His Good

What if we were allowed to design our own lives, a buffet of options from which to choose circumstances and material possessions ... could we really be trusted to do that wisely? I can only speak for myself, of course, but I am neither wise enough nor trustworthy enough! David wrote in Psalm 103:2 & 5 (KJV), "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits ... Who satisfies my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's." That word "good" is the tumper because our idea of "good" is very different from God's! The Hebrew word means "pleasant to the higher nature, appropriate." We have this foolish notion that God is more concerned with our earthly happiness than our spiritual healthiness ... wrong! "Jesus opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'" (Matthew 5:2-3, KJV). The richest of spiritual lives are those who are the most spiritually impoverished, poor, literal paupers before God. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you." (James 4:10, ESV). God knows what is best for me and for you, and He is most wise and altogether able to supply every need according to His purpose and plan for today, tomorrow and every day until He returns. My good, your good is His greatest delight; let's open our hearts and gratefully receive ... His good.

Holy Habits

Habits - we all have them. Not all habits are bad, however, when we say we "have a habit," it typically brings to mind ... bad habits. By definition, a habit refers to the frequent repetition or continuance of the same act (Webster's Dictionary, 1828). I suggest many of our habits are done with little thought. There are some habits to which we should be attentive and apply great deliberation - quiet time with God, for example. This is one habit none of us will be naturally driven to do! Psalm 27:8 (ESV) says, "You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.'" This is an example of God telling us what should be a habit for each of His children: stop whatever is occupying your time and seek Me! Note the response: yes, Lord, I will do just that - I will seek You. Is this a habit for you? Make a list of your habits - Look it over carefully. If time with God isn't on your list of habits, begin today and make it a ... holy habit.

Consider the Source

Behind my childhood home was the "appliance" that had no bearing on our electric bill nor did it ever break down: the clothes line. I was actually very familiar with how it worked, too! Perhaps you can remember the joy of crawling into bed and the feel of clean, line-dried sheets ... nothing like it. As I recall those days, I also remember right next to the clothes line was a pig wallow (more accurately pronounced "waller). Oh, how those pigs loved to roll-around (waller) in that mud hole; and, the stench was horrible. There was no escaping the odor as long as the clothes line and the wallow shared space. There's a spiritual lesson for us, something well worth our consideration ... that is, if we desire holiness. After David's most famously recorded sin, God confronted him and David acknowledged his sin; his prayer is profound, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin ... Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:2,7, NASB). Noah Webster defines "wallow" as living in filth "as a man wallowing in his native impurity" (Webster's Dictionary, 1828). Our natural impurity is a terrible place in which our hearts should wallow! The stench of it is never contained: it overflows into our attitudes, our speech, our behavior. We must pray like David, "create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a right spirit within me" (V.10). Honestly, I don't recall those line-dried sheets having an unpleasant odor; that is not the way of the heart, however. Pay attention and carefully tend the heart because from it flows all that is life lives (Proverbs 4:23). The heart is the source of who we are ... consider the source.

Your Days

It's been said that each new day is like an unpainted canvas or a blank piece of paper; the day yet unpainted or unwritten. As sweet and inspiring as that may be, God says: "I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11, NASB). How well thought-out are the plans we have or make for each day? For sure, we hope and pray for a calamity-free day but we - with our very best planning and efforts - cannot guarantee it. Jeremiah's words from God were to the Israelites who were in Babylonian captivity; most likely, they felt they had no say-so nor control over their days. Although we foolishly imagine we do, truth is - ultimately, neither do we! The older-me has come to understand each day is a magnificent gift of God, and each day is determined by God "according to the purpose of Him Who works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11, ESV). Here's the question for you and for me: how well do I trust The One Who is really in-charge of the universe, the world, my life ... all things? Let me testify with complete confidence, He is the only one I can truly trust with my days. He is not surprised when calamity comes; He is still at-work and bringing about His plans through it to shape me by His standards of prosperity and success. That is something I can never do, but He can and does. Why not trust Him with ... your days.

Gather My Heart

We can't time-travel, of course, but if we could, there is a gathering recorded in Scripture I would like to be part of. "Then all the people gathered together as one man at the open square in front of the Water Gate; and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel ... So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding ... then he read from it ... from early morning until midday ... and all the people listened carefully ... Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people ... and when he opened it, all the people stood up ... Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God ... And all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen!' while lifting up their hands; and they knelt down and worshiped the LORD with their faces toward the ground." (from Nehemiah 8, AMP). How wonderful that gathering must have been - to hear the Word of God read, and how it moved the hearts of God's people. I'm deeply convicted of the neglect of my heart to read for myself God's Word, to carefully listen with understanding, to meditate morning into evening, to bless the LORD, to answer Him "so be it LORD" in my life, to lift my hands in praise and adoration, to bow head and heart to The Holy One Who loves me so. What a pleasing assembly and fragrant aroma to The LORD this must have been. We can't travel to the days of Ezra and Nehemiah but such love for Christ can and must be in the hearts of His people today. In the same way, O Father, unto You ... gather my heart.

His Power - His Plan

Every expectation of my day is rightly faced with this: we will see. Every ounce of effort spent in planning and anticipating what is to come is best rooted in ... what will be will be. How foolish Nebuchadnezzar was to imagine he could keep the exiled Jews in captivity beyond what God had planned! Jeremiah reminded God's exiled people that it wasn't Nebuchadnezzar but Almighty God that determined their future. God said to His people, "For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you ... plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, AMP). You know, of course, we all have our own Nebuchadnezzar moments - those times when we [too] imagine we're in control of the days of our lives. Oh, take care lest any of us suffer the humiliation at such arrogance; when King Nebuchadnezzar claimed undue sovereignty, God said to him, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you ..." (Daniel 4:31, ESV). Even common sense and logic should be enough to convince us to trust He Who is Sovereign with our lives; it is, however, by faith we yield our will to The One Who numbers the hairs of our head and length of our days. To Him we humble ourselves and in Him we place all our trust. He knows all things and is able to complete all things according to His purpose. It's always ... His power - His plan.

The Book

Perhaps you remember the librarian - media specialist, she's now called - from your school days. Because I love books, it must have been glorious to spend each day in a room full of them! Emma Thompson said, "Books ... turn up in your life when you most need them." Is there ever a moment in our lives when we don't need The Book of all books - the Bible? Absolutely not! It's God says this about His Word: Matthew 4:4 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." ... Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." ... Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." ... Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God proves true." ... Psalm 119:160 "The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever." If we could possess only one book, it must be God's Word. From cradle to the grave, "The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that's the Book for me - I stand alone on the Word of God - The B-I-B-L-E."  God's Holy Word ... for me and for you, it is forevermore ... the Book.

The Good of All

Sometimes good things come to us quite unexpectedly: didn't ask for it, didn't expect it, wasn't even on our radar! Next, our minds are spinning about what to do with this new blessing. These words from Every Moment Holy challenge and inspire me: "We pause amidst the labors of this day to remember the best reason for our laboring. We labor, O Lord, as stewards of your creation, and as stewards of the gifts you have apportioned to each of us for the good of all." Perhaps many Believers fall into the snare of apportioning "for the good of me" that which has been divinely apportioned "for the good of all." Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”(Luke 6:38). What shame when we hold so tightly that which is [in truth] not ours, only given to us so that we may in turn distribute in "good measure" for the "good of others." The prayer continues, "Bless then the works of our hands and minds and hearts, O God, that they might bear fruit for Your greater purposes." Consider that which you are holding so tightly and withholding for God's great purpose ... give for the good of all.

Have a Conversation

Those who knew my Dad will agree that he was a conversationalist: he loved to talk, and he had a knack for starting a conversation with people who otherwise refused to talk! Don't you imagine Jesus was a conversationalist? Think about it: He sat down at a well and simply asked for a drink of water (which, by the way, led to the longest conversation of His life) - He noticed a man up a sycamore tree, stopped and talked him down from the tree - He cooked breakfast on a beach, luring His friends from their boats and into conversation. Yes, He knew how to start a conversation because He knew (and knows) the deep needs of the human heart. Matthew writes, "Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them." (28:16). These men didn't just happen upon the mountain - Jesus told them to go there because He had something to say to them. He said, "Go ... and make disciples" (V.18). Believers (followers of Jesus) are to duplicate themselves; that is, we are to make more Believers, more followers of Jesus. Sounds like He's telling us to have some conversations ... talk with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, nieces or nephews, grandchildren, the cashier at the market, the guy who sprays for bugs or cuts your grass ... literally, anyone who needs the good news of salvation. None of us know how God will work through a simple conversation with someone, so ... have a conversation.

Live Intentionally

One morning recently, Mister Bill and I left the house intending to have a late breakfast at a local restaurant. After three stops where we were dissuaded by full parking lots and long lines, we ended up having an early lunch instead. Lunch was delicious but lunch was not our intention! I fear this is too often the case in our spiritual lives: we intend many good things but we are distracted and end up off-track! Paul poses this question: "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?" (1 Corinthians 9:24, NASB). It's a simple truth - the one who runs unhindered and intentionally focus wins. "Run in such a way that you may win ... not without aim" (V.24, 26). This is a new year and undoubtedly the days ahead will be full of "good intentions." What a great time to consider our intentions: am I running with the prize in mind? am I running to win? am I running with the aim of being more like Christ? If you're breathing, you're running. Run the race well ... live intentionally.