227 - "They Don't Even Know How to Blush" Jeremiah 4-6

This brand-new prophet, this child king---
they have inherited a people "greedy for unjust gain."
They embrace a mess of a kingdom. From the least to the greatest.
These righteous leaders couldn't make a dent in the evil bent of their people.  

This kingdom:
"They heal wounds lightly saying, "Peace, Peace." Jeremiah 6:14.

Do we do the same today glossing and minimizing pain saying, "It's all good." And it may not be so. And, yes, I do know that God is always doing good. But slapping a trite phrase on grief and pain and loss---well, that's not good.

This kingdom:
They have no shame over their sins,
they don't even know how to blush. Jer 6:15.

And it is the Lord, Who says:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls. Jer 6:16.

"Oh that men would be wise for their souls! Ask for the old paths; the way of godliness and righteousness has always been the way God has owned and blessed. Ask for the old paths set forth by the written word of God." Matthew Henry

Oh Father, give us Wisdom this day and the Grace to see the paths You have put in front of us by this written Word we hold. Solomon just prayed for it: Wisdom from Above. We humbly stop and surrender and ask for those old paths worn and creased and wrinkled and crafted by Your Beautiful Word. Counsel us this day, Oh God! We need You so!

PHOTO:  Jerusalem.  We walked this path.  Many followers have.  But it's the Written Word, the Living Word, Who they encountered on all these paths that we make supplication, that we seek, that we step into.  

226 - “I Know You” Jeremiah 1-3

 

A youthful prince & a novice prophet join Kingdom forces and things grow worse.
Josiah was 21 and trying to turn around his followers from the high places.
While God was calling a young Jeremiah to speak, prophesy and reform.
Both young men met the Voice of God in unison, in fear and trembling.
And Jeremiah hears God say to him:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, OH! That makes me cry!!!

and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:3
Not just a prophet to his people, but to the nations!

And Jeremiah tenderly trembles:
“Ah, Lord God!

I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 

But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Jeremiah 1:6-7.

Whatever it is God is saying to you this day.
Go in weakness. 
Speak in dependence.

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
And I am watching over my word to perform it.” Jeremiah 1:16.
God fits each of us to His Calling and watches over all.

But you, dress yourself for work.  Jeremiah 1:17

Dear Father, there are days when I believe I could have done better.  I could have taken more initiative.  I could have...the list goes on.  The truth is You are always working to bring about good.  I must lay down the high places in my mind of where I think I should be.  Direct me this day to speak Your Word.  Watch over Your Word to perform it today. 

We anticipate the Great Day. I am one year closer, this day, in Ancipation of that Great Day.

PHOTO:  Standing at this ocean wondering about my future.  Dressing myself for work today. 

225 - "My Worst Problem is Me" Isaiah 64-66

                                 

The prophet Isaiah has disturbed us all and stirred such good things in our hearts.  What is one thought from the book of Isaiah that you walk away with?  For me, it is the unholiness that runs right through me.  Isaiah 30:11 ~ I have been confronted with the Holy One and I have so much hope! My ears have been opened and I'm so very grateful in the midst of my mess.  "No matter what is happening to you, your worst problem is in you.  And that problem is not how badly you feel, it is how poorly you love.  Your failure to love Me above all else and to love others at any cost to yourself defines your unholiness.  When you recognize your unholiness and own it without excuse, your ears will be opened to hear My words of comfort and hope.  And those words will set you on the narrow road to relating with holy love.  There is no other kind."  66 LL.

Isaiah 64:4 "From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
Who acts for those who wait for Him."
We wait for no man.
We wait for our God.
The Potter Who has worked us well to this place.
You will not stop with This Work of Your Hands, our Father. Isa 64:8
Your hands are spread out to us.
May we let go of all our devices.  Isa 65:2

These people so wanted God to manifest Himself like He did in the days of Moses and David and Elijah.  They beg him to do what He used to do. 
As I look back on my life and I am a little older,
I find myself begging for Grace undeserved.
Matthew Henry wrote:
"They need not fear being disappointed of it---for it is sure,
or disappointed in it, for it is sufficient. 
The very Sure Presence of our God.
The very Sufficient Grace from our God.
Our hope is in Him.
Our joy is in Him.
Wrapped up in what our God will do in us and for us and through us.
Such Mystery that we cannot even comprehend though we grasp the Grace.

God speaks his freeness and forwardness in doing us good.
Oh, my soul!
"See what communion there is between a gracious God and a gracious soul." M.Henry.                               

God's Decree ~  There is something I'm looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say. But, your acts of worship are acts of sin: ... Well, I choose to expose your nonsense and let you realize your worst fears.  But listen to what God has to say to you who reverently respond to his Word: "Your own families hate you and turn you out because of me. They taunt you, 'Let us see God's glory! If God's so great, why aren't you happy?'   

"Now the once whispered word peals like the voice of many waters and mighty thunderings over the whole church of God." Ellicott

PHOTO: unfiltered,,,undone,,,the quarries

224 - “Crying in Heartache and Living in Hope” Isaiah 58-63

 

Isaiah 58:2 - 9    BUSY BUSY BUSY V. BEING AVAILABLE TO YOUR FAMILIES

Face my family with their sins! They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people—law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side. But they also complain, 'Why do we fast and you don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?' "Well, here's why:

 

"The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit. The kind of fasting you do won't get your prayers off the ground.  "This is the kind of fast day I'm after:  to break the chains of injustice, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is:  sharing your food with the hungry, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. ...  So, I toed the line on Saturday in the Kansas City Marathon for World Vision. 800 kids today will lose their life because of polluted water sources. Fundraising to help World Vision build one well at a time---$50 builds one well for one child for a lifetime of clean water.

You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'  Isaiah 58:9 - I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places...You'll be like a well-watered garden...If you honor it by refusing 'business as usual,' making money, running here and there— Then you'll be free to enjoy God! 

I do not cure your unholiness by overlooking or understanding it.  To overlook it would be to miss the spot on the x-ray that will destroy you.  To understand it in light of what you've suffered would be to excuse it.  I do not heal your selfishness by affirming your value.  I solve your deepest problem with My self-sacrificing, reconciling embrace that forgives all that is unholy within you."  What hope is given by the prophet Isaiah!  Faith to believe God is good in any circumstance. Love that pays any price to bless another both spring from hope.  66 LL 

Isaiah 59:1-2  WRONGHEADED LIVES CAUSED THE SPLIT
God's arm is not too short.  God's ears are not stopped up.  There's nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.  Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God....59:12 - Our wrongdoings pile up before you, God, our sins stand up and accuse us...Good is MIA, missing in action.  

But You issue a decree in v. 20:  I'll arrive as Redeemer to those who leave their sins.   

PHOTO:  Walking every day and thinking about those without. Godspeed. 

223 - "Deliver us God from Ourselves" Isaiah 52-57

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing good news, Breaking the news that all's well, proclaiming good times, announcing salvation, telling Zion, "Your God reigns!"...Isaiah 52:11 - Purify yourselves.  You're not running from anybody! God is leading you out of here, and the God of Israel is also your rear guard. 

Isaiah 53:6...But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us, and that made us whole. We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on Him.

Isaiah 54:10 "The mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My Lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken, says the LORD Who has compassion on you."  Every one who is thirsty for more, come.  We recognize our deep inadequacies. With every breath, we either profane the moment or it is holy for we have been redeemed by a Holy One.  That which is not holy, may God refine.  Where we want something more than God, may God deliver us from ourselves.  

Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6

PHOTO: Mount Rainier - You feel so small standing next to it. The mountain is shaken by volcanoes. His peace will never be shaken in our lives. Not by any volcano. 

222 - "Lean On The God of Israel" Isaiah 47-51

Who am I really listening to?

What is playing over and over in my mind?

Am I listening to God?

Am I listening to what it means to "move in" to love those difficult people in my life?

\

You claim to be citizens of the Holy City; 

you act as though you lean on the God of Israel, 

named God-of-the-Angel-Armies. 

You've never been good listeners to me. 

You have a history of ignoring me.

I've refined you, but not without fire. 

I've tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.  

Come close, listen carefully:   I've always been present with you."

Isaiah 48

He said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.”

                                                                                Isa 49:3-4

Hope for a new chapter.  Hope for a better me.  Hope for new strength.  

I Thes 4:11 that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business ...

"It is very desirable to have a calm and quiet temper, and to be of a peaceable and quiet behaviour. Satan is busy to trouble us; and we have in our hearts what disposes us to be unquie; therefore let us study to be quiet." 

I think about this verse like every day. Am I moving quiet in my mind? Am I living quiet in my heart?

PHOTO:  Hope for these two firstborn boys. Barrett and Ezekiel. May their next chapters be full of love.

221 - "No One One Earth Knows Me Like God" Isaiah 43-46

          

Heavens, here comes a long post. No one is going to want to read this long post.

The Lord says:  I created you.  I formed you.  I redeemed you.  I summoned you by name.  You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. And the fire will not burn you. Isaiah 43:1-2

When God acts, who can reverse it? Isaiah 43:13.

God formed me from the womb. No one on earth knows me like that. He wired me together this way. He will help me even when I am fed up with me. Isaiah 44:2

He'll pour water on thirsty real estate. He'll pour His Spirit on our children.  

Fear not.

This God Who has formed us is here to redeem us. And that changes everything.  

This God Who formed us is here to deliver us from idols we do not even know we have. With one hand we use a simple piece of wood to fuel a fire, to bake some bread. On the other hand, we craft that piece of wood into an idol to worship. "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" Isaiah 44:20. 

And this Beautiful God confirms the Word to us, 
fulfills the Counsel of His messengers. Isaiah 44:26.

May we hear the Counsel of messengers. Confirm Your Word to each of us through the spoken Word, the written Word, the Word made flesh in those You bring across our paths. Open our eyes, our hearts to see idols we have crafted that worship time and people and achievement and success and safety and comfort.Am I stirred by my calling or by my pain?

 "I've singled you out, called you by name, and given you this privileged work."  Am I more stirred this day by my high calling or by the pain in my life?  Isa 45:11: "Do you question who or what I'm making? Are you telling me what I can or cannot do?"  Radical Repentance needed to respond to the truth of the Gospel to advance His Kingdom.

God will never stop doing you good.  Isaiah 45:3-6.  God says: I've been carrying you on my back from the day you were born, And I'll keep on carrying you when you're old. I've done it and will keep on doing it.  So why do I act like the center of the universe is me, sometimes.

In 66 LL, the author writes about a friend of his who thinks God's Love is all about the spiritual highs he sometimes expreriences when he sobs over how empty he feels.  But those "Divine Encounters" with Your Love don't seem to be freeing him to better love his difficult wife.  He backs away from her so he can experience Your Love without interruption.  As I stood on the beach as daybreak, and watched the Morning Star open its corridor, there was the sprinkle of rain and the surreal experience of singing the Doxology alone on a pristine island beach. Just happened to be the next song on my phone.  In the midst of my pain, I could have burst open, I was so "taken" with the God of the Universe Who walked with me on the succulent sultry sparkling saturated sand!  What is most alive in me this day?  Am I more alive with other people who are "safe" and backing away from those closest to me?  Heaven forbid.  What does love look like today toward those in my life who are difficult to read and dismissive in actions toward me?  "Only those who know they are unholy, who hate their unholiness more than their pain and emptiness, experience the transforming power of My Love!"  66 LL.  That's what God is saying to me this day. 

PHOTO:  Sunrise in Florida on that corridor

220 - "I Am In The Battle for Your Soul" Isaiah 38-42

I AM IN THE BATTLE FOR YOUR SOUL Isaiah 38 may have been written thousand of years ago, but this chapter about a prophet and a king deeply stirs places in my heart this day, this moment.  King Hezekiah hears the threatening report and goes into the sanctuary of his God.  He sends his administrators to the prophet to ask for prayer.  Prophet Isaiah responds with God's Message:  "I personally will take care of your enemy."  Isaiah was in the battle for Hezekiah's soul.  Am I in the battle for my children's souls, my friends' souls?  A letter arrives and Hezekiah took the letter from the hands of the messengers and read it. Then he went into the sanctuary of God and spread the letter out before God.  This verse means much to me.  I have thought about it hundreds of times in my life.  God marked these words. God said:  "Haven't you gotten the news that I've been behind this all along? This is a longstanding plan of mine.  Can I see that what happens in my life is always God's Plan A?  "I've got My Hand on this city.  I've got My Hand on your life! The Angel of God arrived and struck the Assyrian camp— 185,000 Assyrians died.  Then Sennacharib was murdered by his own sons. Unbelievable.

In Isaiah 38, God said:  You're going to die.  You're not going to get well."  Hezekiah turned to God:  Please, I beg you.  Hezekiah wept as he prayed---painful tears.  Remember me.  God said through the prophet:  "I've heard your prayer.  I've seen your tears. Spread out this day before our God and that thing that disturbs you. Live for the bended ear. Just as it happened in Isa 38:5. God heard Hezekiah's prayer for his health. He was knocking on death's door. God saw his tears and words. God changed His mind and added 15 years to his life.  "I have My Hand on this city."  Whatever time I have left, it seems it was good for me to go through all those troubles. Throughout them all you held tight to my lifeline. You never let me tumble over the edge into nothing. And my sins I let go of, threw them over my shoulder—good riddance! 

PHOTO: Small town in California where people once fought for their independence. 

219 - "Sighs and Sorrows Scurry Into The Night" Isaiah 32-37

This beautiful book counsels us in our deepest need where our plans to walk wisely fail.  

                                                                 

Where our plans to be strong sink.  Where this Holy One is our strength, our everything.

O, Lord, be gracious to us this sunrise.  We wait for you not for any man.  

"Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble."  Isaiah 33:2.  

And, You will be the stability of our times today, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.  Isaiah 33:6.  

AM I AWED BY SUCCESS?  AWED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO RESPOND TO ME?  Isaiah 31: 1-3  Doom to those who go off to Egypt thinking that horses can help them, Impressed by military mathematics, awed by sheer numbers of chariots and riders— And to The Holy of Israel, not even a glance, 
not so much as a prayer to God. Still, he must be reckoned with, a most wise God who knows what he's doing. He can call down catastrophe. He's a God who does what he says. 

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I REPENTED TODAY? 
Isaiah 31:6 -7  Repent, return, dear Israel, to the One you so cruelly abandoned. On the day you return, you'll throw away—every last one of you—the no-gods your sinful hands made from metal and wood. 

DO I BELIEVE HE IS DOING ME GOOD?
Isaiah 32:20  But you will enjoy a blessed life, planting well-watered fields and gardens, 

WHAT IS STIRRING INSIDE OF ME AS I READ THIS CHAPTER?
Isaiah 33:22  No more pulling up stakes and moving on, no more patched-together lean-tos. Instead, God! God majestic, God Himself! ... God is our King.  God runs this place and He will keep us safe. ... And you will live guilt free!  Isaiah 34:8 It's God's scheduled time for vengeance.

DO I NAME THE EVIL IN ME?
Isaiah 34: 16 -17  Get and read God's book: None of this is going away, this breeding, brooding evil. God has personally commanded it all.  His Spirit set it in motion. God has assigned them their place, decreed their fate in detail. This is permanent— generation after generation.

DO I BELIEVE THAT I WILL SING EVEN WHEN I HAVE NO VOICE?
Isaiah 35: 1 -2 Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower— Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom, a symphony of song and color.  ... God's resplendent glory, fully on display. God awesome, God majestic. Isaiah 35: 3 -7  Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, "Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right And redress all wrongs. He's on his way! He'll save you!"  Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, Lame men and women will leap like deer, the voiceless break into song. Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert. Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain. Even lowly jackals will have water to drink, and barren grasslands flourish richly. 

CAN I TRUST A GOOD GOD THAT ONE DAY OUR SIGHS & SORROWS WILL BE NO MORE? ISAIAH 35: 8 -10  There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No rude or rebellious people here.  It's for God's people exclusively— impossible to get lost on this road...Only the redeemed will walk on it. The people God has ransomed will come back on this road. They'll sing as they make their way home to Zion, 
unfading halos of joy encircling their heads, Welcomed home with gifts of joy and gladness as all sorrows and sighs scurry into the night.

PHOTO: On this beach while I walk, be our arm in time of trouble. 

218 - "Wonder Upon Wonder" Isaiah 27-31

Three Verses I have thought about for the past three decades.
The default of the Jews was to go to their neighbors if they needed help,
not to their God.
What about me?
I too have run to the arms of flesh for guidance, counsel, support.
May we deeply depend this day on the LORD our God.

In Returning and Rest
In Quietness and Trust
Shall be Your Strength.
Isaiah 30:15

The LORD longs to be gracious to you
He longs to show mercy to you.
He is a God of justice.
Blessed are those who wait for Him, not for any man.
Isaiah 30:18

And though the Lord gives you
the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Your teacher will not hide himself anymore.
Your eyes will see Your Teacher.
Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying:
This is the way, walk in it.
When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Isaiah 30:20-21

We will find strength in affliction because You are there.  Help us this day in what you have allowed in your Providential Hand to escape the snares of the enemy of our souls.  Help us this day to find that quietness and rest in You in the midst of this world we live in.

Here it is.  The first verse I read that grabbed me and what I was doing, living, being when I was a mere 21 years old.

“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught. Isaiah 29:13.

And I turned.  I could no longer live in the human rules.

I could no longer live by the works of my hand.

I can no longer live today by the principle of this land.

Their worship is made up of rules that come from mere humans, yet the Sovereign Lord says: In quietness and trust is your strength. But they wanted none of it. 

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. Isa 31:1 To Whom or what do I turn this day, this hour? 

Woe to the one

who tells God what to do.

Shall the clay tell the Potter

what to do?  

We have life mixed up..

Paul David Tripp calls it 

Eternity Amnesia.

"Life is a struggle.  The Lord, in His Wisdom, has left us in a fallen world.  But perhaps our struggles are not primarily about the brokenness that surrounds us.  Could it be there is something we bring to each of these struggles that makes them harder to bear?"   www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/your-final-destinatio

PHOTO: A Rabbit Hole.  As we look deep into the holes of our own lives, may we sense Your Presence with us, Your Provision toward us, and Your Bending Low to us. 

217 - "God Fastened Him As A Nail" Isaiah 22-26

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him... Isaiah 22:22-24

Those who are called to power should rule with dignity and delight. Gill's Commentary says they should be like fathers and mothers to those under their rule. How beautiful is that? If we use people for our ministry advantage, we may look good on paper but our hearts have missed on our purpose on this earth.  

"The glory of this world gives a man no real worth or excellence; it is but hung upon him, and it will soon drop from him." We may be important and die a noble death like The Parade of a President. Or we may die a pauper, unknown to many. Yet we are all the same. All answer not for earth's achievements. Our faith must be hung on Christ and not on any man. 

God fastened him as a nail.  Isaiah 22:23.  He put in my husband's hands the power to lead His church.  Today.  Dad stands.  Established.  Speaks well.  The support the congregations needed.  And our family needs.  And this spike will be strengthened by each of you and your prayers.  And the church will be contrived to strengthen its walls by the binding of its people together.  And we all hang on that nail.  And the nail-scarred Hands. 

Praying for the strength that only come from the One Who has called us to lead. 

PHOTO:  A few days after the Great Divide in our lives that nearly wiped me out---but no. His faith still hung on Christ. And so did ours.

216 - “You Are Religious But You Have Forgotten God” Isaiah 15-21

                            

                        

Isaiah 17: 7 -8   Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They'll lose interest in all the stuff they've made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is. 

Isaiah 17: 10 - 11 You have forgotten God even though you are very religious.  Even though you work very hard. 

Isaiah 17:13 God will silence them with a word. 

Have I taken a hard look at the Holy One?  Isaiah 30:1 are words that will soon come from Isaiah's mouth.  "Woe to those who carry out plans that are not mine...Isaiah 30:11 stop confronting me with the Holy One of Israel.  Have we forgotten our God?  What word is God speaking to us through the prophet Isaiah?

"My love makes people holy.  "Only those who know they are unholy, who hate their unholiness more than their pain and emptiness, experience the transforming power of My Love.  Only holy people live well.  Only holy people love."  66 LL  Do I hate my unholiness more than my pain?  More than my emptiness?

PHOTO: May the God Who created you hear the sound of your voice rising up to Him every day of your life.

215 - “Great Peace and Quiet” Isaiah 10-14

 

All of us have walked in darkness.
Sometime.
The people walked in deep darkness
They have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, 
on them has light shone.t
Isaiah 9:2

This word is truly amazing.

They new about Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David.

They knew not Jesus.

And you will say in that day:

I will give thanks to You, O LORD,

for though you were angry with me,

your anger turned away.  Isaiah 11:1

With joy, I will draw from the wells of salvation.
Great in your midst is the Holy One. Isaiah 11:6

That is the best news I can ever know.
The Holy One.  In our midst. 
Not because we are righteous but because He is.

The Messiah, a branch of Jesse.
Posting early notice:  His Kingdom will not be of this world.
And He will reign with justice and kindness and righteousness.
His Kingdom will know no end.

"There shall be great peace and quiet in his government."  M. Henry
There needs to be the same in each of our lives.
No show.  No display

214 - “Sweep Your Hand Over My Raging Waters” Isaiah 5-9

  

God will honor the nations. 

For a child is born. 

The people walking in darkness have seen a Great Light.

 On those living in the land of deep darkness, a Light has dawned. 

And That Love is the wonder of us all.

He is a Wonderful Counselor. 

He knew God's counsel from the Beginning. 

And He consults on our behalf the Wisdom of God. 

Nothing like this on earth. 

We live between the Already and the Not

All of us have walked in darkness.
Sometime.
The people walked in deep darkness
They have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, 
on them has light shone.
Isaiah 9:2

This word is truly amazing.

They knew about Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David.

They knew not Jesus.

PHOTO:  A very dark day on Santa Rosa Island.  Thinking about how we are not evil yet do evil things.  We are righteous.  Called to peace and quietness in the midst of our deep darkness.  Big difference between evil people and those pursuing peace.

It's the Not Yet that keeps me trusting cause I'm not There yet. 

And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end." 

213 - “No Soundness in Any of Us” Isaiah 1-4

 

 From the sole of your feet to the top of your head, there is no soundness. Isaiah 1:6 Your guilt is great! You have forgotten the Holy One. You have turned your back on your God. How many times have we? Today?

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

You are called.

It is settled.

Always plagued by sin.

Always offered white as snow.

Receive His Goodness to each of you, especially today.

All we have is this moment. 

PHOTO:  From the soles of all of our feet.  

Budapest, Hungary.  50 pairs of shoes slipped off the feet of Jews. Bayonets pierced their chests and they all collapsed in the weeping Seine River.  #holocaust

212 - “You Have Captured My Heart with One Glance” Song of Solomon 1-8

 

 116:  1 - GOD TAKES THE HAND OF THE HELPLESS
I love God because He listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. God takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me. 

I said to myself, "Relax and rest. 
Soul, you've been rescued from death;
Eye, you've been rescued from tears
Foot, you've been kept from stumbling." 
I'm striding in the presence of God, 
Alive in the land of the living! 

Something about these verses stirs up something so good in me.  Rescued by a very Good God.  

Striding in His Presence in the humdrum and holy business of this day.  Alive!  And, despite a ton of bad luck!  Ha.

Psalm 117:  1 - 5  GOD IS MY CHAMPION
Praise God, everybody! Applaud God, all people! His love has taken over our lives; Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God's now at my side and I'm not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God's my strong champion; "The hand of God has turned the tide! 

Brings to my mind:  The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  So what does that mean as I read these verses about a Present God?  Maybe the only thing we know will never let us go is God. Listen to my life.  What do I want more than my Shepherd?

PHOTO:  All those helpless times in the city where I lived in. Austin. Where God turned the tide.

211 - "The Answer Is Not Holding Your Tongue But Holding On To Your God" Ecclesiastes 9-12

Before the years draw near.
Before the sun and the light and the moon and stars are darkened
Before the clouds return after the rain
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble
Those who look through the window are dimmed
And the earth returns to dust as it was.
Before all that happens, know this
Vanity of Vanities.  All is vanity.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments.
And God records this to show us the reality of our days.

Cast your bread upon the waters.
Even 7.  Even 8. 
Even when it seems to be spent for nothing, not much.
Give freely!  Give your money away; Give your time away.
Eccl 11:1

So, let's pay attention to what really matters, first things first
Come to the Creator before He becomes Your Judge of every secret thing.
The end of the matter.  It's our whole duty.

Father, help us to see with spiritual eyes today what is in front of us.
We all will face judgment.  May I be way more concerned this day
with coming to You and loving You and leaving my life in Your Hands.

Eccl 10:14 The answer is not holding your tongue but holding on to God.

Eccl 11:6 So
Sow your seed in the morning.
Sow your seed in the evening.
You never know!

Words multiply.
People divide.                                             

Amid all the noise of this celebrity society in which we live,

to Whom am I listening?
I find myself still trying to change people.
And I find people trying to change me.
I see the look of disapproval, of disdain.
And my default goes to defense.
Oh God! Help me to repent in the moment I hear.
May we all go back to the conclusion:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Fear God and Keep the Word.
Draw up that Empty Chair and listen to the Voice so Dear

Dear Father, I am so defensive---and so are the others.  But I can do something about me.  Help each one of us with our desires for righteousness to really listen for Your Voice today.  Love covers a multitude of sins.  So, when I cannot get over the grievances, the gestures gone awry, then let me realize it is Your Voice calling me to repent.  Those times when people annoy, disrupt, condescend, and get away with it.  May I let it go for it is in Your Hands.

PHOTO:  The setting sun found me sitting alone under a bridge at dusk.  Today is our 44th anniversary. Kind of hard to believe. Kind of wonderful we made it together for Him. Waiting for the Empty Chair to be taken.  And it was.  And there is never an empty chair at home with Bob by my side---my everything in this life.  

210 - "Redress Those Hurtful Things That Happened and Arm Yourself" Ecclesiastes 5-8

Redress all those hurtful things that have happened to you and arm yourself against the "mischief" that you could run havoc with. It is the Eternal Counsel Who will work good out of this in your life.  That's what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:  Take care of your own reputation; avoid all dangerous extremes; be mild and tender toward those who have been injurious to you; and lament your own sin as that which is more vexatious than anything anyone has ever done to you.  Amen.

Why can I not listen to my own words I write this day?  I am way too quickly provoked in my spirit and the anger resides in my lap. Eccl 7:8-9.  "Do Not Say: Why were the old days better than these?" It is wise not to ask such questions.

Do not be overrighteous. Eccl 7:15.  It is good to avoid all extremes.  There is no one who does what is right and never sins. 

"DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY WORD PEOPLE SAY or you may hear your servant or your kid cursing you----for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others." Eccl 7:20-21.

That's it.  Anger in my lap.  Overrighteous on my mind.  Hanging onto every word friends and family speak.  Why can I not stop it?  Romans 7 is why.

PHOTO:  The Bob Goff Weekend in California with 32 cancer victims.  Rather incredible to hear the stories and how God intervened and looked after.  Mike Slayman is still going through it.  Trying to find the Wonder in the adversity of it all.  Saw so much inside through these days----such healing from God.

209 - "Be Even in the Events of Your Life" Ecclesiastes 1-4

                                           

Eccl. 1:1 - It's smoke!  Spitting in the wind.  How does Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, amass silver and gold and the treasure of kings and refuse his heart no pleasure (2:8)...and arrive at the conclusion:  I hate life (2:17).  Smoke.  Chasing after the wind.  What was Solomon missing in all his stockpiled wisdom and knowledge? Why was his heart not stirred with hope?  Is my heart stirred this day with hope or despair over my circumstances?  Solomon was desperate for what?  He couldn't get answers to his questions, could he? Maybe it wasn't the answers that the wise Solomon wanted.  "Until you stop running from real darkness into artificial light, until you hear the bad news that life is empty, that you are empty, you will not hear the GOOD NEWS My Son came to bring...I lower you into the depths of despair to lift you into the heights of joy.  The way up is the way down.  There is no other way.  You will not hear My song of love until you hear no other music."  66 LL.  What music am I listening to that keeps me from hearing His Song of Love?  It could be literal music or music to my ears or music to my heart or music to my eyes that keeps me from hearing His Song of Love. "Every moment of your life is a perfectly tuned note in the Eternal Harmony."  That is if I have ears to hear.  Let those scales fall off my eyes.  Let me hear the music of heaven.o

Eccl 2:24 - Enjoy the good of your labor.  Be even in the events of life---not leaning in hope that this will make me happy nor sinking in despair that this has happened.  Walk into the events of this day on purpose expecting God.  There is a time for every event under heaven. Eccl 3:1. God has put the event of Eternity in our hearts. Eccl 3:11. Solomon penned these words in his event search, his trial of every commodity, every experience, every person. All Futility. Nothing new under the sun. No new words either. There is a Season. And a Time. We cannot cover up the emptiness of our existence, if it be so, and live with the illusion of satisfaction. Today.  "Emptiness is covered by distraction. Loneliness is numbed with sociability. Futility is denied in activity. Premature and superficial satisfaction with the good things of life prevents My people from grasping the incredible news that My reality of joy, community, and meaning has invaded theirs." The ultimate good is living for God's Glory but the words run cheap. 

May we only be satisfied with seeing Your Likeness in our lives and the lives of those we touch.  Help us to see through the thin veneers varnished on our events.  Illusions exposed.

PHOTO: Sunset. Darkness closes every day. Wake up tomorrow with expectancy that God is in your every circumstance.

208 - "Clothed With Strength & Dignity" Proverbs 27-31

                                 

 Sons and Daughters and Grandkids,

This Proverbs 31 chapter is about the virtuous woman.  This verse is written by God for all of us, sons and daughters, and children.  

Clothed with strength and dignity;
you can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

So, smile at the future.  It looks awful bright for all of you.  Because.  It holds future days clothed in prayer; dressed in hope; showing in beauty.  I'm praying for each of you.

What verses linger with you from Proverbs?  

I want to reflect on what it means to try not to figure out everything on my own but to run to God (3:5), to guard my heart (4:23), to write His Word on the back of my hand and awake and get ready for Him each morning (7:4), to not explode in anger but shrug off insults and stop letting people know they annoy me (12:16), to know that I can laugh and ache at the same time without hypocrisy (14:13), to remember that God doesn't miss a thing (15:3), to overlook an offense and bond a friendship (17:9), to see a Powerful Advocate at work every day (23:11), to not work myself into the spotlight (25:6), to not call attention to myself (27:2), to know what it means that my face mirrors my heart (27:19), to never whitewash my sin (28:13), and to live clothed with strength & dignity and face tomorrow with a smile.

The unexamined life isn't worth living.  These verses strengthen my resolve to want to be holy.  There is so much hope for our sin.  "With God's help, I shall become myself."  S.K.  "Continue asking your questions. They are good. But stop demanding answers. Live those questions long enough in My Presence until you run out of words. You will then catch a brief glimpse of who I AM that will seal your lips." 

Are my lips sealed?  There is only a God-shaped life (Prov 11:28), "a narrow road that exposes foolishness, crushes arrogance, whets appetities for holiness, releases love, and fills with hope."  66LL.   There is so much hope for our sin.  Deeply encouraged as we close the pages of this book on this Narrow Road.

PHOTO:  Zekey comes to visit us this summer.  Or, rather, I went and got Zekey to come back to Austin to visit us and Pops delivered him back home.  I hope oh so many words from the Bible linger in every single person reading this!  It is your oxygen.  Live it til you run out of words.

207 - "What Steals Your Peace?" Proverbs 23-26

                        

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Proverbs 25:15 Why is it we think that the force of our words wield victory? It is the motive of our words that break the bank. And the motive must be patience and mildness to hear others out, and wait for the occasion to present. Patience ~ Bear the heat of the conversation, without becoming heated up and wait for an opportunity. Mildness - Speak softly, mildly, humbly. No lightning words which can't even pierce the skin. Soft words melt the flesh. Through patience and a gentle tongue. The plumb line of the Word of God is the most important measure in your life. Proverbs 25:28 says: "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control." This text paints the picture of the state of our society when the walls are compromised. Defenseless. It is a metaphor of human nature as it is today; human nature as it can be in Christ; and human nature as it will be in heaven. Whatever the cost. I pray that we will all be controlled by self-control.  The right way.  Defend that city of your soul. 

We put ourselves forward
Cause we are curved inward.
We covet, we need what we see.
We hold, won't let go, let things be.

What steals your peace
and lets your city doors fling open?
A robbery in broad daylight.
We won't give up our things, our plans.
Let us give up ourselves to the Holy God.
Let us ask Him for Col 1:29.

This day, something or someone will steal my peace?  It should never be but my struggle is not with flesh and blood but with powers of this world.  May we give ourselves over to You from the first flutter of the opening eye to the closing of the same.  It is the Energy of Christ that is so powerfully at work in each one of us.  Come, Lord Jesus, be our Peace and Power causing us to walk in Your Word.

PHOTO:  A desolate spot way out far where no one lives.  No walls to this city.  It's the spot in the road where I fainted last summer and spent 1 1/2 hours laying at this crossroad before I was rescued.  When we're not prepared, not giving ourselves up to God, thieves steal and destroy.  

206 - “Two Beautiful Things Better Than Money” Proverbs 20-22

 

Here are two beautiful things to desire more than money: 

A good name and good favor. 

 "A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, 

Favor is better than silver and gold."

Proverbs 22:1

A good name opens doors to a person's heart where riches only meet their physical needs. To be well beloved is far better than the gain of gold. Just love this. It speaks to a need deep within me that it is all right to want to be beloved for the right reasons. 

And God says, "Incline your ear" and hear these words of the wise and apply your heart to His Knowledge. Prov 22:17.

Oh! That our trust may be in you, O LORD, always.  
This event. This moment. This day.  
For You say in 22:19:

You have made this known to us. Today. Even to me. Help us find this word.

PHOTO:  Lampasas.  It's a tiny Texas town.  Everyone knows everyone there.  No matter where you live, it's not about your estate, it's about your name and your legacy. 

205 - "Becoming Myself" Proverbs 16-19

 Proverbs is the Shame of Exposure or the Appeal of Wisdom.  I'm being haunted or hunted.  "With God's help, I shall become myself."  Soren Kierkegaard.                                                            

                                          

Proverbs 16
   ¹ Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word. 
   ² Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good. 
   ⁷ When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand. 
   ⁹ We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.

"To humans belong the plans of the heart,
but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans."

Proverbs 16:1-3

I am not sufficient in my own strength, my own plans, my own voice to think that I can do life on my own.  It is the renewing grace of God that gives me hope to move in His Sufficiency.  My current burdens are way too heavy.  The word "commit" means "to roll" those monstrous loads right onto Him.  Here goes. 

Proverbs 17
⁹ Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

 ^{The eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." Proverbs 17:24.}

²⁷ The one who knows much says little; an understanding person remains calm. 

  
Proverbs 18
   ¹⁵ Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights. 
   ²¹ Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose. 
   ²² Find a good spouse, you find a good life—and even more: the favor of God! 
   ²⁴ Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;

so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Proverbs 17:14

"What danger there is 

in the beginning of strife! 

Resist its earliest display; 

and leave it off, 

if it were possible, 

before you begin. M.H.

How have I missed most of my life the Truths I now see much more clearly. My experience was like the verse in Mark 8:24 where a blind man sees for the first time---but he sees "trees walking" and so did I. Alive but frozen in some ways. But, now I see. Yes, I really see.  "Place no hope in the experience of satisfaction now.  If you do, you are shifting away from the hope held out in the gospel of Jesus Christ." Larry Crabb

Where are my eyes? Do they seek satisfaction on this earth? Or do I live for another world? If I separate myself in any way, any kind, I seek my own desire.  

 "Do you ponder all I have created and recognize a wisdom you lack?  Do you observe life and see your God whose Sovereign Power shuts your mouth, whose uncompromising Love opens your ears to hear Me speak?  If not, you have no fear of Me.  You have not even the beginnings of wisdom?"  66 LL.  Do I really fear God?  Is my hand over my mouth? 

204 - "The Eyes of the Lord Keep Watch" Proverbs 12-15

The eyes of the LORD 

are in every place

keeping watch

on the evil

and the

good.

Proverbs 15:3

Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living.  One cannot read the proverbs without feeling a Holy Searchlight revealing, as Crabb calls it, "the Shame of Exposure or the Appeal of Wisdom."  Romans 2:4 says it is the Kindness of our God that leads us to repent. I can't stop thinking about verses like one we read yesterday in Proverbs 12:16 about fools on a short fuse exploding in anger instead of being prudent and quietly shrugging off the insults.  Oh, that's how I want to live with a Quiet Heart.  Fight or Flight takes over in me.  God, please give me and my friends here a quiet heart (Psalm 131:2) in our mess.  The verses of Proverbs haunt and allure.In today's reading I was stirred in shame and appealed by several verses.

Somewhere, I've picked up the notion that I have to keep an eye out for myself, my kids, my world.  Make sure we are all being treated like we are supposed to be treated.  Entitlement---we deserve good, better, best.  

It is freeing to take a step back and recognize there are eyes in every place keeping watch.  The verse deals with not just over things but over people---evil and good.  We are "kept" people.  And every single person we deal with has been thought about in great detail and designed by God just the way they are.  Maybe not in all their redeemed state.  But always a marked person created by God.  And God will use the evil and good in our own lives. 

Behold.  The Omniscient and Omnipresent Jehovah watches over this day as though He is looking down from a tower---so, the verb intimates.  A Watchtower with a God Who knows all, sees all, and is very present still, moving into our lives.  Hallelujah!

 Proverbs is the Shame of Exposure or the Appeal of Wisdom.  Larry Crabb. I'm being haunted or hunted.  "With God's help, I shall become myself."  Soren Kierkegaard.

Proverbs 13:
   ² The good acquire a taste for helpful conversation; 

Proverbs 14
     ³ Frivolous talk provokes a derisive smile; 
       
Proverbs 15
   ³ God doesn't miss a thing— 

PHOTO:  This UT tower means something to me.  And the thought that God beholds our lives as though watching high from a tower is just beautiful to me.  Provision.  Care.  Presence.  Jehovah God keeping watch over all that falls.

   

203 - "A Soul Formed By the Word" Proverbs 8-11

What's the answer for my great need?

Watching and Waiting at Wisdom's Gate.
Count me present.
Your attendance is your happiness.
You don't have to wait long. Just knock.

"Blessed are those who listen to Me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting daily at my doorway.
For those who find me find life
and receive favor from the Lord. Proverbs 8:34-35

"The word of God is two-fold and so is wisdom; for a word without wisdom is of no value, and wisdom without a word is of little use. Divine revelation is the word and wisdom of God---pure religion, undefiled, is built upon it. Well worthy of acceptance. Proverbs 8:1-2.

Wisdom cries aloud from the whispers to the clamors of conscience. Christ is in our hearts and He is in this Word. This Word revealed to us, in us. "It is the soul formed by the word. It is Christ formed in the soul." MH

Proverbs 8:1 "Does not wisdom call out? Does not undertanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: I raise my vloice to all mankind." "The word of God is two-fold, and, in both senses, is wisdom; for a word without wisdom is of little value, and wisdom without a word is of little use." Matthew Henry. Get wisdom.

Christ in the Word.
Christ revealed in you.

And you will know all the loveliness of God.
And His Love will be shed abroad in your hearts.
And you will have all the counsel in rough patches.

Wisdom calls out to you:

“To you, O people, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.
You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish,

Set your hearts on Wisdom. Proverbs 8:6

PHOTO:  I love every minute with you, Bristol. We were at Mozart's in Austin. Praying for you this day that God's Word will form your world. Gal 4:19 - that Christ be formed in me, in you. 

202 - "It Is By Loving, Not By Being Loved" Proverbs 4-7

Treasure up my commandments within you.

Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Blessed is the one who listens.

Waiting daily at my gate.

Fear the LORD.

Beginnings.

Wisdom.

Holy.

He.

Proverbs 7:3

Where we are enmeshed with the happenings of this world, would You grant us Your Power to move in love. The quote of George MacDonald comes to mind:  "It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest to the soul of another."  Oh, dear Father, help us move this day to love by treasuring, writing, listening, waiting, watching, and fearing You not what's happening to us.  Make us a little more holy this day than we were yesterday.  Where we struggle, please help us to listen long and deep.

PHOTO:  View from 37,000 feet in the air where I tried to listen long today.  This vast expanse, God You suspend us all.  You keep.  You grasp.  You make this world work.  Make our hearts work today.  Your Words on the tablets of our hearts.  Unless You do it, we cannot.

201 - "Holiness Trumps Management" Proverbs 1-3

Don't be weary of God's reproof.
The Lord reproves those whom He loves.  
Sickness. Trials. Testings. Temptation

Matthew Henry puts it this way:  
"Should the Lord visit us with trials and sickness---let us not forget that the exhortation speaks to us as to children, for our good. Bind them around your neck."
"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a father the son in whom he delights.   Proverbs 3:7
Henry goes on to say that those "who know themselves" find a lack of understanding like a bruised broken reed.  God will never break us beyond measure. 

So, what's the point?

What to do?
Scripture interprets Scripture.  What is God saying to you through His Word?
Holiness weighs in more important than management.  

Write His Words on the tablet of your heart so you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  No bruised reeds here. May our holiness trump any kind of management involving our lack of understanding.  

Proverbs 3:3-7  Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. 
   Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well 
   in God's eyes and the eyes of the people. Trust God from the bottom of your heart; 
   don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do,    
   everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. 
   Run to God! Run from evil! Honor God with everything you own; 
   give him the first and the best. ... No need to panic over alarms or surprises.

I have lived a frenetic life at times---that's my default mode.  Someone please help me.  Someone please rescue me.  There's Only One Who can Rescue us from darkness.  May we be more concerned about being rescued from darkness than rescued from pain.  It doesn't come from a good place in my heart when I try to ease my pain, minimize my pain, silence my pain.  I've so wanted answers for my panic.  And here is my God saying:  Don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God's Voice."  Am I listening this day for His Still Small Voice?  Or am I trying to figure out life on my own?  Everything.  Everywhere.  Listen for His Voice today in the mundane and marvelous.  And go be Prov 3:29---God's Hand to someone this day.

Solomon was the wisest of men. 

Yet, even Solomon had to wrestle with Wisdom.

It wasn't poured into his head through a sieve, through a spout.

It was delivered by His Maker, through his work.

Gaining wisdom.

Understanding words.

Receiving instruction.

Doing what is right and just and fair.

Giving prudence to the simple.

Giving knowledge to the young.

Adding learning to the wise.

Giving guidance to the discerning.

Understanding proverbs.

Proverbs 1:1-6

Wise words from a wise man seeking this all of his life.

There is Someone greater here than Solomon.

There is Christ found in these proverbs.

Christ is The Living Word.  

Breathed on to this page.

PHOTO: Pagosa Springs