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³ You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
whose thoughts are fixed on you!
⁴ Trust in the LORD always,
for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.
Isaiah 26:3-4

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

I woke up in perfect peace this morning. What a wonderful thing! I honestly can’t remember when the last time was that I slept so well and woke up in such peace. Which is a huge God thing because a little more than three weeks ago I had some routine tests that led to some less-than-routine tests that are leading to surgery to rule out some serious medical issues. There’s an 80% chance that I’ll be fine…and a 20% chance that I won’t be so fine.

And the very-cool-very-God-thing is that (for the most part), I have been able to not be anxious about it. No, it goes beyond that – I have had a supernatural peace surrounding me and filling me. Sure, I’ve had my less peaceful moments when I needed my husband to hold me and tell me he had a feeling everything would be all right! But there have been very few of those moments and in between them I have a strong confidence in my God who has promised so many things to me.

I’ve always wondered how to have this kind of peace! I know I don’t have all the answers and I don’t pretend to have it all together, but I am learning some things through the process that I’d like to share. God has been gracious enough to open my eyes to things I’m doing that help me experience what He’s doing in me – giving me peace beyond my wildest expectations! Maybe some of these things will help you keep the peace.

• Purpose to pursue God in your situation. I remember as my husband and I were driving somewhere shortly after my second test. I looked at him and said, “I so want to do this well. I want to trust God in a way that I haven’t trusted him in the past.” God saw the desire of my heart and is giving it to me.

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart
Psalm 37:4

• Don’t be so proud – ask others to pray for you. I am absolutely certain that the prayers of faithful friends have a lot to do with my peace. I think it was in the same conversation when I said I wanted to do this well when a few minutes later I said something about not doing so well with all this. That’s when my husband reminded me that when I’m weak others will stand in the gap for me. His comment restored my peace. Share your needs with friends, and don’t ask them to pray just for healing. Ask them to pray for God’s presence to be manifest in your life.
• Remind yourself of the promises of God. I wrote the blogs on Ephesians 1 shortly after I learned that more testing was needed. I have been so blessed when I meditate on Paul’s words that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms simply because I belong to Christ.

• Have a rhema Word from God to hold on to. The Bible uses two different words that are translated “word” – logos and rhema. There is not complete agreement on the definition and use of these words: many evangelicals believe there is no difference; many charismatics believe there is a substantive difference. I fall into the camp of the charismatics on this one. Have you ever read the Bible and a specific passage came alive to you and seemed to have supernatural application to your life at that time? That is what would be called a rhema word. A rhema word is a word from God that has immediate and significant, even supernatural impact in your life at that time.

One of the characteristics of a rhema word is that it is life-giving. It is the word used in Matthew 4:4:

But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

Guess what! You and I can’t control God (for which I am quite thankful!). That means we can’t demand or manufacture a rhema word from God – He has to reach down and give it. But you can put yourself in a place where you are more likely to receive it. We all hear from God differently, so pursue God diligently in the way you are most likely to hear from Him:

• • If you most often hear from God through His Word, be especially diligent to study God’s Word.
  • If you hear from God most clearly during worship, add times of worship to your week. Listen to worship music, attend your church’s worship team’s practice session.
  • If you experience God most often while serving others, serve wholeheartedly.
  • In all these things, ask God for a word or promise to hold on to. God will speak to you.

• Stay connected with the Body of Christ, particularly those people who tend to hear from God prophetically (or those who are prophetically gifted). My pastor prayed for me last Sunday and during the prayer he spoke prophetically that God was going to show me His goodness and grace in the coming months in a way that I haven’t known in the past. WOW! Does that mean my diagnosis will be the one I don’t want but He’ll walk through it with me, or does it mean I’ll be in the 80%, which would be showing wonderful goodness and grace to me? I don’t know. But I know He’s going to show me His goodness and grace beyond what I have known in the past and that’s a promise that fills me with hope and peace. It is a promise that makes me look forward to whatever God has for me in the coming months.

• Limit yourself when it comes to learning about what might happen in the future. I’ve talked with doctors and they are very careful to only give you enough information to get you to the next test. The Internet, on the other hand is happy to let you spend hours reading about all the what-ifs that might come into your life. The doctors know what they’re doing in this regard. I’ve learned to recognize when I’m approaching that tipping point where information is about to rob me of my peace, joy and faith, and I back away from the edge. I’m not deceiving myself or not facing the truth. I am just acknowledging that dwelling on the details can quickly overwhelm me so I back off and run to my storm shelter. I know the truth about my situation and choose to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty instead of staring down the barrel of possibilities that may never materialize. To do the latter is to invite the enemy to wreak havoc with my peace.

• Limit yourself when it comes to talking about your situation negatively. This is very similar to the point above. I process things verbally, so the temptation for me is to talk, talk, talk about it. Anytime someone says “how’s it going?” or “what’s new?” my mind immediately jumps to these tests which occupy the major portion of a couple of days each week. It doesn’t take many sentences, though, before I can hear the strain in my voice. There’s that tipping point again. Back away from the edge – most people don’t want that much detail anyway.

• Throughout the day when my mind wants to dwell on the what ifs, I return to the rhema Word, other promises God has given me, and the goodness of the God who loves me and blesses me beyond my ability to comprehend.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9

I’m reading a book about grace. In it, I read that Charles Spurgeon, the famous British pastor, once described faith as:

“believing Christ is who He said He was and that He’ll do what He promised to do – and then living accordingly.”*

I want to live in such a way that people see that I serve a God I trust. Otherwise, why would they want to meet Him?

* Captured by Grace, No One is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God by Dr. David Jeremiah, Thomas Nelson, © 2006, page 36.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

Teach us to make the most of our time,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NLT)

I received a book in the mail the other day. Now that’s nothing unusual, but this book came from a new source. I’ve found a website (booksneeze) that provides books free to authors of blogs in exchange for reviewing the book on their site. If you’re a reader and a blogger that’s pretty exciting stuff.

The title draws me in, it’s got a great cover and it’s by an author I will enjoy reading – just like lots and lots of other books on my bookshelf which I haven’t yet read. The difference between this book and all those others is that I’ve made a promise to someone that I will read this one – I’ve given myself the assignment and I’ve made a commitment that someone else will check up on.

Some people have that built-in motivation that causes or enables them to do the things that are good for them. Most of us do not. Yet with all my heart, I want to pursue Christ every day with more zeal than the day before. I want to apprehend the grace He has for me, and apprehending something – seizing it, takes focused effort. I lose that focus too easily to be totally happy with my efforts. I’m guessing you do to. Life gets in the way of pursuing the things that are truly important. The urgent always wreaks havoc on the important.

To avoid becoming captive to the tyranny of the urgent, we can take actions that align our lives in a way that moves us in the direction of our dreams. We can establish patterns of behavior and relationships that help us to accomplish those things God is calling us to.

Here are ten activities that can help you apprehend all that God has for you:

• Follow a reading schedule to systematically read God’s Word daily. Join us in Resting at the River’s Edge or use the schedule from another organization, but try to find a plan that includes interaction with others about what you’re reading – a group of people that will occasionally ask what God is speaking to you as you read and will share what God is speaking to them as they read the same material.
• Join a church/ministry small group that meets weekly or every other week. They go by different names in different churches – journey groups, home groups, cell groups, small groups, life groups, etc. – but they typically have similar goals: To help the members grow in Christ-likeness and in relationship with one another. This is the group that you’ll share your every day life with. I consider small group participation to be the single-most important element in my spiritual growth over the years!
• Join (create if necessary) a mastermind group. A mastermind group is a small gathering of people who want to help one another raise the bar – do better – in specific areas of their life. I am a part of three mastermind groups – one for ministry, and two for business. We meet monthly and give each member about fifteen minutes to discuss their challenges during the month and get feedback and ideas about how to overcome those challenges. A key component of each group is that each member set a goal for the coming month. Do I meet the goal each month? No. But I always make more progress than I would have if I wasn’t a part of the group.
• Have a prayer partner that you meet with regularly. Don’t limit your prayers to health issues, but include current life struggles and especially your desire to grow closer to God.
• Join (or start) a book club. If you love to read but have become lazy about it (as I tend toward), join a book club. Be sure it’s one that reads the kinds of books you want to read.
• Take a class. I sometimes miss the study requirements imposed on me when I was working on my MCM. I truly enjoyed most of the required reading and paper writing, but without the requirement, I don’t do nearly as much. I can get the same thing by signing up for a single class (not committing to a full program) at a local college or church.
• Attend Sunday School regularly if your church has such a program. Be sure to choose a class that stretches you.
• Identify one to three tasks that you will accomplish each day. You undoubtedly have a very large to do list. Each day select just one to three things from that list which you will focus on. If you have more than three tasks on your shortlist, you’re setting yourself for failure! If you get all three things done and still have a good part of the day left, consider adding another one or two things to your list – after you ask God if this is the time He’s carved out for you to simply kick back and enjoy His presence!
• Periodically set aside time to ask God what your life priorities should be for the coming season. At the very least do this annually, but quarterly is best. I admit to not doing this often enough, but I am so blessed every time I do. I usually try for three days, but it often turns into an afternoon and God is always faithful during that time to bring three days’ clarity in one afternoon. This time away with God helps me to re-focus and energize for the coming season. (What that really means is that I usually go in really confused and come out much less confused – it’s like God has erased all the background noise and things are clearer.)
• Be brave! Venture out of your current world to find or create those groups and find those people who will help you achieve your dreams!

Lest we become an overworked, burnout messes, let me remind you to include as a priority that you ask others to hold you accountable for things like being quiet before God, resting, Sabbath keeping, reflection, meditation…and having fun! This is not a blog about becoming accountable for an over-busy life. It’s a blog about becoming the person God wants you to be – and that includes a child who sits in His lap and a bride who gazes into His eyes.

The wonderful thing is that this isn’t something God doesn’t want for our lives – He wants us to live peaceful, fruitful lives in Him. Be confident that He will help you accomplish it!

In my last blog, we looked at Ephesians 1:3 and learned that we have been blessed beyond our understanding – “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms” simply “because we belong to Christ.” (NLT) I know that I don’t begin to understand the heights and depths of those blessings. I don’t begin to understand how those blessings impact my life even today – although I sure enjoyed meditating on the passage yesterday. Another verse that came to mind – one that we looked at just a week or so ago:

¹Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. ²Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.
Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)

It’s how I want to live my life – so confident of the realities of heaven, so confident that this world is not my home, that the things of this world have less and less power to drag me down. That was the message and application of Ephesians 1:3 for me. Now let’s move on to verses 4 and 6. I’d like to continue looking at the verses in two different translations, the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT):

⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)

⁴Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.

⁶So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.
Ephesians 1:4-6 (NLT)

When I read these passages, several words stand out to me, and they make the verses have very personal meanings:

“chosen” – Before the creation of the world (“before the foundation of the world” is how it reads in the King James Version) God chose me. I am not in Christ because of some fluke accident. I am in Christ because I was predestined to be in Christ. Now I’m not going to get into doctrinal discussions about predestination vs. free will because I don’t believe we can fully reconcile the passages in Scripture that address both subjects – but I believe they are reconciled in God. (God’s mind is so much bigger than mine, which is quite a comforting thought!) Suffice it to say that I am fully confident that it is not God’s desire for anyone to perish but for all to come to the point of repenting for their sins and turning to Christ for forgiveness (2 Peter 3:9). Furthermore, I’m confident that I have been “chosen before the creation of the world” and that knowledge changes me. It does something in the core of my being that changes how I view myself and the world around me.

Furthermore, I have been chosen for a purpose – to be “holy and blameless in His sight.” When I view myself as someone whom God has called, chosen and predestined to be holy and blameless, I act differently than when I view myself as someone who is called to a lower standard. I walk taller and am more aware of my actions. I want to please the One who chose me.

The New Living Translation doesn’t use the word “predestined” – instead, it describes it as God’s “unchanging plan.” We serve a God who never changes. His plan has been to bring us to Christ from the beginning of time. The Old Testament tells the same story as the New Testament. God has always made a way for people to find Him.

Why? Because it gives Him “great pleasure.” It boggles my mind that I give God great pleasure, but Scripture is clear about it. Psalm 147 is just one place that tells us that “the Lord takes delight in His people.” God takes delight in me. I love the word “delight.” If you look it up in a dictionary, you’ll find words like “extreme satisfaction,” “great pleasure” and “joy.” Adopting me into His family has given God great pleasure. I’m real good with that!

Lord, thank You! Thank You for adopting me into Your family. Thank You for purposing from the beginning of time – before you even created the world I would live in – that I would become holy and blameless in Your sight. Forgive me when I don’t live up to that calling. It is my great honor to please my King.

Kings & Treasures

Resting at the River’s Edge is a Bible reading plan that many of the Apprehending Grace readers are following. Following the plan in 2010 and 2011, we will read through the New Testament twice and the Old Testament once. Typically one or two of my blogs in any given week follow along in our reading. If you’re a new reader at ApprehendingGrace.com, please don’t hesitate to jump in mid-stream – or better yet, don’t hesitate to pause by the stream and rest at the river’s edge with us each day.

The month of July will find us reading in five books:

Psalms
1 Samuel
2 Corinthians
Ephesians
Philippians

I have thoroughly been enjoying my time in Psalms and hope you have as well. In July, we’ll finish the first book of Psalms, reading through Psalm 41.

We’ll then read 1 Samuel through the rise and fall of King Saul, the anointing of David as King, and King Saul pursuing David to kill him. It’s a compelling story that I look forward to reading and blogging about.

In the new Testament, we’ll read three of Paul’s letters: 2 Corinthians, Ephesians and Philippians. I’m confident you’ll enjoy all three books.Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:7-8

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Ephesiahs 1:3-6 (it goes on and I want to quote the whole chapter, but you’ll have to read it on your own, no space here!)

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 (this is the passage on which I base my blog, www.ApprehendingGrace.com)

It’s going to be a great month of reading. Don’t lose momentum during the summer months – consider them not just holiday months, but holy-day months.

Be blessed as you read in July! I pray that God’s Word comes alive in a new and precious way.

The recommended reading schedule is below.

To download a PDF of July’s recommended reading plan, click here.

A business contact ask this question in a survey:

Relating to ‘blogging’ – tell me one thing that would enhance the way you presently take your message to the customer. What is it right now that you can’t do, or aren’t doing, that would totally motivate you and bring your customers closer?

My answer came pretty quickly because I’ve been thinking about it for awhile:

I would like to have the equipment, software and knowledge/capability to do web videos well. I’d like to add greeting, motivational, teaching and “how to” videos to my company website and my ministry blog.

As I typed the last word of my answer, I realized that it wasn’t really the true answer. So I added this as a second paragraph:

That’s the practical answer – the real answer is probably the time to learn and implement it!

And when I typed the last word to that answer…God spoke to me. He whispered into my mind what we’ve heard over and over again –

“You make time for those things you consider most important. What are you choosing to make time for?”

Yes, I’ve heard it many times, but hearing it from God carries a little more weight (yeah, like a LOT more weight!).

This was not a condemnation, it was a gentle reminder. I serve a God who allows me ample time for rest (in fact He’d like me to take a whole day out of every seven to rest, enjoy His presence and His creation – but that’s another blog). He’s not a relentless task master. He wants me to live purposefully, choosing to spend my time wisely. Yet I easily fall into letting the urgent overtake the important.

Falling a step further, I develop the mindset that accepts the premise that I am too busy to do _____________ (fill in the blank with the pressure of unfulfilled tasks and dreams). Holding to that premise brings unnecessary pressure and irresponsible relief.

The Burden of Busy-ness
Living under the belief that I am too busy for _____________ brings with it a condemnation, a heaviness, and ultimately a weariness. There are so many things I want to do, but I am too busy to do them. The mindset says I am always too busy…so I quit adding fun and adventure to my calendar or list of things to do. It might be a business adventure, an adventure with God, or fun with family and friends – they all fall into the pit of “I’m too busy.” So my life becomes smaller – full of doing more of the same things because there’s surely  no time to add new and different things.

Science teaches us that emotional experiences (both positive and negative) release norepinephrine into our brains which enhances our brains’ ability to make connections – in other words, adventures make us smarter!  But when I’m too busy for an adventure, my world shrinks and shrinks and shrinks – physically, emotionally and eventually mentally. Pretty soon I’m too tired and too depressed to think of anything fun and adventurous to do.

The Convenient Excuse of Busy-ness
Conversely, living under the belief that I am too busy for _____________ also carries with it the constantly available and convenient excuse that releases me from any new obligations. When “I’m too busy” becomes my automatic response, I not only pass up the opportunities for adventures, I also pass up the opportunities to serve others – especially when it would be inconvenient to do so. They fly by without me intentionally giving them consideration. I become the priest or Levite who walked by the man who had been beaten and left half dead instead of being the good Samaritan who spent some of his time and money to help the man (Luke 10:30-37). The priest and Levite, perhaps because they were too caught up in their own lives, missed the opportunity to be the hands of Jesus extended to the man. I miss opportunities to be Christ to those people God puts in my life when “I’m too busy” is my constant thought companion. And my life becomes smaller in the process.

A Full Life
My life is never bigger and fuller than when I am fulfilling God’s purposes for me on this earth. When I own the perspective that I am always too busy, I miss those purposes and my life becomes wearisome. Today’s question on a business survey – or rather my response to it – reminded me that I don’t want to live out of the “I don’t have time for that” mantra. Beginning today, I am hoping to change my thought patterns to consider opportunities and reject or accept them based on God’s plans, not my schedule. I hope to strike the phrase “I’m too busy” from my mental responses and replace it with “Yes, let’s do it!” or “That sounds great, but it’s not God’s best for me right now.”

I think Moses faced the same challenge. He is the writer of Psalm 90. Here’s verse 12 in two different translations:

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

Teach us to make the most of our time,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NLT)

That’s my prayer today. Lord – teach me to make the most of my time so that I might grow in wisdom. Remove the “I’m too busy” perspective, the “I don’t have time” drag on my life and replace it with a sense of adventure, discovering Your purposes for each day and pursuing them with an undivided heart.

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
Psalm 3:3

David wrote this Psalm at one of the low points in his life. He was running from his son Absalom who was trying to steal the Kingdom from him. Rather than stay and fight to retain his leadership of the kingdom, David runs to avoid losing his own life, the lives of his leadership team and bloodshed in the city of Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 15:14)

An aside: I paused in my writing to discuss David and Absalom with my husband. His summary is perhaps better than mine. Here’s how he describes David’s thoughts at the time: “My son Absalom wants to kill me and become king in my place. Let’s run for our lives…But wait! I have to write this song first!” It made me laugh out loud!

Phil can be irreverent at times, and it’s one of the things that make him such a great teacher. People remember the crazy things he says for quite a long time because of the way he puts them. It’s a gift I don’t have.

Imagine how hurt, embarrassed and afraid David must be. Out of that emotional place, He wrote Psalm 3. When I read verse 3, I was reminded of what we learned from Romans 8:30 in part 4 of my series titled “The Mean I Don’t Even Recognize.”

²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:29-30

This passage teaches that those people who come to know Christ have been called, justified and glorified. (Read the whole series if you missed it. There’s some great content about those words.) The word “glorified” relates to our Psalm and means praised, celebrated, held in high honor, and to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest or acknowledged. And from the context of Romans 8:30, we see that God has already done it!

David didn’t have the privilege of having the book of Romans to study from, but he knew the Lord so intimately that in the midst of being chased down by his son, he was able to write the very same thing as Paul: That God bestows glory on His children. Imagine how important that was to David at that point in his life. He was saying “Father, my son may be trying to ruin everything I’ve done in my life and is trying to kill me, but You hold me in high honor. You celebrate me. You lift my head when it falls to my chest in defeat or shame.”

What God did for David, He will also do for you, friend.

I usually interpret the first line of the verse – “You are a shield around me, O Lord” – to relate to protection from physical harm, but seeing it today and coupling it with the second half of the verse, I wonder if David also had in mind that God is the shield around his emotions – the One who constantly encourages so that David is not defeated in his spirit.

I need that God around me, sometimes more often than I’d like to admit. Life has a way of beating us down – there is always more to do and there are always setbacks; discouragement is always nearby. But for those of us who love the Lord, we have a shield against that discouragement. He bestows us with glory. He lifts our heads. He is passionately in love with us.

My walk with the Lord was revolutionized when I came to understand that God is my greatest cheerleader. I mean no disrespect to the Lord – He is so very much more than that, of course – but for the longest time I saw Him as my personal judge – the One who constantly evaluated my performance and found it lacking. I hope that’s not where you are, friend. I hope you’ve come to know Him as I have – the One who sees me as I will one day be, and who is ever encouraging me to become that person. He has already bestowed glory on me; He has already made my worth known; He has already celebrated who I am and He holds me in high honor – already!

He is the God who looks down from heaven and smiles to Himself as He sees me pursue Him in the midst of the life He has given me. He looks down and says “See her – she’s my girl – she’s doing great – she’s so faithful, so loving, so kind, so smart, so passionate, so talented, so…….” Now of course, I’m not all those things – yet! But as He shields me from the discouragement that would be so easy to succumb to, He lifts my head and I can begin to believe that I really am those things.

What He does for me, He is happy to do for you. If you don’t know Him, I encourage you to get to know Him and make Him Lord of your life. He will be your greatest cheerleader, your shield and the lifter of your head.

For a clear presentation of what it means to know God, click here.
For a discussion about what it means to make Him Lord of your life, click here.

Six Books in One Month – A Treasure Trove of Good Stuff!

During the month of June, we’ll be reading from six different books! It’ll be one of our busiest months, in terms of books, but it will still be maintaining our pace of three chapters a day. Here’s where we’ll be:

Joshua: I am thoroughly enjoying this book! Seeing how God passed the baton to Joshua and solidified his leadership among the Israelites, and then reading about how God’s unique strategy for taking the city of Jericho has me looking forward to the rest of the book.

Judges: After Joshua we’ll move on to the book of Judges. It’ll be “déjà vu all over again” as the Israelites fall into the cycle of following after other gods and finding themself in a jam, crying out to God for help, God raising up a righteous Judge to lead them and then the Israelites repenting and following God…until that judge dies and the cycle starts again. The book ends on the following very sad note:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Joshua 21:25

Israel had forsaken their true King and everyone did as they pleased.

Psalms: After Judges we’ll take a break from the history for a few weeks by reading through the first 41 Psalms. The book of Psalms is broken into five “books” or “collections.” We’ll be reading the first one. It’s interesting that these divisions probably existed as early as the third, and perhaps even the second century B.C. Some think that the five-part division may have been deliberate, matching five books of praise with the already existing five books of the law (i.e., Genesis through Deuteronomy). Each of the books end with a final verse or psalm of doxology (praise).

Galatians: After we finish the last chapter of 2 Thessalonians, we’ll read Galatians. Paul is writing to correct heretical teaching that has infiltrated the church and writes about grace vs. the Law. My favorite passage of the book (favorite because the Holy Spirit brings it to my mind often when I need to hear it) is this:

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Galatians 3:1-3

Lord, let us not fall back to relying on our own efforts, our own strength (or lack thereof), but to fully trust You for everything in our lives.

1 & 2 Corinthians: Finally, we’ll read 1 & 2 Corinthians. These books might be summarized as being about a church behaving badly. We’ll find many verses we quote regularly and I trust God has some new nuggets for us as well.

Be blessed as you read this month! May God reveal His Word for you.

The recommended reading schedule is below.

To download a PDF of June’s recommended reading plan, click here.

Me – Old?
I try not to be too self-indulgent in these blogs, but it seems appropriate today. I am fifty-four years old today. I’ve been wondering which makes the lesser impact – fifty-four or 54? It seems like suddenly it’s a big number. Forty-eight didn’t seem like such a big number. Occasionally it occurs to me that I may not live another twenty years! And that seems so short. I can remember when twenty years seemed an eternity.

Believe it or not, this isn’t maudlin in my mind, but I realize that it may come across as maudlin in the reading of it. I’m just sort of amazed that so many years have gone by. Let me encourage you to stick with this blog…we’ll get to some amazing Scripture that is not only true of me, but also for you. And not only on your birthday, but every day of your life.

Anyway, I soften the blow that number (54) sometimes brings by telling my husband that we are accomplishing one of our life-long goals – to grow old together! Can’t accomplish that goal without growing old. Not that I put the “old” label on myself yet, but I am very aware that thirty years ago I applied that label to people my age.

The foolishness of the young!

When I am with a group of people who are younger than me (which happens more and more often these days), I am frequently amazed to realize that I am older than they are. When I’m with people that are LOTS younger than me, it often comes to me as a bit of a shock to my system – “Oh, I’m not their age!” I suppose that’s a good thing. That shock is immediately followed by the shock of realizing that they are probably very much aware that I’m older than they are. At least when I was 25-35, I remember being around people who were 45-55 (of which I’m now at the upper end of the range) and thinking how much older they were than me.

Age brings quite a different perspective on many things. Phil and I regularly lead church services at nursing homes. Being around such aged saints brings another perspective. To most of them, I am still quite young. But whether we’re 25 or 55 or 75, God’s Word is still true and His Word has some amazing things to meditate on when we’re tempted to be pulled down by the passing of time.

My Age Doesn’t Impact God’s Plans

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

To be honest, there are times when I wonder if God will ever fulfill the plans He has for me. Well, I guess to be more honest, what I wonder is if God will ever fulfill the plans I have for me! J That’s when I bow my head and remind myself and God that it’s His plans I want fulfilled, not mine. The flesh wants mine. My spirit wants God’s. I’m confident that the two overlap in the most important areas. At least most of the time I’m confident of that! J I’m guessing you have similar doubts sometimes. What I am always confident about is that I serve a forever-faithful God. When I doubt, it’s me who is unfaithful or insecure, not God. He is always faithful.

I Am God-Created – for My God-Created Purpose

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ 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,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16

⁴The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:4-5

What great passages of Scripture! I love knowing that God knit me together – that I am His handiwork. I’m not just a bunch of cells thrown together by happenstance. I was woven together and His eyes were upon me the whole time. I was formed by the Master Potter. The word translated “woven together” is a term that relates to the creation of beautiful tapestry of variegated colors. In the Jeremiah passage, the word translated “formed” is a pottery term that describes molding the clay into shape. God is communicating His personal involvement, as if His very hands were in my mother’s womb as I was growing from zygote to fetus to newborn baby girl on March 28, 1956.

After forming me, or perhaps while forming me, He set me apart and appointed me to the destiny He prepared in advanced for me. Jeremiah was appointed as a prophet to the nations. I don’t think that’s my calling (there’s been no indication of that yet, anyway, and I am 54 years old)! Yet God created me perfectly to accomplish what He has planned for me to do:

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

Having a purpose gives my life meaning. Knowing I am perfectly prepared to accomplish that purpose gives me confidence and brings peace in stressful situations. I love knowing that I am God’s workmanship! He does good work! I might not always feel like it, but I choose not to rely on feelings. I choose to rely on the Truth of God’s Word.

He Rejoices! He Sings! He Dances! And It’s All for Me!
For Christmas, Phil bought me a plaque that says “On the day you were born, God danced.” I love it! It sits on my dresser where I see it every morning. I’ve been thinking about that plaque a lot today. God danced on this day 54 years ago. Such a thought brings joy to my heart.

I can understand how God would dance over me – it’s not that I’m so good – I’m not – I fall way short of my goals, and I’m sure my goals are way, way lower than His goals for me – yet He still sees me as the precious daughter He formed so many years ago. He also sees me as the woman I am becoming as I continue to pursue Christ. And He sees me as the woman I am in Christ – righteous and forgiven. Those women are worth being excited about – those women are worth dancing for. So when I think of God dancing when I was born, I get excited about how precious I am to Him and how much pleasure I bring Him.

Having said that, I can’t find any Scripture that specifically says God dances over us. But I can come close!

As a young man marries a maiden,
so will your sons marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62:5

The word “rejoice” means be exceedingly glad, greatly joyful, make mirth, or rejoice.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17

In this case, the word translated “rejoice” means literally to spin around. The word translated “singing” – rinnaw – is interesting. It means a shout of joy (or grief), joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, singing, triumph.

Those words carry such emotion that they “feel” like rejoicing that can’t be contained without dancing. When put together with the Scriptural analogy that Christ is the Bridegroom and we are His bride the picture that comes to my mind is that of the groom who lifts his bride on the dance floor and swings her around with great joy. I can see the huge smile and joy on the face of my Bridegroom.

Jesus, right now, is looking forward to the day when we will be face to face. And since there is no such thing as time where He is (something well beyond my comprehension), He is already rejoicing in that day even while He watches over me in my day! Wow!

So those are my birthday musings. Phil had to work 3-11 today, and it’s a rainy, cold day. Some might think that would make for a dreary birthday. It wasn’t. God is too good for that.

*All definitions came from Strong’s Hebrew & Greek Dictionaries, Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 1998, Parsons Technology, Inc.

I was about to be overwhelmed yesterday morning. Yikes! Monday morning, the day hadn’t begun and I was starting to feel like I wouldn’t be able to get the things done that I needed to get done even if I had three Mondays to accomplish it. And God spoke one word to my heart – “Remember!”

God has that economy of words thing down! That one word was enough. Remember! It instantly put a smile in my heart and on my face as I remembered the many times He has stepped in to accomplish what I never could. I remembered the many times He has given me grace with others to cover the things I could not get done. I remembered how thankful I am to have a job to go to every day. I remembered how thankful I am to have good health and a loving husband. I remembered that God has a purpose for my life and even as I am walking through what I do every day, He is accomplishing that purpose in me and is impacting others for good. And I remembered that even if my whole world falls apart, I will still have a loving, compassionate and all-powerful God who will be by my side putting the pieces back together in a way that is better than it was before.

He has caused his wonders to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

Psalm 111:4

Thank You, Lord. I remember!

As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
Psalm 16:3

I’ve read this Scripture many times before, but last night I noticed a very important small word in it – ALL – It says that God saves ALL His delight for “the saints.” If you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, that means you! It means me, too. We’re talking about the God of the universe here, the God who created heaven and earth and all that is in it. That God – saves all his delight for His children.

There are more than 350,000 different kinds of beetles. God created each one. If it were me, I’d be happy with about four different types. But God wasn’t satisfied with four, he made 350,000, Having made all those beetles, I’d think God would delight in them. But Psalm 16 says that God saves ALL his delight for me.

I love to go to sea world and I’m delighted by the sea anemones. They have no structure, no body, but they float around in the water. It amazes and delights me. I love to stand next to Shamu’s tank and am delighted at this huge creature. How can anything so big be so graceful? But God doesn’t delight in the sea anemone or the killer whale or the 350,000 different types of beetles. God delights in me.

Wow!