What Does Your Sign Say, Part II

Last week I shared on my need to erect signposts along my journey to block the detours that take me off course.  One morning this week I was reading in Jeremiah.  How encouraging to read verse 21 in chapter 31. 
"Set up road signs;
Put up guideposts;
Take note of the highway , the road that you take."

Jeremiah is sharing how the Lord will bring his people back to their land after captivity.  As he shares this verse, he asks Israel to return to their towns.  We do need to pay attention to the road we are taking.  I don't want to wander down paths that lead to pity parties, waste of time, and self absorption.

Lead me Lord and guide my steps. Show me what signs to place where.  Thank you for calling me with you on the journey.

What Does Your Sign Say?

I was at Rejects Bar in the The Dumps the other day.  Actually, I visited the landmark place a few times that week.  No one bothers me there and the drinks are free.  That day I had a shot of Noone Likes Me But My Husband, followed by Friends Who I Always Have to Make the Initiative With, and then a tall draft of Why Does My Son Ignore My Phone Calls.  I leave dejected and convinced I'm unwanted.

I know better than to go there and on the way home no matter what impaired state I'm in, God's Spirit coaxes me into his thoughts. "Let me tell you all the ways I love you", he says. "My love is closer than a brother's.  I gave my life for you. You didn't choose me, I chose you.  And you're forgetting about the thank- you card you got in the mail this week from your mother-in-law.  She enjoyed having lunch with you.  How about the impromptu text from your daughter who was just checking in?  Weren't you at breakfast last week with some friends who enjoy your company?"

   "Yes, Lord", I whisper. "Will you help me stay the course and avoid the detours to my old haunts"?

These days I'm into building roadblocks in front of those often traveled highways that lead me to trouble.  You should see the signs I'm designing and erecting!

Stop! Killer of Joy just ahead!
No Outlet! Keep Out!
Toxice to Your Mental Health! U-Turn Now!

Will the strategy work? 

Recently, I was on the way to spend time with a friend.  I began dreaming of a tall chilled bottle of You're Going to Say Something to Turn Her Off.  I headed towards Rejects, my heart beat excelerating with anticipation.  Barely had I veered that direction when I saw the sign.  Yield to the Right! 

   "Ok, Lord", I wailed, as I braked and turned. "I want to go that way, but I don't want to go that way.  I feel so weak.  I want to yield this whole propensity-to-rejection-mess to you.  Will you make your strength perfect in this vulnerable place inside of me?"  As I headed back towards meeting my friend, I was counting heavily on his help to keep my heart at ease.

What places do you need to set a roadblock?  What will your signs say?  Sometimes Lord Jesus asks us to arm ourselves and carry out the strategies he gives us to fight the giants in our lives- like disciplining our minds with roadblocks.  Other times he asks us to be still and know that he is God and will fight the battle for us as we yield our weaknesses to him.

IIChronicles 20 tells the story of a vast army approaching Israel for war.  King Jehoshaphat cries out to the Lord and admits they have no power to fight.
   "We do not know what to do but our eyes are on you."  (Verse 12)

The Lord answers through a prophet.
   "Do not be afraid or discouraged...the battle is not yours, but God's...You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you." 

The enemies end up slaughtering each other, and all the Israelites had left to do was to go in and pick up the plunder.

If you're trapped in a bad habit, but have excused or ignored it's bad influence over you, God has plans for you to be free; to overcome.  Ask him to lead you to his Word, people, or resources that will move you into the battle.  If you've fought some enemy in your life and are panting from exhaustion and see little progress, he may be saying to just let go of the fight, hide in his love and be refreshed.  He will fight for you.

He loves you dearly, friend.  What he wants most is your heart tuned to his, and for you to trust in his strength and power. His signs will tell you the way.  His billboards advertise his love, his provision and his places to dwell.  May all your roads be well-marked as you travel onward!

Have You Been Dandled Lately?

Is. 66:12  For this is what the Lord says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees".

My daughter and her family from FL recently visited us.  Baby Dominic captured my nana heart with his 5 month old sweetness.  I cuddled him close and bounced him softly in my arms or on my knee.  I could relate afresh to this Isaiah word picture.   I'm a word lover so I had to look up dandle in my Webster.  Dandle-"to move an infant up and down in the arms or on the knee; fondle".  The Isaiah phrase in the Amplified Bible reads, "carried on her hips or trotted on her knees".

Strong's Concordance associated the word dandle with taking joy and delight in something.  My daughter expressed such joy when she described the incomparable feeling she had seeing Dominic's countenance ooze delight when he saw her face, and the tenderness when he momentarily stopped nursing to just gaze at his mother and smile.

That whole magnificent exchange is captured beautifully in Isaiah's depiction of Jerusalem like a mother who nurtures and coddles; like our God's motherly comfort to his people.  May you feel the love today.  Drink deeply and snuggle close.  Linger, loiter and enjoy His delight in you today.

His Indwelling Presence!

Romans 8:6-11 (NRSV)

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Recently, my local community was shocked by the tragic death of Karlee, a 7-year-old girl who was killed when her father’s gun accidentally fell and fired. Karlee was a member of the church I attend and her death deeply affected our congregation. We grieved with her family and grasped for answers to the unsettling questions.

We also celebrated Karlee’s life through stories that made us laugh and cry. A friend of Karlee’s dad, Jay, wanted to bring just the right gift to the funeral. Beef jerky came to mind, but the thought seemed absurd and out of place. The thought lingered, so he brought a bag of jerky. During the service, he learned about Karlee’s unusual food tastes of raw mushrooms and beef jerky. Beef jerky even replaced candles one year on her birthday cake. How encouraging it was for both he and Jay when his gift was lovingly laid to rest with Karlee’s body at the grave site!

In times like these, we whose minds are controlled by the Spirit of God lean heavily on the promise that, in Christ, there is life and peace. 

In the midst of pain, this reality almost surprises us with its tender, but powerful presence.

The God of peace is with us breathing life into our shaken faith.

We, who have the Spirit of Christ living inside wait with hope and great assurance for the day we will see Karlee again. Because we live now in that hope, we surround Karlee’s family and others who grieve, sharing comfort and continuing in prayer for them.

Teach us to trust you, Lord, in the difficult times of death. Give us patience with ourselves and others as we navigate through the grief. Bring us the peace you promised. Thank you for your amazing gift of eternal life.

Boxed In and Content

Ps. 16:6.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Have you ever played the comparison game?

I wonder what it would be like to have so much money that I wouldn’t have to worry about how much I spend.

If only I had a supportive, more Godly husband, then I could be successful in ministry.

Wish I wasn’t caught in the middle of making too much money to qualify for government college grants, yet not enough to keep my child from accruing horrendous debt.  It’s not fair!

If only my boss would appreciate his employees and give raises when they are due!

Maybe it’s health issues or physical features.  Or choices others have made for us that we didn’t have a voice in; we feel limited and helpless.

Whatever it is that tend to suck you into discontentment, remember, God knows your name and your needs.  Those circumstances just might be a set up to lead you to his greatest delight—an intimate relationship with you that is out of the realm of this world.

As I realize the inheritance I have in Him, I can pray,

“Lord, thank you for the boundary lines that have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

If only my husband bought me spontaneous and outrageous gifts….

“Thank you for my steady-Eddy.”

If only I had money to get a manicure every week…

“Thank you for food and housing and my nail file.”

It’s really about learning to be content in a Father who loves us and has promised to meet all our needs.  It’s when his timing and methods don’t make sense, that I need to press in closer to listen to his heart of love and step up my responses to his initiatives of friendship.

The time may come when he moves a boundary line for me. Will I make the adjustment gracefully?   Or he  asks me to push back against an enemy’s encroachment into my territory.  Will I rise and fight?

In those places where I can’t change my lot, Lord,  help me to declare your goodness and embrace the present.  You dwell with me on this acre, and your love never fails.

He Gets It!

Is. 53:3-"He (Jesus) was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering."

For years I struggled with tormenting anxiety. I white-knuckled my way through ordinary circumstances, because of fear inside. So often I felt isolated and alone. Close friends were sympathetic and supportive, but I knew they couldn't understand what I felt, because they had never experienced the same pain. If only there was someone whose encouragement came out of true empathy.

If we believe that God uses difficult times in our lives to draw us closer to him, we tenaciously treasure the fact that Christ is familiar with suffering. Jesus gave up all of heaven to come and get acquainted with our way of life. He gets it; he can fathom the kind of grief that can't be translated into words.

I learned to trust this Friend, for courage, for strength, for hope. I had his Word that he would never leave me, that his strength would be made perfect in weakness, that his grace was enough and that his perfect love would drive out fear. These, and many more scriptures, were pillars I leaned on, proclamations I shouted to him, prayers I wept before him, and anchors for my storm-tossed soul.

Anxiety's hold was broken the day I realized the sorrow Jesus experienced was deep enough to hold all my fears. I reached the bottom and found the Prince of Peace was there. I don't understand his methods and I won't get all my questions answered, but I am convinced of his love and that all things work together for good to those who love him and are called to his purposes.

So nestle down deep in his love today. Share your guts with him. Cry out for his help. He loves to respond.

He is more than a happy place for minds to go to,

More than cleansing breaths to take,

More than wine's warm merriment,

More than belly laughs to make stress break.

In quietness and trust he makes you strong,

The blessing comes in waiting,

Our wings he lifts, our feet run long,

His strength is never fading. 

Thank you, Jesus, for coming to my world. I feel safe in your love. I thank you for strength for this moment, for promise of help for all my tomorrows and for the ultimate reunion with you in the place where there will be no pain or suffering.

Reflecting the Son!

I awoke sometime last night and used the restroom. A sweet ray of moonlight peeked between the window blinds and landed on my face unexpectedly, like a soft kiss. I thanked Him for the intimate moment and briefly acknowledged the thought of how the moon reflects the sun and how awesome that is. It was enough contemplation for the mind wanting to go back to sleep, but I've thought more today of how I've treasured moon encounters in my life.

When the house was silent and others asleep, I whispered my adolescent secrets to the Lover of my soul while facing that celestial glow at my bedroom window. And the times I've walked in the night quiet, enjoying the way the moon lit my path. This pearly light enabled our treasure hunts during all night youth camp-outs. The moon tugs and draws the ocean tides, another of my nature loves.

In awe, I ponder how the moon has no light source of it's own, but solely reflects the sky's power ball, the sun. I remember how Moses' face shone when he came down from the mountain where he had basked in the presence of the Son, receiving the ten commandments. The Israelite community were afraid to look at him. He had to veil his face from them. 2 Cor. 3:16-18 indicates that we who have turned to the Lord, need no veil to block that shining glory. "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." What a privilege!

Have we Son-bathed today? Can others see His glow on us? Just as a natural sun tan fades without continued sun exposure, the glory can fade from us if we turn our face away from the Son, from his presence. No need for son block! The more rays caught, the better we shine!

Get out there today and show off that tan, my fellow Son worshipers! And go easy on the pale-faced. His glory produces a gradual change, making us "more and more like him". Pray for ways to warm up to them and not scare them away.

I don't know about you, but I'm smelling coconut oil and hearing lapping ocean waves. Nice sensations on this frigid day here in Indiana.