Keeping unity

"Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." (II Thessalonians 3:5)

May the Lord direct my heart, my total being, toward Him.

"...The temple is not for man but for the Lord God." (I Chronicles 29:1)

King David will be passing on to his son, Solomon, the baton of kingship, as chosen by the Lord. Solomon will lead in building the temple. But David will make preparation. The preparation, has noted in verse 2, indicates "gold things to be made of gold, silver things to be made of silver, bronze things of bronze, iron things of iron, wood things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance." The preparation was complete. David's affection was to the Lord, he had given over and above, and those under him, leaders, captains, officers, they too offered willingly. The people rejoiced. All rejoiced. (verses 3, 6, 9)

And David blessed the Lord:
"Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.
Now therefore, our God, We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And of Your own we have given You.
For we are aliens and pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope." (I Chronicles 29:10-15)

"O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people and fix their heart toward you." (verse 18)

May the Lord direct your heart and mine, our total being, toward Him.

Our heart(s) is not always fixed upon, pointed toward You. We allow our minds to wander and travel dangerous paths that result in turmoil and despair for us.

There is the church founded upon Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 16, when Jesus and his disciples are discussing who He is, Simon Peter says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." (verse 16)Jesus replies in verse 17-18, "Blessed are you ... for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

'On this rock' - the revelation from God that Jesus is the Christ, is the Son of the Living God.

There is the church. But we are not united, we have not united, we have not kept our unity that was founded upon the Lord Jesus. We have separated into hundreds, thousands of little pieces.

In John 13, when Jesus is speaking to his disciples before his death, he says in verses 34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Not just his current disciples, but all of his followers, past, present and future.

"endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3)

"There is one body and
one Spirit,
just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord
one faith,
one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Let's keep the unity. Let's remember to whom we belong.

Staying on track

I think of other things I can do, other books to write. I forget the original goal - the one the Lord gave me and reminds me of from time to time.

I think of my eating habits - the ones that used to be so good and the ones that have slid by and crumbled at His feet.

I think of where I want to be and how hard it is so often to stay on track.

Satan could be winning. Gaining the upper hand, moving God's influence on me to pure selfishness.

Yes, Satan could be winning.

But God is more powerful, greater than any ol' devil who plants ideas of discontentment and discouragement, darkness, deceivement, desolation, doubt.

I am the Lord's child. Not the devil's, Not my own. I am His.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness; or peril, or sword?" (Romans 8:35)

No one, nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39)

Thank you Lord. Remind me often. Help me to conquer the sin and be the person You want me to be. Amen.

We must persevere

"The church is commissioned to call all the world to the lordship of Jesus Christ." Those are the words penned by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian martyr who died at the hands of the Nazis in 1945.

First I thought of The Great Commission which states, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

And then I thought of Acts 1:8: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The church - all believers in Jesus Christ are to go forth and as going, must be witnesses to Jesus Christ, making disciples.

We have more power than we realize. God has given us His power through the Holy Spirit to use for His glory. And what do we do? We fall short, we fail to realize, we fail to act, we allow others to walk over us. Our fears take over, control us. We cannot give in or give up. We must persevere. Every last one of us. Not just a few. All who have received salvation by faith through Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection, have been instructed to go forth, to be doers, to be a witness for the Lord Jesus.

We have been given that right. Don't misuse it. Proclaim all that the world needs to hear. Be obedient to the Lord's commandments.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

All that is, all those who are -- none matters if (since) God is for us. He is always present, within reach.

We must persevere.

Photo Collage: Storm clouds / sunsets / rainbows

Storm clouds,

sunsets,

rainbows

Taken Friday evening,

June 18, 2010,

in between heavy rains

in area of

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Skywatch

Be still and know

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

Set your sights, your focus on God and in any storm life may bring you, you'll find peace.

Seems so easy doesn't it? Easy to say, not so easy to do. Still, when our mindset is directed toward Him at every juncture, the peace we search for will be found. I am constantly amazed how the Lord never gives up on His children. Never. We find peace, only to lose it again. And why? Because we take it back. We think God can't handle this. We have to take care of it. And we make a mess of it. God provides for His children. Not the way we want it, but God's way. Not in our timing, but His time. We learn time after time that when we obey God's directive to "wait," the answers we need will be delivered. The Lord knows what we need.

Practice makes perfect. Practice certainly makes for a better view of how the Lord cares for all of His children. Perfection is found only in Jesus and is something we will obtain when we have gone home to Glory.

The answers

The answers are in The Book.... His Book.... The Bible. Often hidden away from our sight and our understanding. Only after much study, quiet listening, does it sink in, do we grasp the meaning of what Jesus says to us.

The answers are not found anywhere else - not in commentaries or other books or even in a fellow human being.

The answers to all of life, to all we seek, are to be found within the pages of His Holy Word.

When our time has become meshed with His time, we will see what He shows us, we will hear what He tells us, and we will understand and comprehend ...a bit more than now.

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." 1 Corinthians 13:12

God's grace is sufficient

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God's grace = God's power, God's love

My weakness = all of my infirmities

We can't see grace; it is not readily apparent to our being. It is there when we take that leap of faith - we pretty much disregard our brain thoughts and hone in on our heart, listening quietly, but intently, to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit -- God - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read what Dietrich Bonhoeffer (in his devotional) has to say about it: It speaks of an event beyond all worlds and wants to draw us away from our own world to another. A dark abyss opens us, and a voice commands: Jump across. I will catch you and hold you fast. I am stretching out my hand. Now bet your life on it, and rely on me and on nothing else. My grace is sufficient for you. I am love.

"I have called you by your name; you are Mine." (Isaiah 43:1b)

God's grace, God's love, God's power is sufficient; at least it should be. If it isn't we aren't living our lives in total obedience to Him. I wonder if that is really possible, 100% total obedience to the Lord 100% of all time. It seems it is our goal, one we are always pushing toward, but not quite achieving. I think it will happen when Jesus returns again. With His arrival, we, who are believers, those long gone and those still remaining, will meet Him in the air and be homeward bound, heaven bound.

It's like it's said in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."

We should continue to strive to be the person the Lord desires us to be. God's grace is sufficient.

All the accomplishments you have will not fully satisfy. All the goals you have are useless if the Lord is not at the center of your entire being.

God's grace. God's love. God's power.

I am oh so weak

And often I feel the weakness

I think I have so much power

I think I can do all

My future ... one step forward

So many steps back

My future

Shorter and shorter

The future gets.

How long

must I continue

will I continue

New avenues

paths

The journey began at birth

Our journey, my journey, your journey

Strewn with stubble, rock

One phase begins

Another ends

A continuum.

Did you hear the call?

Was that your name?

God is always calling

Some respond

Many do not.

The decisions made

Yes

No

or maybe

A new chapter begins

Another ends

Some roads lead to destruction

to financial gain - or ruin

One road leads to Jesus.

Which road do you travel?

Have you taken a new turn

in the fork of life?

"If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small." (Proverbs 24:10)

If in the struggles surrounding you, you are fearful, afraid, it is because your strength is weak. When we are with the Lord, in the Lord, our strength, through Him, is made strong.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

We are called according to His purpose, by His grace. When we wholeheartedly abide with the Lord in everything we do and everything we say, seeking His guidance all along the way, our fear will depart. His grace is sufficient ... when we let go and let Him be our guiding light.

To carry your love, your heart, with another

A response was sent re: my most recent blog post, "Why would you say No?" which was about carrying your love for another with you throughout the day. The individual asked for examples on how to actually do this.

My first reaction was you just do! It's inside you. When you truly love another, their being is with you wherever you go, whatever you do. They are on your mind. When you are separated from each other, you look forward to reuniting, whether it be that same day or many days later.

And when our loved ones have died, we can still carry their love with us, through our memories. Tender, precious memories.

I did some research on the internet and through poetry books I have. I found two items, a poem by E.E. Cummings (1894-1962) and lyrics by country singer George Strait, which I share below. Perhaps these will illustrate it better.

In E.E. Cummings' 1958 book, 95 Poems, he writes:

I carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

I go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world (for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

George Strait wrote the lyrics to the 1997 song, "Carrying Your Love with Me." Listen to it on YouTube:

Why would you say No?

Do you have everything you ask ...

Why would you say no when you ask someone (or someone asks you) if they have you with them? I don't mean physically with them. But their love, your love. Are you carrying my love for you with you? Is my love for you (and vice versa) in your heart?

Isn't it the same ... you have Jesus. You accept Jesus and believe in Him and He lives in your heart through the Holy Spirit.

Why, if you love another, would you not also have them in your heart? If they are on your mind, why not in your heart? Why would you not take that love with you throughout the day? Why bother to say "I Love You" if ....

If or since, as it says in I Corinthians 13, love is patient and kind, joyful, and without envy, not proud, not rude, not selfish, not provoked, not evil. If love bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all, if love never fails ...

Where do you keep it - your love? You live it day-to-day. Do you not take your love to work, to school, to church, to recreational activities, in sickness and in health? Did you not take a vow to love, honor and cherish? Yes, where do you keep your love?

Do you think love should sit on a shelf to be picked up when convenient for you? Is love only found in the bedroom for pleasure-seeking activities? Is love only present when you are in a good mood, or slept good or feel good? What does a kiss represent? Is love taken for granted? Is the wedding ring you wear symbolic of your love or have you forgotten why you wear it?

I Corinthians 13, verse 1 says If "we have not love," we "become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal." We make noise. We know, we understand, we feed those less fortunate, and so on and so forth, but without love, we fail.

So I ask you and you and you, do you have your special someone with you? Is their love, is your love within each of your hearts?