Month: August 2024

We all want deliverance from something, don’t we?  We’re always seeking to get out from under something, aren’t we?  Needing deliverance started way back in Genesis.  Remember Adam and Eve and their date night in the Garden?  They pulled up to the table and ordered the knowledge of good and evil platter.  From that day forward, we’ve needed deliverance.  Deliverance from our own sin or from the collateral damage of the sin of those around us. 

The Israelites are a prime example of both.  We know their story well.  We live their story well.  Disobedience (ours or others), consequence, redemption, deliverance.  Over and over.  We’ve talked about this before.  But, what do we do when we experience consequence?  What do we do when we’re redeemed?  What do we do when we are delivered? Do we just bebop along like nothing ever happened?  Do we expect deliverance, assume deliverance, appreciate deliverance, praise deliverance?  Praise the Deliverer?

Exodus 13-14 tells us of a particular deliverance.  Specifically, Exodus 14:29:

The people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides.  This was how the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day…When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had displayed against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and put their faith in him and his servant Moses.

After this deliverance, what did they do?  They sang!  They struck up the band and sang praises to the God of deliverance. 

            I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

Moses’ Psalm (song), in Exodus 15:1-21, is the very first song recorded in the Bible.  It obviously hit number one on the scroll weekly countdown as it was probably the only song of the day.  Isn’t it interesting that the number one song of that day was a love song?  A love song to God.  We hear all kinds of love songs on the radio today.  Mostly of the heartache and brokenness that is experienced in a relationship.  Moses’ song is a very different love song.  This is not a love song of heartbreak or loss. This was a love song of hope! 

Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?

Who can ever praise him half enough?

Psalm 106:2

Do we sing to Him?  We see God’s mighty power and we are delivered daily from our Enemy – God daily parts the waters for us to walk through at home, at church, at work, at life — isn’t that a reason to sing?  Sing for job offers.  Sing for shelter.  Sing for paychecks.  Sing for health.   Sing for healing.  Sing for life.  Sing for death.  Sing for rebirth.  Sing for friendship.  Sing for family.  Sing for protection.  Sing for hope.  Sing for deliverance.  Sing for the cross.  Sing for victory.  Sing for mercy.  Sing for joy.  Sing for love.  Sing for deliverance.  Sing for God!

Who else among the gods is like you, O Lord?

Who is glorious in holiness like you –

So awesome in splendor,

Performing such wonders?

Exodus 15:11

Revelation 4 says that the elders fell down, laid their crowns before the throne, and worshiped the one who lives forever and ever because He is worthy.  They sing!

You are worthy, O Lord our God,

To receive glory and honor and power,

For you created everything,

and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.

Revelations 4:11

Just as the Israelites sang for God’s deliverance and mighty power and just as we read the elders in Revelation sing simply because He is worthy, we should do the same.

I love how Ruth Myers put it:

Praise can play a highly significant role in moving the hand of God in your life, bringing not only deliverance but also enrichment for you and glory to His name.

So, today, let’s turn off the radio and sing Alleluia to the Lord, He is worthy! Let’s turn off the TV and sing praises to His Name!  Let’s put down our phones and our books, and pick up The Book and praise His Holy Name! Our Deliverer has come!

Does anyone else get deeply disturbed?  Like way down deep?  I mean in a rip your heart out, I just don’t know what to do about it, kind of way?  Maybe about something in your own life?  Maybe something happening to someone else?  Deeply disturbed by something you see, you hear, or read?  Maybe something in your town, your State, your Country, your World?

I rarely take things off the farm, but today is the day.

I think these days we are all coming across things that are deeply disturbing and we either feel helpless, hopeless, or we simply just don’t care enough.  All three are tough spots.  Helplessness leaves us throwing our hands up in exasperation and taking no action for change.  Hopelessness has us wringing our hands and rendering us incapacitated due to our woeing.  And we flash our talk to the hand when we’re apathetic and indifferent.  I’m embarrassed to say, I’ve been in all three places.

Right now, I’m deeply disturbed, and I refuse to have any of those three attitudes today.  You see my disturbance is from something I read in the news.  Now, let me be straight up, today’s news is not news.  We have become like every other country in that the “news” is manipulated, gyrated around, spun and handed to us on a stick, just like cotton candy.  You know how yummy that is at the fair.  So big, so beautiful, it draws you in.  You buy it, you eat it, and then you feel gross. That’s what the news does for me.  So enticing, so clickable — I take the bait, interesting while I’m ingesting it and then wait, what?!?!?!?  When the sugar wears off, when I stop and think for a minute, I see that mostly what I just ingested was just a lot of someone else’s opinion, with very little truth and substance whipped with a lot of hot air.  You may not feel that same way.  I’m not pointing to anyone else but me.

News is important to us.  Opinion should not be.  Therefore, we need to be responsible adults and vet what we hear.  We need to use multiple sources to verify, check for accuracy.  So, what I’m about to say, I checked and evaluated.  You need to do the same.

Planned Parenthood of Great Rivers of St. Louis previously posted on their website:

“Here we come Chicago!  Our mobile health clinic will be in the West Loop with @ChiAbortionFund & @TheWienerCircle Aug 19-20, providing FREE vasectomies & medication abortion, EC [Emergency contraception] will also be available for free without an appointment,”

They also posted:

Thank you for your interest in getting care with Planned Parenthood’s mobile health clinic.  Currently, all free vasectomy and medication abortion appointments are filled.

Deeply Disturbed!  Deeply Disgusted! Actually, Deep Anguish!

Although not specifically sponsored by the DNC as reported by conservative outlets, Planned Parenthood has staked its claim to that party and mobilized near their convention site.

After this lengthy introduction, you are probably saying I’m on the wrong website, I should be on bethlemaster.com – Practicing the Presence of God, and hearing an encouraging message that will build me up, make me smile, and help me to bebop through your day.  First of all, you’re on the right website.  Second, I pray you will be encouraged.

Let me be absolutely clear here – I am in no way disparaging anyone who has been deceived and chosen the path of abortion, we’ve all been deceived.  I offer unconditional love, support, encouragement and prayers.  In fact, you may contact me if you need any of those things.  You can check me out, I’m not just espousing support, I’m committed to showing it, even in my imperfect way.  As you read on, I want you to understand that I don’t judge or condemn anyone, that’s definitely not my place.  We all carry baggage, just different stuff in it.  There is only one judge and I’ll be standing in front of Him too! 

While I stand in despair over the state of our Country, crying out for help to the only one who can help us, He reminds me of exactly who He is, exactly who I serve…

I serve a God who is Sovereign, in complete control.

I serve a Great God.

I serve a God who is all-powerful.

I serve a God who doesn’t play politics – He came to serve people.

I serve a God of compassion.

I serve a God made who us with a brain and expects us to use it.

I serve a God of forgiveness.  He forgives and He forgets.

I serve a God who refuses to shame us.

I serve a God who’s only goal is to love us, and us to love Him.

I serve a God who demands obedience.  What parent doesn’t?  It’s for our protection.

I serve a God who heals.

I serve a God who values children, those wanted and unwanted.

I serve a God who is ever-present.

I serve a God who can mend a broken heart.

I serve a God who expects us to pray for our enemies.

I serve a God who is merciful and grace-filled.

I serve a God who sent His only child to this earth to die for me – to save me – because I can’t save myself.

I serve a God who cares passionately for the least and the lost.

I serve a God who is able to do more than I think or can even imagine.

I serve a God who can part a sea and allow my escape.

I serve a God who expects me to mirror Him in this world.

I serve a God who is Truth.

As I see all the happenings, from abortions, to displays of inflatable IUDs (never thought I’d say that on my website), to anti-Israel protests, to police clashes, to screaming, yelling, anti-this-anti-that, pro-this-pro-that, terror, people hurting people, rioting, wearing girl parts on their heads, humorously dressing as an abortion pill, gender confusion, homelessness, addiction, the fractures of our society go on and on, I’m comforted to know that I serve a Sovereign God, who is in control of all things because we obviously are not.  And if that is who I serve, I must stand against all things He stands against.  I must stand against all things that disrespect Him.  I must go against all things that fly in the face of exactly who He is, in exactly all the ways He would do it.

As I process the deep disturbance in my mind and the deep agony I feel, I am reminded that I serve God, not man.  I need to take my despair over what’s happening in my Country to Him.  I cannot fix the looming problems of our Country but He can and I pray that He will – from the top down.

I’m just not sure why we can’t see just how much we need Him.  I’m just not sure why we aren’t running to Him.  It was what our forefathers did and what they expected us to do.  I’m not pointing fingers to one party or another – there’s certainly enough blame to go around.  The DNC mentions “God” once in their platform and the RNC mentions “God” 100% more –twice!  Read them. It’s time we call our Nation, our people(us), back to the starting point.  We need to call our politicians (we put them in power) back to the beginning of all of creation – in the beginning was God.

So, as much as I want to go rogue and shout back at the degeneration of our values, our morals, our God, I’m also reminded that I am His image-bearer. My handling of my deep disturbance must be honorable because I serve an Honorable God. I will speak and act when He tells me to, with words that He tells me to, in the way He tells me to. And when it looks like wickedness and sin and evil will prevail and overtake us, I will remind myself of the God I serve, and I will stand on His promises. 

Be silent, and know that I am God!

I will be honored by every nation.

I will be honored throughout the world.

The Lord Almighty is here among us;

The God of Israel is our fortress.

Psalm 47:10-11

My dear friend Penny Cave has such an appetite for the Word of God. In turn, she notices how God speaks to her in unique ways. One of which we all probably have and rarely take notice of. I’ve asked Penny to share with you today and I know you will be encouraged by her message in The Voice of God:

One of my favorite sounds to hear on a warm summer evening is that of my wind chimes that hang off the eaves of the roof on my back porch.  I could sit for hours just listening and daydreaming to the soft, gentle tinkling of the tubes as they brush against the clapper.  My wind chimes are metal, and they make a sort of “tinny” bell-like sound when the wind blows.  There’s really no rhyme or reason to the melody they play, but for some strange reason hearing them brings me comfort and peace.

Wind chimes can produce a variety of sounds.  Sometimes they make soft tinkling sounds like I just described.  This is my favorite.  It’s soothing to the soul and results from just the slightest of breezes.  Sometimes, though, when there is a strong wind – perhaps a storm is coming – they make a strong clashing sound, a clattering, ear-piercing sound beckoning me to take cover from the storm.  Still, at other times, it’s sort of in between the tinkling and the clanging, sounding more like a dinner bell calling out – “Time to eat!”  But no matter the type of tintinnabulation, the chimes speak to me.

The history of the wind chimes is very long and dates back thousands of years.  Archaeologists have found the remains of wind chimes made from bone, wood, bamboo, and shells in part of Southeast Asia that date back to around 3,000 B.C.   Still others have dated back to circa 5,000 B.C.  Amazing!  These delicate instruments had several uses.  The Chinese believed the sound of bells or chimes would ward off evil spirits.  They would often hang wind chimes around pagodas and shrines to keep evil away.  Another important use for them was for sending out warning signals in the case of dangerous typhoons and tsunamis heading straight for land. In Indonesia, wind chimes took on a more practical approach and used them to scare birds away from their crops.  Many cultures believed wind chimes could also express emotions and could establish an atmosphere of peace and harmony.  Eventually, wind chimes spread to other regions and into other cultures.  From China to Japan to the Western World, wind chimes have evolved in design and purpose.

Wind chimes are often associated with many types of religions and spiritual influences.  While they are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, there are references to similar musical instruments.  Bells and harps, cymbals and trumpets, the lyre and the pipe – these are just a few of which the Bible speaks.  These instruments were used in many ways – for praise, for temple worship, and for battle.  King David often found joy and comfort in song and expressed his heart and soul to the Lord through music. 

“I will sing a new song, O God;

upon a ten-stringed harp

I will play to you.”

Psalm 144: 9

Anyone who knows me knows that music has always been a big part of my life.  Thanks to my mother, I grew up in a house filled with music. As a paid church musician for more than thirty years, I have had the opportunity to experience the joy and comfort similar to King David.  So often, I could hear the voice of Jesus in song.  Music would many times speak to me as if God Himself were talking.  The music I made was instrumental in nature, but the words came from God.  My wind chimes speak to me in the same way.  When I hear their sound, no matter if they are tinkling or clanging, I can hear the voice of God.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,

“Come unto Me and rest;

Lay down, O weary one

Lay down your head upon My breast.”

I came to Jesus as I was

So weary, worn, and sad.

I found in Him a resting place,

And He has made me glad.

“He has made me glad.”  That is what I am filled with, the gladness from God, when I hear the music from my wind chimes because He speaks to me through them.

Wind chimes are powered by the wind, and the wind is often used as a metaphor for communication between God and Man.  The Bible shares many scriptures that prove this to us. One scripture passage is from the book of Genesis 3: 8 – 9:

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as

He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the

LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man,

“Where are you?”

What did God sound like as He walked in the garden?  Could you hear His voice as He called out to the man? Was it the sound of the wind?  Was it a soft breeze? 

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling for you and for me.

Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home.

In the Bible, wind often symbolizes the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit came down from Heaven on the Day of Pentecost, it was in the form of a mighty, rushing wind.  Perhaps it was like the sound of the wind chimes in strong winds letting us know that something unusual was approaching.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind,

And it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Acts 2: 2

God speaks through the wind.  There’s a passage in 1 Kings 19 where Elijah hears God’s voice, but he hears it after experiencing several strong winds.  It’s almost as if he had to wait for the clamor to pass before he could hear God speak.

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.”

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains

And broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind;

And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire;

And after the fire a still small voice.

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out

And stood in the entrance to the cave.

God spoke through a whisper – a soft, gentle breeze. 

The Bible suggests that God speaks to us in many ways.  Sometimes it’s through grand physical phenomena and sometimes through a still small voice.  God speaks to us in a variety of ways.  He speaks to me in a variety of ways but especially through my wind chimes. 

How does He speak to you?  Is it in a gentle breeze?  Is it in a mighty rushing wind? 

Listen closely, and you will hear the voice of God speaking to you.

In the early morning hours, I sometimes just sit and think about the state of our world. It can be a little heavy just thinking about all that’s happening. But, it’s just so in your face. So much hurt, so much pain, so much brokenness. Hurt, pain, and brokenness causes the hurting, the pained, and the broken to inflict hurt, pain, brokenness on others or to be afflicted by others’ hurt, pain and brokenness. (What a word salad – Yikes!) That’s really the problem today. And what causes that hurt, pain and brokenness — sin. We don’t like to talk about that word do we? We like to think we’re above that, don’t we? But, truth be told, it always comes down to sin. Sin is separation from God. Separation from God is what causes hurt, pain and brokenness. Our world will not change until it recognizes that. Who’s the “the world”? Each of us, individually. Ouch. Sorry, but if we don’t get down to the root cause of our problem, we will always have our problem. The root cause of the broken world we live in today is sin. But, there is a remedy. His name is Jesus Christ. The One who can wash away all our sin. The Only One who can forgive. The Only One who can heal. The Only One who can change the world.

Posted October 2018 – Clean Up My Act

Guess where that’s from.  Yep.  A laundromat.  I was walking down Maple Avenue one day on my prayer walk.  On the opposite side of the street from the Federal Building is a laundromat.  I don’t know what it’s called other than “The Laundromat.”  Anyway.  I was bebopping along and I happened to glance over at the laundromat.  This is what I saw right through the front window, plain as day.  SOAP.  BLEACH.  SOFTENERS.  I immediately thought of myself.  How clean am I, not how clean I am.   Not physically clean like, do I have dirt on my face, or is there a stain on my dress.  Clean as in my heart – cleanliness is next to godliness, right?

Is that in the Bible?  Nope.  So, where’d it come from?  It is alleged to have come from a sermon by John Wesley in 1778.  To be exact,  “Slovenliness is no part of religion.  Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness.”  Break it down, Beth.  Slovenliness means untidy or unclean in appearance or habits.  At first glance, it could sound like Mr. Wesley was being a little pharissical (is that a word?).  Remember the Pharisees who thought the act of outer cleanliness (following all the rules) led to God? But Wesley wasn’t talking about our physical cleanliness, he was talking about cleanliness of the heart.

What Wesley was really getting at was the kind of cleanliness that actually is next to Godliness.  A clean heart.  Wait, I have a clean heart, don’t I?  I’m nice, sometimes.  I do good things, sometimes.  I’m not such a bad person, sometimes.  Does my heart need to be cleaned?  Yep.  It’s pretty scroungy.  We all need to be cleansed from the dirt and filth that is in our hearts.  What’s that dirt and filth called?   Sin.  We all got it, we all need to get rid of it.  We were born with the need for cleansing.  All our hearts need cleansed.  Why our hearts?  Because that’s where it all starts.  Look what Jesus says to Peter:

“Don’t you understand?” Jesus asked him.  “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body.  But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. ” For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying and slander.  These are what defile you.  Eating with unwashed hands could never defile you and make you unacceptable to God.”  Matthew 15:16-20

Here, Jesus is teaching about inner purity, purity of the heart, cleanliness of the heart, not washing your hands before eating lunch.  If our words, our actions, our deeds, come from the heart.  Guess where sin comes from — our heart.

It looks to me like I could use a good scrubbing, how about you?  How does it happen?  How do we get clean?  We go to the laundromat.  The Laundromat of Christ Jesus.  You see, He’s the only way to a clean heart.  He shed His blood so that we could be pure, clean, decontaminated, dissolved of sin.  His blood in exchange for our sin.  His blood pardons our sins.  His blood shed for me.  His crimson blood shed to clean my wretched heart. 

If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.  1 John 1:8-9

Not only does Jesus’ blood cleanse us from all sin, once and for all, the cleansing blood is also transformative.  It causes a lasting change. 

Ahhh…do you feel cleaner already?  Then how about a little bleach?  What does bleach do?  It’s a disinfectant, a deodorizer, and it strips or removes color or stains – it changes, it transforms

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as white as wool.  Isaiah 1:18

There are no permanent stains with Jesus.  He can remove even the toughest stain, the red like crimson stain.  After the stain of our sins is removed, real transformation can take place.  His life’s blood is a balm to our hearts that softens, smooths, calms, quiets, tenderizes and gets rid of the rough edges — it heals. Soap.  Bleach.  Softeners.  All this can happen because of the blood of Christ Jesus.  I say can because Jesus doesn’t go where uninvited.  He will not cleanse your heart because it looks dirty.  He will only do so if you ask Him.  His forgiveness will come at our repentance. So, here’s the question:  Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?  In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?  Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?