A Daily Prayer

A daily prayer:
Lord, help me to love You with all my heart today. May my one desire be to do Your will in all things. May I love to do Your will--nothing more; nothing less. May I give thanks in all things for You have chosen me to be Your follower, Your disciple, a doer of Your will. May I do always those things that please You.
Lord, help me to love You with all my soul. May I surrender every part of who I am to Your transforming power. May I hold nothing back. May I surrender all. Search my heart; try me; change me. May each day there be less of me and more of You shining through my life.
Lord, help me to love You with all my mind. May Your presence be always in my thoughts, Your Word my meditation. May Your truth sanctify my heart, purify my love, deepen my understanding. May I embrace that You are the Logos, that knowing You--the Word in Whom resides all wisdom--I can see the world and the people in it as they really are--as You see them.
Lord, help me to love You with all my strength. May I not grow weary in doing well. May I give You my weaknesses and my perceived strengths so that Your grace can be made perfect in me, so that by the power of Your strength, I can do your will, surrender all that I am to You, know You and the power of Your resurrection in my daily walk..
And Lord, help me to love my neighbor--family, friend, and stranger. No, not as I love myself for You through the example of Your cross have given me a greater, new commandment. Help me to love them as graciously, kindly, sacrificially, and unconditionally as You loved me. May I die to myself and take up any cross in order to show the world Your love.

Amen.

Losing the Battle

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

The enemy is not humanity--not human beings. Ever. When I lash out at flesh and blood, not only am I not fighting the right battle, I am fighting for the wrong side. To fight the battle I must daily, prayerfully, put on the whole armor of God. I must daily pray for all those in authority that they might encounter Christ. I must daily submit to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that I might resist the conforming power of the world system and thus worship God with my life. I must take every thought captive to obedience in my life. 

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses."

Wrong enemy. Wrong weapons. Losing battle.

Glory

"The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord, as the water covers the sea,"

"Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

One day His glory will fill the earth. Today His glory should fill the space you and I live in. Every second of the day.

How? "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law." That is God's description of a beautiful life--a Christ-like life. A praise-worthy life--His praise, not mine.

Did everything that I said and did today reflect those things? Everything. It does not say be sure that everybody else is demonstrating those things. You and I should be so glorifying God in all those ways. And not one at a time--all of them in all that I do and say--regardless of what others may do or say. Regardless.

The question I should ask myself at the end of each day is "Did I glorify Him today by making Him visible in all that I did? In all that I said? Was Christ seen in me?"

"Breathe on me Breath of God. Fill me with life anew. That i may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do."

Too Often

Too often I complain--oh, never out loud--that God is being silent. And there sits my closed Bible on the desk.

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Too often I think--what if people knew my thoughts and the struggles in my heart what would they think?

He knows.

He thinks--"I love you with a love that cannot cease."

That will do.

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Too often I wake up in the morning thinking, "I will never make it through this day!"

And then the Spirit who "specializes" in my weaknesses takes control.

That evening I think--"one of the best days ever."

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Too often I sit and think--imagine--what my future is going to look like--and wow! can I ever imagine. Then, I start to worry, feel stressed, even depressed. At times--do I dare admit it--angry.

And then I am reminded.
"that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord."

"This mortal will take on immortality. This corruptible will take on the incorruptible."

"And just so, shall I ever be with the Lord."

Just so. Ever.

That's my future.

It's far beyond my wildest imagination.

What do you think? Maybe I need to think about--meditate on--the future I know to be true. That might put the kibosh on that worrying, ungrateful thinking. "Whatever things are worthy of praise; think on these things."

"The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

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Too often I spend so much time trying to come up with some spectacular way to say "I love you" that I miss out on all the simple but elegant opportunities I have each day to simply "say," "I love you." Couldn't be because the spectacular ways make me look good, could it? (I do love myself!)

Lord keep me simple.

To Know

My father was a man of quiet strength, unquestionable integrity, and deep commitment--to his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his friends of all ages, those he worked for--both those in authority over him and those he served, and his Savior. Perhaps a little shy--never timid. If something needed to be said or done, he said or did it as inconspicuously as possible. Often he shed tears at the singing of a hymn or the teaching of a message. He served the church in anyway asked of him from teaching to serving on a board to cleaning the building. His favorite verses were the following:
"And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son does not have the life. These things have I written unto you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life."

Never tell me that what you know does not impact the man or woman that you are becoming. My father had and lived each day "the life." The Life that he knew with confidence lived within Him.

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Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another."

Those "anothers" are followed by a period--not a list of exceptions.

What do all men know about you?

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The Spiritual Mind:
"I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord . . . that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the participation in His sufferings, being conformed to His death"

The three evidences that I "count all things loss" and value above all else knowing Him: the power of His resurrection in my walk, joy when considered worthy to suffer for His sake, daily being conformed to His death.

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

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The Principle of Ownership:
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple--a sanctuary, the holy of holies--of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own! For you have been bought with a price: therefore glory God in your body."

To know Him as your Redeemer, as the One who has purchased you--all of you--with His blood is to be intensely, personally, daily--moment by moment His living sacrifice. That is true worship.

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"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,"

Since you know that is true, never stop saying what you know to be true about Him, never be blinded by the momentary but trust and obey the One who makes all things beautiful in His time. Be thankful that He is the One who defines "good." No matter what; "Do good and serve others with a heart of love."

Be a Delight

Proverbs 6:16-19
"There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven that are an abomination to His soul:
Haughty eyes--pride, arrogance, rebellion, defiance
A lying tongue--truth twisters, betrayers, false teachers, vow breakers, blasphemers
Hands that shed innocent blood--those who take the life of the innocent of any and all ages; those who scoff at the sanctity of life
A heart that devises wicked plans--those who lie awake at night planning what evil they can do tomorrow
Feet that run rapidly to evil--they hasten in the morning to put their plots into action--find joy in their evil behavior
A false witness who utters lies--perjurers, false accusers, blame-gamers
One who spreads strife among brothers--trouble makers, gossips, creators of dissension."

God is not into subtlety.

But what then must bring delight to His soul?
Humility--those who put the needs of others above their own, servants
Truth tellers--the honest, the loyal, the vow keepers, those with integrity
Hands that protect the innocent--preservers of life,
A loving heart that rejoices in every opportunity to do good
Feet that run to do good--those that delight in righteous living
An honest witness--those who can be trusted to tell the truth regardless of what it costs them
Peacemakers--between God and men; and men and men
Be a delight to the soul of God.

All the Forms of Love He Wears

In my past:
In times of despair as deep and dark as death itself, He has wrapped my soul in the peace deeper than the darkness--He has whispered, "All will be well. All will be well."
In the times that my faith would make a mustard seed look like a mountain, He has lifted me on the wings of His faithfulness and empowered me to soar in the wildest storm.
In those times when I have in rebellion shaken my fist in His face proclaiming, "I don't care if it's sin!"--He has enclosed my fist in His nail-scarred hands and said, "I love you and I forgive you."
In lonely times--sometimes a loneliness that I did not even sense, I have been surrounded by His nearness, by a sense of His presence so real that I knew that if I would turn and look He would be there--that I would see Him. No doubt, with eyes of faith, my lonely heart has seen Him clearly.
In those times when I have peevishly exclaimed, "I told you I wasn't going to do that, no matter what!" He has smiled, given a holy shrug, taken my hand and laughing together He has led me down the path of obedience that He--and I--both knew that I would travel.
In times of physical need when all the resources I could imagine were empty, He has sent provision from an unexpected--dare, I say--least expected source--a source I didn't even know existed. "Out of My riches in glory, remember?"
Sometimes as I have uncontrollably wept--inside and out--He has put a song in my heart so powerful that it escaped my lips so that I--and those who knew me--would nod in praise--"Joy comes in the morning." More tears, too--but His joy. And a song.
In times of doubt He has often answered me with more questions so that I would finally see things as He sees them--finally see clearly the insights of my Father.
Sometimes when in prideful, arrogant, self-righteous indignation, I have longed to tell others all the wretchedness of their faults, He has closed my mouth--quieted my spirit--until I remembered "always a soft answer; always a soft answer. The fool is quick to speak; the wise quick to hear. Do you really want to play the fool today My imperfect, forgiven, beloved one?"
In times when I have been asked to speak and had no words to say--at least not words that I thought would impress them enough with all my wisdom--the Spirit has filled my lips with words from His heart instead of mine. Thus, when all was "said and done," I could only marvel, "Did I say that?" "No," He smiles, "I did."
In those times when I have stubbornly pushed at every padlocked door--more than once--He has patiently held open the one door until I was ready to submit. And then, as I walked through, He whispered, "Thank you."

In my past. And so today as I struggle with despair, loneliness, rebellion, need, sorrow, a lack of faith, pride, self-absorption, stubbornness--when I finally listen for His voice, I hear Him whisper, "All will be well. All will be well."

"O could I speak the matchless worth, O could I sound the glories forth which in my Savior shine . . . I'd sing the characters He bears, and all the forms of love He wears. . . triumphant in His grace."

"Triumphant in His grace."

Sweet

An old chorus:

Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before; every day with Jesus I love Him more and more; Jesus saves and keeps me, and He's the one I'm waiting for; every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

And:

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise, just to know "Thus saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!

And

In the sweet bye and bye we shall meet on that beautiful shore.

"Sweet!"

He Is Coming

Three characteristics of those genuinely looking for His coming:

One. Holy conduct and godliness--a conduct that separates us from the pursuits of the world. This is not something I need to try to do--if I am living a life of obedience to His Word, my conduct will set me apart from the world. And, of course, the reason I do so is because I am motivated by the fear of the Lord--by godliness. My heart's desire is to never grieve or hurt or disappoint the loving heart of my Savior who willingly sacrificed so much for me. He is the one I desire to please.

Two. "Diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, taking advantage of His patience." Peace comes when I "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving" make my requests known to Him. Spotless results from a hatred of the sin in my life--it only takes one spot. How do I know if I hate the sin in my life? Is confession my eager response to the Holy Spirit's prodding? Blamelessness results from an eagerness to meet the needs of the poor, the orphan, and the widow. What does it mean to take advantage of His patience? He patiently "delays" His return because He is not willing that any should perish. Am I a seeker of the lost?

Three. On guard so that "unprincipled men" who "distort" the Scripture do not undermine my commitment to holy conduct and godliness, my commitment to prayer and to living a spotless and blameless life, and my commitment to act on His heart's desire that all come to repentance.
Am I really looking for His return? Or you?

Be Holy.
Be Diligent.
Be on Guard.

He is coming.

Hope

Peter reminds us that our hope is a living--energizing hope. The inheritance that it represents is imperishable--eternal; undefiled--eternally pure; will never fade away--eternally undiminished; and reserved in Heaven for you--not by you--and thus, eternally secure. Our Father, omnipotent and immutable, is its Protector and Guarantor. Such a life infusing hope is necessary because in the present tense we face many trials. Trials of our faith. Those trials are always need based--"if necessary." They are never random. God doesn't allow trails in our life because He has nothing better to do. He has a purpose behind each one. And though those trials are different for each of us, the purpose is the same. To show that our faith is genuine, to refine us into His gold to be spent for the furtherance of His kingdom, and to bring praise and glory to His Name--to make the invisible God undeniably "visible" to those He has placed in our lives--even if in some cases that's only for a moment. As we respond to our trials spontaneously--genuinely--just as He responded to His, and as those responses transform us more and more into His likeness, we become the evidence of His mercy, love, and resurrection power. The world will say of us--"They have been with Jesus."

"Hope thou in God"

The Choice

You cannot love unconditionally without being hurt.

You cannot love unconditionally without at times being take advantage of.

To love unconditionally is to be a man or woman of sorrows; acquainted with grief.

To love as Christ loved--to have as your heart's desire to minister to the needs of those around you, you must love unconditionally.

To have as your heart's desire to minister to every heart's greatest desire--the desire to be loved--you must love them, each of them, unconditionally. Grace demands it.

Your choice. Love them. Love yourself.

There are no other choices.

June 2015 Ricochets

How do I make my most insignificant acts beautiful?

How do I make my words beautiful--life affirming, life-changing?

Kindness
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Though you have never seen Him and haven't the slightest idea what He looks like, when you do see Him, face to face, you'll know immediately who He is. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
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 The reason I struggle so hard with forgiveness is because it is the essence of Christianity--the expression of the very nature of the God of love. The message of the cross for me who so desperately needed (and needs) forgiveness. There is nothing the devil hates more. And true forgiveness--like His--always "forgets." Why do you think the tempter keeps trying to dredge up the past all the time? Crush him with a forgiving heart. What joy and freedom it gives!!

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 "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." Until the Word gets from my head to my heart, it does me little good. How does it get from my head to my heart? A life of obedience. Regardless of the circumstances. "If you love me, . . ."

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 You cannot love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength if you do not love your neighbor with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength--if you do not love them as fully as He loves you. And it should be with heartsoulmindstrength. It's one love. All encompassing. Wide, wide, as the ocean, deep as the deepest sea."

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 We are so quick to criticize and judge. Take Job's wife for example. She--a loving mother--had just lost all of her children. All of them! She needed the two reminders Her husband used to encourage her. "You are speaking AS IF you are one of the foolish women." "Remember, God is good when He gives blessing, and He is good when He gives adversity." Or as we say today, "God is good. All the time." The gift we give to God in our times of adversity and sorrow is our broken heart. Encourage. Always encourage.

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 A heart of gratitude is essential to the victorious Christian walk. "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus." You cannot murmur and complain and do God's will. It's impossible.

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 Endurance and perseverance are the soil in which the love of God grows.

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 To be rich and content may be more difficult than to be poor and content. Is there, after all, anything more dangerous to complete dependence on Him than wealth? Be careful what you pray for. Be generous with what you've been given. Godliness with contentment are the only true riches. Neither one of those can be put into your bank account.

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No one can have the peace of God ruling in their heart until he or she has made peace with God as their Redeemer.

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The first thing God reveals to us about Himself is that He loves to create--good things. His creation is glorious beyond words. The new creations He makes out of those who have trusted in His Son are glorious--eternally. And God pity those of His children who try to suppress or minimize the creative gifts God has given His children. Do we dare discourage them from being like their Father?

Assignment

I have a simple assignment for you: Read one of the gospels. Have those you love read one of the gospels. Read it together. You see, the gospels make one thing crystal clear--the love of God. You cannot help but see love in the words and actions of our Savior. And He is your Lover--you are His bride. And what happens when I begin to see anew the wonder of His love for me? "We love Him--and His other children--because He first loved us." From the manger to the empty tomb. Sometimes we harp so much--demanding obedience--when obedience is the "natural" flow from someone's heart who knows how deeply he or she is loved by the God who is love. Read the greatest love story ever told and remind yourself that you are at the center of the story--the one so loved. He came, lived, loved, died, rose again, and ever intercedes now for you. Why? Because He loves you.

Silence

Sometimes in our lives God is silent. It is not that we have learned all we need to know so that He has nothing left to teach us. Not a chance. It is not that He is displeased with us and doesn't enjoy our presence. We are His beloved, loved with everlasting love. Can you name a moment that is not a part of "everlasting"? It is not even that He is hiding His presence from us. The exact opposite is true. I believe His silence is trying to reinforce a simple truth in our lives--His presence is enough. He doesn't need to be doing anything for us. He doesn't need to be teaching us some new truth. If sitting in total silence in a room with someone I love and someone who I know loves me on a human level is serenity, how much deeper should my peace be when I am in the room with the eternal, faithful, Lover of my soul? And He has promised that He will never leave me--never. And He has promised that He is always near at hand--near, always. He is always "in the room." I am never alone. And it is that truth, that "sense of His presence," that empowers me to love Him faithfully no matter what. A friend loves at all times. Jesus "in the room" is enough. It is serenity, it is peace, it is the fortress that guards my heart and mind so that I can love rightly and think spiritually. Yes, it is the joy of living. Obediently. At all times. No matter how silent--how deafening the silence, His love for me is reverberating throughout the stillness. Yes, the stillness that allows me to rest in the knowledge that He is my ever-present God. "Moment by moment I'm kept in His love; moment by moment there's life from above; looking to Jesus till glory doth shine; moment by moment O Lord, I am Thine."

Seeing

Christians are often looking at spiritual truths, evaluating God's character, but how often do we see things in the way He desires to see them. Take Isaiah, for example. He had been looking at the people around him and was appalled at their wickedness and apathy toward God's holiness. Then, God allowed him to look into Heaven itself and see the pre-incarnate Christ in all His glory. And Isaiah's looking turned to seeing.
What is the evidence? It was no longer, "Woe are they" but "Woe is me." He finally saw what the right reaction to God's glory should be. He finally saw himself in comparison to God. And what happened when he saw? Humility and repentance and awe. How could God want to have anything to do with him?
God's response? Cleansing. Followed by a call. "I have something that has to be done, and I need someone to do it. Is there anybody out there willing? Isaiah's response--and he had no idea what God wanted done or where or when--"Send me; I'll do it; whatever it is." Gone was the "holier than thou" attitude; in its place was humility. Gone was the self-trust; in its place was God-dependence. Gone was the claim of "my ministry"; in its place was a desire to do God's work anywhere at anytime. Gone was the judging of others; in its place was a cry for God's personal cleansing. In its place was submission to the call regardless of the results.
Did Isaiah's message change? No. But the heart behind the message did. Have you looked at God lately, at His character, at the revelation of His truth? Did you see Him or merely look? Was it a glance or adoration? When you see Him, your desire will be to be like Him. The person you will examine will be yourself and what He has called you to do will be an honor--anywhere, anytime, anything. In fact, everywhere, all the time, in all things you will desire to be in submission to His call, out of reverence for His holiness--and the incredible miracle that He would choose to use you for His work on earth.

HELP

Never hesitate to ask God to show you compassion. Our God is a God of compassion. He is never indifferent to our needs. He just knows what the actual needs are. Don't be afraid to pray that most eloquent of prayers: "HELP!!!!"

Feelings

Feeling unloved--remember the cross. For you He died.
Feeling overwhelmed, powerless--remember the empty tomb; resurrection power lives within you.
Feeling insignificant, unimportant--remember that you are a "vital cog" in the plan of the omnipotent God to defeat evil and change the world through grace. You are a necessity for that plan's completion.
Feeling sadness--remember He was a man of sorrows and a "friend" of grief, but He had a joy that enabled Him to endure the cross and complete His "assignment" from the Father. He intends to immerse you with His joy as He abides--makes Himself at home--in your life. Day by day.
Feeling alone, forsaken--remember His words, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" That moment guarantees that for eternity present and future, He will always be with you--you are never alone; will never be forsaken. "Christ in you, the assured hope of glory." Forever--and today.
Feeling the need to talk through your problems with someone--"Have a little talk with Jesus, tell Him all about your troubles, He will hear your faintest cry, and He will answer by and by." And it will be the perfect answer. "Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right."
Feeling incapable of pleasing Him--remember love is expressed through obedience. Faith is expressed through an obedience that leaves the outcome in His hands--trusting in His love and His wisdom.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."