278 - "The Unforced Rhythms of Grace" Matthew 12

The images of the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba condemning Jesus' generation in Israel at the judgment would have horrified Jesus' hearers.  They didn't expect a Savior to come preaching with such harsh judgment.  And they thought they were religious. Thought they were okay---good enough.  Just because you think you know the truth and act on it doesn't mean that what you think and do is right.   Most people in Israel did not accept the introduction by John---the Light of the World Who had come.  Countries asked him to leave.  Israelites shrugged their shoulders.

Matthew 12: 41-42 ~ "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here."  Nineveh and the Queen both knew far less facts about Christ than Israel first-hand witnessing miracle after miracle.  Yet, they believed.

Even John himself, the one full of the Holy Spirit introducing our Savior replies in Matthew 11:4 “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” John knew Jesus came to change people's hearts not fix their world.  Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:  the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”  John sat in a damp dismal dungeon knowing he had heard and embraced the Truth.  He would not be rescued.  He would be beheaded.  And he would die at rest knowing God and advancing His Kingdom.  

Am I disrupted by the story of John the Baptist and how he learned the unforced rhythms of Grace?  "I should be!  God prefers a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual (Matt 12:7)."  "This is war, and there is no neutral ground (Matt 12:30).  If you're not on my side, you're the enemy...Consider this---"There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven (Matt 12:32)."  Take heart!  "It's your heart that gives meaning to your words (Matt 12:34)."

So what did John the Baptist know that I don't know in the midst of trials?

277 - "We Know The Rest of the Story" Matthew 10-11

John in the Book of Matthew in 11:3 is still asking - "Are you the One we've been expecting or are we still waiting?"  John asks the question from a dark damp dungeon---a prison cell for preaching truth.  But it's Jesus' reply knowing the rest of the story that grips me this day.  "Go to the prison and tell John:  The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side."  We know the rest of the story in Matt 14: 11-12...John's head would be carried on a platter at Herod's birthday party at the request of Herodian and her daughter.  John wasn't healed or saved from a horrendous death.  John knew something I don't know as he wrestled through Jesus leaving him from prison cell to prison cell.  Yet John was free.  When I lost one of my babies to miscarriage, Elisabeth Elliot wrote me the words of this passage. 

Are you burned out with what God is asking of you?  Are you worn out with your life, your family, your friends, your ministry?  Matt 11:28-30 - "Come to Me.  Get away with Me and you'll recover your life.  How do you get away with Jesus?  He will show you how to take a real rest.   "Walk with Me and work with Me---watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of Grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."  

276 - "People Are Ruined By Not Repenting" Matthew 7-9

                                                                 

God says right here if we ask for a fish, He won't give us a snake.  Oh for deep discernment to see what is truly going on around us.  The transition to verse 7 is stark.  The preceding verses talk of judging others.  We are bent on changing our husbands, our children, our friends.  But God interrupts us here and says---Ask!  How shall we dare love and give and seek?  Only by His Power.  So, ask!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7. Absolute words!  Ask! Seek! Knock! "Distinct degrees of intensity," says Matthew Henry. 

The beautiful point of this sermon on a mount is that in all of our difficulties, large or small, we are to seek God's Hand. Persevere importunately. It is always right to desire the good things.  It is always wrong to demand and connive to get them for ourselves.  Do we walk after our own eyes? 

God interrupts my life a whole lot. He has been oh so faithful to me. God interrupts in Matthew 7:7. You have been judging others: you have been bent on changing your husband, your adult kids, your friends. God interrupts and says: Ask. Seek. Knock Matthew 7:7. Intense words. 

275 - "Enough on Earth; Everything in Heaven" Matthew 5-6

                                                            
So many things to fear.  Yet...
If we love and trust our God,
it is Enough on this earth.
it is Everything in heaven.
Beyond words that God has reassured this wanderer and
in the absence of what I thought life would be for us all,
He is Enough on earth.
He is Everything in heaven.
The word shield means active not passive in the hands of God.
A shield ready for what simmers within.
A shield round about it for what lurks without.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5. Go with God. Be a peacemaker for all that is broken.                                                                                                                                    

That we may keep the peace that it be not broken.                              That we may recover the peace when it is no more.  

PHOTO: The first two people on Earth to call me Meme. May you find quickly in life that God is Enough on Earth and Everything to you in Heaven. May you live to be peacemakers.

274 - "We Are Not Out of the Way of Divine Visits" Matthew 1-4

                                               

God broods over Matthew 1. The non-pristine genealogy of The Messiah.

This is not just a genealogy of famous men. There are some names, we know too well for their impropriety, their immortality, their idolatry.  The descendant of Abraham, of David, well---He saved the whole human race. Every single one of us has been living in darkness. Matthew 1 is a place where God the Son stooped and stepped into history to save us from ourselves.  

 in the NT, the question of living right, good morals, is center stage. If I drop a piece of info into the right slot, would it be morally right?  Do I live by morals alone? "Here is the rub: one must be more zealous to please God than to avoid sin. One's obedience to God must be forward-oriented and zealous and free, and to be a mere moralist or pietist would make such a life impossible." Eric Metaxas. Matthew 3:3 Prepare the way. It's not about "doing" but about "being," and You, Holy Spirit, to help us in this life of ours prepare the way for our Lord.  

Mary treasured up all that had happened and weighed it in her heart. How do I weigh my present circumstances?  For the Glory of God?  It was Angels who were the heralds of her newborn Son, a newborn Saviour.  Found smack dab in the midst of their honest calling, industrious shepherds, who were where they were supposed to be keeping watch over their flock.  "We are not out of the way of Divine visits, when we are employed in an honest calling, and abide with God in it." So, lead that honest, humble life and let God have the honor of your life and its work.  Here comes Peace in this lower world of ours.  Peace is Here.  Fully ponder.  

PHOTO:  The sun on my perspicacious face and the moon on my unknown back.  You never know when God will show up and make our paths straighter. 

273 - "The Sun of God Rises With Healing in its Wings" Malachi 1-4

                                                       

Honor me by bringing your best to Me (Malachi 1:11).  What is the best I can give my God this day?   Listen to Me.  Obediently listen (2:1).  Don't whine if you don't get what you want from God (2:2).  Don't break the faith-bond with your vowed companion (2:2).   God was there when you made your vow and inhabits the smallest details of marriage (2:15).  Guard the Spirit of Marriage within you.  Watch yourselves.  Don't let your guard down (2:16).   Return to Me so I can return to you (3:7).  Return by being honest (3:8).  Test me in your tithe and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams (3:16).  God sees what you are doing and is listening in.  HE is taking minutes even this day as you talk things over.  Your names are written down for you honor Him so (4:2).  That's happening in the Unseen World this very day.  The Sun of Righteousness will dawn with Healing in His Wings.  Remember and Keep the Revelation (4:4).  Look ahead, I'm sending Elijah. 

What God wants me to hear in this book:  I have loved you! Most people I know who are not Christians are living to enjoy this life to the hilt. But, we are chosen by God to love and fully live. Psalm 50:2 - Perfect in Beauty is the God who pours out of you kids. God wants to use you to restore beauty on his earth and in the lives of those you love.

"Return to God. Not just for the abundant life blessings He gives but for His Very Presence He bestows. 

Disturbing questions here in these chapters...  
Do we ask the same questions today?

How have you loved us, God, cause we don't see it.
How have we polluted you, God, cause we don't know.
How have we wearied you with our words, God.
How do we really return to you.
How have we robbed you.
How have we spoken against you.

If we really understand the sin in our hearts, we wouldn't be asking these questions. We are guilty. And it is covered. And God pursues us even in the midst of our sins. So return and repent. For there is a First Coming of Baby Jesus that we know---and a Second Coming of Christ, burning like an oven, where all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. Malachi 4:1

But you. Fear His Name.
The Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. Mal. 4:2
And you will be like Jerusalem dancing once again.
Leaping like calves from the stall.
The Great Day is just Around the Corner.

That's what Malachi said.

And the Lord goes silent for a few hundred years. 450. 

Now, we have no prophets.

We have the sacred scriptures, the Living Word.

PHOTO:  The Sun of Righteousness.  Photo of the Sun taken at my favorite spot in the wide world. Being with Grandkids is my favorite spot in the world. 

272 - "Counsel for The Weakest" Zechariah 8-14

                                                                 

Zechariah 12: 7-8
God gives us this promise fast-forward to this very day. It's for the weakest. And my spirit perked up because of the faltering moments I encounter. Matthew Henry puts it this way: "God will protect and strengthen the meanest and weakest that belong to his church, and work salvation for them. And as a preparative for all this mercy, and a promise of it, He will pour upon them a spirit of prayer and repentance." These promises were a life-line to the Jews who cared so much about following God under the rule of the evil Antiochus. And these promises are for this very day, for our churches. May God direct our prayers and deepen our hope in the gospel.

Send the rain, O God.

Zechariah 8:1 - He is jealous for you. Let your hands be strong. Hold on tight.

Zechariah 9:1 - The burden of the Word. Let your eyes find their Resting Place. All eyes toward the Lord.

Zechariah 10:1 - Ask rain from the Lord. The Lord Who makes the storm clouds. And it is at this point in this daily reading that I weep. How long must we endure these hovering dark storm clouds that have lasted for years? God has compassion on each one of us. He will answer us. 10:6. And the beautiful last verse says: "And I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His Name, they will walk." Thank you for making me walk again. On solid ground. 

Zechariah 11:1 - Open your doors that a fire may feed. 
Behold!~ A Day is Coming . . . Yes it is!

PHOTO:  

Standing here.  Thinking about being so weak, so needy, and so cared for by my 4 children who mean the world to me. 

271 - "Don't Despise Small Beginnings" Zechariah 1-7

                                                 

Find the present hope...
1:2 - Come back to me and I'll come back to you. Don't be like your parents. 

Enter into the present hope...
1:5  Put up your measuring tape.  Don't try to figure things out.  "I'll be right there with you—God's Decree—a wall of fire around unwalled Jerusalem---your own city with no walls--- and a radiant presence within."  Nothing will happen to you or any of My Followers that has the power to destroy My Plan A.  66 LL  God is on the move!

Dress in the present hope...
3:3 - Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes.  What am I dressed in this day?  

Live as a prisoner of the present hope...
or you will be a slave to the past...
4:9  "Don't despise This Day of Small Beginnings."  A Day of Small Things.  Right on Time.  Right Direction.  Fully Alive. 

PHOTO: My darkness matters to me, to Him. But it is not the Greater Story being told. There is Light that permeates the darkest of times.  The smallest of beginnings. 

270 - “He Is Here” Zephaniah 1-3

The Lord is Mighty to save.  He will save us!
He will be God to us!  He will be our All!
The Mighty One!  For the least of all.  For the worst of all.
The Lord is in our midst, Zephaniah 3:17
the Mighty One to save.
He will rejoice over us.
No matter what has happened to us---what shame, contempt, dishonor---
the LORD will honor us.  He will take care of His own.
In this life there will be tribulation.
Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him from all.
We can always rejoice in the love of our God.
No matter what befalls.

PHOTO:  The ocean.  Thinking about whatever befalls, we can always rejoice in God's Love.  That can never be taken away from us.  

269 - “God’s Way is in the Whirlwind” Nahum 1-3; Habakkuk 1-3

                                      

No better prayer for you today.
"Lord, I have heard of your fame;
    I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
    in our time make them known;
    in wrath remember mercy."
Remember mercy on each of these dear ones.
And,
I will wait patiently for the day of calamity ...
and though the fig tree does not bud;
and though the crops fail; 
and though the fields produce no food;
and though no cattle in the stalls . . .
"yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights."
Habukkuk 3:17-19

 The prophet looked back upon the experiences of the church in former ages and all the beautiful things that God had done for them. Matthew Henry says that recovered him. 

Here it is. A beautiful outpouring of God's Mercy & Grace to those who put their trust in Him. The Lord is good to those who are good, and to them He will be a stronghold in the day of trouble. Nahum 1:7. But to those who turn their back, who distance themselves and choose evil ways, there is outpouring of wrath, of justice. This story is about Nineveh. 100 years before this, Jonah prophesied and the Ninenvites repented. Their city was saved. But, it happened again. They returned to evil and lived worse than before. Now, another prophecy of "irreversible doom." The same Almighty power exerted for the terror of Nineveh protects and comforts His own people. But the most beautiful metaphor is Nahum 1:3: the Lord has His Way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. God speaks out of whirlwinds (Job). God descends in storms (Mt. Sinai). God rides chariots (Deut 32) to our help---the clouds are his chariots He rides swiftly. The clouds are like the dust raised by a multitude of horsemen riding full speed---an army in full march---at the head of which was the Lord Himself, ordering, directing, succeeding, before Whom None can stand. Have your way, O God!  

The Lord is Good.
A Stronghold in the day of trouble.
He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Nahum 1:7.
That's it.  All I have to do is climb into His arms.
So, how do you do that.