Look, Dad! Watch me!!

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.
Psalm 34:15 NLT

The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 
2nd Chronicles 16:9a NLT

In my memories are those of my daughter calling to her father, "Look, Dad! Watch what I can do!" And my youngest granddaughter, echoing the same sentiment to her father, "Look, Dad! Dad! Watch me!" Do you have a similar memory?

There are MANY Scriptures we could point to about wanting God to listen, and asking Him if He is, but how often do we think about God watching us? I mean other than the times you hope He's NOT watching...

The Truth is He not only knows it all - He sees it all. Yes, all of it, but it's not to try to catch us doing something wrong! He wants to see us doing what is right! That's what He's looking for! Hearts that are committed to Him, who want to please Him, no matter what!

He wants to strengthen those hearts! He watches over us. He rejoices over us with singing, according to His Word. In Jeremiah 24:6a, God says, "For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up..." What do you think about that? I'll tell you how I feel about it...

Hey, Dad! Look! Look, Dad! Watch me!

Prayer:

Father,
         You're a good, good Father! It's who You are, and we're loved by You! Thank You for watching us and watching over us. Thank You for hearing our cries for help and for strengthening our hearts. Keep us ever mindful of being fully committed to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen 

Know It All

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1st Corinthians 13:12b NLT

God's Word tells us in Proverbs 4:7 NKJV, Wisdom is the principal thing;  Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

You've heard it said, "What you don't know won't hurt you." Do you believe that? Is it a trustworthy statement? How much of what we don't know can hurt us in some way? And yet, try as we might, we can't possibly know it all... All that we know is partial and incomplete.

Here's the good news. There's only one thing we have to know. We have to know God. He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. All-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere. He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)
He knows it all. 

And if we will spend our time knowing Him, then one day soon, He will welcome us with "Well done, good and faithful servant..." THEN we will know everything - completely.

Prayer:

Father, 
          Keep us ever mindful that You are God and we are not. That You know everything and we don't. We want to know You more. Teach us, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen 

Surviving the Fire

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10 NKJV

We've talked about it before - how we more earnestly seek God's presence and His comfort when our lives are being shipwrecked. Psalm 46:1 in the King James tells us, God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. The Good News Translations reads, God is our shelter and strength...

What are the first orders of business for survival following a shipwreck? Shelter and fire. So, we run to God for shelter, but we don't often want His fire. In the natural, we need fire for warmth, protection against the elements, to cook food, to purify water. In the spirit realm, we need His fire even more! And yet, we complain about the heat.

I remember years ago having a dream about being contained within a ring of fire and feeling trapped. I wanted out! In my heart, I cried out to God, "Why?!? Why am I trapped in here? Why won't You let me move?!?" And it was then I saw, outside the ring of fire, the enemy crouching, ready to destroy me. Wanting to kill me, but he couldn't get me because of the fire. It's amazing what a little God perspective will do for the furnace of affliction. So often we plead with God to deliver us from the very fire that was sent to free us from that which so easily besets us - to purify and to protect us.

John Piper writes ...there is no painless path to heaven. Why? Because Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." And it is no more possible to become pure painlessly than it is to be burned painlessly. Purity comes through the refining fire. And the fire has two forms: one is the fire of affliction and the other is the fire of intentional self-denial.

We need to embrace the fire of God so that we can be saved, sanctified and purified to live with Him for all eternity - to be partakers of His holiness.

Prayer:

Father,
           Give us clean hands and pure hearts. O God, may it be that the genuineness of our faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And it's in His precious Name we pray. Amen!

Get a Grip

But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.
Hebrews 12:10b NLT

According to the dictionary, discipline is both a noun and a verb, defined as: 'the practice of training people or to train someone to obey rules or a code of behavior' and 'the controlled behavior resulting from such training.'

I know there are those who are very passionate about what forms of discipline are or are not acceptable. My intent is not to upset anyone. I think, though, we can all agree that if training of any kind is to occur, be it athletic or raising children, it requires some sort of self-control and discipline. 

Discipline is tiresome. It's difficult to endure. It is not fun. Discipline can wear you out - literally. (Actually, that is a common colloquialism in the southern US. If a mother promises to "wear you out," someone's going to get a spanking.) The Word of God confirms that as we read on in verse 11, No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

When I read vvs. 12 & 13, I just keep thinking, "Get a grip..." So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. In other words, embrace the training, endure the discipline, the end result will be worth it.

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for loving us enough to correct us so that we might share in Your holiness. Help us to endure the discipline and learn from it. We are looking forward to the peaceful harvest of right living. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Living in Peace

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:17 NKJV

Peace, by the world's standards, can be dubious, questionable, suspect. Is it based on true reconciliation or is it a pretend peace - contingent upon who has the most power? 

And how do we have the true peace of God? By walking in His love. We are instructed how to do just that in Romans 12. A Scriptural Checklist, if you will:

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. 

Hate what is wrong. 

Hold tightly to what is good. 

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 

Rejoice in our confident hope. 

Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. 

Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 

Live in harmony with each other. 

Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. 

And don’t think you know it all!Never pay back evil with more evil. 

Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. (vvs 9-18 NLT)

Prayer:

Father,

           We know that apart from You it is impossible for us to love or to truly live in peace. Anoint us with Your gift of reconciliation to be able to turn our hearts and the hearts of those You place in our path toward You. We want to walk in Your love and lasting peace. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Until Then

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Revelation 21:4 NIV

Job 14:1 tells us, How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! And some days, it's seems like that's all there is. Proverbs 13 acknowledges that Hope deferred makes the heart sick...

But our Promise for Today - no more death or mourning or crying or pain! Can we even imagine that?!? 

Stuart Hamblen wrote a great old hymn titled, Until Then, talking about life and the struggles we endure while on this earth. Great words of wisdom and encouragement, reminding us that "a heartache here is but a stepping stone..." and "this troubled world is not my final home."  And in the chorus, he wrote of what he would do until God called him home. 

"Until then, my heart will go on singing!
Until then, with joy I'll carry on until the day my eyes behold that City - Until the day God calls me home."

1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV cheers us on toward that day with this faithful promise, For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Until then...

Prayer:

Father,
          Let us walk in the light of Your love, forgiving as You have forgiven us. Loving because You first loved us. Looking to the Christ - the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. Help us to follow His example. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Simply

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
Matthew 9:9 NLT

Simple verse. Seemingly simplistic in nature. 

Follow Me. 
Okay. 

Trust me, there was nothing simple about that at all. 

Tax collectors in Jesus' time had a reputation for cheating the people. They worked for the Romans, charging (and often over-charging) their own countrymen the taxes imposed by the Roman government. It was a lucrative business for the tax collector, and the Jews hated them. Matthew was a tax collector. So, when Jesus said, Follow Me, and Matthew did, Matthew immediately became unemployed.  

You'll notice, Matthew did not question Jesus. "Where are You going?" 
"What's my role in this?" 
"Who's funding this?" 
"Are we getting paid?" 
"Let me see if I can get the time off..."  

None of that. Jesus simply said and Matthew simply got up and did. 

Oh, that we would simply do the same...

Prayer:

Father,
         We pray as Jeremiah prayed, We know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct us, Lord, but please be gentle. We want to follow Your steps. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen