has been in the garage for a year and the day after I get rid of the box, they ask me for something in it. I like to keep things uncluttered; therefore, I clean house. The rule is, if you haven't missed it over the last year, then you don't need it anymore! Understanding Psalm 119:11 becomes quite a challenge for me, the person who likes things uncluttered :)
"Stored up" comes from the original Hebrew word for hid, which is tsaphan, meaning to treasure and hide from discovery. WOW!!!!!! This means I am to collect the "Word of God" and put them away in a safe, like we see in the old movies. You know the ones I'm talking about! The movies where the rich ladies live in these fancy houses, owning a lot jewelry and keeping it locked in a wall safe behind a portrait or piece of art, or sometimes hidden in the safe under the floorboards, or behind the headboard of the bed. They are afraid if it is left out in the open, then they will get robbed. Shouldn't I feel the same sort of value, prize, and desire to protect and guard of the Word of God that has been deposited within me? YES! YES! and YES! I certainly should. Each time I read the word, I am given yet another jewel as the Holy Spirit ministers life, strength, joy, peace, hope, comfort, and so much more to me. Sometimes it is meant to address where I currently find myself, sometimes it is linked to things He has brought me through, and sometimes it is to anchor me with hope in the days to come. Nevertheless, no matter how I look at it, it is VALUABLE and needs to be safeguarded so it cannot be stolen! The bible talks about how the enemy of God comes and steals away the Word which has been sown in the heart of the one who fails to understand it. To "safe keep" and "guard" the jewels of the Word in me, I must have an understanding of the Word and what God is saying to me. Understanding is different than knowledge because it means to the ability to and obedience to apply the Word God has given me! It is not enough just to "know" the Word! This is just the mere formality of owning a beautiful piece of jewelry and then casually taking it off at the end of the night and leaving it out in the open on the dresser, careless with its care, and left for anyone to walk away with. IF I am understanding the Word sown into my life, then I am an individual who has heard and obeyed the Word God has ministered to me, it has changed me. In this, it is placed within a Holy vault and locked away from theft of the enemy. This, my friend, is what it means to "store up" the Word of God!
Reward or Portion? You choose!
"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever." Ps.73:26 NLT
It was just a few weeks ago the Lord began talking to me about this topic, it just feels like a life time ago to be honest. Frankly, it all started with a simple conversation I was having with God. We were talking about how much I love Him, how much He loves me, and what He means to me. It was our standard conversation. Honestly, it just doesn't seem like I move much beyond those conversations sometimes, all I want to talk about is how much I love Him and what He means to me. That day was no exception and I was explaining to God that He is my EVERYTHING! I love Him so much and He means the world to me! Jesus is my ALL IN ALL, and my "reward." It was at the use of the word "reward" that God butted in and quieted me down. He wanted to draw MY attention to what I had said. At first I couldn't understand what was so problematic about me understanding and experiencing Jesus Christ as my "reward." Some times people have shared with me they feel that I am to much a stickler for word choice and it is really just semantics, but in this case, like in several others, I have found that small selections of the words I choose to use sometimes reveal some of the most problematic theological beliefs I might be having.
The word "reward" is used several times in Scripture, primarily in the New Testament. If you look up the definition for it, it means: dues paid for work wages, hire, used of fruit naturally resulting from toils or labor. It comes from the word misthos, used a total of 28 times. It is about what I do and implies it is something that is earned. God stopped me in the midst of my love expression to Him because He heard my heart in a way I had not. He wanted me to hear myself say, "God I love you so much and understand You, Your love, and Your presence in my life, to somehow, someway be something that has been earned." That is a significant insight to me because I have been very performance oriented my whole life; yet, have an understanding that the love of God is not earned by anything I have done. I did not realize the root of pride that still had been deeply ingrained in my heart. I gave it to God and in the giving it to Him, He presented me with something greater. He replied, "Let me be your 'portion.'"
"Portion" is not a word that I have been familiar with over the years; so, I have had to study its meaning a little bit to responded to God's offer. "Portion" in the Psalms verse I quoted is actually a noun, based in the verb meaning: to divide, plunder, allot, assign, impart, share. It comes from the Hebrew word chalaq. The noun is based on this and means share, and award from God, cheleq. I did not have to work to earn the love of God and experience it as a noun because Jesus did the verb! That day, God invited me to rest a little easier, to be a peace a lot more, to breath more deeply and just "be" with Him in a way that I have occasionally experienced it. Since recently experiencing some significant health issues, I have come to value the invitation God gave me in that confrontation.
Recent health issues have brought me back to a passage of Scripture God ministered to me when we first moved to North Carolina. The 23rd Psalm was what He ministered to me and told me to anchor myself to, with special emphasis on the verses that said, "Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou prepares the table before me, in the presence of Thine enemies: Thou annoinst my head with oil: my cup runneth over." In the midst of this crisis, my family and I have had incredible calmness, even being uncertain of the outcome. With no guarantee about what tomorrow will bring, I have come to realize we never do have any other guarantee beyond that of His word and it is moments like this that I am most aware of what is always my reality. If I understand His love to be my "reward", then on these occasions I would have to wonder if I was still loved. But, when I experience and receive Jesus Christ as my "portion", then I have an assurance that no matter the outcome, His presence and His delight and His desire to "be" with me is ongoing. In the face of my enemies, I find myself feasting with the King and finding peace, rest, comfort, and hope under the banner of His love. How glad and grateful I am for the day He stopped me in my tracks and challenged me with the pride that I harbored! There has been nothing more substantial or wonderful than the invitation He gave me to understand the gift of His presence, the portion He is to me, even as I sit in the valley, in the presence of mine enemies and KNOW, He has anointed my head with oil and no matter how it looks...my CUP is indeed running over.
Be blessed my friends! It is my sincere prayer for each of you, who read this, that you find that same beauty of His companionship in the place others fear to go and often rush through, the valley of the shadow of death. May He find you too, willing to linger in the valley if that is how He leads. <3 Shalom
It was just a few weeks ago the Lord began talking to me about this topic, it just feels like a life time ago to be honest. Frankly, it all started with a simple conversation I was having with God. We were talking about how much I love Him, how much He loves me, and what He means to me. It was our standard conversation. Honestly, it just doesn't seem like I move much beyond those conversations sometimes, all I want to talk about is how much I love Him and what He means to me. That day was no exception and I was explaining to God that He is my EVERYTHING! I love Him so much and He means the world to me! Jesus is my ALL IN ALL, and my "reward." It was at the use of the word "reward" that God butted in and quieted me down. He wanted to draw MY attention to what I had said. At first I couldn't understand what was so problematic about me understanding and experiencing Jesus Christ as my "reward." Some times people have shared with me they feel that I am to much a stickler for word choice and it is really just semantics, but in this case, like in several others, I have found that small selections of the words I choose to use sometimes reveal some of the most problematic theological beliefs I might be having.
The word "reward" is used several times in Scripture, primarily in the New Testament. If you look up the definition for it, it means: dues paid for work wages, hire, used of fruit naturally resulting from toils or labor. It comes from the word misthos, used a total of 28 times. It is about what I do and implies it is something that is earned. God stopped me in the midst of my love expression to Him because He heard my heart in a way I had not. He wanted me to hear myself say, "God I love you so much and understand You, Your love, and Your presence in my life, to somehow, someway be something that has been earned." That is a significant insight to me because I have been very performance oriented my whole life; yet, have an understanding that the love of God is not earned by anything I have done. I did not realize the root of pride that still had been deeply ingrained in my heart. I gave it to God and in the giving it to Him, He presented me with something greater. He replied, "Let me be your 'portion.'"
"Portion" is not a word that I have been familiar with over the years; so, I have had to study its meaning a little bit to responded to God's offer. "Portion" in the Psalms verse I quoted is actually a noun, based in the verb meaning: to divide, plunder, allot, assign, impart, share. It comes from the Hebrew word chalaq. The noun is based on this and means share, and award from God, cheleq. I did not have to work to earn the love of God and experience it as a noun because Jesus did the verb! That day, God invited me to rest a little easier, to be a peace a lot more, to breath more deeply and just "be" with Him in a way that I have occasionally experienced it. Since recently experiencing some significant health issues, I have come to value the invitation God gave me in that confrontation.
Recent health issues have brought me back to a passage of Scripture God ministered to me when we first moved to North Carolina. The 23rd Psalm was what He ministered to me and told me to anchor myself to, with special emphasis on the verses that said, "Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou prepares the table before me, in the presence of Thine enemies: Thou annoinst my head with oil: my cup runneth over." In the midst of this crisis, my family and I have had incredible calmness, even being uncertain of the outcome. With no guarantee about what tomorrow will bring, I have come to realize we never do have any other guarantee beyond that of His word and it is moments like this that I am most aware of what is always my reality. If I understand His love to be my "reward", then on these occasions I would have to wonder if I was still loved. But, when I experience and receive Jesus Christ as my "portion", then I have an assurance that no matter the outcome, His presence and His delight and His desire to "be" with me is ongoing. In the face of my enemies, I find myself feasting with the King and finding peace, rest, comfort, and hope under the banner of His love. How glad and grateful I am for the day He stopped me in my tracks and challenged me with the pride that I harbored! There has been nothing more substantial or wonderful than the invitation He gave me to understand the gift of His presence, the portion He is to me, even as I sit in the valley, in the presence of mine enemies and KNOW, He has anointed my head with oil and no matter how it looks...my CUP is indeed running over.
Be blessed my friends! It is my sincere prayer for each of you, who read this, that you find that same beauty of His companionship in the place others fear to go and often rush through, the valley of the shadow of death. May He find you too, willing to linger in the valley if that is how He leads. <3 Shalom