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There are a couple of graveyards not far from where I work.  I’ve never visited them, until a couple of weeks ago.  In my pursuit to persist in the presence of God, sometimes during lunch I go for a prayer walk.  By myself – just me and Jesus.  On my walk, I pass a couple of graveyards up on South Street.  One on each side of the street.  They’re beautiful.  I’ve always thought graveyards were beautiful, not in a creepy way.  They just usually look so neat, rows of headstones, some with flowers, some without.  Big monuments, small monuments.  Usually very uniform and tidy.  Orderly.  Old.  Obviously, very peaceful.

Even though I’ve probably been by those two graveyards at least a thousand times in my life, I never really thought about them until recently.  I don’t know who owns the graveyards.  Just by their appearance they are owned by two different graveyard-owners.  Does one own a graveyard?  Anyhow.  One of them looks over the City.  The other on the opposite side of the street backs a wooded area.  Both are surrounded by a lovely stone fence.  One is bolted shut, one is not.  Both are beautiful.

While walking by last week, I started wondering how old some of the stones were.  I couldn’t get in to the bolted graveyard but the oldest stone I could see through the bars showed that the person memorialized there was born on December 24, 1795 and died September 13, 1879.  Does that not blow your mind?  This person was only 19 years older than our Nation, and lived to be 84 years old.  Ponder that.

Anyway, today while walking by the graveyards, I checked out the graveyard on the opposite side.  To be honest, I can’t believe I walked in.  Here I am in my dress and sneakers, tiptoeing through a cemetery, not in a creepy way.  As I’m walking around, which I have never done before except at funerals, I’m checking out the age of the headstones.  I was interested in seeing how old the tombstones were on this side of the street.   What I did find spoke right to me, not aloud, but deep in my heart.  I found the monument of Alexander Cooper.  Mr. Cooper was born April 16, 1775. Mr. Cooper was born before our Nation was born!  Mr. Cooper died September 4, 1852, at the age of 77 years old.  That’s crazy to think about, isn’t it?  Mr. Cooper was born nearly 250 years ago.

Written on Mr. Cooper’s grave marker was the following:

A man without reproach.

A Christian humble and decent.

An Elder who ruled well.

Sober, grace, temperate.

Sound in faith.

A life of usefulness terminated in a peaceful death and his rest is glorious.

Obviously, I didn’t know Alexander Cooper, but reading his headstone makes me wish I had.  Who wouldn’t want to know that kind of person?  By the look of it, Mr. Cooper was everything we Christians aspire to be on this earth.  He was blameless.  He was humble.  He was decent.  He was fair.  He had a sober, graceful temperament.  His faith was solid.  His life benefited others.  He died a peaceful death and is living in glory.  Don’t you want that?  Better yet, don’t you want others to say that about you?  I do.  I want my life to say that I’m blameless, a Christian, humble, decent, fair, sober, grace-filled, with a firm foundation.  I want others to think that I was useful and I’d prefer to die a peaceful death before I dance in His glory.  Yep.  I’d be happy to be compared to Mr. Cooper, he appeared to be a Godly man.

Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

Ephesians 4:1

Paul urged the folks at Ephesus to live a life worthy of being called by God.  We need to do that as well.  We all want to stand before our King and hear him say:  “Well done my good and faithful servant.”  Don’t we? How do we make that happen?  What do we need to ask ourselves?  Is our faith solid?  Are we blameless?  Are we humble?  Are we decent?  Are we fair?  Is our temperament graceful?  Do we need to change so others will see God in us?  What attitudes do we need to adjust?  What words do we need not speak?  What actions do we need to take?  He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it, if we’re willing to let Him.

Spring is such an amazing time of year.  From dark to light.  From brown to green.  From bloom to flower.  From death to life.  With each passing day the earth is awakening from it’s slumber, some days a little slower than others, like Monday.  But, under that Spring snow new life is bursting forth.  It’s beautiful to watch.

Not only is Spring a sight to behold, it is a sound to be heard.  Did you know new life has a sound?  If you listen carefully, you really can hear the Earth awakening.  You can hear the snow melting, the water trickling, the mountain yawning, the grass growing, blossoms opening, Spring peepers peeping, birds chirping, wings flapping.  It’s a beautiful sound.

There’s another sign of Spring in our neck of the woods.  Cows.  Yep, cows.  Spring is separation time on the farm behind us.  The young and old cows are separated and selected for sale.  It makes me a little sad.  I’m a fur lover, so I try not to dwell too much on it.  Farmers have a completely different perspective than I, it is their livelihood, the way they make their living. 

Any kind of separation is really quite awful to think about.  A cow and calf being separated, and the cow searching for her young.  The separation sounds assault the pleasant Spring sounds.  The bawling sound is loud and constant.  We usually sleep with our windows cracked because I love the night sounds, but more often than not during separation time, I find myself on the couch with the TV on in the middle of the night.  It drowns the sound.  But, it is a sound of Spring.

After about a week of searching and calling, eventually, the mother cow just moves on when there is no response.  She’ll stop calling and prepare for the next new life.  As a human, I apply emotions and feelings to cows which may not exist. Cows either forget about their young or accept the loss and move on to produce another.  I can’t quite understand it but I’m not a cow and that’s the circle of life for livestock.

When I was walking the other morning with my hat pulled tight over my ears and humming to block out the sound, I was thinking that the mother cow must feel like God does during separation.  We are all separated from Him because of our sin, but He calls each one of us just as the mother calls her young. Sometimes we answer the call, sometimes we don’t.  We may bound after Him for a short period of time, but then allow the temptations of the world to intervene and somehow we find ourselves separated from Him.  He calls, but when we wander with the world, it’s like turning on the TV in the middle of the night.  We try to drown out His voice and fill the call with other things, we busy ourselves with life so we don’t have to respond.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

2 Peter 3:8-10

You know, the Lord wants everyone to be with Him for eternity, that’s why He hasn’t yet returned.  He’s calling us and waiting for us to respond.  No response is a response.  Chew on that.

Please don’t think I’m comparing the Lord to a cow.  It’s about the separation, the calling, the response, or lack thereof.  He calls and calls to us – come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest – come to me and I will lift your burdens – come to me and I will be your provision — come to me and I will love you like no other – come to me and we will live in eternity together forever, never to be separated.

Jesus calls us o’er the tumult

of our life’s wild, restless sea;

day by day his voice invites me,

saying “Christian, follow me!”

Jesus calls us! In your mercy,

Savior, help us hear your call;

give our hearts to your obedience,

serve and love you best of all!

Anyone who doesn’t know Jesus is separated from Jesus – not just a little, but completely, forever.  This past Sunday we celebrated Easter.  We celebrated the resurrection of our Living Lord.  That cross, as awful as it was and as hard as it is to think about, was the calling.  Jesus’s death on that cross bridged the gap between God and man so that there is no longer separation.  The empty tomb was the cry that went out, your sins are forgiven!  Sin no longer separates us from God.  All we have to do is answer the call!

Have you ever noticed a years old road?  Dirt, gravel, asphalt, or one of my Grandfather’s favorite terms, macadam.  The other day the Worst/Best and I were taking our morning walk on a years old road.  It’s the road to and from our house.  The road we walk on, drive on, ride on.  I suddenly noticed something about this road I’ve been traveling on for the past 10 years.  Something that I would not necessarily notice if I were driving or riding on the road.  Something I would only notice if I was walking…it’s not flat.  Now I don’t mean that it has hills or movement with the terrain, the road itself is not flush with the ground.

Because of years of weighty traffic – cars, trucks and tractors, the road has gotten compacted where the wheels roll making this ever so slight ridge in the middle of the road.  It’s not as noticeable to the seeing eye as it is to the walking feet.  It’s not a king of the mountain size ridge, just a modest rise.  It’s just enough to notice the path on either side is lower.

If you are not on one side or the other of this hump in the middle of the road it can mean disaster – a stumped toe, a twisted ankle, an all out fall, especially if you’re walking in the dark.  The voice of experience talking here.

As I’m walking along, I notice that I have been trying to walk the middle of the road and it made me feel completely off balance.  I realized that I couldn’t safely walk on the middle of the road.  I could not straddle the lanes.  Straddling on the ridge was dangerous, it could cause missteps and could land me on the wrong side of the road.

If we choose our path, which side of the road we’re going to walk on, we are less likely to find ourselves drifting to the middle and losing our balance.  But, that also requires us to pick what side of the road we will travel on.  Another thing I noticed is that the middle of the road is wider than the grooves the tires cut.  The groove on the right side is narrower than the middle.

As I was walking it occurred to me that I could either stumble down the middle of the road in the dark, which will eventually result in jury, or I could walk on the right side.  Same with Jesus. There is no middle ground with Him.  It’s a red letter thing.

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.  So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

Matthew 12:30-31

There is no middle ground with Jesus.  For or against, it’s just that simple, in fact it is exceedingly clear.  Walking the middle of the road, one toe in-one toe out of the world is super dangerous terrain.

I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.  Isaiah 42:16-18

As I think about Holy Week, I think of that lonesome valley that Jesus traveled.  Even though He knew the events about to unfold before Him, events predicted long ago, Jesus chose the road to the cross for me, for you.  He chose the cross so that I didn’t have to walk an unbalanced, unstable, uneven road. He chose the cross so that I didn’t have to trip along in the darkness.  He chose the cross for my salvation. He chose the cross so we could chose life.  How could I not chose Him?

There’s just no middle road here, no gray…we can’t have two masters.  Chose today whom you will serve.

We’re heading into the time of year when we’re noticing the outside, when we’re checking out our lawns and fields more and more, right?  Kind of like a bear emerging from his winter residence, we’re stretching it out and looking to get busy outside.

Our meticulous lawners are just getting geared up.  Whether you turn the key or pull the string (a hundred times), the work’s about to begin.  Us lawners are getting prepared.  Mowers have been serviced, new string for the whacker, fertilizer and lime bought, general cleanup of leaves and sticks on the horizon. 

So, when the worst-best and I walk the fields this time of year, we notice field things, like the circles in the field above.  There are several.  Some bigger than others.  Very strange.  Perfect circles.  No, it’s not a crop circle.  I thought that too.  Out at our place, that’s what we call them, but a little digging has revealed that these dark almost perfect circles in our front field are called Fairy Rings.  Isn’t that a cute name?  That sounds a lot better than crop circles, doesn’t it?  Crop circles are manmade, Fairy Rings are fungi made – oh, that sounds a whole lot better, doesn’t it?  Fairy Rings are actually said to be a sign of good luck and fortune.  I’m liking these Fairy Rings more and more.  

Unfortunately, despite the cute name, Fairy Rings are actually a lawn or field disease.  Fork lore has it that little fairies dance the night away in these circles resting from time to time on toadstool chairs.  Actually, that’s the cause of the circles, toadstools.  I’m not going to get all science on you because I can’t, but as best I understand it, these fairy rings should be called fungi rings.  This fungi grows from the middle out, feeding on decaying organic material creating a crusty layer just under the soil to create a perfect circle.  You may or may not see the mushrooms, they may be under the soil and only come out at night for the dance (wink-wink).

Anyway, these Fairy Rings, or this lawn disease, seems to be most prevalent in sandy, under-watered, or poorly fertilized soils, and can cause serious damage.  Fairy Rings usually do not develop in highly maintained lawns.  Hmmm.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.  But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27

The wise man heard Jesus’s teachings and obeyed, he built his house upon the Rock.  The foolish man built his house upon the sand, he rejects the teachings of Jesus, and his house will fall off its base.

With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!

Isaiah 12:3

Are we well-watered?  Are we drinking deeply from the perpetual fountain provided by God through Jesus His Son? 

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

 ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Luke 13:6-9

Are we giving ourselves the nutrients we need to maintain a healthy, well-balanced heart?  Are we feeding on The Word of the Lord that quenches every hunger of our heart?

Sandy, under-watered, poorly fertilized soils.  We must be very careful that our lives don’t end up like Fairy Rings.  It is so easy to get sucked into the dance once the music gets going, if we are on sandy, under-watered, poorly fertilized soil.  We need to keep in mind that that ring is made of fungus.

How do we prevent Fairy Rings?  We maintain our lawn.  How do we do that?  From the inside out.  We rake, we dethatch, we remove the buildup of dead matter.  We build on the Solid Rock and not in the sand.  We continually drink the life giving Living Water.  We keep our lawns well fertilized with nutrients found in The Word. We poke holes in the soil to allow aeration of the Spirit so that the crusty mold does not get a grip and release toxins that can decay our hearts.

While praying the other morning, the Lord “spoke” to me, you know that still small voice.  He will speak to all of us — one way or the other (sometimes whether we want to hear it or not), when we take our cares, our worries, our thoughts our praise to Him.  I was praying about a particular situation, one I’ve been praying about for years.  I spoke my prayer – Lord, I am so tired of their bad attitude and insolent behavior!  He whispered – As am I!  No kidding, that’s exactly what came to me.  It’s funny how He seems to speak loudest in His whispers.

I was like that’s great, we’re both on the same wave length, we both feel the same about this situation and now things are going to change, answers to prayer are forthcoming.  Finally, this disposition that makes everyone uncomfortable and leaves all around feeling inadequate and wondering what they’ve done to that person to deserve such treatment or nontreatment, is going to be taken care of.  WooHoo!  After years of praying – breakthrough — the Lord understands – can’t you hear the chorus of angels – Ahhhhhhh?  The Lord has seen how others have to walk on egg shells, guard every word and be uncomfortable and I just know He’s going to do something about it.  As I was pondering what life could be like in this situation, think bliss, I hear the bird song do do do do do do…

…ERCH, STOP, WAIT…WHAT?!?!?! For about half a second I thought, what’s He mean by that?  Is He talking to me?  Naw, impossible!  I drifted back to my bird song paradise.  But my mind continued to hark back to that thought, As am I, what does that mean?  He’s going to handle it, right? Wait, who’s He even talking to?

And then, THWACK!  It occurred to me that The Lord may have been speaking tongue-in-cheek.  What an idiot am I!  For sure He was talking about the other situation, but for sure, He was talking about me.  How do I know that?  Because the Lord speaks correction to His children.  I am a child of God.

I’m slowly (turtle like) learning that rarely, if ever, are God’s messages just for other people.  The same messages, healings, rebukes and corrections He speaks for others, He speaks to me.  Can I get a witness here?!?!? 

You see, He may have had exactly the same thought about me as I had about the other situation – that’s the tongue in cheek.  I am so tired of Beth’s bad attitude and insolent behavior!  Five little letters speak volumes.  As Am I.  I feel sure He said it with a little smile on His face and kindness in His heart.  Yes…Jesus loves me (and you)!

So, sounds like I need to not just pray for the other situation, but for my own.  It dawned on me that I most likely definitely was treating insolence with insolence, bad attitude with bad attitude.  Seems natural to me.   But, if I am a child of God, I’m no longer a natural man (or woman), I’m a spiritual man (or woman).  That changes everything, doesn’t it?

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.  “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.  I Corinthians 2:14-16

Paul said it right there — as a child of God, I have the mind of Christ.  When I really think about what that means, it’s a little like — Wow!  I am His! I am equipped! I am adequate!  I am a spiritual man (or woman) – can I get a witness here?!?!?  The natural man (or woman) doesn’t have the mind of Christ.  If one doesn’t have the mind of Christ one will naturally have a bad attitude and be impudent and disrespectful.  The mind of Christ knows better than to treat bad attitude with bad attitude, contempt with contempt, difficult with difficult.  If we don’t live like we have the mind of Christ, we live like a natural man, if we live like a natural man, the natural man will not see the mind of Christ.  Got it?  If we have the mind of Christ, we must act like it so others can learn to know Christ.  Although He doesn’t need to, He has partnered with us, He works through us to reach natural man.  Will we join Him?  Will we confess our sins, put on the mind of Christ?  With Him we never have to walk on egg shells, guard every word or be uncomfortable.  I am loved, I am adequate, I have the mind of Christ.  That’s the message to the natural man (or woman), to the world. 

As Am I…Just As I Am.

Just as I am, though tossed about

with many a conflict, many a doubt,

fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,

wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

because thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

My God, what can I say to you — except that I love you more than words can express?

I love you for what you are to all creatures. In all their forms and every moment, they owe their life and happiness to you. It is far beyond what my narrow imagination can conceive, but everything they know is from you.

But I adore and love you far more for what you are in yourself.

Even after creating so much, your reserves of perfection remain untouched, and can never be used up. Your infinite perfection makes you your own happiness.

You are your own end. You are worthy of a respect that never depends on anything outside yourself.

You are first, most beautiful, and only. Greatest and only great.

Possess all my soul! And surely you do possess it.

While I feel your sacred Spirit breathing on my heart, causing me to love you, I also feel the reality of this human, animal life.

If ever I knew the appetite of hunger, my soul hungers after righteousness — and longs to be more like you (Matthew 5:6).

If ever I felt thirst, so also my soul thirsts for the living God — and pants for more of your favor (Psalm 42:2).

If ever I have longed for my bed after a long journey, my soul rests on your grace — and returns for rest in your embrace.

And if ever I have enjoyed seeing the face of a friend, I rejoice in seeing your face, O Lord — and in calling you my Father in Christ.

That is who you are, and that is who you will be, for time and eternity. What more can I do, but commit myself to you for both?

I leave it to you to choose my inheritance and order my affairs (Psalm 47:4). My only business is to serve you, and all my delight is to praise you.

My soul follows hard after you, God, because your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:8). Let is still bear me up, and I will press on toward you, until all my desires are fulfilled in the eternal enjoyment of you! Amen.

Philip Doddridge

You see this beautiful little tree was our neighborhood Christmas Tree.  Neighbor Karen started with red bows.  Neighbor Robert added some lights.  The LeMasters came along with a Star.  All unplanned.  Without coordination, each adding their touch to bring this little tree to life for the folks traveling Poor House Road.  That little tree became a seasonal landmark in our neighborhood.  It was used as a point of reference – up, over, to the left, to the right, behind, beside, around the Christmas Tree.

After the season, the tree was stripped and the decorations carefully put away and each neighbor looking forward to pulling them out next year.  There’s only one small problem…the tree is gone!  Our sweet little Christmas Tree that brought us Kumbaya and joy was hacked down.  Yes, I know hacked sounds rather violent, but if you saw the equipment being used by the tree “trimmers” aka tree “hackers,” you’d think that term was mild.  I can only imagine how she must have felt.

You see, our little three foot tree just happened to be growing under the power lines beside the road.  It was the tree “hackers” job to clear everything growing under the 30 foot power lines.  It wasn’t their job to determine what type of tree it was, whether it would ever grow 27 more feet, how round it would be, how sturdy a base it would have, or even if it was a threat to the powerlines.  They were to just hack it down and not ask questions.  The first thought that came to my mind when I saw she was gone was that the “hackers” had committed such an indiscriminate act.  They had thoughtlessly, haphazardly, carelessly removed her without one iota of consideration.  So sad.

My immediate next thought was how many times a day do I indiscriminately hack down something or someone?  Thoughtlessly, haphazardly, carelessly, without one iota of consideration? When I really put my mind on it, I guess I’m not so different than the “hackers” I’ve been complaining about.  Whoa, that smarted!

My next thought turned to our word of the year at Church – intentional.  Are we intentional people?  Are we thoughtful, are we conscience, are we careful people?  I suggest that the opposite of intentional can be indiscriminate.  If we are not intentional, we are indiscriminate.  If we are not thoughtful, we can be thoughtless.  If we are not conscience, we can be unconscious.  If we are not careful, we can be careless.  If we do not guard our hearts, we can be heartless.  So, now we get to the point.

You know, the Bible has much to say about guarding and it gives instructions that are exceedingly clear, another term that keeps popping up in Church. 

Above all guard your hearts for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23

As the face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person.

Proverbs 27:19

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects every you do.

Proverbs 4:23

Ah…the wisdom of Solomon.  Everything flows from our hearts, it reflects who we are as people, and our hearts affect absolutely everything we do in life.

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

Matthew 15:18

Ah…Matthew, who in old life was known as a master “hacker,”  lays it out and doesn’t mince words.  His words are exceedingly clear.  If we fail to intentionally guard our hearts, our lips are sure to speak indiscriminately – indiscriminate words, indiscriminate tone, indiscriminate intentions, indiscriminate timing, indiscriminate conversation – all have the same tree “hacker” result – something or someone is cut down.  As God people, we don’t want to be responsible for such acts.  We don’t want to be governed by our lips, but by our hearts.  We must intentionally guard our hearts to protect from being indiscriminate!

Sometimes I think of the weirdest things…

Last week’s blog was about the attack of the Amaleks and Moses’ efforts to thwart them.  Remember,  pray when you’re attacked, and don’t stop until the battle is done and won?

Here’s my weirdness…

How did Moses keep on praying?  Did anyone else out there wonder what Moses prayed?  I mean, this battle went on for some long  period of time and I just wondered if Moses ever ran out of words?  Like did he pray the same things over and over, did he simply call out God’s name, did he mix praise in with it, did he stumble over his words, did he doze, was he ever not able to find the right words?

I don’t know about you, but I often feel so woefully inadequate at prayer.  I know folks say it’s just like having a conversation with a friend, or just speaking your heart, but sometimes when my mind is whirling and my heart is breaking, I struggle to put two words together let alone stand before the God of the Universe with my offerings.

One thing that helps me a lot is a Prayer Starter.  What’s a Prayer Starter?  Prayers written by Godly people that somehow have the words that I can’t seem to find.  Prayers that were written out of someone’s experience.  Prayers that were offered in His Name by others.  Somehow those prayers nail exactly what I want to say but somehow even in my over wordiness, just can’t find.

YOUR NAME ON MY HEART AND HOME

Precious Jesus, you have been a strength to my poor soul, and you will be my portion forever.  Help me to see my daily need of you, and to feel my poverty and weakness.

From persecution to my guilty conscience, to the remains of sin in a body of death, to the accusations of Satan or even the just judgments of God—I am secure in you, Lord Jesus.  And I continually cry out, as did your prophet:  “Only in the Lord…is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come.”  I will never be ashamed or confounded, world without end.

You have given grace, glory, and honor to your Israel.  I want your name, Lord, on the gates of my house, so that no one will walk by and miss the fact that a lover of the Lord lives there!

It is my highest honor to have it known whose I am, and whom I serve, in the gospel of his dear Son.  How could I be ashamed of that name before which every knee bows in heaven and earth?

And Lord Jesus, not only write your name upon the gates of my house, but engrave it in the center of my heart and my affections—on my first, and last, my earliest, and latest thoughts!

Let it be my joy to speak out of the abundance of my heart about you and your great salvation.  In all I say, in all  I do, let it be clear that I am in pursuit of the one my soul loves.

Let my every action point to your dear name.  And whether at home or abroad, in my house or family, when lying down or when rising up, let all creation witness for me, that the love, the service, the interest, the glory of my God in Christ is the only object of my soul’s desire.

Let every thing in my life say this:  “Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  Amen

Robert Hawker (1753-1827)

The Word of God is a perfect Prayer Starter.  There are literally hundreds of prayers in the Bible from cover to cover.  From Moses, to Abraham, to Jacob, to David, to Esther, right on through the prophets, up to the apostles, we see Prayer Starters.  But probably the most famous Prayer Starter was our Savior.  Jesus not only offered prayers to His Father, but He taught His followers, us, how to do the same.  There are no less than 30 prayers of Jesus recorded in the New Testament.  Jesus was the original Prayer Starter.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine in the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen

So, when your heart is in it but the words won’t come, get some help from a Prayer Starter.  You will find that although it helps you get started, you will have no trouble finishing.

To His Glory.

I’m currently reading through the Bible in a year (or two?) being guided by a Devotional I’m using for 2022.  You know, it’s one of those read parts of the Old and New Testaments each day.  I’ve always loved the New Testament for obvious reasons – Jesus – and I’m falling deeper in love with the Old Testament.  If you think the Lord can only speak in the Old or the New Testament, wise up.  He speaks so loud and clear from Genesis to Revelation, every single page, every single word – inspired by Him.  That is my passionate belief, as if you couldn’t tell.

The Word is a book from God, to teach us about God, to the glory of God.  Every printed Word is meant to draw us into communion with Him, to change our hearts, and in turn to form us into the image of His Son, our sole purpose for being created, our sole purpose on this earth.

I’m currently reading in the book of Exodus.  What an amazing book!  It is action packed, God’s power on complete display, and I recently came across one of my all time favorite stories:

While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.  Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.  As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.  Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.  As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

After the victory, the LORD instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”  Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the LORD is my banner”).  He said, “They have raised their fist against the LORD’s throne, so now the LORD will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Exodus 17:8-16

So many lessons here.  The obvious, pray when you’re attacked, and don’t stop until the battle is done.  That seems to be the long and the short of it.  I know and understand that teaching even when I oft times fail at it. But for some reason when I read it again this week, it pierced my heart.  I just don’t know how else to say it.  I’ve been thinking of little since.

One of the notes from The Pentateuch made a point I hadn’t thought of before:

…then came Amalek…

The Rabbis note:  As an immediate sequence of the murmuring on the part of the Israelites…then came Amalek.  It is the invariable lesson of Jewish history that whenever Israel begins to doubt God and itself, asking, Is the Lord among us or not? An Amalek unexpectedly assails it.

The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, Edited by J.H. Hertz

This lesson is not just for the Israelites, but for all believers, right?  When we take our eyes off of God, when we fail to spend time with Him, when we fail to remember His goodness and His mercy toward us, when we buy into the world by our grumbling and complaining, doubts will assail us and even the most devout believer may murmur “Is the Lord among us or not?”  That’s the sequence.

Next lesson…

“Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God.  Therefore, when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this!

Deuteronomy 25:17-19

The Rabbi notes:  “While Israel was to make justice and brotherly love its guiding rule, it was not to forget that Amalek had perpetrated a cowardly and unprovoked attach on the feeble and hindmost when the Israelites were marching from Egypt.”

Amalek waged war on the Israelites, but instead of fighting the young, the strong, those capable of fighting back, they attacked the rear, those falling behind, “the faint and weary stragglers enfeebled by the march,” the march from Egypt, through the Red Sea on their journey to the promised land.

I’ve struggled much this last week as I’m sure you have too.  I feel as if Amalek is on the move.  I won’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of war.  But, what I do know is that God loves innocent people.  He loves the weak, the faint, the weary, the stragglers, those falling behind because of life’s twists and turns.  For that matter, God loves guilty people just as much, we tend not to want to remember that.

When the Amaleks of life, internally or externally, at home or abroad leave us feeling helpless and hopeless, we must raise our staff like a banner, offer our prayers and our praises to the Lord and not stop. When the staff gets heavy and our arms grow weak, we must remember that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are on either side of us, propping us up, interceding on our behalf as we intercede on the behalf of others.

When the weary, the feeble, the downtrodden, the broken, the faint, the hurting, those at the end of the line, those left behind, the stragglers say “Is the Lord among us or not?”  We must always say God is our victorious Banner, the rod of God is in our hands.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about friendships and just how precious they are on this earth.  What a great gift God gives to us.  I had the opportunity to reconnect recently with a friend I hadn’t connected with in many years.  Even though we were close childhood friends, you know the basement roller skating type, college and life had intervened in our friendship.  As old good friendships work, we reconnected over a difficult life experience.  That’s just how the gift works. 

While speaking over the phone she said that even though we had not stayed close over the years, she had felt like we picked up where we left off and our childhood friendship “transcended time.”  That’s the phrase I’ve been chewing on since – I even made a note of it, and posted it on my desk. 

Transcend means to overcome, to go beyond ordinary limits.  What she was saying is that our friendship had withstood the test of time over the years, that regardless of our life’s physical locations, time could not diminish the friendship.  The friendship, the love, the connection, the comfort, the support were still intact, regardless of the amount of separation by time.  It’s taken me a while to grasp its meaning.  Now that I have it’s taken on a whole new context for me.

It reminded me that our relationship with God, our friendship with Him or His friendship with us (cause He’s definitely the better friend) also transcends time.  Think about that – God’s friendship with us transcends time.  This friendship surpasses time.  When I think about this, I’m completely humbled.

His friendship with me, with you, transcends all time!  Process that out.  The dictionary offers another definition of transcend “to be prior to, beyond, and above (the universe or material existence).”  The dictionary definition people must have done a little research…

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.  Jeremiah 1:5

It’s so hard to take in, but roll that around for a minute.  He “knew” us “before” we were even formed.  He yada us before we were yatsa.  He knew us, he recognized us, he cared for us, he acknowledged us before we came out, before we appeared.  I know that’s pretty deep stuff, to think that God knew us, loved us, planned a friendship with us, before we were born.  But, that’s just how big our God is!  It should make us think…

His friendship with us transcends all time.  Let alone the fact that He knew us before we were, He longs to know us for eternity.  What’s eternity?  Unending time, infinite, timelessness, forever, without end.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

You know, people will come and go, family will come and go, friends will come and go.  There is only One whose friendship is for all time, before the beginning of our time. The One who knew us before we were formed, the One who will know us for all eternity, if we believe, if we trust, if we have faith, if we surrender.    Who wouldn’t want a friend like that, that loved us so much, before our time, that they want to spend forever and ever with us and made it possible for us to do so? 

We must think it through because eternity is a very long time.  Where do we want to spend our forever?  Our friendship choice today will impact our forever. I urge you to chose the only Friend who transcends all time. One who will never leave or forsake you.

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer