An Understanding Heart

 Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?

1 Kings 3:9
 
The death of President Franklin Roosevelt abruptly thrust Harry Truman into the presidency. He traveled to Capitol Hill to address Congress, and at the end of his speech he said: “As I have assumed my heavy duties, I humbly pray Almighty God, in the words of King Solomon: ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my people.”[1]

The Sound of Our Breathing

The Sound Of Our Breathing
Take a breath and breathe it out. Do it again, slowly, and try to mean it. Breathing – of all things maybe we take it most for granted. Do we ever wonder why we are built this way, this soft machine of ours always pumping oxygen in and out?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs. In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.

In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.

When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage. When looking at it this way, can breathing be said to be a kind of praying?

But what is the sound? What are we saying?

When Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is, God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. We’ve added the vowels to it to have it become Yaweh.

Breathe in again …Yah now exhale….Weh. A wonderful question rises to excite the imagination: what if the name of God is the sound of breathing?

This is a beautiful thought, especially considering that for centuries there have been those who have insisted that the name of God is so holy that we dare not speak it because of how unworthy we are. How generous of God to choose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive. All of us, always, everywhere, waking, sleeping, with the name of God on our lips.

It makes you wonder what this means in key moments like when a baby is born – newly arrived on planet earth, must they take their first breath, or rather speak the name of God if they are to be alive here?

On our deathbed, do we breathe our last breath? Or is it that we cease to be alive when the name of God is no longer on our lips?

Can’t find the words sometimes when you pray? Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s all we need. Yahweh. He knows our hearts. In Romans 8:26 we read “He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs.

-Taken from The Rabbit Room- Jason Grey 2011

Happy or Blessed?

When people ask me how I'm doing sometimes I respond with "I'm blessed". But what does that really mean? Does it mean that I'm happy? The word blessed means more than happy because happiness is an emotion often dependent on outward circumstances. Blessed however refers to the ultimate well being and distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God. So which is it? Am I happy or am I blessed? I'm blessed.

God, Thou Art Love

 

GOD THOU ART LOVE

If I forget,
Yet God remembers! If these hands of mine
Cease from their clinging, yet the hands divine
Hold me so firmly that I cannot fall;
And if sometimes I am too tired to call
For Him to help me, then He reads the prayer
Unspoken in my heart, and lifts my care.

I dare not fear, since certainly I know
That I am in God’s keeping, shielded so
From all that else would harm, and in the hour
Of stern temptation strengthened by His power;
I tread no path in life to Him unknown;
I lift no burden, bear no pain, alone:
My soul a calm, sure hiding-place has found:
The everlasting arms my life surround.

God, Thou art love! I build my faith on that.
I know Thee who has kept my path, and made
Light for me in the darkness, tempering sorrow
So that it reached me like a solemn joy;
It were too strange that I should doubt Thy love.
by Robert Browning

Dear Lord

 

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. 

I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who are afraid to share their faith and love of you with others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes. I pray that they are out of debt, both materially and spiritually, and all their needs are met through you.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Will of God

 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you"

 

Moses' Rod

“Remember Moses’ Rod….

There are no little people, there are no little places”. 

Courageous Persecution

“Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.” - Francis Chan

Proverbs 3:5-6

In other words...."When I drive my bus I go in the ditch.
When God drives it’s a smooth ride."

At The Foot of the Cross

At the Foot of the Cross
Fearing the battle was over
And I’d already lost the war,
I was tired of trying and failing.
I just couldn’t fight anymore.
So, dragging my battle-scarred body,
I crawled to the foot of the cross.
And I sobbed. ‘Oh please, Father forgive me.
But I tried…I tried.. and still lost.’
Then the air grew silent around me.
I heard his voice just as clear as the dawn:
‘Oh, My child, though you are tired and weary,
You can’t stop, you have to go on.’
At the foot of the Cross , where I met Him,
At the foot of the Cross, where He died,
I felt love, as I knelt in His presence .
I felt hope, as I looked in His eyes.

Then He gathered me lovingly to Him,
As around us God’s light clearly shone.
And together we walked though my lifetime
To heal every wound I had known.
I found bits of my dreams, long forgotten ,
And pieces of my life on the floor.
But I watched as He tenderly blessed them,
And my life was worth living once more.
I knew then why I had been losing.
I knew why I had not grown.
At the foot of the Cross came the answer:
I’d been fighting the battle alone.

At the foot of the Cross, where I met Him,
At the foot of the Cross, where He died,
Then I knew I could face any challenge
Together–just my Lord and I.
by Marcia Krugh Leaser

Church

Church is hard.
Church is hard for the person walking through the doors, afraid of judgement.
Church is hard for the preacher’s family, under the microscope of an entire body.

Church is hard for the prodigal soul returning home, broken and battered by the world.
Church is hard for the girl who looks like she has it all together, but doesn’t.
Church is hard for the couple who fought the entire ride to service.
Church is hard for the single mom, surrounded by couples holding hands, and seemingly perfect families.
Church is hard for the widow and widower with no invitation to lunch after service.
Church is hard for the deacon with an estranged child.
Church is hard for the person singing worship songs, overwhelmed by the weight of the lyrics.
Church is hard for the man insecure in his role as a leader.
Church is hard for the wife who longs to be led by a righteous man.
Church is hard for the nursery volunteer who desperately longs for a baby to love.
Church is hard for the single woman and single man, praying God brings them a mate.
Church is hard for the teenage girl, wearing a scarlet letter, ashamed of her mistakes.
Church is hard for the sinners.
Church is hard for me.
It’s hard because on the outside it all looks shiny and perfect. Sunday best in behavior and dress.
However, underneath those layers, you find a body of imperfect people, carnal souls, selfish motives.
But, here is the beauty of church—
Church isn’t a building, mentality, or expectation.
Church is a body.
Church is a group of sinners, saved by grace, living in fellowship as saints.
Church is a body of believers bound as brothers and sisters by an eternal love.
Church is a holy ground where sinners stand as equals before the Throne of Grace.
Church is a refuge for broken hearts and a training ground for mighty warriors.
Church is a converging of confrontation and invitation. Where sin is confronted and hearts are invited to seek restoration.
Church is a lesson in faith and trust.
Church is a bearer of burdens and a giver of hope.
Church is a family. A family coming together, setting aside differences, forgetting past mistakes, rejoicing in the smallest of victories.
Church, the body, and the circle of sinners-turned-saints, is where He resides, and if we ask, He is faithful to come.
So even on the hard days at church—
The days when I am at odds with a friend, When I’ve walked in bearing burdens heavier than my heart can handle, yet masking the pain with a smile on my face. When I’ve worn the pressures of the world, under the microscope. When I’ve longed for a baby to hold, or fought tears as the lyrics were sung. When I’ve walked back in, afraid and broken, after walking away.
I’ll remember, He has never failed to meet me there.
Adapted from Choosing Freelen, and also at http://www.choosingfreelen.com/ .

Morning Reflection: Give Thanks In All Things

Morning reflection: It's radical, It's joyful, It's calming... giving thanks to God in all things. Every morning, every day as the seasons of my life continue. ........" God asks us to give thanks in everything --- because this is the way you live through anything. … the counting of everyday gifts is a wildly simple way to move our focus beyond burdens of life to the blessings of now. Scavenger hunt every day for God’s glory, His grace gifts — and find more joy — more joy in Him. And count all the ways He loves you — and find yourself Beloved" - "Ann Voskamp".


"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Thessalonians 5:18

Morning Reflection

But I do understand this: my mind is to finite and fallen to understand the God of the universe. This is only logical. If I could understand God, either I would be God, or He would not be.
-Jim Dennison,The Daily Article

How Sweet

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear.

John Newton

Stand

If I stand for the grace that I've known, For what I believe
Then I won't stand alone, No I won't stand alone.....


 With visible breath, I'm calling your name
With visible tracks, I'm finding my way
With a sorrowful heart, I honor this pain
And offer these tears to the rain
In a moment of truth at the top of the hill
I open my arms and let go of my will

And stand with my face to the wind
With the storm beating down on this sacred ground
If I stand for the grace that I've known
For what I believe
Then I won't stand alone
No I won't stand alone
There's a new pair of eyes to embrace all I see
A new peace of mind and it comes quietly
There's a joy in my heart that you've given to me
And I offer this soul's melody
So I beat on my chest till my song has been sung
And I cry like a wolf at the top of my lungs
And stand with my face to the wind
With the storm beating down on this sacred ground
If I stand for the grace that I've known
For what I believe
Then I won't stand alone
No I won't stand alone
When the thundering voices of doubt try to shake my faith, oh
I'll be listening from inside out and I won't be afraid to
Stand with my face to the wind
With the storm beating down on this sacred ground
If I stand for the grace that I've known
For what I believe
Then I won't stand alone
No I won't stand...I won't stand alone

The Remedy

The remedy for discouragement is the Word of God. When you feed your heart and mind with its truth, you regain your perspective and find renewed strength.

Warren Wiersbe 

Philippians 4:6-7

Psalm 27

You Say...God Says....

You say: It's impossible 

God says: All things are possible
 Luke 18:27

You say: 'I'm too tired'
God says: I will give you rest
 Matthew 11:28-30

You say: 'Nobody really loves me'
God says: I love you
John 3:16

You say: 'I can't go on'
God says: My grace is sufficient
II Corinthians 12:9 
Psalm 91:15

You say:  'I can't figure things out'
God says: I will direct your steps
Proverbs 3:5-6

You say: 'I can't do it'
God says: You can do all things
Philippians 4:13. 

You say: 'I'm not able'
God says: I am able
II Corinthians 9:8

You say: 'It's not worth it'
God says: It will be worth it
Roman 8:28 

You say: 'I can't forgive myself'
God says: I Forgive you
I John 1:9 
 Romans 8:1

You say: 'I can't manage'
God says: I will supply all your needs
Philippians 4:19

You say: 'I'm afraid'
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
 II Timothy 1:7

You say: 'I'm always worried and frustrated'
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
I Peter 5:7

You say: 'I feel all alone'
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
Hebrews 13:5