Today's strength

                               A little food for weekend thought--

       "As your days, so shall your strength be." (Dt.33:25)  That's a good word for today...and everyday.  
       I loved reading these words from Charles Hadden Spurgeon on this one little verse.  Spurgeon noted that the verse does not say "As your months may demand...or as your years may demand."
       No, God's empowerment, God's grace, God's enabling strength for us comes wrapped in daily packages.  And you won't receive that precious package until the day it is needed.  God will not give you tomorrow's grace today.  But you can trust that when tomorrow arrives, His grace, His peace, His power will be sufficient for tomorrow's needs and challenges.
       Here's how Spurgeon explained it: "You are not going to have Monday's grace given you on a Sunday, nor Tuesday's grace on a Monday.  You shall have Monday's grace given you as you rise and want it; you shall not have it given you on Saturday night; you shall have it day by day....As thy days, so shall thy strength be."
       No matter what this day has in store for us, God's got it, so we can lean in on Him and trust that His strength will be more than sufficient for our every hour of this day.  And tomorrow?  Our Lord's already been there, for He is the great I Am--eternally present.  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb.13:8)
       Since He's already been to every one of our tomorrows, we can entrust all of those tomorrows, no matter what they might hold, to Him as well.  We rest secure in the knowledge that should our Lord awaken us in the morning, He will give us everything we need to live that new day by His grace and for His glory.
       "This is the day.  This day bears significance.  Any day God commands the sun to rise is sacred.  Live this day as those calendared and called."  Beth Moore
       We only have this day...and whatever this day might bring, God will always, always, always be enough.  So live it freely and fully to His glory and know that I Am has tomorrow fully covered as well.
       To God be the glory.
     

PUT ON THE GLOVES!

     

       Okay, Raleigh isn't Boston--and right about now, that's reason enough for some running and "leaping and praising God!" (Acts 3:8)  But still, it's coooold outside.  In fact, a frozen birdbath kind of day here in the Old North State.

       Yours truly tends to be a bit on the cold-natured side...as in, I'd DIE if I lived someplace like Buffalo or Boston.  I'm sure they are lovely places...nine months of the year.
       If you are reading this and live way up north of the Mason-Dixon line, God bless you.  And hang in there--spring is just around the corner.  Well, not really, but it will be heading your way eventually.        In the meantime, remember that God, in His great wisdom, created hot chocolate, hot baths, and hot fires.  So there's that.
       For many of us wimpy southerners, however, temperatures in the 30's can be challenging, no matter how many steaming baths and mugs of hot chocolate we enjoy.  So I'm thankful today for gloves.  Seriously, have you thanked God for the gift of things like down coats, mittens, hats, and hand warmers (now there's an invention that deserves the Nobel prize, if you ask me)?  Another reminder of how often we take for granted the myriad blessings all around us...and quite literally upon us.
       As I was saying, right now I'm thankful, especially, for gloves.  You see, my hands and feet tend to stay frozen from November through February.  So warm boots and warm gloves are essential gear for maintaining my sunny disposition....okay, how about just for maintaining my sanity.  That's why I always keep a pair in my coat pocket.  In fact, I think I have a pair in the pocket of every coat I own.

       But here's the thing: far too often that sweet pair of gloves sits ready and willing to keep my digits from freezing to the steering wheel, but I fail to put them on!  I just soldier on, busy about my errands, all the while inwardly grumbling about how cold it is and how miserably frozen my hands feel.
       What on earth?  Who does that?  No need to answer that.
       Because how many days do we do the same thing spiritually?  We fail to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Eph.6:11)  We fail to put on that glorious armor God has given us to protect us, equip us, empower us, and enable us to withstand evil, to stand firm, to think right, to live strong, and to advance God's kingdom even against the very gates of hell.
       Why?  We're too busy...or too preoccupied...or too prideful to begin our day by spending time with the Maker and Giver of that glorious armor and ask Him to put it on us.  So we go out unprotected, unequipped, and unprepared to handle the challenges of our day.  How foolish is that??
       Put on the gloves!  Put on the armor!
       Father, forgive me, forgive us for failing to put on the armor Your precious Son died to give us.  Abba, thank You for Your amazing grace for all the times we forfeit that wondrous opportunity...but
 thank You for a fresh, new chance to get it right this day.
     Today, we choose to slow down and savor Your presence and put on Your armor, so we can get busy about Your work and do it by Your grace and in Your power.
       And Daddy, thank You for gloves.
       To God be the glory.
     
     
     
     

Looking and practicing

                             A little food for weekend thought--

       "Joy takes practice.  Study joy in the Psalms. Psalmists didn't even know the details of Jesus' love, but with their glimpses of God's love, they had joy and gladness.  If you are willing to look for joy, the psalmist can lead you to it.  The goodness of God is shot through creation and the church, so joy is always possible...

...When you can't see it, return to the cross and appreciate the beauty of what Jesus did.  Appreciate the beauty of His sacrifice--His willingness to become like us and give up everything.  Appreciate the beauty of His love.  Just behold it. Admire it...

       ...God's splendor ascends over the sorrow of life.  Joy is possible.  Choose to become an expert in it.  After all, joy is not something evanescent.  What you will taste is 'everlasting joy' (Isa.35:10).  It is here to stay, and the day is coming when those who know Jesus will be known by their joy.  Believe it or not, you are becoming a joyous person.  You will be a joyous person. Some say joy is the serious business of heaven.  But don't think that this is just for the sweet by-and-by.  The kingdom of heaven began with power when Jesus came, so you can get into the family business even now."  (Edward. T. Welch)
       Yes, Lord, yes.  Teach us to daily "practice" joy.  Joy isn't an emotion or a feeling as a result of happy, happy, happy circumstances.  No, far from it.  Joy emanates from the very heart of God.  And Hebrews tells us that Jesus is "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature..." (Heb.1:3)  When we behold the Savior, we see the exact reflection of Almighty God.
       If we want to know and experience the indefatigable joy of God, we need to look at His Son.  And the more we gaze at Jesus, the more He saturates us with His joy, peace, power, and hope.  It's not something we drum up...it's what we receive and absorb by being in Christ's presence.
       "...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb.12:2)
        Look to Jesus for joy.  Look to His love.  Look to His forgiveness.  Look to His grace. Look to His perfection.  Look to His humility, though He is God Almighty.  Look to His power.  Look to His majesty.
       Look to His cross.  Linger in your looking...and thereby be transformed increasingly into a person of joy.  
       Oh this day, might we look to Jesus and practice joy.  To God be the glory.

Soaring and suffering

       I'll never forget last summer watching graceful hang gliders float over the edge of the continent.

Preyer was playing in a golf tournament outside of San Diego.   I watched him--my usual bundle of nerves somewhat lessened by the absolutely astounding beauty surrounding us at every turn.  The golf wasn't his best, but oh my, what a glorious trip we enjoyed that neither of us will ever forget.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the gift of those memories. 

But I often think back to the wonder of gazing at those colorful sails hanging in midair, gliding gently along the coastline.  One of my favorite pictures was of Preyer--in the middle of a challenging round--sitting on a bench and quietly enjoying their flight.   

        I've often thought of that image, for as calm and peaceful as it looks, all the days we observed the hang gliders sailing along were actually quite windy.  My thought (had I been crazy--or brave--enough to go hang gliding) would have been--no way, no how I'm going up there in this wind.  Are you kidding? Let's wait till everything calms down a bit...as in, let's wait till there's zero breezes.
       But here's the thing: if you want to soar, you need some wind.  No gusting breezes...no gliding above the tree tops.  No resistance from the wind...no reveling in the wonders of flight.
       Sure helps to remember that when we struggle with why God's allowing suffering in our lives or in the lives of those we love.  God has a plan and a purpose, and He will employ that sorrow in ways we cannot see and do not imagine: to lift us, change us, convict us, rouse us, and ultimately strengthen and use us in far-reaching ways and sometimes astounding ways.
       But it's hard.  Oh my, sometimes it's so hard.  We live on a broken planet, and this side of heaven we'll never understand all of God's sovereign, inscrutable ways.  "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways,' declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Is.55:8-9)
       When we cannot understand His hand, we choose to trust His heart.
       Jon Bloom writes: "Much of the Christian life is spent trusting Jesus now and understanding Him later...God understands and is patient with our confusion and even our deep wrestling or grief.  But He wants us to trust Him and not grumble or question in disbelief. (Phi.2:14)...His purposes for bringing, or not bringing, certain things to pass often extend far beyond us--maybe even generations beyond us.  So during those times we need to remember Jesus' words to Peter: 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.'"
       All I know is that I've experienced firsthand how God uses our suffering and sorrow in manifold ways to deepen our compassion, expand our witness, sharpen our focus, and ultimately strengthen our faith.  As we look to Him in trust--even in the midst of painful circumstances we do not understand--He takes us to deeper and greater levels of intimacy and love.
       Flying needs resistance.  Soaring requires suffering.  And one glorious day, we'll understand fully...but for now, let's choose to trust in the One who loves us beyond all imagining.  After all, He's the One with the nail prints in His hands and your name engraved on His heart.
       To God be the glory.
       
       
     

Let us HOPE!

       Did you know that the last full week in January is supposedly the most depressing week of the year--with the Monday of that week earning the dubious distinction of being the most depressing day of all?  Now I realize we haven’t quite reached this happy week (isn’t it great to have that to look forward to?), but I figured, close enough.  

       So in anticipation of next week, I thought it might be the perfect time to consider the third “Let us” in Hebrews 9.  Because here’s the thing--are we really going to let a date on the calendar...or a stretch of bad weather...or some of relatively minor-in-the-big-scheme-of-life occurrence rob us of the hope and joy that is ours in Christ?  Seriously?

       Maybe you don’t need the reminder, but sometimes I just need to preach the gospel to myself to get my mind right and my oftentimes shallow perspective realigned to what’s really true and right and good.  So here goes--  

       (Note: I’ve already covered the first and the third “Let us” the last couple of days, so this is technically the second one in the order they’re given in Hebrews, but since this is the third blog on this...oh brother, you get the idea.)

         Heb.9:23 exhorts us: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”  I could stop and end this right here--there’s some serious attitude-altering power in those words--but I won’t.  

       Okay, two quick reminders: first, the original readers of this epistle were suffering real persecution, so they were tempted, in their fear and discouragement, to go back to the old, empty rituals of Judaism.  They needed some reminding of the source and supply of their hope, so Hebrews points to it throughout the book.  

       Secondly, the Hebrew believers (and we!) don’t need to hold fast to their/our salvation, because as believers, our salvation is eternally secure.  If Jesus is our Savior, then nothing and no one can ever pluck us from His hand.  

       We do, however, need to hold fast to our confession of hope without wavering.  Or, as one theologian explained it: “to believe what we’ve said we believe about the Christian faith--that God has made eternal promises to you that will not be broken.” 

       The only way to avoid wavering is to fix our hope on Jesus and His faithfulness.  Thank goodness, it’s dependent upon His faithfulness, not ours!  That’s really what the book of Hebrews is all about (if you ask me, anyway).  Fixing your hope on the perfect, glorious, unshakable Savior...and doing so not just for salvation, but daily, hourly.  

       Can I just get a bit nosy and ask: in what have you placed your hope?  Is your hope fixed on Christ alone or is it in your bank account, your appearance, your children, your spouse, your reputation, your achievements, your career?  ALL other objects of hope will ultimately disappoint, for as the hymn puts it: “In Christ the solid rock I stand.  All other ground is sinking sand.”  

Biblical hope is not hope-so but know-so, because it’s based upon the “sure and steadfast anchor of our soul”--Jesus and His promises. (Heb.6:19)  If you’re tempted to give up or give in, then return to the God of all faithfulness and ask Him to strengthen and enable you to hold fast to your hope as you look to Him. 

       Maybe you didn’t need reminding.  But me?  I’m a mighty fine forgetter--that’s why I have to constantly preach the gospel to myself.  And in this case, it’s a stickie note to hope in Christ for with Him, we have an endless, glorious source and supply of hope.  

       Loved these words I just read from Paul David Tripp that were right on point when it comes to hope: “Hope is not a situation.  Hope is not a location.  Hope is not a possession.  Hope is not an experience.  Hope is more than an insight or a truism.  Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus!  He comes to you and makes a commitment of hope: ‘And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matt.2820).  Now there’s hope.  You have something profoundly deeper to hold on to than the hope that people will be nice to you, that your job will work out, that you will make good choices when tempted, that you’ll be smart enough to make good decisions, that you’ll be able to avoid poverty or sickness, or that you’ll have a good place to live and enough to eat.  No, this is eternal and deeply personal hope.  It rests in the the truth that Jesus has wrapped His powerful arms around you and He will never, ever let you go.  If nothing you envisioned ever works out and all the bad things that you’ve dreaded come your way, you still have hope, because He is with you in power and grace.”  

       AMEN!  Preach it brother!  And can I advise us all--let’s preach it to ourselves today.  And tomorrow...and certainly next week!  What a game-changer--the all-powerful, all-loving, all-wise, all-everything Savior of the World is with you.  Always.  Amazing.   

       Live this day--no matter what it brings--with hope.  Because you’ve got Hope Incarnate with you.   

       To God be the glory.

Let us draw near today!

       You can learn a lot from a dog. At least, I know our dogs have taught me many a lesson.  Here’s a simple one that most dog trainers might not appreciate.  Let me explain.

       We now have three children that live out-of-town (much to my chagrin).  Now if Mr. B. hasn’t seen one of them for a while--and I should note that Bingley’s definition of “a while” can range from a few weeks to just a few hours--he has a tendency to rush up, and the moment that child sits down, he’ll suddenly leap into their laps.  It’s as if he’s saying, “Oh my goodness, I haven’t seen you in sooo long, and here you are...and this is just fabulous...and here I come!”  

      And then Bingley's happy and contented simply sitting quietly in their lap for as long as they’ll sit there.  Doesn’t matter where our children are sitting or what their doing:

On the sofa looking at the computer--

On the chair doing homework--

Or watching TV--

Or just plopped on the floor chatting--

If you sit down, he will come.  Why?  Because he loves his family and simply wants to be as close to them as possible. 

       And I got to thinking: is that our response with the Lord of the universe?  The Lord who also happens to be our Abba, our dearest Daddy who loves us extravagantly, enjoys our company, and longs to have an intimate relationship with us.  How shocking is that?  The sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth actually wants to know us, forgive us, teach us, empower us, and love us?  Scandalous...and unimaginably glorious.  

        But here’s the thing: we’ve got to come.  He gives us the choice--we can remain at a distance...or we can come.  We can stew in our own selfish inadequate juices...or we can draw near to our beloved, gracious, good God.  

       Here’s how v.22 in Hebrews 10 puts it in the first of those three “Let us” exhortations I wrote about the other day:  “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  

       You know, this is the essence of our faith--to draw near to God and enjoy fellowship with the Almighty.  James 4:8 describes it this way: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  

       So how do we draw near to God?  By prayer and studying His Word.  Rom.10:17 tells us “Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of Christ.”   

       It's as simple and profoundly life-changing as that. 

       We try to make it so complicated, don’t we, but it simply means setting aside time everyday to “draw near” or as Jesus expressed it in Mt.11:28 : "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  

       Do you want to know the secret to abundant, joyful, fully-satisfying Life?  It’s this command to draw near--to come and sit at the feet of your Heavenly Father, Bible in your lap, and talk to and listen to Him in His Word.  

       In the words of Alexander Maclaren, “There are none of us so close to Him but that we may be nearer, and the secret of our daily Christian life is all wrapped up in that one word, ‘come.’  Nearness is what we are to pursue, and that nearness is capable of indefinite increase.  We know not how close to His heart we can lay our aching heads. We know not how near to His fullness we may bring our emptiness.”   

       God wants to fill our emptiness, overcome our weakness, and overwhelm our neediness with His infinite supply of grace, forgiveness, and power...but He’s left the choice up to us. Like Mr. B., we have to choose to come to the lap of our Heavenly Daddy...and jump in!  What on earth could possibly be more important, more satisfying, more day-and-destiny altering than that?

       Oh don’t miss the priceless, wondrous opportunity today to come.  

      “Let us draw near.”   

       To God be the glory.

Let us encourage others!

      "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."  (Heb.10:24-25)
      Oh man, oh man, it was so great to get back to Bible study this morning!  I had forgotten how much I missed studying God's Word with this group of amazing women.  I had forgotten about the joy of laughter, of listening, of leaning in to the heart of God with a bunch of women who are also seeking to live for and love God...imperfect and faith-amnesiacs, though we may often be!  But praise God, it's not about our faithfulness, but about His.  And double praise God for GRACE!
      Just feeling grateful today for the gift of community.  Aren't you thankful God didn't make us to try to figure this out by ourselves?  And so often, that can be our tendency--just grit our teeth and try to get through it on our own.  It often requires a crisis of some kind, a time where we know we cannot do it on our own, that God reminds us of the incalculable gift of fellowship and community.
      So I hope you'll forgive me, but as I was thinking about the blessing of fellowship, I thought I would include a few thoughts from today's passage in Bible study--Hebrews 10.  Verses 24 and 25 comprise the third of three "Let us" exhortations given by the author of Hebrews.  These three exhortations are great, practical stuff that encourage us in the way our beliefs should be translated into our behavior.  In the next day or two, I may go back and talk about the first two "Let us" exhortations, but for today, here's the third one--"let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."      
      What a happy reminder these verses are, that God puts us into families, friendships and in relationship with one another, because we need each other.  We need to cheer, challenge, and comfort one another.   We ALL need to be encouraged in our faith, and when we come together at church or Bible study or even just with friends, we need to be looking for ways to strengthen and build each other up.  We get that encouragement from God’s Word and His powerful promises upon which our faith is built.  But equally important, we get that encouragement when someone else who’s trusting in God’s promises comes along and inspires us to trust as well!

       Don’t you love it when you’re struggling or discouraged, and the Lord brings a friend into your path--maybe in the grocery store, or in an exercise class, or in the hall outside of church--and God uses that person to lift your eyes to Him and to strengthen your flagging heart?  Because here’s the thing: when we see someone else holding fast to their hope, even in the ups and downs of life, well then, we’re encouraged to do the same.  Some days you’ll be the one God uses to strengthen someone else, and other days it will be someone else doing it for you, but we’ve got to be together in community so we can do that for one another.  

      Just practically, can I ask you: who might need your encouragement today?  Maybe you’ve been planning to write that note of appreciation or make that phone call to cheer someone up, but you just never got around to it. As the Nike ad says, “Just do it!”  If you’re feeling discouraged or worried, there’s nothing like getting your focus off yourself and your circumstances and build up someone else.  Ask God to give you a heart that looks for ways to strengthen and stir up others to good works, and you’ll discover He’ll strengthen and fill your heart with joy as well. 

      Okay, that's it for today--but just asking, have you thanked God lately for the gift of fellowship and friendship?  Don't take it for granted!  And secondly, will you ask God to show you someone you can encourage today?  Look for opportunities to share the life-giving Word...in your home, school, grocery store, basketball game, carpool line.  

      God's always working and moving, and He may be calling you to be the one to share His love and hope with someone else who desperately needs to hear it today.  

      To God be the glory.  

        

The power of praise

                             A little food for weekend thought:

       "Our God is not made of stone.  His heart is the most sensitive and tender of all.  No act goes unnoticed, no matter how insignificant or small.  A cup of cold water is enough to put tears in the eyes of God.  Like the proud mother who is thrilled to receive a wilted bouquet of dandelions from her child, so God celebrates our expressions of gratitude."  Richard Foster
       "Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." (Ps.146:1-2)
       We have today, these fleeting 24 hours, to give praise to our magnificent Lord.  When this day passes, the opportunity to thank Him, to enjoy Him, to love Him on this day will be over.  Will we use this day wisely and well to add our voices to the celestial chorus praising the God of all mercy, grace, love, power, and holiness?  Oh don't let us miss the opportunity, Lord.
        And what about when we don't feel like it?  What about when life is hard, our hearts are brittle, and hope feels so distant?  Well, we follow the Psalmist's example--we're honest with our feelings...but we praise anyway.  As Dr. John Mitchell says, "To give thanks when you don't feel like it is not hypocrisy; it's obedience."
       One more quote from Ruth Myers and her wonderful little book, 31 Days of Praise: "Notice that David and the other psalmists were honest about their feelings, facing them and telling God about them.  They knew how to pour out their hearts before Him (Ps.62:8).  Often they praised God first, and then expressed their disturbed emotions, their perplexities, even their complaints.  After this they went on to praise God again, despite their struggles.  They did not deny their feelings or simply ignore them.  Nor did they wallow in them until they'd all but drowned.  And it doesn't seem that they postponed their praise until they had worked through their emotions and felt better.  Instead, they mingled an honest pouring out of their feelings with sincere, God-honoring praise....
       What happens when we follow the example of the psalmists--when we express our impressions and feelings, yet choose to keep praising in spite of how things seem to us?  I find that sooner or later (often sooner) the Lord releases me from being a slave to my distressing emotions.  He unties the tight knots within me and settles my feelings, though He may not answer my questions about how He's handling my affairs."
       Can I just add a hearty, AMEN!  It's so true--try God on this!  Take some time everyday simply praising God for who He is and what He has done.  Be honest with Him about your struggles and questions--He knows them all anyway.  But choose by faith to praise Him even in the midst of the hard, confusing places in your life.  See if you don't find God untying some tight knots in your heart and releasing a song of your joy in your soul in spite of yourself!
       We praise Him because He is infinitely worthy...but in praising Him, we discover hidden springs of joy and peace bubbling up to overflowing within us.  There's such power in praise.  
      That's our God--we simply can never ever out-give Him!
      To God be the glory.

Hope for today's work...and heaven ahead!

      From this just a few short days ago--

       To this early this morning--

      Felt mighty fragile yesterday as the joyous Christmas holidays truly left the building...the last of our out-of-town children still at home, Janie, headed back to college.  All the beloved Thanksgiving pilgrims and all the happy Christmas manger scenes have been packed away for another year, and it's truly back to reality.  Back to school.  Back to work. Back to schedules and routine.  Back to the start of yet another new year with all it's possibilities and challenges, it's joys and sorrows.
       Yep, our children are growing up and moving away, and clearly this is a part of the parenting program I find very unappealing, to say the least.  I want them all here with us...forever.  (Is that too much to ask?  Apparently so.)  I want no more change and flux.  I want no more partings and goodbyes.  I want Christmas Eve and Christmas Day joy and togetherness and feasting and laughter and sharing with those I love--every. single. day.
      What I really want is heaven.
       Thank You for reminding me, Lord!  It's as if all of it--all the wondrous joy of Thanksgiving and Christmas and being together with those we love and eating delicious meals with family and friends, all, all, all of it--is one loud, happy whisper, one teeny, tiny foretaste of all we have to joyfully anticipate in Your glorious coming Kingdom!  No more cancer.  No more tears.  No more separation.  No more misunderstandings.  No more hurt.  No more fear.  No more war.  No more hatred.  No more worry.  No more achy knees and backs.   No more tearful goodbyes.  No more routine. No more death.  No more selfishness.  No more sin.  Oh Lord Jesus, to be freed from all our sin--what an incomprehensibly wonderful joy that will be!
      Yes, we may cry a few tears this side of heaven, but oh can you imagine? Can you even begin to imagine the glories ahead of us?  So today, let's live to God's glory to the very fullest that we possibly can.  We have this one day--this one January 7th--to love Him with all our hearts, to enjoy Him, to obey Him, to reflect His glory, to share His love with others, and to love, love, love all those He has so graciously, so kindly put in our lives for this short, short season on planet earth.  Give us more love, Father.  Give us more love.
      Loved these words from God's mouth to us this morning.: "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us." (Ps.90:17)  Might we contemplate His beauty, His love, His grace, His forgiveness, His power, His infinite goodness this day.  God is an endless source of wonder, joy, and beauty! And as we do this, He will establish the work of our hands for us--the work we have today.  The work we have this new year.  The work He will enable us to do, by His grace and all for His glory.
      And as we work, we have heaven in our sights.  Oh happy, happy day--this day and that day.  Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus.
      To God be the glory.
     

Love, marriage, and my friend's book!

       (This post is part of the Choosing Him Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with nearly one hundred other inspiring Christian bloggers. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE! (http://www.juanamikels.com/p/for-bloggers.html))  
       (In the interest of full disclosure, Miss Pitifully-Low-Tech-Fountain here has no earthly idea how a blog tour works--or what exactly it is--so if you're wondering, don't ask me!  But I'm honored to be have a part in recommending this excellent new book by my dear friend, Juana Mikels!)

     

        My sweet friend, Juana Mikels, has written the story of how God saved her marriage and redeemed her life in her new book, Choosing Him All Over Again.  I won't give anything away, except to say it's a beautiful example of how our God can take even the most hopeless circumstances and bring glorious resurrection hope and transformation!  

        It's been said that God often does His best work in a graveyard...and it's so true.  Juana's is such a story of an utterly dead marriage being brought to new life.  And our family has had the privilege of knowing and loving the whole Mikels family for many years, so we know firsthand that when God saved their marriage, He also planned a very special family that would bring glory to His name.  God always has a plan, doesn't He, and His plans are always for our greater good and His greater glory.  

       One part of the book that particularly encouraged (and convicted!) me was Juana's "Eleven Checkpoints to Refresh Your Marriage."  Just to give you a little taste of the book and to encourage you in your own marriage, here's a brief summary of those eleven points: 
"(1) I will say 'I love you' to my husband at least once every day.  (2) I will not bring up my husband's past failures today.  (3) I will put from my mind any weak points of my husband, which I cannot change, and concentrate on my husband's good points.  (4) I will seek to bring laughter into my husband's life today.  (5) I will give my husband some little gift today, whether a tangible one, or a word or deed.  (6) I will not end this day angry with my husband.  (7) I will practice loving patience. [Editorial comment: Geez. I have a looooong way to go.  Thank You, Jesus, for grace!]  (8) I will practice courtesy towards my husband. (9) I will seek unity of interest.  (10) I will make some comment today which points to God's wonderful tomorrow.  (11) I will pray for my husband before the day ends."  
      Good stuff, isn't it?  Practical, convicting, and love-enhancing.  And in many ways, these would work for all of our close relationships.  So, help us Lord!

      I have to add one more editorial comment: while writing this, I thought to myself, Oh my, I  hope my husband isn't reading this as I'm a bit nervous about setting the expectation bar way too high!  Okay, just kidding.  But again, rather than beating ourselves up about how far we may have fallen short, let's ask the Lord Jesus to help us love like He loves.  We absolutely can't do it...but He can!  He's not just our perfect model of agape love--He's the infinite Source...and Provider...and Encourager...and Enabler.  He is Love Incarnate.
       He can help us to love our spouses with joy, with enthusiasm, with unselfishness, with His Christ-like mindset that always makes the most of the good and the least of the bad.  Bottom line--think of how infinitely much Jesus has forgiven us and how extravagantly much Jesus loves us, so how can we not forgive, love, and cherish the spouses the Lord has so graciously given us?   All by His grace, all for His glory.

        So, thank You, Lord, for using Juana to give us these wonderful reminders of tangible ways to love and encourage our husbands!  Help us to put them into practice....which means help us to love like Jesus loves.  

       To God be the glory.   

    

       (By the way, you can get a copy of Juana's book by clinking on this link HERE. (http://ambassador-international.com/books/choosing-story-romance-redemption/) or on Kindle HERE.)

Grace for faithfulness now...while fixed on eternity

                    A little food for weekend thought--

      From Paul David Tripp: "It's hard to live with eternity in view.  Life does shrink to the moment again and again...There are moments when our happiness and contentment shrink to getting those new shoes or to the steak that is just 10 minutes away.  There are moments when who we are, who God is, and where this whole thing is going shrink into the background of the thoughts, emotions, and needs of the moment.  There are moments when we get lost in the middle of God's story.  We lose our minds, we lose our sense of direction, and we lose our remembrance of Him.
      God reminds us that this is not all there is, that we were created and re-created in Christ Jesus for eternity.  He reminds us not to live for the treasures of the moment: 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay for yourselves treasures in heaven.' (Mt.6:19-20)
      Think about this: if God has already granted you a place in eternity, then He has also granted you all the grace you need along the way, or you'd never get there.  There is grace for our fickle and easily distracted hearts.  There is rescue for our self-absorption and lack of focus.  The God of eternity grants you His eternal grace so that you can live with eternity in view."

      Oh goodness, aren't you thankful?  Aren't you thankful it's not all up to us and our puny abilities, our ever-vacillating emotions, our wrong-headed desires, and our meager love and compassion?  If it were up to us, we'd all be toast!  But it's not--it's so wonderfully, eternally, joyfully not about us, but all about our Redeemer Sustainer, and Savior.  It's all about what He's done, is doing, and will be doing forever.
      Oh thank You, Father, that You not only provided us with a glorious eternal home, but You sent us an even more glorious Savior who provides the only way to that eternal home.  And if that was not enough, You even give us the grace we need every single day to live here on planet earth with eternity fixed in our sights.  The grace to be faithful in all our daily, ordinary moments but yet with eternity set in our hearts and minds.
      Yes, Lord, remind us again--You are here with us right now in the nitty gritty of our lives...but the best--the glorious-beyond-imagining best--is yet to come.
      Sometimes we forget that this life isn't a playground; it's a battleground.  Yes, this world, this life can be incredibly wondrous, but it also has it share of sorrow, sin, disease, defeat, and heartache.
      But heaven is coming!
     When the going gets tough, it sure helps to remember what's just ahead.  In fact, in light of eternity, heaven is quite literally a simple breath, a mere minute or two away.  So by God's infinite and amazing grace, let's stay faithful in the here and now, even while we're fixed on our heavenly inheritance.
      To God be the glory.

     

On more look back...and forward in faith!

       One more look back, with overflowing thankfulness.  From yesterday's Daily Light: "The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place." (Dt.1:31)
      Yes, He surely carried us all the way through 2014.  Just a very few reminders of His faithfulness:

   

      Thank You, Father.  Thank You for Your faithfulness in the past year.
      But You are not a God just of yesterday but also of today, tomorrow, and forever.  "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb.13:1)  Forever faithful.  Forever good.  Forever full of grace.  Forever omnipotent.  Forever omniscient.  Forever wise.  Forever kind and compassionate.  Forever forgiving.
      You who have been faithful, loving, good, kind, and forgiving in the past will be the same next week, next month, and next year.
      On the next page of Daily Light, just after the words about God's faithfulness in the past, is this reminder: "There remains very much land yet to be possessed." (Josh.13:1)
      God is not finished with any of us.  Not as long as He leaves us here on this earth.  There is work to be done.  People to be loved.  Sin to be conquered.  Victories to be won. Grace to be shown.
       And so we press on.  Fall forward.  Step out in faith.   Confident not in ourselves or our abilities but in our all-powerful, perfect, glorious, sovereign Savior.
       "We should draw our life's inspirations not from memory, but from hope; not from what is gone, but from what is yet to come. Forgetting the things which are behind, we should reach forward unto those things which are before."  J.R. Miller
      Yes, Lord, yes.  You make all things new (Rev.21:5), and whatever lies before us in this new year, You are already there.  Already all-sufficient. Already causing all, all, all things for good for those who love You. (Rom.8:28)
      So, in the words of Paul Miller, we will "treasure last year's victories.  Forgive last year's hurts.  Forget last year's disappointments" but step out into the future with confident faith in all You will be and do.
       Happy New Year!  To God be the glory.