Don't Delay - Obey

Do you have a "want-to" problem? Well, I certainly do! The first project of my morning was to wash a sink-load of dishes. Mister Bill even commented we might need to hire some help; I noted his sarcasm but did not hear an offer from him to wash them. God says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us." (Hebrews 12:1a NET). How foolish of God's children to forget the weight of sinfulness! It is weighty and cumbersome, greatly influencing our good intention of obedience to Christ. You want to know why my sink was full of dirty dishes? The answer is ... when the dishes should have been washed, I simply didn't want to wash them. Isn't that the problem with spiritual endurance? We "say" we love Jesus and want to be obedient to Him and walk in a pleasing way before Him yet we do not because we become fixated on something else. The rest of Verse 1 counsels us how to persevere in Godly obedience: "keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." Dishes are washed and the sink is empty and clean - I love it. It is good for the child of God to keep his eyes on Christ and live in obedience to Him ... do not allow sin to gather in your heart nor put-off obedience. Don't delay .. obey.

Restore Me

There's more than a few things here that have been restored: hardwood floors, a fireplace, walls, bathrooms ... such is this old house in which we live. The psalmist prayed, "Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your indignation toward us to cease." (Psalm 85:4 NASB). We don't use that word "indignation" too much these days but I suggest we all act in indignation more than we think ... in extreme anger mixed with disgust. Just watch the news these days and you'll feel ... indignation! Oh, how I forget it is my sinfulness that cause God's "indignation" towards me. The psalmist continues, "Will You be angry with us forever? ... Will you not Yourself revive us again that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your loving kindness, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation." (V5-7). When I look at the beauty of these old hardwood floors, I'm reminded of their poor and neglected condition before they were refinished ... restored. Oh, the beauty of the soul that has acknowledged its sin and presented it to The Father for forgiveness and cleansing - such beauty is beyond compare. That is the soul that has experienced the steadfast love of God's salvation. The heart of man is in need of such soul-cleansing daily. Oh yes, such beauty and rejoicing is the longing of my soul. Dear Lord ... restore me.

Heart Matters

Both of us now retired, one thing that helps us stay on-track and and what's happening from day-to-day is my online calendar. I suppose we all know what it's like to begin the day with thoughts of what we anticipate our goings and doings, even to consider the priorities of the day.  Here's a first-thing given to us by God in His Word: "Keep the heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23). I suspect and fear heart-diligence doesn't top many lists! Since the heart cannot be disengaged from what we speak and how we behave, Believers should take care and caution. "Behold, [Lord], You delight in Truth in the inward being, and You teach me wisdom in the secret heart." (Psalm 51:6). There's lots of continuous noise that comes our way from the world, and we're easily distracted and led away from this priority of carefully guarding our hearts according to Godly Truth. So it goes for Mister Bill and I - we tend to take care of the most important matters of each day, and so it should be with every child of God. At the top of the list - every day and in every way - make heart matters a priority because the ... heart matters. 

Oh Heart, Rejoice

What causes your heart to rejoice? Most commonly it's some exciting news or event, something very noteworthy. Last year, for Mister Bill and I, it was a fiftieth anniversary; while we anticipate more, there will never be another fiftieth. The psalmist writes, "Let the heart of the them rejoice that seek the Lord" (Psalm 105:3 KJV). Seeking (pursuing) The Lord may not seem as something that qualifies one to ... rejoice - an experience of joy and gladness in a high degree. Yet, God says to go in search of Him is a joyous thing! Do you suppose our hearts have become hardened by the progressive thrill of the wrong things?  Read these words of an 18th Century woman: "I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than when I have been sitting at work, with nothing before me but a candle and a white cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my own breath, with God in my soul and heaven in my eye ... I rejoice in being exactly what I am - a creature capable of loving God, and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get up and look for a while out of the window, and gaze at the moon, and stars, the work of an Almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, and then sit down, and think myself one of the happiest beings in it." (Daily Strength for Daily Needs). Nehemiah 8:10 says "the joy of the Lord is your strength" ... can there be anything more simple yet sustaining to God's children than knowing The Lord's abiding Presence in the daily moments of life: preparing a meal, driving to work, doing laundry, caring for children or an elderly parent, sweeping the floor? Gephard Tersteegen wrote: "Be Thou my Sun, my selfishness destroy - Thy atmosphere of Love be all my joy - Thy Presence be my sunshine ever bright - My soul the little mote that lives but in Thy light." I have need to ask myself on what my heart finds its center - in my little selfish joys or in The Presence of The One Whose joy brings strength and joy to my soul? In Christ alone ... oh heart, rejoice!

That Kind of Faithful

How long does it take to be described as one who is faithful? You may as well ask "how long is a piece of rope?" Faithfulness is an adhering to or holding firmly to a duty; it's defined by consistent allegiance or loyalty to something. We must conclude, therefore, one does not wake-up one day as suddenly ... faithful. No, it is to be achieved and gained over a period of time, a perseverance to consistency of doing-and-doing, over-and-over. Yes, the quality of faithfulness comes with time. I propose Daniel as a Bible hero who remained faithful to his God ... unruffled by whims and demands of earthly authority. Even when men maliciously tried to cause him to stumble, Daniel gave a faithful response: instead of praying to the king [as decreed], Daniel continued to do as he always had done and prayed to his God three times a day (Daniel 6:13). Lack of perseverance and endurance is the greatest enemy to achieving "faithful" status; it demands boldness and courage but [spiritually speaking] it mostly requires a heart that is undivided between God and other things. Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37 ESV). Let's be clear: that's a special kind of love! Loving God in that produces results that are unwavering and unyielding, the faithfulness we see in Daniel's life - a faithfulness that made the pages of God's Word. Oh yeah, I want to be ... that kind of faithful.