Live Nobly

No one I know personally is born to nobility -- a king, queen, prince, or princess.  Now, I suppose the closest I'll get to such royalty is what Mr.  Bill sometimes calls me ... "my queen."  Ok, I can live with that!

 

It's not big news that noble folks don't always act like noble folks. We see enough of that in the news not to mention in the grocery store, on ball fields, and in family circles.  Did you know that Believers are born into nobility? James 2:5 says those who love the Lord are "heirs of the kingdom."  Titus 3:7 says we are justified by God's grace and made to "become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."  You see, those who love the Lord are noble indeed, rich in an inheritance of eternal hope. We are truly born [again] into nobility. Because of Christ – live nobly!

A Strong Weakness

Do you know where your weak points are?  I’m evermore learning mine!  This "borrowed blessing" lifted my tired spirit today, and encouraged my heart.  I hope it does the same for you!

 

When I am at my weakest point You are just beginning.

When I know myself to be at the end of my strength, I know my Lord to be at the front of the battle.

When I've convinced I cannot go another step, You sweep me into Your mighty arms and carry me the rest of the way.

Lord, I abide in Your Marvelous Grace. I lean on Your never-failing Love.

 

God wants us to rest completely in this: "My Grace is sufficient for you, for My Power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9).  He makes a strong weakness!

New Measures

A few months ago, our community got a new store.  It’s a popular discount store, filled with just about every household need plus some.  How handy it is to just scoot up the road – well, sometimes it’s too handy!

 

Have you ever desperately needed new measures of strength?  A time when reality met you head-on, and side-stepping no longer was an option?  That moment you realize life is moving forward with or without you?  One of the earliest verses I remember Mom quoting is Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My Help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”  What balm to the soul that we have a Wonderful, Merciful Savior … Precious Redeemer and Friend … Counselor, Comforter, Keeper, Spirit we long to embrace … Almighty Infinite Father … faithfully loving Your own … Here in our weakness You find us falling before Your throne … Oh, we’re falling before Your throne … You are the One that we praise … You are the One we adore … You give the Healing and Grace … Our hearts always hunger for … Oh, our hearts always hunger for. (Lyrics by Dawn Rodgers and Eric Wyse).  New measures of Mercy and Grace – new every morning!  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present Help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1).  Sometimes it’s song that blesses, refreshes, comforts, and inspires us to seek Christ Who gives new measures of all we need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQzrqmcwg8o

Live Well

Every morning, and I mean every morning – by the way, did I say every morning – I hear an advertisement for a weight loss program.  I can repeat it verbatim, and oh how I wish I couldn’t!  My sister joined the program once, ate their pre-packaged foods, and even lost weight.  She actually has the best commercial: “Join today and lose $600.”

 

Who doesn’t want to live well.  Whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual well-being, it’s what we desire.  Although the message is often otherwise, God truly wants us to live a positive and productive life.  Many of our early life goals include wise choices about education, health, investments – all of which are good.  It’s common, however, we are [shall I say] less than diligent with regard to core spiritual principles as God instructs.  Interestingly, the Book of Proverbs is full of wise instruction about instruction: “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is the life.” (Proverbs 4:13). While not all instructions are matters of life and death, when God gives instruction it is intended as His best for our best.  We’re not always quick to see His way as best: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12).  The best investment for living well is “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5).  We are wise to trust the LORD completely; our trust is never misplaced.  It is the only way to … live well.

Be Well

MORNING WITH BEVERLY: Thursday 02-23-2017

Be Well

 

Every house I know of has a medicine cabinet.  We actually have several.  The one in the kitchen has the sign for poison taped to the inside of the door, which has been there for some thirty years.

 

Spiritual sickness should not be ignored.  We all know how it is to be physically sick, but often we don't think about the ongoing battle for spiritual wellness.  All humans - believer or not - understand wrestling against anxiety, discouragement, fear, bitterness, etc.  These are all threats to the spirit!  Here's one profound statement [among many] in the Bible: “He hath said.”  God, the One of all power and authority, has spoken. His words, written and preserved through the ages, are of great consequence and of utmost regard.  “There may be a potent medicine in the great pharmacopoeia of Scripture, and you may yet continue sick unless you will examine and search the Scriptures to discover what ‘He hath said.’” (Spurgeon).  Without thought or hesitation, we reach for the medicine cabinet, so why not the Bible for healing of our spirits!  Paul prescribed in Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Such medicine is not poisonous but rather divine, and promotes unimaginable wellness.  Reach for a daily dose of God's Word, and know the healing of He Who said.  Be well.

Gloriously Content

Our nation has new leadership and we’ve witnessed oaths made to varying offices. I’ve thought about the seriousness of the oaths, and considered oaths I’ve made personally.  As best I can recall, the only official oath I’ve made was to Mr. Bill goin’on forty-two years ago.

 

An oath is simply a promise, a pledge, a vow – giving your word. The Puritan prayer, “To Be Fit for God,” could easily be an oath to God; here’s a portion of the prayer:  “Balance my mind in all varying circumstances and help me to cultivate a disposition that renders every duty a spiritual privilege.” Consider all we do: facilitating a business meeting, taking clothes to the cleaners, shopping for groceries, paying bills, mopping and dusting, bathing children – and, seeing every task a spiritual privilege. Most – maybe all – of what we do day-by-day is governed by our disposition.  Oh, no!  Please don’t bring up our attitude! Paul wrote, “Whether you drink or eat, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).  This isn’t a suggestion: it’s a command concerning the way of life for every Christian.  God says, do  all for My glory. The Puritan prayer concludes, “Thus may I be content, be a glory to Thee and an example to others.” How very different our dispositions (aka attitudes) would be if in all we do, we were gloriously content.  So be it, Lord!

Your Best Effort

Because Mr Bill and I have a long history – he was 16 and I was 12 when we first met – we remember times when we celebrated the completion of otherwise simple tasks.  Nowadays, the "older us" simply take joy in a good effort!

 

Know this -- living a righteous life demands much effort! That road is neither free nor easy!  The psalmist gives some insight into what it takes to stay pure unto God: “You have tried my heart, You have visited me by night, You have tested me, and You will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. With regard to the works of man, by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.” (Psalm 17:3-5).  The Christian who pursues purity understands his life is an open book before the LORD to be continuously examined (tried, visited, tested).  Furthermore, he [who is serious] is always conscious of what is required to stay pure: live intently, avoid pitfalls, faithful to convictions, move cautiously -- all for the purpose of staying within the ways of righteousness. My high school basketball coach told me “if you’re gonna loaf, don’t loaf on defense.”  In the Christian life, we cannot relax our defenses.  I suggest the best defense is a strong offense: "I made haste and delayed not to keep Your commandments." (Psalm 119:60), and “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11).  I challenge you, therefore, to be diligent and make every effort to be rooted in the perfect Truth of God's Word.  That effort alone allows God's Grace to do Its supreme and divine work in and through you.  That will always be your best effort!

Unnumbered Days

Have you ever thought about how much we number things?  Streets and highways are numbered, store aisles are numbered, shoe and shirt sizes are numbered, products are number, even people are numbered – you know, we have that infamous social security number!  I don't know, maybe we couldn't move through life without numbers?

 

The word "ever" occurs some 476 times in Scripture, and it means "the perpetuity of time, an unbroken age."  As finite beings, I’m not so sure any of us can grasp the concept of forever.  Psalm 139:16 says, "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."  Isn't it incredible we were known [by the Creator] before we were otherwise known!  It's hard to imagine, but time will cease one day.  In light of eternity - the forever - the relevancy of time won't be … relevant.  In the Apostle Peter’s words, “to God be glory now and forever." (2 Peter 3:18).  We mustn’t forget to God be glory now but what will it be like to never again gauge the present moment by a clock?  To never ponder time in relation to what we’re doing or where we’ll be?  There’s only endless-ness, timeless-ness, unceasing-ness. No more multi-tasking, the forever dedicated to praise of The One Who paid our sin debt.  No, I can’t really imagine it but that’s how it’s going to be for the Redeemed (the blood-bought ones) in those unnumbered forever days.  I’m ready – are you? 

Spread the Red

What's your favorite colors?  I love earth tones ... hazelnut and sage, but I also love bold and bright ... royal blue and sunflower yellow.  One summer I bought a pair of bright orange pajamas and when Mr. Bill saw them, he exclaimed, "Hunter orange -- one of my favorite colors."  Beverly, what were you thinking!  Not thinking, obviously.

 

God is Creator of all colors and I like to think He loves them all, but it is God who made the color red famous.  No, it wasn't Cupid or Santa; it was the color of God's Love poured out for you and I.  That bright and beautiful Living Sacrifice today represents no less atonement, forgiveness, mercy, grace or love.  That Red frees us to love others, give to others, serve others.  He has plainly shown us how: "We love because He first loved us." (John 4:19).  Every day is the day to celebrate Red, to celebrate God’s Love ... Spread The Red.

Beloved

MORNING WITH BEVERLY: Tuesday 02-14-2017

 

Happy Valentine's Day.  Oh, the candy that has been or will be bought ... and consumed.  My, the flowers to be delivered ... and, subsequent smiles.  Gracious, the balloons to be inflated ... and, the squeals and giggles produced. And, let's certainly not forget the card aisles!

 

The word isn't very common today, but it's a beautiful Bible word: beloved.  In both Old and New Testaments, it's the ultimate term of affection.  One beloved is the preferred love!  In the New Testament beloved is exclusively refers to unique affection Christ has toward His children. "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. ... Beloved, we are God's children now." (from 1 John 3:1-2).  If you're born-again, you are God's beloved!  If Christians really believed this, what more self-esteem do we need!  I suspect the sale of beauty products, trendy fashions, and self-help books would dramatically decrease.  Yes, I've bought my share of chocolate for Valentine's Day and [I suspect] I'll receive my share as well.  Once the cards are read, flowers fade, balloons are deflated and chocolate is consumed, it's done - over - concluded - the end [till next year].  The Love of God, however, endures forever and His Gift [Jesus] eternal!  Did you know Believers are "God's chosen ones, holy and beloved" (Colossians 3:12), "loved by God and called to be saints" (Romans, 1:7), "beloved children" (Ephesians 5:1), "His workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10), "called children of God" (1 John 3:1)?  Furthermore, did you know God is "Him Whom my soul loves" (Song of Solomon 3:1)?  And the ultimate truth: "I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine." (Song of Solomon 6:3).  We are in the Beloved - Jesus Christ! To show us how deeply He loves us, God "cared to send the very best" -- He sent the Hallmark of our faith: a sinless spotless Lamb, the Redeeming Love Redeemer to redeem! How's that for preferred love!  If you are not in the Beloved, what a great day to become one!  If you are in the Beloved, celebrate it today and evermore!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Wear Is Where?

Aging is not always pleasant and rarely graceful ... even of things. Our front porch has several pieces of wood that need to be replaced although they have weathered quite well many a foot-stompin' and bush-whackin' from little [and big] guys through the years. Nonetheless, the wear is there!

 

Life can bring about its own wear is there, and it's just too easy to become discouraged and despair take over!  You know the country tune, "Gloom, despair and agony on me ..." Now, I don't mean to make you start humming it -- just think about it a moment: the kids won't mind, dog keeps barking, dishwasher's on the blitz, gas prices too high, and on and on and on. We're doing our best to keep a'smilin' but let's face it ... the wear-is-there!  Just how do we survive?  In 2 Corinthians Paul has more than just a good idea; he has the recipe for victory: "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (4:16-18)  Yeah, replacing those old boards will sure improve the looks of the porch but staying in God's Word and focused in prayer & fellowship with The Father will actually change the wear is there to ... wear is where? 

Make A Memory

Aren’t you glad God gave us the ability to remember?  We joke about forgetfulness - and it’s good to forget some things - but I'm so glad my Grands remember me when they've not seen me in [too many] days.  I'm so happy I can recall fun times spent with girlfriends.  And, some days I’m simply delighted I remember the way home without bread crumbs!

 

Remembering is important to God!  Every time we see a rainbow, it's a sign of remembrance - God remembering His covenant with the earth (Genesis 9:9-13).  Repeatedly throughout Israel’s history, even when God's people failed to remember Him, God faithfully remembered them.  In the New Testament, there are many passages of remembrance, and one that encourages me is in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God our Father.” Here's what Paul was saying: every time we pray we remember and thank God for your devotion to Christ – the accomplishments of your hands because of your beliefs, how you trouble yourselves and toil because of brotherly love, and that you stay joyful in the expectation of and confidence in Christ before God.  Now, don't you imagine those Thessalonian Christians just loved reading this letter over and over!  What uplifting words!  Last night, my Pastor led us through numerous verses about how church people should be toward one another: love and honor one another (Romans 12:10), be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), pray for one another (James 5:16).  Yes I know [generally speaking] Christians haven’t done this very well, nonetheless it’s right and good to do so.  Have you spoken words lately to encourage someone?  Let us always remember – that is, never forget – God uses the small things we do in big ways, making them long-remembered!  Make a memory for someone this weekend!

Are You Ready?

About the only time I have the television on is in the mornings to listen to news.  One of the commercials I hear almost every morning begins, “Are you ready?”  For those of us who answer an alarm clock each morning, getting ready is Goal #1 each morning.

 

Paul closed his first letter to the Christians at Thessalonica with these words, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He Who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, ESV).  If He Who calls us will sanctify us, what's the hold-up?  The hold-up is us!  Few of us are really ready -- prepared to pay the price.  And, yes, there is a cost to being made holy as God is holy!  There will certainly be restrictions to earthly passions, departures from selfish interests, a laying down in the dust of treasures, a turning away from lusts and loves.  To the Holy God, holiness is serious and not approached casually or lightly. In [what is called] the Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed we might be "one with Him" as He is one with the Father (Verses 21-23).  To be one with Christ is a true setting apart from the world.  I've often acknowledged what hinders my own "readiness" is usually love of my sins – those pet sins!  I must ask therefore - am I ready to be identified sanctified – to lay down that which I hold so dear, made one with my Savior Who laid down His life for me?  Are you ready?

God of Answers

MORNING WITH BEVERLY: Wednesday 02-08-2017

God of Answers

 

Have you ever been looking-looking-looking for something and it is just not to be found!  You've seen it here or there, moved it out of the way, and even thought, I’m so tired of moving this thing.  Then one day you really need it and it’s nowhere to be found.  That makes me nuts!

 

Now, consider the last time you put before God a request then began to wait for His answer.  As you waited, soon you began to entertain the thoughts of how patient you have been and how slow God is to respond.  Yeah, uh-huh, right.  Remember the two men with whom Jesus appeared and walked on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus?  Not knowing Jesus’ identity at the time, they explained their sadness to Him: “But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.” (Luke 24:21).  Their plight could well be described as a pity party, but more accurately as spiritual dejection.  Oswald Chambers defines spiritual lust as that which causes us to "demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself Who gives the answer. Ouch!  That thing we were looking for, the things we finally declared the thing lost-and-gone-forever, guess what?  There it is!  God is always at work in our lives, never wasting a circumstantial opportunity to graciously grow us in our faith.  Spiritual dejection is real but God is greater than anything that threatens to lure us off-track.  "Trust and obey ... there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.

Poured Out

No one escapes spillings!  I’m talking about those incidents at the table when a tea glass or cup of milk is turned over.  There's the sudden and mad dash to soak it up before it runs into someone’s lap or into the crevices of the table and eventually onto the floor.  We’re talking chaos and confusion!

 

Spiritual spillings happen, too, but can be avoided.  There’s a definite difference between something being poured and something being spilled.  Spillings happen by accident, causing chaos and confusion, but to pour is a more deliberate and calculated act.  Paul writes, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering …” (2 Timothy 4:6).  Consider the Bible heroes such as Moses, Joseph, and Daniel and the trials they faced.  Why [do you suppose] we don't read of them falling apart or coming unglued in the fire?  Perhaps it's because they'd already had a private crisis where a change of personal will had taken place.  Psalm 118:27 says "bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar," which implies a deliberate and disciplined act of giving up one's personal will to the will of God.  It's that "living sacrifice" we read about in Romans 12:1.  This becomes the clear and distinct spiritual contrast between the chaos and confusion of being spilled out and the peace and joy of being poured.  Have you been through the fire recently?  Was your response more like a spilling or a pouring?  It's good to take note of this because none of us escape the fires of life, and neither do we know the fires yet to come – and, they will come!  It’s with confidence we have a God Who is all-knowing and all-powerful, and He’s promised to lead us through the fire unscorched and unburned (Isaiah 43:2).  Trust Him and submit to Him, and be ready to be poured out.

JOTB

What's the worst part about vacations?  The end.  Leaving.  It's over.  Packing up.  The drive home, which seems twice as long!  We’ve already made our beach reservations for the summer, and I've already begun to dread coming home.  Get a grip, Beverly!

 

Where does your mind stay?  If it's like mine, most of the time it is as if caught in a revolving door. Like a revolving  door, it's difficult to control what comes in and what goes out.  Isaiah 26:3 writes of the secret to perfect peace [of mind], "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."  Simply put, it's JOTB: Jesus on the Brain!  How do we do that ... keep the mind stayed on God for the sake of perfect peace [sanity]? Here's a few things that help me: (1) Greet God first thing every day – He watched over you while you slept; (2) Begin each day in The Word – it’s His love letter to you; (3) Talk to The Father – and, listen too; (4) Sing or hum a tune throughout the day – it chases away the grumbles; (5) Refer to Scripture during the day – it’s good spiritual exercise; (6) Smile a lot -- it improves your face and it's contagious.  These suggestions certainly aren’t cure-alls, but they sure help keep Satan at a distance.  Fixing our minds on heavenly things helps us stay armed and ready for every negative  advance, and it helps spread a little "staying power" to others.  JOTB - Jesus on the Brain.

God of All Rest

There are many who suffer with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).  While it is treatable, because the actual cause remains largely unknown, finding relief is difficult.  Mr. Bill has suffered many years with RBN -- mostly pre- and post-full moon -- and, that would be … Restless Beverly Nights.

 

The beautiful invitations of Psalm 95 to acknowledge and worship Jehovah God are followed by some real and serious consequences for those who choose to do otherwise. “It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways … they should not enter into My rest.” (Psalm 95:10-11).  To err is to wander, to go astray, to stagger – we get that!  We err in our heart because the heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9).  The heart left unattended is much the same as trusting the ocean’s current will guide you to the shore – uh, don't count on it!  The Father longs to give rest to the soul, for each to know genuine the peace of rest.  Moses' powerful prayer of Psalm 90 begins, "Lord, Thou hast been our Dwelling Place in all generations." (Psalm 90:1).  How wonderful the soul's perfect and right dwelling place isn't a place at all -- it's a Person, and that Person is God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Rest is a Person!  Resolving restlessness of legs may be a medical mystery but rest for the soul of man is not!  It is in God of All Rest: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you Rest.” (Matthew 11:28).  Is your heart restless, your spirit a'drift?  Be still and know - know the God of All Rest.  Rest …

 

Perfect Conductor

If you've ever been part of a choir, one of the first things you learn is to watch the conductor.  A good director knows his stuff, and well he should since all eyes are on him!  One missed cue or stutter-step and the whole crowd is whacked except, of course, those who aren't watching the director!

 

Psalm 33:18 says, "But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, and those whose hope is in His unfailing love." Read that again -- God is always watching those who fear Him, those who hold Him in reverence.  Young eagles are born with the capacity to fly, but they must be taught.  That's why a baby eagle is literally pushed from his nest by father and mother after only a few short months; he must learn to soar -- it's what eagles are born to do!  I recall times when I felt God had shoved me from where I was comfortable, where I felt secure, and where I was actually quite content!  Those difficult times gave birth to times of deepening trust in Him.  It was soaring practice. However frightening and unpleasant those times were, God was always between me and the rocks below!  He never went to sleep – He never missed a cue – He never failed me.  He was – and is – the Perfect Conductor!