I love You, Lord

Most Christians would say that they love God.  Jesus says this is the prime commandment – “Love the Lord, your God, with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.” But, what do we mean when we say it? How do we think of ‘loving God?’  Truly loving God is about more than feeling the right set of emotions in church. It demands more of us than keeping a Bible on the living room table or playing Christian music in our home. We love Him truly when He defines our life, when He owns us.

A few days ago I passed a display of red rose bouquets. Ah, they were beautiful. I stopped to look at them as memories of another era in my life returned. I bought hundreds of roses for Bev during our 41 years of marriage. Sometimes it was just a single one, sometimes 2 dozen. More than once as I paid for them, the clerk would joke, “OK, mister, what did you do?” implying that the flowers were an attempt to right some wrong. They were a symbol of a heart-felt passion, a way to tell her she was always in my mind, that she owned my affections. Imagine if I thought that those roses were all that she wanted or needed from me. They had to be matched with fidelity, sacrifice, understanding, support, and commitment!

Loving God is a faith choice, an act of the will, real commitment to Him above all others. Jesus says it simply and clearly:  “If you love Me, keep my commandments!”   

Our love for Him is not transactional, it is covenantal. A transactional relationship is based on self-interest. It begins with my needs. It makes demands of the other person. It depends heavily on performance. Basically, a transactional love says “I love you as long as you make me happy, as long as you are focused on meeting my needs.”  That expectation that he or she must always meet “needs” presses the life out of a marriage, weighing down the relationship. Days are filled with endless fights as each partner tries so hard to protect their own interests, often concealing selfishness behind talk about ‘fairness.’  The breakdown is inevitable when this thought overtakes every interaction:  “If you won’t meet my needs then I certainly will not meet yours.”

We might be reluctant to admit it, but when we ‘fall in love’ with another person, it is always transactional. We like the way she looks, the way she makes us feel about ourselves, the affection she offers to us. Marriages that do not mature into a self-less, covenantal love will likely falter. No single human can possibly meet every need of another.  A covenant love is selfless, seeking the best of another without consideration of cost or return.

As you think about loving God honestly ask yourself if your love is transactional or covenantal?
Do you have a list of expectations attached to your ‘love’ for Him?
When He is silent, when He allows you to experience disappointment, do you still ‘love’ Him?
Or, is your love for Him constant, faithful, devoted, and honoring?

As we think about loving God, there is a key truth. Loving Him is made possible ONLY because He loved us first. He loves us to life, He seeks us when we are lost, He reaches out to us. “While we were sinners, Christ died for us,” Paul says. John tells that “God so loved the world that He gave His Son,” to save us!  Can we read those words and shrug? We can, but should not. Rather His love can stir a deep and holy passion in us. Get your heart into it!  Do away with apathetic prayers, feeble efforts, and other affections.  Seek Him.

We can love Jesus with passionate commitment and He is worth it!  Moses called on God’s people to commit themselves. "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 upon your hearts." (Deuteronomy 6:4-6, NIV)  God’s ways needed to go deeper than a few ideas, they needed to be written on their hearts, the center of love.  When asked what was the basic thing that God desires, Jesus referred to those ancient words.  “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’  (Matthew 22:37  The Message )  

Let me return to my own experience with marital love. The rich return of a covenanted love became clearest in the deep suffering of Bev’s last months of earthly life. Cancer gradually stole her strength, made her as dependent as a baby on me. In the worst days, her emotional and physical pain made it impossible for her to even think about what Jerry needed or wanted. But, because we had matured in love with years of serving one another in good and bad times, I found caring for her, comforting her, holding her close a great joy, an expression of a quality of love neither of us could have even imagined in better times.

A time will come to us all when most all of the things we think we love or need are removed from us by age, by illness, or a changing world. But, nothing can take away the love of God when we have learned how to be truly loved and to truly love. “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39, NLT)

As He loves you, love Him; not as a transaction, but in a covenanted way.

Here is a word from the Word. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:16-18, NIV)

Father, I am so thankful that you loved me
when I cared nothing for You.
Win my heart again and again, 
for there are other ‘loves’ that catch my eye
from time to time.

Draw my heart to Yours,
my affections going beyond words and romanticism.

In Jesus’ name. Amen

______________

Spirit Of God Descend Upon My Heart (Morecambe)

 Spirit of God descend upon my heart
Wean it from earth thro' all its pulses move
Stoop to my weakness mighty as Thou art
And make me love Thee as I ought to love

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee God and King
All Thine own soul heart and strength and mind
I see Thy cross there teach my heart to cling
O let me seek Thee and O let me find

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love
One holy passion filling all my frame
The baptism of the heav'n descended dove
My heart an altar and Thy love the flame

 Frederick Cook Atkinson | George Croly © Words: Public Domain

Blind to the truth?

 

As I often do, I awakened this morning around 2 with thoughts of people needs filling my mind: a young man found near dead from heroin now in rehab, a friend facing new challenges when he goes home tomorrow after months in the hospital, another friend who is losing hope … and the awful state of the Church.  I am thankful for my Friend, my God, with Whom I can share those things, One who never tires of my cries. As I prayed for the Church, the Spirit moved me to pray for new sight, healing from spiritual blindness. I was prompted to pray that the fog of half-truth would be dispelled by the revelation of the Truth!

Did you know it is possible to see without comprehending?  When I visit an art gallery, I see the paintings but, lacking insight, I need a guide to truly understand the uniqueness of the artist. Where I just see a picture, one with insight sees so much more. Many people are stumbling through life today in much the same way.  They see but they do not understand.  This is particularly true of so many Christians who do not see the current state of crisis in America (yes, the world, too) for what it really is.

This is not just a political crisis, nor is it just a pandemic. We are living in an era when God and good are under siege, not by government, but by the prince of darkness and his minions. Without insight, we will spend our strength and resources on things of small consequence, while the Light dims and the people wander in the dark. The disease is sin, the cure, the Gospel of Christ. Poverty, racism, division, war, hatred, and greed are the symptoms, not the sickness.  Our first mission as the people of God is to bring people to Christ where they can find, by faith, LIFE and transformation from the inside out.  

Good people often do not ‘get it.’ Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, knowing full well His destiny was the Cross and the work of redemption for all humanity. He explained why there was reason for hope to the men who had spent three years watching Him do miracles, listening to Him teach God’s truth.

"They were now on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with dread and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him in Jerusalem. “When we get to Jerusalem,” he told them, “the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, beat him with their whips, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.” (Mark 10:32-34, NLT)   Apparently they had heard these words many times but they could not comprehend the truth!  They just could not see beyond the moment.

A few days later Jesus was crucified. Did those disciples gather to wait in faith, reminding one another that He would rise again while they prayed for the dawn of Resurrection morning?  No, they didn’t. They just could not see it. They huddled in terror, their hearts broken, their hopes gone. Before we criticize them for their lack of faith and insight, I want to remind us of our own tendency to respond to crisis in much the same way.  We, too, have the promise of the victory of the Church. Did not Jesus tell us that “I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven.”?  And still, we whine, cry, and retreat as we bemoan the impossibility of doing God’s word in this ‘terrible time.’

 The Gospel of Christ is the true hope of the world.

No, not the re-opening of our church buildings or the restart of our various programs, though those are good things.
No, not the survival of church organizations, though that is usually a good thing, too.  

In this time Jesus continues to invite us, as He did His disciples in Samaria, to “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (John 4:35, NIV)  Will we pray and work, taking every opportunity to wisely and winsomely share the love and life that is found in Christ alone?

Even more personally, may I ask you if YOU understand your real spiritual condition?

Are you so focused on praying for temporal blessings, so intent on making life more comfortable, that you cannot see the state of your heart?  

The majestic Lord of the Revelation came with words for Christians blinded to their real issues.  I find these words painfully true of our American church. “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!

You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be shamed by your nakedness. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 3:14-22, NLT)  

Christian, would you see Jesus? What Jesus are you looking for? The Jesus of social justice? The Jesus who builds walls? The Jesus who promises prosperity? The Jesus of a political party?

OR, will you see JESUS, Son of God, Savior of the World, Who calls us to ‘come, take up your cross and follow Me?”

I do not know who said, it but it is worthy truth. “There is none so blind as he who will not see.”   We will never be able to make another understand or accept something if he is too stubborn to listen, unwilling to learn, refusing to take notice.  We can present facts and try to reason but for those with minds that are already made up -  “There is none so blind as he who will not see.”  

So, here is the word from the Word.  "I counsel you to buy from me … salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." (Revelation 3:18, NIV)

___________ 

Open The Eyes Of My Heart

(Sing the prayer!)

 Open the eyes of my heart Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shining in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy holy holy

 Holy holy holy
Holy holy holy
Holy holy holy
I want to see You

 Paul Baloche © 1997 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)) CCLI License # 810055

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Course Correction?

 

Years ago, while a student pilot, I set out for a destination due west of my home airport.  The compass indicated I was ‘on course’ but in my inexperience I failed to account for a crosswind blowing steadily from the north.  30 minutes into the flight, a consult of the map in the cockpit revealed that I was miles off course, carried by invisible currents. Within moments, using radio vectors, I established my true position relative to the ground and adjusted the flight path so I would reach my destination. I learned a couple of lessons that day; one about paying attention all of the time and one about how to make a course correction in flight.

I read a D. L. Moody quote yesterday that said “Our greatest fear in life should not be about failure, but of succeeding at the things in life that don’t really matter.” What are you  accomplishing? How are you spending that one resource that is finite, that cannot be slowed or speeded, that once gone is beyond retrieving- time?  Jesus taught the importance of living for the right things. He asks,  "How do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process?" (Mark 8:36, NLT)  

Let’s spend a few moments thinking about maintaining our course in life.

Knowing your destination is a critical part of keeping life on course.

Jesus told us that there is a ‘place prepared’ for us in the Father’s house. Is your ultimate destination your home in Heaven? He told us that in our daily choices we can ‘lay up treasure’ in Heaven beyond the reach of thieves, not subject to decay. We tend to separate eternity from the present, don’t we?  In fact, we are eternal creatures now and how we live in this life is directly connected to how we will live in the Presence of God forever.   

Choose the right measure of success.  

Americans are impressed with much and many.  Perhaps even unconsciously we admire as successful those who have more – money, leisure time, fame, or power. Jesus asked a question after telling a story about a man who found great success materially but forgot God. "Who will get it all?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:21, NLT) Remember, having wealth is a blessing IF it is a means to doing the things God desires. It is a curse IF it becomes our god. How are you measuring your success?

Find inspiration from the wise.  

Who shapes your thoughts? To whom do you go for counsel and instruction? Last week a book showed up in my mail that was a collection of letters a missionary sent home over the years she spent caring for orphans in Egypt, Letters from Lillian.  I laid it on my nightstand and read from it before going to sleep. Her love of God and the poor, told in those letters, was a soul tonic, renewing my own devotion. Friends with whom I share life and ministry help to keep me from drifting off course. Yes, the Scripture is my Truth and of value beyond estimation, as well. Consider the information, the music, the entertainment, the friend that fills your day – and ask – am I finding inspiration to the highest and best of life?

Reject short-cuts and prepare for a long journey. 

Years ago, when first using a GPS device in my car, I was driving to a conference in rural Pennsylvania and set the device to choose the ‘shortest’ route. At one point, it directed me to turn left off of the main highway onto a side road. Soon I found myself on a narrow, dirt road through the woods! It was an adventure for several miles until I came back to the highway. The shortest route was not the best one, to be sure. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12, NIV)

I know it is a cliché but it is worth repeating – “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”  Is it time to make a course correction?  We who are Christians are filled with God’s Spirit. He is coaching us, calling us, leading us. Listen and live in a way that leaves us without remorse, without regret, on course for Home, while we walk with God.

Here is a word from the Word, familiar and compelling. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)

_________

King Of My Heart

 Let the King of my heart

Be the mountain where I run

The fountain I drink from

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the shadow where I hide

The ransom for my life

Oh He is my song

 

You are good good oh

You are good good oh

 

Let the King of my heart

Be the wind inside my sails

The anchor in the waves

Oh He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the fire inside my veins

The echo of my days

Oh He is my song

 

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

You're never gonna let

Never gonna let me down

 

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

When the night is holding on to me

God is holding on

 

John Mark McMillan | Sarah McMillan

© Meaux Jeaux Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

The Road to Restoration

 

A sense of crisis in America is more acute this September, 2020, than it may have been for most of us in years.  However, the issues that are tearing apart our country are not new.  Racial tensions have simmered for decades. Economic disparity has been growing, with wealth flowing into the hands of fewer people, for 50 years. Morality and ethics lost their compelling edge a long time ago when we abandoned our spiritual foundations to become a society without a consensus of what is right and wrong, one in which freedom to do my own thing is now the cardinal rule.

Christians, particularly those in the evangelical churches of which I am part, like to point out certain sins of our culture while ignoring their own shallow spirituality, one so insipid it cannot compel change and will not lead us to grapple with materialism or our love of Self.  

We (America) is reaping the harvest of the seeds of selfish absorption and rejection of the knowledge of the Holy One. There is much talk about ‘revival’ but too often that means “make the other guy conform to my rules,” rather than “restore my relationship with God to first place.”

Do you desire life that knows God’s favor and approval? 
Have you become concerned about violence and suffering and pray for restored peace and prosperity?

My prayer, for weeks now, forms around a question, “Lord God, what can I do, what can your people do, to become part of the answer, to bring restoration?”  Some suggest retreat into circles of those who think as we do, isolating the Church from the world in which we live. Others demand militant resistance in the streets- protests, signs, and confrontation. Some are ready to buy bigger weapons to aggressively advance their cause. Being an election season, many are insistent that voting for the right people will bring renewal to our land. God, the Holy Spirit, reveals the answer to my question in the eternal truth of inspired Scripture.

Isaiah, preached to Jerusalem, asking them to consider their ways. The Lord commissioned him to  “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins." (Isaiah 58:1, NIV)  His words are a clear call to us  so many years after they were first written.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.  If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings." (Isaiah 58:5-12, NIV)  

The Lord rebuked the empty rituals of religion that were the response of the religious elite. As troubles came to ancient Jerusalem, some were calling the nation to fasting, setting aside food and comfort, wearing plain clothing, practicing forms of self-denial, but their focus was misplaced. Just going through the motions of religion without seeking spiritual transformation accomplished nothing, nor did it please God.  He wanted them to practice a different kind of self-denial, one that got practically involved with the needs of people. Deal with injustice. Make sure that people are not exploited. Share your abundance. God says that then, only then, will darkness turn into light.

Answered prayer comes when we are loving God in such a way that it compels us to love others; not just those who look and act like us, but those who are powerless, pushed to the forgotten edge of society. Our first concern will be to share the Good News of God’s love and salvation with them, inviting them to join us in God’s family. IF the Gospel we preach does not create a new community of faith, it is not a complete one. If we tell others that “Jesus saves from sin” but follow up with actions that tell them they are still not accepted, we have not fully realized Jesus’ message that is two-fold – “Love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength; AND love others like you love yourselves!” 

God tells us to “do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, (to) spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.”  It’s not hard to understand the words, but it is oh so difficult to truly put them into practice. What does He want us to do in the name of Jesus?  God says I want you to “get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, (be) generous with the hungry  and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out.”  (The Message : The Bible in contemporary language, Isaiah 58:9-10) 

Christian friend, we need to wrestle with the implications of God’s call. The truth will change us deeply, IF we get honest with ourselves before God. We will not find quick fixes or instant solutions but the Light will begin to shine, like the dawn gradually replacing the dark of night. 

There is great promise attached to sharing the Gospel that frees people from their sins and caring for people in a way that refuse to discriminate, to blame, or reject. The Word says that we will find a whole new dimension to our relationship with God; guidance, satisfaction, and strength. And yes, we will become people known as Repairers and Restorers!

The word from the Word with which I close today also comes from Isaiah. These are the words that Jesus quoted in the synagogue of Capernaum when He declared His Messianic mission. We are to share that mission. Will we?

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:1-6, NIV)   

Now that’s restoration!

_________________ 

There's A Wideness In God's Mercy

 There's a wideness in God's mercy
Like the wideness of the sea
There's a kindness in His justice
Which is more than liberty

There is welcome for the sinner
And more graces for the good
There is mercy with the Saviour
There is healing in His blood

 For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind

If our love were but more simple
We should take Him at His word
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord

 Frederick William Faber © Words: Public Domain

 

Rock Solid?

 

So, just before we flip the calendar into September, let me ask you, “How’s it going?”  Not at all like you planned, I’d guess. 2020 is the year of surprise and change, much of it not by choice, forced on us by pandemic and government policy.  If you’re an investor, your portfolio looks much different today than it did on January 31. Educators are scrambling to create new learning models, 2 day school weeks and meaningful online content. 

My primary interest today is in the state of your heart!  Growing numbers of people, including teenagers and young adults, are reporting anxiety on a scale not known before in our generation. The uncertainty that swirls around us from pandemic and political upheaval, along with more isolation, has brought more drug and alcohol abuse, along with alarming rates of suicide, especially among the young. 

Christian, God invites us to faith and wants us to be people of hope who are rock solid in this world.

This Monday morning, I want to point us away from the shifting sands of human plans to the level foundation of God’s love!  Jesus told a simple story that is profoundly meaningful. “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” (Matthew 7:24-27, The Message)

In order to live in the peace of God, we cannot just read a daily snippet of Scripture to find a little word of inspiration. We must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to rebuild us from the ground up with the love of Christ Jesus at the core of our existence. We cannot hang onto our love of things, our attachment to pleasure, our intense devotion to our own pursuit of happiness and, at the same time, find the peace of God.  We must choose.  Remember the challenge that Joshua put to the people of the Lord just as they were getting ready to enter the land of Promise? "Choose today whom you will serve. ... But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15, NLT)  

Who are you serving, really? Don’t just listen to your words, look at your life. Where do you expend your greatest effort?  Jesus tells us that ‘no one can serve two masters.’  If your home were taken away, if your job ceased to exist, if you were reduced to poverty, if your health failed – would you still love and trust Jesus? Unless He is the Lord of our life today, we are fooling ourselves if we think that He would suddenly become our Great Savior in the crisis.

Isaiah, moved by God’s Spirit, points the way to peace. "The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, “Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a distant mountaintop.” But the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them." (Isaiah 30:15-18, NLT)

Will we return to Him, quiet before Him, or will we chase a hundred other saviors? The people who first heard those words were facing the probability of annihilation by the armies of Assyria. Many were insisting that the had to ‘do something.’ They were trying to make an alliance with Egypt, their neighbor the south. God tells them that they can go that route but the result won’t be their salvation. He, alone, is their Hope. God asks them to wait on Him. It is so hard to do when life is falling apart, isn’t it?  Attempting to control outcomes in life without giving God the reins will bring on folly. If we think we are the master of our fate we are deluded. In growing desperation, we become ‘like a lonely flagpole on a mountain.’  What a picture of isolation.

This Monday morning we can pray, humble, honest, heart-felt prayers of dependence. Paul’s words are familiar, but rich in meaning. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV) 

Present your requests to God. Find a place alone, where you can get real. While you pray, you may become aware that you are asking for things lesser than God desires for you and the focus of your prayer will shift higher.

When the wisdom of the Spirit finds us and grows in us, we will begin to understand these words from Proverbs, where ‘wisdom’ is personified as a woman to be pursued.  “Happy 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 wins approval from the Lord." (Proverbs 8:34-35, NLT)

Here is a word from the Word. The passage is full of promise and also challenges the very core assumptions of a modern, materialistic worldview. Meditate on Jesus’ word and may they become soul food, true nourishment, a source of peace for our time. "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. . . . Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?  . . .  And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world (those who do not know God) runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." (Luke 12:22-31, NIV)
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Our Great Savior

Jesus! What a friend for sinners!

Jesus lover of my soul!

Friends may fail me, foes assail me;

He, my Savior, makes me whole.

 

Hallelujah what a Savior.

Hallelujah what a Friend.

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

 

Jesus! What a strength in weakness!

Let me hide myself in Him;

Tempted tried and sometimes failing,

He, my strength my victory wins.

 

Jesus! What a help in sorrow!

While the billows o'er me roll,

Even when my heart is breaking,

He, my Comfort helps my soul.

 

Hallelujah what a Savior.

Hallelujah what a Friend.

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

Our Great Savior- J. Wilbur Chapman © Public Domain