PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Sometimes we can read something that is so simple yet so profound.  Something that greases the spokes and gets our thoughts moving with squeaks and groans.  A lesson we needed to know, a lesson we already knew but didn’t practice, or a lesson we needed to relearn.  Such is the case:

This life is not for the body, it is for the soul, and man too often chooses the way of life that best suits the body.  Not the way that best suits the soul.  And I permit only what best suits the soul. Accept this and a wonderful molding is the result, reject it and My Purpose is frustrated, your best prayer unanswered, progress (Spiritual progress) delayed, trouble and grief stored up. Two Listeners

When I read this, I was struck.  Struck at how sometimes I completely miss the boat.  As followers of Christ, we know that where our souls and the souls of others spend eternity is what this life is all about.  We know that our physical bodies will eventually fade away – we live in earthenware, temporary pots.  But what’s in those pots, what those pots contain, is not of this world.  Those pots contain the soul.  The soul gives life to the body – what’s in our soul dictates how we live.  The body doesn’t give life to the soul – our bodies don’t dictate what’s in our souls.

All too often I(we?) get caught up in the living of my life in this body.  Work, play, family, busyness, commitments and obligations.  All body living.  No doubt we have to live our lives on this earth in our physical bodies.  But, where our bodies go, so goes our soul.  Think about that, we carry our souls with us, we can’t get away from it.  So, it just makes sense that what’s in our soul is important.  Is the Spirit of the Lord living in our soul?  Or, is the spirit of the world living in our soul?

As we go through each day, think about how different our lives would look if we practiced soul living instead of body living.  If our soul and the souls of others were the top priorities in our lives, think what work the Lord could do in us and through us.  If each step we took each day were taken with the soul in mind and not the body in mind, how would our lives look different?  If each decision we made were made with eternity in mind, how would our lives look different?

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?  Matthew 16:26

Plowing, tilling, sowing, tending, waiting.  We’ve planted our first official garden in twenty couple years.  Over the years we’ve set out plants here and there trying to get a tomato, pepper or even a pumpkin.  We’ve not been overly successful in the past because we just didn’t have good soil and we just couldn’t get it worked up.  But this year we actually have real rows, a designated worked up space.  We’ve planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, spinach, beets and collard greens.  We’ve over planted, but feel certain that if the garden is tended properly, we will reap the fruits of what we’ve sown.  That’s how it works, isn’t it?

Reaping is the fun part, it’s the whole point of the garden, to watch the fruit form, pluck it from the vine and take it in and enjoy is all part of the reaping process.  It brings such satisfaction, such peace.  But, before we can reap, we must sow and before we sow the soil must be prepared to accept the plant.  That’s exactly what you see Tony doing and let me tell you that is such hard work.  Anyone who has prepared a garden before completely understands what I’m talking about.

As a gardener, the first step is picking a good spot.  Gardens need sun and water to grow.  You have to pick a spot that’s open to both.  You can’t plant a garden in the shade, among rocks, where no moisture ever hits.  The garden then needs tilled up.  The gardener decides whether to do it by hand or by tiller.  I’ve not had much experience (and still don’t) with a rototiller, but man, those things are beasts.  They weigh a ton, they never start on the first try, they are loud, and destructive.  Overall, they’re just this huge obnoxious piece of dangerous machinery that rips and tears and beats the ground and beats you to death in the process.  Think about it – this thing has sharp blades that slice and dice the earth.  But, those blades loosen the soil, turn under the grass, reveal the rock so you can pick it out, and expose the beautiful, rich, healthy soil that is now ready to receive life.  The gardener is the one who prepares the garden to receive life.

Loosening the soil, turning under the grass, and picking out the rocks in our hearts is laborious and oft times painful.  Exposing the rich soils of our hearts in order to receive Life can feel like that monster rototiller, can’t it?  Ripping, tearing and exposing our hurts, our pain, our sinful actions and our sinful attitudes – all those things that would choke out the plant Life.  Sometimes after the tiller has gone through we feel like we’ve taken a beaten.  But, the Gardner knows what He is doing.  Cleaning out our garden hearts is simply opening them, and making more space to receive more of Him,  making room for Him to sow rows of seeds that produce the fruits of the Spirit.

Now that Life has been planted in our garden hearts we must tend them.  You see, just like the plants in our vegetable garden, if we do nothing to protect the plants, if we do not weed-and-feed, if we do not stake the plants, if we allow a tree to grow over and shade our garden, if we don’t water, if we don’t throw out the rocks that come to the surface, our plants will die and definitely not produce fruit.  We are the same.  If Life has been planted in our garden hearts and we don’t take care of it, it will die.  Life cannot be planted in the soil of our hearts and stay the same small plant without roots.  If we are not growing, we are dying.  If we are not moving forward with Life, we are moving backwards because life keeps moving forward.   Our hearts are either alive or dead.  There’s no in between.  You can’t be half-pregnant.  You either have Life growing in you, or you don’t.  You can’t be half-alive. God says hey, let me help you get rid of that hard, rocky heart you have.  Let me plant within you eternal Life.  Be wary of weeds and lack of Living Water that will take all sustenance and dry out your heart and make it hard.  He offers a fence around the garden of our souls to keep out those things that would snatch us up by the roots and eat us right down to the ground –it is His Word.  The Sower has sown Life into our hearts.  It is our responsibility, along with His help, to tend that Life.

I was walking with the Worst-Best the other morning, albeit much slower these days, but that’s what happens when the years go by.  It was a predawn morning, a little warmer than some.  As we moved steadily up and down the road that cuts the fields, a shiver ran through me.  We’d hit a cold spot.  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 spot was gone.  That’s happened to you before, right?  We notice those cold spots particularly in the middle of Summer.  But when we emerge from the cold spot, 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 spots 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.  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!

There’s this little treasure spot on Burke Street, heading east, right before you climb the big hill.  You may know the spot.  I’ve lunched on a bench there a couple of times.  It’s beautiful and peaceful, except when cars are passing, so it’s more beautiful than peaceful.  Anyway, while sitting there the other day listening to the water run through, it dawned on me that this is the very same water that runs through our property at the foot of North Mountain – the Tuscarora Creek.  When I really thought about it, I was like whoa, that’s so cool!  That’s a good four or five miles away, as the crow flies.  To think that the water that I was looking at in town had traveled through my home place really was amazing to me.

Now, it seems perfectly natural for a creek to run through the countryside, doesn’t it?  But for that same water to follow a route of twists and turns and flow right before my eyes in town was a wonder and a comfort to me.  It was the exact same – the exact same water at my house and in town.  The water before my eyes had traveled from its beginning, and there’s great debate in our neck of the woods of the location of those headwaters, to Burke Street and beyond.  Nevertheless, the creek started somewhere, it had a beginning and those same beginning waters were now in town.  I sat there thinking, isn’t that just like Jesus?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

Jesus never changes.  Regardless of where He flows, His Living Water is always the same.  He is the same, He is changeless.  He doesn’t roll with the waves of circumstance as we do.  He is not a God of happenings.  He doesn’t ever change.

But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.  Psalm 102:27

Never is forever and that’s when God will change – Never!  No matter how we feel, the promise and the reality is that God never changes.

“I am the Lord, and I do not change…Now return to me and I will return to you”  Malachi 3:6-7

Even when we are disobedient, when we are unloving, unmerciful, un-Godly, He is the same – merciful, loving, Godly God.  His message since the Garden has always been the same – return to me – come to me.  That’s His message to us today – return to me – come to me – I will restore you.

Before the beginning of time He has loved us and prepared to bless us all the while knowing our love for Him would waiver, knowing we would be an unfaithful people.   His love, His mercy, His grace are not based on who we are or what we do.    God is the same today, tomorrow, forever, His promises are the same today, tomorrow, forever, because of who He is.  He always has been and always will be the God of the returners.  Praise the Lord! 

Did you feel that?  You know, that unexpected call, that diagnosis, that accident, that loss, that illness, that broken, that hurt.  You know what I’m talking about.  The things that come out of left field when it’s not even game day.  The things that knock us off our feet and make us thrash like crazy to get our sea legs underneath of us again.   I know you know exactly what I mean because I know so many of you who are going through so many difficult things – you’ve felt the thwack for yourself or for another and you’re a little stunned.

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.  James 5:13

I read something today about this verse in James that was absolutely life changing for me.  No kidding, life changing.  Listen:

When we face stress of all kinds, prayer is not our last chance but our first choice.  James does not promise us that our emotional pain will always go away, but he does guarantee us that God cares about our suffering.  When we cry out to God and bring him into our pain, he is a “friend that sticks closer than a brother.”  When we put our burden in his hands and accept the loving arms of Christ around us, then we experience comfort and gain strength to bear up under the pressure. Jack Graham

Of course, I know in my heart that prayer should be first, but…I italicized the life changing part.  For some reason, I always think I must not be praying right, or must not be praying hard enough, long enough, or, my favorite — I must not be giving my hardship to God because my emotional pain in the midst of my crisis didn’t go away when I prayed. Does anyone else feel like that too?  Oh, good.  You see, in my feeble mind I somehow equated praying about my hardship with immediately “feeling” emotionally pain free.  James says not so.

James’s statement is frankly so simple it’s hard.  James is saying unexpected call-pray, diagnosis-pray, accident-pray, loss-pray, illness-pray, broken-pray, hurt-pray.  Pray through the tears, the shock, the hurt, the pain, the questions, the confusion.  Just pray.  The tears may still flow, we may still feel the gut punch, we may still feel the pain and confusion and our minds may be whirling, but as Jack Graham says, when we pray, that’s when we bring God into our pain.  That’s when we can begin to emotionally heal, be comforted and strengthened when the tough stuff comes our way.

Remember, God knows our hardships before they happen.  He doesn’t need us to pray to Him to tell Him what our hardship is, He knew and knows.  We need to pray to Him for our healing.  Only when we invite God into our tough stuff can we be comforted and be strengthened.  God wants to be an active participant in our burden bearing, not a distance observer.  He enters when invited, by prayer. While relaying yet another devastating prayer request to a friend the other day, she said:   “God must really want to spend time with us because He’s giving us lots of things to talk to Him about.”  So true.

I was hoofin’ it at lunch the other day. It was one of those absolutely beautiful days. You know the ones, when every person you pass is stepping light and smiling bright. The ones that make people shout greetings across the street over the urch of the brakes. A day when joy is palpable.

As I move along, I see two ladies sitting on the stairs of a building along the sidewalk. I yell a hello, how are you, wish them well and keep going.

The next day was exactly like the last joy day, only maybe more so. Once again I see my ladies just a sitting, enjoying the sunshine. I yell a hello and something made me stop. I introduced myself and lo and behold one of them I knew from several years back. She introduced me to her friend, T, and we reacquainted. It was great. As we talked, I learned that She had had a rough couple of years. Within the past two years She had lost two sons and a boyfriend to drugs. My heart turned black for her. Of course there were the formalities, I’m so sorry, can I help you, how are you doing? She said it had been hard but that She was hanging on to the Lord. My black heart was turning toward the light. Am I the only one that feels completely humbled and thankful when those whose lives are much harder than mine comfort me and point me to the Light?

A couple of days later, I ran across She and T in the same spot with the same smiles. You know me, I can’t pass up a chance to chat, so I did. We talked about the world and the craziness going on. We talked about the Lord and how He is the only one who can fix it. We shared the Lord, we shared the Bible, and back to work I went. I’ve been rehashing those conversations with She and T. They too were looking for solutions to a world gone awry. Pain is universal. We live in a world filled with pain, suffering, hate, violence, selfishness, death, meism, corrupt leaderless leaders, godlessness. Unfortunately, we all play some part in that, whether actively or passively, by our actions or by our inaction. Ouch, sorry! Here’s the thing – we as believers also know the solution to it all, don’t we?

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. Titus 2:11

It just doesn’t get any clearer than that, does it? God gives us something we don’t deserve and could not possibly ever earn. But for His grace, we could not be saved. If we are looking to anything or anyone other than Jesus to save us and the crazy world we live in, we are on a dead end road, literally. Sometimes it is perfectly clear and other times it is as clear as mud. Right? Me, She and T were able to easily identify the problems of the world. I bet you could too. But sometimes we(me) humans spend more time talking about the problems than enacting the solutions, don’t we? Why? Because we’re hand-wringers. It’s easier for us to worry on or complain about something than to do something about something. That’s wrong.

As Christians, what are we supposed to do? Changing the world seems like an insurmountable challenge, doesn’t it? But it also seems an odd question when we look at who we serve, the God of the insurmountable, the God of the Good News – remember the grave? He has given us incredible resources to accomplish His purposes. He has given us every tool we need, but better yet, He has given us the power to use every tool He has given us. Here’s the thing – we must use the tools. Our sole purpose in life is to change the world one lost soul at a time. If we’re living for another purpose, we’re wrong. But, what does changing the world look like?

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:35-38

That’s what changing the world looks like. Going, telling, teaching the Good News – changing lives, adding workers to the fields.

My morning practice after my husband leaves for work is to wrap up in my porch blanket and sit on my deck with my prayer cat.

This morning I noticed a bird beginning to rustle around and awaken in the darkness of the sky. His song was so sweet. In the darkness he sang. Then another awakened, then another, then another.   Their individual songs became this lovely, sweet chorus.

As the sky lightened and the sun was peaking, I noticed that the song did not end. Their chorus was unending. I stopped to think. Is my song unending? Is my chorus unending?

You know I don’t notice the chorus so much during the day. Why is that? It’s not because the song is not being sung, it’s because I don’t hear it. It isn’t because the birds stop singing, the chorus hasn’t stopped – it’s because I don’t listen to it. Even as I sit, the motion of my day has begun. I’m slowly moving on to what’s next in my day – work, home, family, obligations. Their song is growing faint.

Day noise – mind chatter — that drowns out the unending chorus. Living daily in God’s presence is cultivated. We don’t just wake up one morning and say today’s the day – I’m going to live in God’s presence today – I’m going to see Him in everything today. Unreasonable. Training our hearts and minds to reset on God every minute of the day takes training. The more we look, the more we see. The more we listen, the more we hear.

For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:17

 You see, He is living among us. Amen! He is a mighty warrior. Amen! He delights in me. Amen! He will calm my fears. Amen! He will rejoice over me with loud singing. Amen!

If I can’t see Him it’s not because He’s not present. If I can’t hear Him it’s not because He’s not present. Maybe there’s too much mind chatter… God’s song is being sung all day to every one of us.   He is rejoicing over us today. We need only train ourselves to hear His song. How do we do that? Simple steps…the next time you hear the birds unending chorus, think about how God is rejoicing over you with loud singing. Amazing. Rejoicing over me. Rejoicing over you.

As the deer panteth for the water so my soul will long after you today, Jesus, listening for your song. Persist in the presence of God – strain your ears to hear His love song over you today – long for the song.

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I’ve seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to you door

We all know where that came from, don’t we?  Sir Paul McCartney.  It really is a beautiful song about well… a long and winding road.  He was looking at the Scottish Highlands, I’m looking at life as I sing it.  I’d like to say that I’m singing it because of some great epiphany, but honestly, I’m singing it in my head kind of tongue-in-cheek.  I hum it as I think about my website dilemma.  You know, it’s a winding road that leads me to your door each Wednesday. Website, email, website, email, website, whatever seems to be working at the time.  Since June 1, 2018 it’s been a long and winding road.  It’s been a little uphill since November 2020, nevertheless we’re still on the road.  Thank you for traveling with me.  Here comes another bend.

After much persistence (I mean a lot) and groveling (well, almost), them not me, my webhost has lured me back.  They’ve fixed the security problems and I’ve now been uncanceled.  The road leading to your door next week will be posted to the website bethlemaster.com.

It’s really quite uncanny how this domain drama parallels some of the teachings of Jesus. I know you may find that flipish or even juvenile, but the whole purpose of writing is so that folks see Jesus in the everyday,  constant reminders and lessons we can relate to.  My desire is that every time you look at a sock you think about Brother Paul and the thorn in his flesh, or when you see a feather it reminds you of the anchor for our souls, or when you look at the moon you are reminded how bright Jesus shines in the darkness, or when your computer is doing updates it reminds you of how important our communication with God is.  From cut straw, to changing sky, to a dog, a chicken, a cross in the road, a purple Iris, a bird, a twisted tree, a bird’s nest, no matter what you see during your day, that somehow in something, you are reminded of our Lord and Savior.

You see, that’s really the road we’re on, isn’t it?  The King’s Highway  to the Celestial City?

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

Thank you, Jesus.  Following Jesus, seeking Him, and seeing Him, is what our lives are all about.  Our lives may be winding, uphill or rocky at times, but if we continually seek Him, it will lead to His door.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

It’s a little hard to see.  The weather has washed it out a little.  But we all know what it is.  Heart wrenching, isn’t it? I’ve seen three or four of these types of signs lately on my daily route.  If you’re a pet lover, you look at these signs and sigh an awww.  Then when you arrive at your home, you look at your pet and give them a little extra squeeze and tell them you’re glad they aren’t lost, you’d miss them so much and don’t ever run away, probably in the same voice you’d speak to a baby.  Ok, if I’m the only one who’d do that, just say it.

Every time I see one of these posters, I think of the grieving owner and then I immediately think of Jesus.  You know, the Shepherd.  The One who leaves the 99 to find the one.  That’s our story, isn’t it?  For every believer there is, Jesus left the 99 to find the one, me, you.  Think on that a minute – the depth of love.  Quite hard to fathom, isn’t it?  Although the depth of that love may be hard to believe, the action shouldn’t surprise us.  His Word tells us over and over that He came to save the lost, those that were missing. Instead of our picture on a pole, it was His body on a pole.

Ezekiel 34 tells us all about the Good Shepherd.   As we begin to read at verse one, we can clearly see that there was a shepherd problem in Israel.  Ezekiel tells us that those tasked with leading the sheep were not doing a very good job.  They didn’t feed their flock, nurse their flock, save their flock from prey, or run after the ones who had wandered and were missing.  The shepherds were simply not doing their shepherd jobs – they were caring for themselves instead of for their flocks.

They have wandered through the mountains and hills, across the face  of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.  Ezekiel 34:6

The Good Shepherd speaks and His Words sting a bit, don’t they?  I wonder if the shepherd problem in Ezekiel’s time is so different than the shepherd problem in our time?  Sure, there are folks out there under the guise of “shepherd” drinking the milk, wearing the wool, and butchering the best.  One need not look far for a modern-day example of this and I’m not just talking church leaders.  But, the example may be closer than we think.  You see, we are shepherds.  We may not have a big flock, or shepherd a flock that meets on Sundays, but if we are a lost sheep found, we are to follow the example of our Shepherd, right?  God promised to take over the scattered flock from the leaders of Israel, and He did.  What did He say about his sheep?

I will search and seek them out.

I will deliver them.

I will bring them to their own lands – I will take them home.

I will feed them.

I will gather them together.

I will cause them to lie down.

I will seek the lost.

I will bind their wounds and strengthen the sick.

Ezekiel 34:11-16

Hasn’t he done that for every single one of us?  Read through that again.  Can you think of an example from your life of every one of those promises?

The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10

Jesus came to keep the promises of God, to save us.  Isn’t that something to be shared?  We can’t save people, only God can, but we can show them the Good Shepherd, the One who came to find, feed, deliver, strengthen, heal, protect and take home the lost, those who are missing – to give those with a lost life a new life!

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.  God made Him who knew no sin to be sinon our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Because we have been reconciled to God by the Good Shepherd, we are lost sheep found.  Because we are lost sheep found, we are to find lost sheep.  Isn’t that the example the Good Shepherd gave to us?  Isn’t that the job He has given us to do as ambassadors?  Do you know anyone lost, missing?  Do you know anyone who needs strengthened, healed, protected?  Do you know anyone who needs fed?  Do you know anyone who doesn’t have an eternal home?  Do you know anyone who has run away, who is missing or lost, because of sin?  Do you know anyone who needs to be reconciled to the Good Shepherd?  What are we doing about it? 

PERSIST

Ezekiel Chapter 34

Luke 19:1-10

PURSUE

Being an ambassador for Christ is a serious job.  It means pointing lost sheep in the right direction.  It means telling them how to go from lost to found.  Are we doing that?  Are we telling the ones who are missing that Jesus keeps His promises?  Who better to make the missing signs than someone who is no longer missing?