Awhile back I stuck a note on my spindle. A pointy thing that holds some of my thoughts I want to hang on to. I can only hang on to them if I write them down. If I come across a thought, I write it in my journal and then I write it on a scrap paper and jab it onto a pointy thing. There’s something satisfying about the jab. Periodically, I’ll go through the spindle and be reminded of why something was meaningful to me and sometimes I toss them thinking, why in the world did I write that down.
Anyway, at the end of last year a thought made the spindle and it’s staying there. It is a reminder that is pertinent to my life.
If I trust God with my eternity, why don’t I trust Him with my nows?
This thought comes up nearly every day, for me. When I’m thinking about circumstances or situations in my life or the lives of others and I see no way out, I dwell on this thought. It gives me perspective. The perspective is that if I trust God to keep His promises that I will go live with Him forever, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain, etc., and to be honest, I don’t doubt that one bit, then why don’t I trust Him to keep His promises in my right nows? If I trust Him in death why don’t I trust Him in life? Maybe because I’m not afraid to die, but I just might be afraid to live. Hmmm. Chew on that a bit.
It’s a matter of trust. Trust is not always the flip of a switch – click, I trust. Living grows trust. Living through hard stuff grows trust. When we do not trust God’s handling, God’s timing, God’s love for us, we take matters into our own hands and oh boy, what a mess we make. Right?
Am I more determined to navigate my own course than leaving it to Him?
I read something similar to this a while back and it gave me pause. After careful consideration, I’d have to say a lot of times, yes. I know, that shouldn’t be the case. I should be relying on God to steer me through life’s happenings instead of trying to pilot my own course and trying to control the outcomes. And when I’m piloting the course and trying to control the outcomes, which by-the-way I can’t do anyhow, that means I have a trust problem.
If I’m navigating my own course, or some might say trying anxiously to control, it means I do not trust Him. Plain and simple. Wait! No, I do trust Him, but… We either trust Him or we don’t. Granted, there is a disconnect sometimes between our minds and our hearts, sometimes we don’t always line up, remember the hind’s feet? It is perilous when our back feet (heart and mind) don’t land in the front feet (soul and strength) steps? We risk falling on the treacherous terrain.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27
Trust. Reliance. Confidence. Hope. Faith. We cannot stumble through life with half-trust, picking and choosing the situations that God is capable of handling and those that we must handle for Him. This creates so many bad decisions on our part and frankly, just a miserable existence.
Trust is a tricky thing, though. We may feel it with our minds, but don’t know it with our hearts. Or, we may feel it with our hearts, but don’t know it in our minds. Trust is getting it all to line up and that’s a process.
If I am more determined to navigate my own course, my life will be a constant battle, kind of like a Pushmi-Pullyu. My head and my heart are connected to one body but constantly battling for control. Visualize that. Only when we give up control are we given freedom from the tug of war. Freedom to trust. Freedom to allow Him to navigate our lives. If we are constantly trying to control the outcomes of life, we will never have freedom.
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!” Matthew 8:23-27
Do we think that the One that controls the oceans cannot control the seas of our lives? We are so like the Disciples charting our own course and then being engulfed by the waves. Here’s the thing I love about this passage. He rebuked the winds and the waves, but He did not rebuke the Disciples for their little faith. I can’t imagine that the Disciples were not trying to control their boat during this storm. I can’t imagine that they were not trying to navigate the waters, control the sails and bailing the water out of the boat. Only when they saw they were not able to manage the crisis did they cry out to Him. And He answered.
Freedom comes when we cry out to Him. Our freedom comes when we trust Him enough to take control. It is a process. But just like the Disciples, we can breathe a sigh of relief when we see He is true to His promises and trust Him more.
Only when we cry out to Him will we begin to believe that we can trust God with our eternity and our nows. Then we can really start living. Living in hope. Living without fear. Living in His promises. Living in His Light. Spreading His Light.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning; Give me oil in my lamp, I pray. Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning; Keep me burning till the break of day.
Many of you may remember singing that chorus in church years ago. Maybe it was a Sunday evening fellowship service or weeknight revival. This song was a staple in our chorus booklet in the church where I grew up. I can still hear the joyful refrain –
Sing Hosanna – Sing Hosanna – Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings!
The ladies with the higher voices would hold onto each “Sing” and climb the scale as all others chimed in with the rest of the words. Those were happy times many moons ago. I never really asked what it meant, but I have to admit I didn’t understand the song much. What was this oil and lamp? Why was it so important for me to keep it burning?
As one of the teachers in our church, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach on the Parable of the Ten Virgins. For those who don’t know, this is one of the parables Jesus told to His followers to illustrate how to spiritually prepare for His Second Coming. Found in Matthew 25, the parable tells of an imaginary wedding where ten virgins, or bridesmaids, are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Five are wise, and five are foolish. Their job is to wait for the bridegroom to arrive and then use their lamps to light the way for him as he enters the wedding banquet. No one knows when he will arrive. The wise bring extra oil with them just in case the bridegroom is delayed, which, of course, is what happens. The five foolish are not prepared for his delay and have no extra oil to keep their lamps lit. As a result, they are locked out of the wedding feast.
Such a sad ending to the story for those who weren’t prepared. The moral of the story is to always be prepared because we do not know the day or hour that the Lord will return.
But, again, that story doesn’t answer my question – what is this lamp and oil?
The idea of the lamp and oil goes back to the Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, we are told of the lamp at the Tabernacle and how God instructed the Israelites to make it.
Exodus 25: 31 – 40 “Make a lamp stand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms, of one piece with them. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lamp stand – three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lamp stand. And on the lamp stand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lamp stand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair – six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lamp stand, hammered out of pure gold. Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lamp stand and all these accessories. See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
This passage gives us detailed instructions for creating the golden lamp stand – the menorah. Think of the beauty of this lamp and the care that God took in describing the intricacies. It was made of pure gold shaped to look like an almond tree – another of God’s creations. And it was filled with pure olive oil. In Leviticus 24: 1 – 4, The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before the Lord must be tended continually.”
Why was the light so important? If we jump to the New Testament we learn more about the light.
Jesus was speaking to the people around him in John 8:12 when he said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
He also said in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
Jesus is the Light of the World, and His Light continually burns for all to be led to Him. His Light continually burns!
That brings to mind another old hymn:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; The Light of World is Jesus. Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in; The Light of the World is Jesus. Come to the Light, ’tis shining for thee, Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me. Once I was blind, but now I can see. The Light of the World is Jesus.
How blessed we are to have these reminders that He is the Light of the World!
But then in Matthew 5:14 – 16, Jesus turns it around on us and tells us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”
Jesus knew that He would return to the Father in Heaven after His death and resurrection. He knew that His followers would have to continue on without Him. For all people, we need to believe that His Light is going to continue to burn.
In I Thessalonians 5:5 Paul tells the Gentiles, “For you are all children of light and children of the day and you are not children of the night, neither children of darkness.”
Not only was the Light being passed on to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles alike are the Light of the world. And if we are to be Light for all others we must keep that Light burning continually.
“This little light of mine – I’m gonna light it shine!”
This question that remains is how? How do we keep it burning – shining?
We have to keep its vessel filled – not with olive oil – but with what the olive oil represents – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what keeps our light going – The Holy Spirit keeps our lamp lit.
Remember those ten virgins. Five brought plenty of oil with them so they would be prepared in case the bridegroom was delayed. The other five did not prepare for His delay, and they were left out. What a terrible shame!
Why is the oil so important? For several reasons –
In the Old Testament, we see that the oil was used for anointing. Aaron and his sons were anointed and consecrated so they could serve as priests. We are told in Exodus 30: 30 -32, “This shall be my anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.”
The oil represented something very special – but what?
In 1 Samuel 16: 13, we see that kings were anointed with the oil. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”
Wait a minute – the Spirit of the Lord – was that in the oil?
Again, digging a little deeper, we learn that Prophets were anointed with oil.
2 Kings 2:9 – “When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’”
A double portion – of the Holy Spirit. How cool would that be!
Where did they get the idea that the oil represented the Holy Spirit?
The name Messiah in Hebrew means – the Anointed One. In Luke 4: 18 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Whenever the person was anointed, the Holy Spirit came upon that person.
But this was for the Jewish people. What about us, the Gentiles?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the people of Galatia who were primarily Gentiles. In Galatians 3:14 he wrote, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
Those, who are not Jewish, were promised the Holy Spirit as well.
Paul also wrote to the Ephesians. They were also made up of Jewish and Gentiles, but the majority of the people were Gentiles. He said to them in Ephesians 1: 13 – 14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of His glory.”
God promised to pour out His Spirit on ALL people. And on the day of Pentecost that’s exactly what happened. The power of the Holy Spirit is displayed throughout the Bible and that power comes to ALL who believe in Jesus Christ.
So what’s the connection? With the Holy Spirit, each one receives specials gifts.
1 Corinthians 12: 7-11 says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
There is also Fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).
You see, when we keep our lamps burning, we are keeping them filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like the lamp is the vessel that contains the oil, our body is the vessel that contains the Holy Spirit.
How do we keep our lamp burning?
We keep it filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit. We do the deeds and the work of the Holy Spirit. Walking and living in the Spirit keeps that oil burning, but when we don’t live by the Spirit or walk in His ways the oil stops flowing and the light goes out. When we keep our lamps burning we receive eternal life – we get to enter into the banquet with the bridegroom.
Galatians 6:8, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
So, how about you? Is your lamp filled with oil?
No one knows when the Bridegroom will come. If He came today, even right now, would your lamp be burning bright for Him to see? He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. Why not fill up your lamp?
Fill-a me up, Come-a Holy Spirit Fill-a me up to the top-a my soul. Fill-a me up, Come-a Holy Spirit Fill-a me up now and take control.
It’s that time of year when the deer have just started moving a little more. The oppressive heat of the summer has faded and the cool mornings and evenings of fall and shorter days cause them to stir a bit more in the open. We watch the parades from inside darting from living room to dining room to kitchen to gaze on their beauty. Man, there are some magnificent creatures moving about out there. It reminded me of a blog I’d posted several years ago about the hind. Every time I watch the parades from the windows, I think of Hind’s Feet.
Hind’s Feet, Repost July 21, 2021
I’m reading this book, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, by Glenn Clark, published in 1937. It was in a box of books our mom had, I’m not sure where she got it. In the front is stamped “Springfield Lutheran Church, Pleasant Valley, Penna.”
I just love this book. It is old. The pages are super thick, super yellow and the edges rigid as if hand cut. It is handtied and the needlework is visible at each turn. The cover is green cloth, you know that really thin linen-like stuff they used to cover books with. This book just makes you want to touch it, to hold it, and sometimes I just do. One would think with the age of the book, nearly 85 years, that the book would be brittle, pages chipping, maybe even a little fragile, but it’s not. This book and its message were made to last. The books of new with their precisely cut, glued pages and glossy cardboard covers aren’t made to last and sometimes neither is their message.
And that is why I have written this book, to help you be that man for your home, your community, your neighborhood. Glenn Clark
In this wonderful book written specifically for men, the spiritual leaders of their homes, I’ve learned enduring lessons about the hind.
The red deer is Europe’s largest deer. Although the red deer is one of the Scottish Highlands most iconic sights, they originally hail from the Turkey-Persia area and are actually the only deer species to inhabit all of Africa. The male red deer is called the hart and the female red deer is called the hind.
The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:19
So what makes the hind creature so spectacular? The hart is also a magnificent creature, but there’s something special about the gal – and it’s her feet. The hind is known to be the most surefooted animal. Why is that? Because of the way her feet work together. When climbing craggy, rugged mountainous areas, the hind’s back feet land exactly where her front feet have just left. As she moves through, her front feet test the dangerous terrain and when she finds safe footing, her back feet then land right in that spot. Her front feet and her back feet line up in perfect correlation in order for her to traverse the terrain and reach the mountaintop safely. It’s precision tracking.
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27
In order to reach the heights of life, we too must have precision tracking. Our feet must perfectly correlate. Our hearts and our minds must line up. There’s a reason it is called the Greatest Commandment. When our hearts and our minds are in perfect alignment, nothing is impossible.
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:22-23
Our hearts and our minds must completely align with Him in order to scale the mountains of this world. All four feet (heart, soul, strength, mind) must be coordinated to safely climb the mountain. In the mountainous regions where the hinds travel, those back feet not landing perfectly in the front feet footsteps, even by a fraction of an inch, can be deadly. One misstep by our back feet can cause the mountain to crumble starting an avalanche of boulders and we find ourselves laying at the bottom with rocks piled on. But, each step taken toward the top of the mountain, feet-in-feet, opens a more spectacular view than the last step. Ascending the mountain Jesus’s way – without doubt in our heart and believing with our minds — opens up the most panoramic vistas ever imagined!
True vision can only be found when we convert our feet to hind’s feet. It is a lifelong process. Sometimes we do misstep. Sometimes we are off by a fraction of an inch and we suffer devastating consequences. But as we work at having hind’s feet, aligning our back feet to our front feet, our hearts with our minds, the Lord will encourage us along the way and we will safely reach new heights which open to glimpses of Heaven. Praise the Lord of the Mountain!
I was walking the other morning in the predawn and it was a little warmer morning than some of late. As My Gal and I move steadily up and down the road that cuts the fields, a shiver ran through me. We’d hit a cold pocket. You know what I mean, you’re moving along and all at once the air suddenly turns cold. It’s the gentlest of breezes. The moving of the air is so subtle it’s almost imperceptible. But it’s just enough to usher in a chill pocket. We kept moving and as quickly as it came, the cold pocket was gone. That’s happened to you before, right? We notice those cold pockets particularly this time of year. But when we emerge from the cold pocket, we recognize it, don’t we? We notice when we travel through different temperatures, from hot to cold, or from cold to hot and we almost always comment on it and ask our companion, did you feel that? You see, we’re feeling people, right?
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease. Genesis 8:22
We’re told that as long as the earth endures we’re going to have cold and heat. We may walk through those cold pockets many times a day. It may even feel like we’re living in a cold pocket and the warmth will never come. Or that we’re stuck in a hot pocket and praying for a cold spell with every step. On the inside and outside. This reminds me of my deep need for Jesus. When I hit a cold spot and I need Him so desperately or, when I hit a hot spot and need Him so desperately. He knows what I need in the cold and the heat of life. Just maybe those little pockets were put there to remind me of that.
Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself. John 18:18
We’re just like Peter who hit those spots more than once. Those spots where we have been made cold by our denial, our pain, our loss, our hurt, our sin. Those spots where parts of our hearts are just frozen solid. Hard. But what does Jesus do in those places?
“The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter!” Luke 24:34
In those cold spots of life when we need Him so much, Jesus is there. He thaws our frozen hearts, with His presence.
Likewise, with those hot spots of life, you know the ones where we’re tested by the fiery flames of the world – mistreatment, oppression, persecution – followers of Christ have been, will be, or should be in those spots. Hot spots where our faith is challenged, our beliefs are questioned, our convictions tried. He protects us from the heat with His presence.
But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a divine being!”
Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke! Daniel 3:24-25
His presence calls us beyond the cold spots and hot spots of this life. Being rescued and protected by His presence then requires us to live our lives as rescued and protected people. If we know Jesus, the cold and hot spots of life are tempered by the presence of the Spirit living inside us and we will emerge warmed and untouched by the flames. The Lord has really risen!
Are you walking through a cold spot or a hot spot? You are not alone, Jesus is there.
