Verse 13

Verse 13
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide a way to escape, that you may be able to endure it."

How often do I grumble, murmur, even cast aspersions on God's character because of the disappointments and tragedies that have come into my life? And is not, perhaps, the greatest temptation to doubt the goodness of God? I have never faced anything that others have not faced. There are many who have faced far worse than I have faced. Far, far worse. And yet, I act as if God is being unfaithful to me. I act as if I am more important than other people--as if, dare I say it--I am more important than God. And He does not send me anything I do not have the ability to endure--to use for His glory. Self-pity is self-worship. I remain mired in my spiritual malaise because I think too highly of myself. I deny by my attitude that I actually do desire to be transformed into His image. I will never experience the joy and love and fruitfulness He longs to give me while I refuse to submit to the truth that all things in my life come from His faithful love. Escape the misery. Trust His love. Confess your idolatry. Stand at the foot of the cross. No one cares for you like Jesus. No one.

Verse 12

Verse 12

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and delivered Himself up for me."

There is only one way to have abundant life.

'I die daily."

Nothing

Nothing will happen in the next ten days that will in any way impede--let alone thwart--God's plans. Fear not. Sleep well. Give thanks. He's not worried.

Impressions

God is never impressed with credentials or pedigree or even results. He heart's desire is for His children to be obediently faithful regardless of the circumstances--good or bad.

A Morning Prayer

A morning prayer:

May my strength for this day be Your all sufficient grace
May any wisdom I might share surprise even me so I remember who it is that is speaking through me
May I touch one life with Your presence
May I sense the sorrow in the hearts of those around me and somehow be Your comforter
May the beauty of Jesus be seen in me

Verse Eleven

Verse Eleven:

All things work together for the good of those who love God; for those who are the called according to His purpose.

All things work together for my good. In the midst of the "all things," He takes away my strength and inept spiritual self-confidence and replaces it with His amazing, victorious grace. My weakness makes me totally dependent on the Spirit within me--which is the only possible way to bear fruit--to be transformed into His likeness.

All things work together for the good of His people. In the midst of the "all things," His people united in intercessory prayer for my needs, sharing His comfort and encouragement with deeds of sacrificial love, radiate the love of Christ to all who are watching. He lives before their eyes.

All things work together to glorify Him. In the midst of "the all things," my weakness reveals to the world the reality of His grace, the power of His faithfulness, the nearness of His presence. In the midst of the "all things," the church's united love for the hurting members of His body reveals to the world--and confirms--the Father's love--"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

All things.

For good.

Verse Ten

Verse Ten:
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Nothing in life can defeat you because nothing in life can defeat His love. Through your failures, He will transform you into a conqueror--more than a conqueror. Death is not separation from His love--you will conquer death. No circumstances in this life can separate you from His love. You will conquer the circumstances. No supernatural power can take you out of His loving embrace--not the mightiest angel. Your present--today; and not even whatever your future may hold can separate you from His victorious love. If you could go to the ends of the universe, there He would lavish you with His unconquerable love. He who created all things promises that nothing He created--in the visible world or the invisible one--can separate you from His love--not even you.

No secure is no one ever than the loved ones of the Savior.

Rest in His love--celebrate the victory that is yours through Christ Jesus your Lord. Yes. Celebrate. With Praises.

Verse Nine

Verse Nine

"And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."


Yes.

Verse Eight

Verse Eight:

"Pray without ceasing."

The miracle of prayer is that access to the very throne room of God is always available. There is never a moment when I can not call out to him. I can stand in the hallway at school and at the same moment be standing before the throne. I can be walking The Acres and at the same moment be walking in the throne room of heaven. Wherever I am at any time when the Spirit lays someone on my heart, I can pray for them. When the Spirit convicts me of the need for confession, I can instantly confess. When the Spirit reminds me of His blessings, I can immediately whisper "Thank You." All day every day I have access to my Father. The question is "How often each day do I enter into His presence?" And what will the answer to that question reveal? How deeply I know Him, how sensitive I am to His presence, if I can honestly sing, "What a Friend I have in Jesus."

"Pray without ceasing."

My Struggle

Here are the questions I ask myself at election time:

Having been commanded as a citizen of Heaven to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, am I by my choices being faithful to my Heavenly citizenship or am I letting my earthly citizenship usurp my King's absolute authority over my decisions?

Am I making my decisions based on what I believe will or will not be the outcome of my choices; or am I--as faith demands--making the choice that is in agreement with and supportive of God's view of righteousness and leaving the outcome to His will? Am I choosing as If I believe that "the end justifies the means"--that pragmatism is a Christian, God-honoring virtue?

Do I really believe that there is a difference between choosing a church leader and choosing a political leader? Is the first choice spiritual and the second choice secular? Are any choices that a Christian makes secular? Is God's standard of righteousness irrelevant in considering the second choice?

If I give someone the authority to act on my behalf, am I then accountable to God for what actions they take?

Is there a biblical justification for choosing to support the lesser of two evils?

These are the questions I struggle with as a citizen of Heaven, an ambassador of Christ to a fallen world. I can't answer them for you--I can only prayerfully struggle with them with an open Bible in my lap and times of seeking His wisdom in prayer. But I do believe that Christians need to prayerfully consider these questions.

Do all to the glory of God.

Verse Seven

Verse 7:

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

I need not act in the dark--just have to open my Bible. And thankfully, I only have to take one step at a time. Hurry is heresy. And the light will never go out.

Verse Six

Verse Six:

"You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God; I am the Lord."

God's commentary: "The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good."

May I have a heart like Joseph's. His response to temptation was always , "How could I do that and sin against the Lord?!." How deeply I need a sense of His presence every moment of every day. May He always see in my choices--even when; especially when--no one is watching--"the good."

Verse Five

Verse Five:

"Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love."

He is the God who deeply desires reconciliation and restoration. He is the God who is eager to draw near to those who draw near to Him. And it is a drawing near of the heart, mind, and spirit--not of distance; though spiritual "distance" from His presence is farther away than the end of the universe.

He is the God of grace and mercy. He lavishes His love on the undeserving and withholds His wrath from the all too deserving.

Slow to anger. Thank You, Father.

Abounding in steadfast love. No one could--would--ever love you like He does. Nothing you can do can quench His love. Even His loving discipline is designed to bring you back into His arms.

And, of course, if I am truly being transformed into His image then I will be gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

Thank You my God for Who You are.

More like the Master I would ever be.

Verse Four

Verse Four:

He knows the way that I take and when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold.

He knows.

He tries.

He purifies.

May my life be spent in His service and to His glory.

Verse Three

Verse Three:

"I gave my back to those who strike Me, and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting."

I can never read this verse without tears.

It was for me.

Verse Two

Verse Two

Psalm 23:1 "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want."

"The"--there is only One. 'thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

"Lord"--the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Jehovah--the self-existent One--the Lord who speaks to men--"Thus says the Lord." The One who seeks a relationship with men--individual men.

"Is"--every moment of every day of my life, He is my Shepherd. I Live under His care in the eternal present tense.

"My"--not "a"--"my." I am His, and He is mine. A personal God who cares for me.

"Shepherd"--He leads me, He provides for me, He protects me, He restores me, He gives me rest, He calls me by name, He gave His life for me--He is the Shepherd of my soul.

"I shall not want"--all I have He has provided. All I need He will provide

"Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care; in Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare; blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou has bought us, Thine we are; blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou has bought us, Thine we are."

Verse One

I think for the next couple of weeks, at least, I'm going to share some of my favorite verses and passages. For those of you who have been following me on fb for a while (I think I've been doing this for quite a few years now) it may be somewhat redundant. Some day I hope to find an artist or artists or photographer who can create for me sketches, paintings, photographs to visualize each of these verses. Then, I can throw together a couple notebooks for my sons, once I've gone Home, with the verses and the "visuals." Not so much so that they'll remember me, but so that they'll know the testimony of my life.

I have always found Him faithful.

The first verse is my prayer as a teacher. (Along with the other prayer, of course: that every student who comes to my room will feel safe in every way: academically, physically, spiritually, emotionally.)

Anyway here's the "teachers" verse:

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Lord, may I never raise my voice in order to be heard.

Before and After

In the disciple's life:

After the storm--the rainbow of promise.
After the night--the dawn.
After the ashes of mourning--the dance of joy.
After the drought--the showers of blessing.
After the loss--the all encompassing comfort
After the tears--the laughter
After the waiting--the soaring
After the breaking--the gentle remolding of the Potter's hands
After the winter--the renewal of spring
After the thirst--the bursting forth of the fountain of life
After the flood--the still waters
After the hunger--the filling of the Bread of Life
After the failure--the forgiveness
After the betrayal--the deep sense of His loyal love
After the doubts--the still small voice
After the silence--the song

Thank you Lord for the afters . . .

And thank you Lord for the befores.

Abiding

To have an intimate personal relationship with Him--to moment by moment abide in His presence--two things are necessary:
1. To be immersed in the Word--to be so sensitive to its truths that they daily transform your life.
2. To be totally dependent on the power of the Spirt to do the transforming.

The evidences--manifestations--of such intimacy in our walk with Him are many:
1. Bearing fruit. Each day touching the lives of others with His presence living through you. Love, joy, peace. gentleness, faithfulness, patience, goodness, kindness, self-control.
2. Answered prayer--and the confidence that every answer to any prayer is spectacular.
3. God being glorified through your life--not you, Him.
4. A deep sense of His love for you--seeing it surround you from the first breath you take in the new day He has given you to glorify Him to the last breath when you whisper a prayer of thankfulness for that day--and sleep securely in His arms.
5. The fullness of joy--HIs joy not yours. The joy that strengthens you. The joy that endured the cross.
6. A sacrificial love for others--in word and deed.
7. Obedience in all things.
8. The understanding--acceptance--of the world's hatred for you because you reflect Him--the One they hated first. And a love for them stronger than their hatred. Unquenchable.
9. Bearing more fruit.

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you. . .

"Just a closer walk with Thee. Jesus grant it if You please. Daily walking close to Thee. Let it be dear Lord, let it be." And nothing pleases Him more than to answer that prayer.

September Reminders

Why is it that we always take for granted one of God's most precious gifts--another day?

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Choose the right treasure.
"Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So you can choose the right Master.
"You cannot serve God and money."

So you can choose not to worry.
"Do not be anxious for your life . . .your heavenly Father knows what you need."

So you can choose the right focus.
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness"

So you can choose to live victoriously one day at a time.
"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Consecration is not a once for all choice. It's a daily act--daily choices that are truly God's purpose for your life today--His will.

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"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

It would be a sin not to.

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You are His beloved--loved with everlasting love.

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 Busyness is not a catalyst for spiritual growth.

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 The question is not "Will you impact someone's life today?" The question is "How will you impact someone's life today?"

Truly

The truly wise man knows how deeply he lacks wisdom.
The truly rich man is poor in spirit.
The truly free man is a bond-slave of Christ.
The true leader knows he is called to be the humblest servant.