Peace and Reflection

The following quotes are from two different devotionals given to me the last week. I've begun reading them daily, and found both meaningful and pertinent for today.

From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young:

"My peace is the treasure of treasures: the pearl of great price. It is an exquisitely costly gift, both for the Giver and the receiver. I purchased this Peace for you with My blood. You receive this gift by trusting Me in the midst of life's storms. If you have the world's peace-everything going your way-you don't seek My unfathomable Peace. Thank Me when things do not go your way, because spiritual blessings come wrapped in trials. Adverse circumstances are normal in a fallen world. Expect them each day. Rejoice in the face of hardship, for I have overcome the world. Matthew 13:46, James 1:2, John 16:33"

And from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers:

Transformed By Insight

"2 Corinthians 3:18 We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image.

The outstanding characteristic of a Christian is this unveiled frankness before God so that the life becomes a mirror for other lives. By being filled with the Spirit we are transformed, and by beholding we become mirrors. You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord; you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord's own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best.  The golden rule for your life and mine is this concentrated keeping of the life open towards God. Let everything else-work, clothes, food, everything on earth-go by the board, saving that one thing. The rush of other things always tends to obscure this concentration on God. We have to maintain ourselves in the place of beholding, keeping the life absolutely spiritual all through. Let other things come and go as they may, let other people criticize as they will, but never allow anything to obscure the life that is hid with Christ in God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him. It is the one thing that is apt to fluctuate but it ought not to. The severest discipline of a Christian's life is to learn how to keep "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord." "

The first one about peace is significant because I have been seeking peace in my heart and life. And I am discovering that perhaps peace is through trusting, and trusting is through faith, and faith is by living what you know to be true.
The second one is how that peace from God is shown to others. The light in us is a mirror of God in our heart. How we keep that mirror clear so God can be seen by others is by opening our heart toward God and not towards all the other things around us like the food, clothes or other things. The other things cause our mirror to be fogged up. I want others to look at me and behold in the glass the glory of the Lord, to see the peace and love in me.
Part of this journey.

Peace of God

Today's Bible verse:

Philippians 4:5-7
The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Selah - Think About It

Psalm 130 was today's psalm. I didn't plan for it to be, but there it was, jumping off the page. And so I share it here.

Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who would stand?
But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord more than the watchmen wait for the morning, more than the watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Praise the Lord. 

Selah. 

And I will think about it, until it settles deep within. 

A Global Story

I just love nativities. My favorite of all time is the one my grandmother made of ceramic and painted many years ago. We lovingly place it in the most visible spot in the living room every year. For as long as I can remember, I've gazed and contemplated Christmas and Christ through the weeks it was displayed, and it still brings me back into the story of His birth when I look at it.

A couple of years ago I decided to start collecting nativities, but not just any nativities. I decided to collect them when I travel world wide. And I wanted small ones, the size of my hand or smaller.
I think collections should be carefully selected, with items chosen because they invoke feelings or memories or thoughts. I think collections should be small enough to be enjoyed, each piece known and loved.

This is a photo of my collection.

The nativity in the back is special because it is a little house, with doors that open and close. Inside the holy family sits, and below the shepherds reside with their sheep. I was fascinated by the house, and it traveled home with me from Bolivia, my first trip there.

On the right the donkey is tired, but carefully led by Joseph, with Mary and babe perched on his back. I love how the figures have no faces, but allow for imagination to take over. I can picture a "Mary" I know, who said, "let it be according to your word!" and a "Joseph" who courageously accepted what seemed impossible. Faces I know can replace the ones the artist would use. This is made of olivewood and bought in Jerusalem. I haggled with a Jewish man who had just given me fresh orange juice, the freshest I've ever tasted. He declared I was starving his children, but when I left his shop we were both satisfied.

And on the left, is my latest one, bought in Santa Cruz this year. I love how the family looks so Bolivian with a tabor tree behind them.

I think I am fascinated because I love the ethnicity of them. I love seeing how people in different cultures represent Jesus, and how they take their artistry and weave it into the global message. I love seeing Jesus portrayed in different color skins, different cultural details telling a story to people in familiar ways. It fascinates me to think of how different places in the world view Jesus and His story, how they clothe Him in their clothing, how they picture his setting like their own. And I wonder about what I add to the story, unknown, from my own setting. Perhaps my Jesus was born in a shed in the middle of a cotton field. Its really a beautiful thing, how we can all read the same story, written thousands of years ago, and all from different times and cultures, and yet are united by the same story of salvation for all. Grace and strength for all.

Its a global story for all.

A Journey of Faith

Faith. Like a mustard seed, so tiny it is lost in the palm of your hand. And yet this is the chosen symbol from Jesus' mountain sermon. The people gathered there looked around them on that rocky hill and understood, for all around them were the mustard plants. It was imagery that was fresh, that used pieces of their reality. It was imagery that symbolized that a small insignificant seed could produce a tree, a miracle to be reckoned with. A symbol of the kingdom of God.

A journey of faith can be just as doubtful as looking at that mustard seed. It can be impossible at times to look at that seed and really believe it will produce anything worthwhile. That anything will come of it.

I am in that doubting moment. I doubt that the seed of the calling God has spoken in me will really come to anything. I doubt that water will come and sun will come and nutrients will come to bring that seed to fruition. I doubt that money will come to pay for what it requires to follow Jesus. I doubt that ministry will open up, that strength to follow through will be found. I doubt that these God-given dreams which I cannot escape will become reality to be reckoned with.

But I was reminded today of the journey so far. Remembering where I've been, where I came from, the innocent and unsuspecting beginnings. The beginnings that gave no hint of what was going to happen next.

My whole life has been woven and spun with graces and mercies. With strengths and unasked for provisions to accomplish what I did not suspect I would even ever do or become. Throughout, it has been intertwined with the golden sparkles of God's love and gifts.

And yet I sit here doubting.

If I have been called to something, if a ministry or mission has been given to me, if I am made for greater things, how could I think that I was then expected to achieve it on my own? Foolish thought! But a very real and even disquieting one.

Faith, looking into the spiritual dimension to see what God says about a matter, and then doing it.
Faith, believing that somehow, someway, God will move and the impossible will be possible.
Faith, hanging on and refusing to give up, refusing to accept the second rate offering.

Faith is stepping out, even with no idea of where that step will take us. Faith is not being discouraged when the rain feels late, when the knots are big, when the way is long.

Faith is a journey, I am learning. A journey towards living in peace and quietness, fearlessly trusting that God, who sends you, will also arrange for the message to be delivered. That God, who is weaving the story, who is controlling the threads, knows the pattern. That God knows when the rain and when the sun is needed.

Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 

Accepting The Gift

Sunday I attended a large church service to celebrate and welcome a new bishop in our conference of United Methodist churches. It was a beautiful service, full of meaning and symbols, full of worshipful beauty. The pentacle of the service came towards the end, when we were celebrating holy communion together. All I remember is the beautiful music, of voice and organ. It was music that lifted higher as it went on, voices raised upward toward the One they were worshiping. They worshiped with excellence and thoughtfulness.

The music lead us toward the front, and we walked quietly, taking it slowly and holding our hands in readiness to receive the gift of Christ's body and blood. I remember the line of people ahead of me, each eager to be there, looking for a place, and all with hands held out, palms open to receive what God has offered. There is a beauty in that symbolism, if anyone takes a moment to recognize it. Christ was a gift to us, a gift beyond comprehension. And we can receive that gift, as if we deserved it. We offer our hands, out stretched and palms upward to accept the gift offered, to feel the bread given, a symbol of Christ's body. To accept the bread and dip it in the cup that represents Christ's blood.

I saw it all in a flash, a moment in time as I stood in line to receive my gift. My gift of redemption, my gift of freedom from the sin that causes me such heartache. My gift of a relationship with Christ. My gift of experiencing the kingdom of God here and now. My gift of grace.

And everyone, together, received this gift.We did not pluck it from the hands of the giver. We did not grasp it and take it from His hands by force.

We waited until it was placed there. We waited until it was given. Just as there were thousands of years between the promise to Abraham, and the fulfillment of Jesus, we waited, time suspended until the gift was given, and we accepted it and it entered us and Christ entered us, and we tasted the ground wheat and the crushed grapes.

That was the pentacle of the service Sunday. That we accepted the gift given to us. The gift of Christ is accepted every time we accept communion. We experience the grace of Christ's love and power every time we accept communion.

Beautiful.

Let us accept the gift always.

Not Faint

Isaiah 40:31

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint. 

I can wholeheartedly agree with this verse. Strength renewed, hope burning brightly, I am running and walking and soaring without weariness, and without growing faint or tired.

Hope burning brightly, hope in the Lord.

The Birds Sing The Glad Message

The birds were singing this morning when I awoke. It made me think of that morning, so long ago when the women awake early, hurriedly dressed, and went to the tomb. They had no one to open it for them, but they were determined to try.
I imagined the birds singing, the air cool as they walked the hills to the tomb. Perhaps the first rays of sunshine were peeking up over the horizon.
The women reached the tomb, expecting death and silence, the stench of disappointed hopes greeting them. Instead they found an angel messenger who gave them such great news that they could barely understand or believe it, and then when it saturated their minds and hearts they dropped everything and ran back to share the good news!
And Mary was the first to see the risen Lord. Can you imagine? Can you imagine being at the cross and seeing the horror of the inflicted death, watching all the blood pouring out, being absolutely sure that He is dead, and then three days later encountering the one you loved most in the garden where He was supposed to be buried?

Gives us a little peek into what it must have been like for Mary.

The grand message of today, sung by the birds at dawn, shouted by the rays of sunshine, and echoed through the world every year since is this:

He is risen! He is risen! HE is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Day of Darkness

Today is the day of darkness. The day of silence. The day of complete devastation. Today is Saturday, and Jesus is in the tomb.

He wasn't supposed to be in the tomb! He was supposed to be the King, the Jewish King who was going to send the Romans packing out of Israel. He was supposed to set His disciples up as rulers one on the right and one on the left, and others to be in command. He was supposed to be there to heal the sick, the blind, the lame as before. He was supposed to be the bright star on the political horizon and the hope of all who were oppressed by the political unrest going on. But where was He?

Dead.

In a tomb.

The disciples must have been stunned, dismayed, bewildered, lost. It is a day of darkness. They've just spent all their time for the last 3 years following Jesus around, listening to Him, eating with Him, and yes, even having some of the glory of Jesus' fame shining on them. But now that is a glory that could have them killed, too.

The glory of following Jesus could have us killed, too. Being a disciple of Christ is not an easy task that if you say some magic words will give you hope of an afterlife in a golden city someplace. Following Jesus is dealing with the sick, the blind, the lame. And there are many many forms of sickness, blindness, and lameness. It is taking up our cross and following Him, through the mire, blood, and tears.

It's a dark day today. Our hope, our Savior is dead. It is silent, with only the grave to speak to us.

And what will happen tomorrow?

Remembering

I was cruising through some facebook pictures and came across an album I published while in Israel and this picture was among them.

It reminds me of a Sunday morning, a breeze blowing, no shoes, and this rocky shore. I had my Bible and my journal, and I was staring out at the sea, listening to the water splash and soaking in the land of the Bible. The land Jesus walked. It lay before me, the names and places like a live map, bringing the black and white words to life. The breeze blew the ship across the sea, and the pigs ran down the hill near me as Jesus healed the man who lived "among the dead" in the crypts above where I sat. The stones were hard and rough under my feet as I thought about the ones that would not allow the seed to grow in the parable, told just over there to the right. The knoll where Jesus sat to tell stories, overlooking the sea and boats and people coming and going.

And I could hear the shouts and smell the fish as the fishermen washed their nets, just there, where the seven fresh water streams emptied into the Sea of Galilee, the Kinneret. Nets that were later stretched to the limit by an unbelievable amount of fish, caught at an unbelievable time of the day in an unbelievable place.

Sitting there, I let it all wash over me, let it soak in, deep in my heart and mind. I saw it all as I sat there, that Sunday morning. Saw it, and will never forget it. The Jesus I know lived and breathed here. Lived and breathed, touched lives, healed hearts, and worked miracles.

And the lapping of the water against the stones, the sun coming up behind me, the breeze blowing gently was all there, making it as real as the Bible stories in front of me.

Unforgettable.

Save The Storks

Check out this news story.

This is really cool. The approach really appeals to me. Just offering help and resources at a time when it is most needed. Social justice, indeed.

Check out the website here.

I Made A Discovery!

I made a discovery this week!

I've been wishing I could figure out a way to listen to Scripture while at work. Then when I was searching for a Bible verse while working one day, I figured out that Biblegateway will read the Bible to you! And what's even better, in a British accent! And it will read continuously, so you don't have to choose each chapter or verse to listen. It'll read straight through until you stop it.

Today I listened to James. Twice.

I've been less disciplined than I should be with my Bible reading lately. Part of it is sheer laziness, because it's cold in the morning when I usually read my Bible, and it's tough to get out of the warm cocoon of my bed. Part of it is my schedule has been pretty full, so its really easy to push aside reading the Bible for more 'important' things. I realized that this was really a terrible state to be in, so that added to my excitement when I found a way to still get some Bible time in. I'm not so auditory that hearing it sticks as well as reading it, but it's definitely better than nothing, and I've enjoyed taking a few minutes (or hour) to listen to Psalms or another section of the Bible. Even if I'm not catching every word, I like that it's in the background entering my mind and heart subconsciously. And while it's playing, if I catch something interesting I take time to go and read that section as well as another way to remember it.

I was so excited, I thought I'd share my great discovery.

It's really the small things in life that excite me most. :)

God's Imagination

Last night I was driving back from a late night out, and thinking about the stars. I was enjoying looking at the stars and the moon. Since I live out where there aren't as many lights, its very easy to see the stars and let their shine soak in.
I was thinking about how the stars might look from the sky. Millions of stars, bringing bits of light to a sea of darkness. I was wondering what God's view of the stars might be like.
Then it hit me. God imagined all of this before He made it. God imagined all this beauty and more. The beauty of the stars and galaxies, the beauty of the seas and oceans and the world beneath them, the beauty of the mountains and forests, the beauty of the caves and things beneath the earth's crust. He imagined it all and then shared it with us.
He shared it with us! We get a peek, a small little view of the imagination of God, of His idea of beauty.
It's kind of overwhelming when you think about it. Not only do we get to see it and live with it everyday, but God's idea of beauty includes us as well.

Wow. All that beauty. All that creation. And God made it all, and shared His ideas with us so we could enjoy it, too.

Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 

Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. 

Steps

Psalm 37:23-24

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

Psalm 91

A friend sent this Psalm to me yesterday to read, and it really settled into my heart. I thought I would share it here.

Psalm 91

¹ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler^[a]
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Magnificat

And Mary said,

My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior,

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

Eucharist

Eucharist

Communion. The Great Thanksgiving.

For what?

Crusty brown bread. Sweet, fermented wine.

Celebrating a death and a resurrected life. Celebrating a death with a death, like this:

Bread, the body of Christ. Broken for me, for you.

Bread, yeasty and tasting of wheat.

Wheat which was ground up. Sifted.

Wheat from a berry thrown on hard, cold ground and left to die. Wheat lying silent and alone. Seeds die in order to live.
Wheat in us that brings life and wholeness and nourishment to our bodies and lives.

Christ in us. The bread represents Christ. It somehow becomes Christ in us. The bread of life. Life to body and soul.

Wine, the blood of Christ. Spilled, crushed, for me, for you.
Grapes. Ripe and purple and juicy.

Crushed. Crushed by the weight of a thousand pounds of stone, crushing out the life.

A thousand sins crushing out the life. Left to ferment in the dark. And why?

And every time we eat bread, and drink wine we remember.
Bread, an everyday necessity.

Wine, the most common drink of all.
Remember. Remember every day. Remember when you taste it. Remember when you eat.

Remember and give thanks.

Eucharist. Thanksgiving.

The Great Thanksgiving.

Give thanks for death? Give thanks for pain? Give thanks for these things? Pain that leads to a gain that is greater. Death for something that is more powerful.

Give thanks for...dying, every day?

We participate in His death by our own daily dying.

An Aha! Moment

During devotional time this morning two brain cells collided and thought occurred. Nearly killed me. ha!

I was thinking about loving God. And then I was thinking about Deuteronomy 6:5.

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength."

And then I figured it out! Using my strength for God is loving God. Using my strength to work, to live, to do things for people, being strong and using my energy well is loving God.

I decided to look at the words in my key word study Bible.
Love denotes a strong emotional attachment for and a desire to posses or be in the presence of the object of love.
Heart means the most interior. The most deepest, hidden place.
Soul means our human spirit. What makes us human. Our personality and spirit.
Might means vehemently, diligently, especially.


A strong emotional attachment. That makes me think of how it feels to be in love and want to be with that person all the time. And if you're not with them, you're thinking about them. We should feel this way about God.
And we should love God with the deepest and most interior part of us. We should love God with our whole selves. Our personalities and spirits should be an example of loving God.
We should love God vehemently and especially diligently.

Just thought I'd share a bit of what I was thinking about this morning. I like it when these aha! moments happen and it all clicks into place. :)

A psalm of David

 Psalm 20
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of hte Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!


My God helps me just as the Psalmist writes.
This is my ebenezer, my stone of strength. Here I raise it.

Psalm 139

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down.;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in - behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is to wonderful for me, to lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I priase you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord,
and abohor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts,
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139