I've been listening to Christian music in German of late and tonight I found "By Gracious Powers So Wonderfully Sheltered." The video below is sung by the Laki Pop Choir, but the words are by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His poem, "By Gracious Powers" follows the video.
By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
And confidently waiting come what may,
we know that God is with us night and morning,
and never fails to greet us each new day.
Yet is this heart by its old foe tormented,
Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;
Oh, give our frightened souls the sure salvation
for which, O Lord, You taught us to prepare.
And when this cup You give is filled to brimming
With bitter suffering, hard to understand,
we take it thankfully and without trembling,
out of so good and so beloved a hand.
Yet when again in this same world You give us
The joy we had, the brightness of Your Sun,
we shall remember all the days we lived through,
and our whole life shall then be Yours alone.
If you are interested in more information on Bonhoeffer: bonhoefferblog.wordpress.com/
Showing posts with label Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Show all posts
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
God's design for life (Part I: To plant, To pluck)
As a result of one of my readings by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I have begun a study on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. To get there, I had to pass through Ecclesiastes 1, which is where Bonhoeffer’s reading led me.
His reading:
“God’s way are ways that He himself traveled and that we are now supposed to travel with him. God does not let us go anyway that he himself has not gone and on which he does not go before us. The way to which God calls us is the way cleared by God and protected by God. Thus it is really his way …One does not meet God on the spot. Rather, one follows a way. And the way moves forward, or one is not with God.”
On to Ecclesiastes 1 ….
4 “One generation passes away, and another generation comes;”
9 “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.”
Seasons come and seasons go, year after year. What we face today someone else faced years before and another will face in the future.
God’s design for life - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
A time – a season;
a span of time, a moment
Expansive or minute.
Remember – a thousand years to us is like a day to Him and vice versa.
Bonhoeffer says, “The source of action is not the idea, but readiness for responsibility.”
Individually, personally, globally. The time comes and what we choose to do with it – that is what is important, whenever it comes. Not that it has come, but that we are ready to take action, and responsibility.
There are many times, many seasons in the course of one’s life.
Moments come
moments go
in between
we stay a while
reap rewards
or face untold anguish
Today
Tomorrow
Yesterday
All in a single moment
of Time
A season
Always wondering,
Is there nothing new?
Is it always the same
day in,
day out
1 “To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.”
In all of Life
However short or long
there is a season
2 “A time
to be born
to die
to plant
to pluck what is planted
3 to kill
to heal
to break down
to build up
4 to weep
to laugh
to mourn
to dance
5 to cast away stones
to gather stones
to embrace
to refrain from embracing
6 to gain
to lose
to keep
to throw away
7 to tear
to sew
to keep silence
to speak
8 to love
to hate
of war
of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
You read those words and you think on them and you have ideas to what they mean. But what you think and what they really mean don’t always come together. This is God’s design for life and His design is already one that is and we are to follow. But what has been will be again and what is now was once. You’d think you were going in circles, but you’re not.
My study began, not with being born and dying, because to me, that seemed self-explanatory, but with planting and plucking -
“A time to plant; A time to pluck what is planted”
The direction I went took me along this route:
• Matthew 15:13, where Jesus is speaking to his disciples. “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.”
• Isaiah 53:2, the prophet Isaiah speaks of Jesus, the Messiah, to come. “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground…”
• Isaiah 11:1-2a, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,”
• Psalm 1:3, “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”
• Psalm 92:12-15, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing; To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no uprighteousness in Him.”
• Jeremiah 17:8, “For He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But her leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
We are to be a blessing to others at all times.
• Ezekiel 19:10-14, “Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters. Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters. She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage. But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruits. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them. And how she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. Fire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, so that she has no strong branch- a scepter for ruling.”
• Jeremiah 31:28, “And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.”
• Jeremiah 1:10, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”
• Jeremiah 18:7-10, “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it. If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.”
• Psalm 128:1-4, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands (fruit of the labor), you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”
• Jeremiah 11:16, “The Lord called your name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.”
Jesus is the root/the vine. Israel/the Jewish nation is the natural branches. When rejection of the Lord became their preferred choice of living, God’s gift of salvation through Christ was offered to the rest of the world – the Gentiles.
I am a Gentile. The Bible calls us wild, being we are not natural. We are grafted in to become part of the Tree of Life. If/when we reject the Lord we can be removed from the Tree just like the Jews. Only those who believe and trust and obey are/is a branch of this tree.
And we are blessed. Must not brag about what we have, what the Lord has given us. The natural branches were broken off because of unbelief and unfruitfulness, making room for us, the Gentile people, to be grafted in, to become part of God’s goodness. We must never think we/I am better than another.
• John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
• John 15:4-8, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
• John 15:16, “You didn’t choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last…”
The fruit He speaks of – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
“We can only live life, not define it,” says Bonhoeffer.
Jesus says, of himself, in John 14:6a, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
God’s design for all of life is found in and through Jesus Christ, who shows us the way.
His reading:
“God’s way are ways that He himself traveled and that we are now supposed to travel with him. God does not let us go anyway that he himself has not gone and on which he does not go before us. The way to which God calls us is the way cleared by God and protected by God. Thus it is really his way …One does not meet God on the spot. Rather, one follows a way. And the way moves forward, or one is not with God.”
On to Ecclesiastes 1 ….
4 “One generation passes away, and another generation comes;”
9 “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.”
Seasons come and seasons go, year after year. What we face today someone else faced years before and another will face in the future.
God’s design for life - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
A time – a season;
a span of time, a moment
Expansive or minute.
Remember – a thousand years to us is like a day to Him and vice versa.
Bonhoeffer says, “The source of action is not the idea, but readiness for responsibility.”
Individually, personally, globally. The time comes and what we choose to do with it – that is what is important, whenever it comes. Not that it has come, but that we are ready to take action, and responsibility.
There are many times, many seasons in the course of one’s life.
Moments come
moments go
in between
we stay a while
reap rewards
or face untold anguish
Today
Tomorrow
Yesterday
All in a single moment
of Time
A season
Always wondering,
Is there nothing new?
Is it always the same
day in,
day out
1 “To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.”
In all of Life
However short or long
there is a season
2 “A time
to be born
to die
to plant
to pluck what is planted
3 to kill
to heal
to break down
to build up
4 to weep
to laugh
to mourn
to dance
5 to cast away stones
to gather stones
to embrace
to refrain from embracing
6 to gain
to lose
to keep
to throw away
7 to tear
to sew
to keep silence
to speak
8 to love
to hate
of war
of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
You read those words and you think on them and you have ideas to what they mean. But what you think and what they really mean don’t always come together. This is God’s design for life and His design is already one that is and we are to follow. But what has been will be again and what is now was once. You’d think you were going in circles, but you’re not.
My study began, not with being born and dying, because to me, that seemed self-explanatory, but with planting and plucking -
“A time to plant; A time to pluck what is planted”
The direction I went took me along this route:
• Matthew 15:13, where Jesus is speaking to his disciples. “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.”
• Isaiah 53:2, the prophet Isaiah speaks of Jesus, the Messiah, to come. “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground…”
• Isaiah 11:1-2a, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,”
• Psalm 1:3, “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”
• Psalm 92:12-15, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing; To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no uprighteousness in Him.”
• Jeremiah 17:8, “For He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But her leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
We are to be a blessing to others at all times.
• Ezekiel 19:10-14, “Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters. Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters. She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage. But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruits. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them. And how she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land. Fire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, so that she has no strong branch- a scepter for ruling.”
• Jeremiah 31:28, “And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.”
• Jeremiah 1:10, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”
• Jeremiah 18:7-10, “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it. If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.”
• Psalm 128:1-4, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands (fruit of the labor), you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”
• Jeremiah 11:16, “The Lord called your name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.”
Jesus is the root/the vine. Israel/the Jewish nation is the natural branches. When rejection of the Lord became their preferred choice of living, God’s gift of salvation through Christ was offered to the rest of the world – the Gentiles.
I am a Gentile. The Bible calls us wild, being we are not natural. We are grafted in to become part of the Tree of Life. If/when we reject the Lord we can be removed from the Tree just like the Jews. Only those who believe and trust and obey are/is a branch of this tree.
And we are blessed. Must not brag about what we have, what the Lord has given us. The natural branches were broken off because of unbelief and unfruitfulness, making room for us, the Gentile people, to be grafted in, to become part of God’s goodness. We must never think we/I am better than another.
• John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
• John 15:4-8, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
• John 15:16, “You didn’t choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last…”
The fruit He speaks of – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
“We can only live life, not define it,” says Bonhoeffer.
Jesus says, of himself, in John 14:6a, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
God’s design for all of life is found in and through Jesus Christ, who shows us the way.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Be alive! Come to Jesus
"You are dead -- and yet you have risen! You are in the dark -- and yet you are in the light. You are afraid -- and yet you can rejoice." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Dead in our sins
Christ came
to die for us
for our sins
everyone and all
not one to leave behind
unless ...
by our choice
we refuse
we say no to Him
over and over and over
countless times
Always no.
Christ came
for you
He sees
He hears
Our tears, our sighs
Our pain
reaches out
to pull us in
because of God's love
God's mercy.
Why oh why do you say no
Why is all He has done
still not enough
What more do you need
What do you seek if it is not
Jesus the Son
God the Father
and the inner voice of the Holy Spirit?
What else is there
Jesus is The One
The Only One
The Only Way
One alone
Him alone
He will guide you
everyone and all
But you must give yourself,
every bit of you,
to Him
Let Him guide you.
The lonely path you travel,
the one that leads far into
the world of fear and dread,
can be overcome
Give your heart and soul to Jesus
Step out into the light and rejoice
Be alive!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the wold to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)
Dead in our sins
Christ came
to die for us
for our sins
everyone and all
not one to leave behind
unless ...
by our choice
we refuse
we say no to Him
over and over and over
countless times
Always no.
Christ came
for you
He sees
He hears
Our tears, our sighs
Our pain
reaches out
to pull us in
because of God's love
God's mercy.
Why oh why do you say no
Why is all He has done
still not enough
What more do you need
What do you seek if it is not
Jesus the Son
God the Father
and the inner voice of the Holy Spirit?
What else is there
Jesus is The One
The Only One
The Only Way
One alone
Him alone
He will guide you
everyone and all
But you must give yourself,
every bit of you,
to Him
Let Him guide you.
The lonely path you travel,
the one that leads far into
the world of fear and dread,
can be overcome
Give your heart and soul to Jesus
Step out into the light and rejoice
Be alive!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the wold to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
the word / The Word
Today's reading with Dietrich Bonhoeffer took me to thinking about the word "word." Bonhoeffer says, "Every word has its place. Every word is alive and is at home in a certain place."
I never thought about this. Well I supposed I did, perhaps once upon a time. It reminds me of grammar. In searching the meaning of word I came across a variety of thoughts. Here is one person's conception of What Is A Word. Perhaps you have ideas to express as well.
Bonhoeffer says in place of genuine words we now have chatter. Words no longer have any weight. There is too much talk.
What is a genuine word? Is it original, real, true, honest, sincere? Chatter I suppose is saying nothing. Or saying little of any consequence. Too much talk, yet too little being said. Too much of nothing, too little of that specialness, too little meaning, too little truth.
Think again. If a genuine word is original, real, true, honest, sincere, are we not speaking of God?
God is original ... "Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90:2)
God is real ... "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exoduc 3:14)
God is true ... "These Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, 'You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." (John 7:28-29)
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' " (John 14:6)
God is honest ... Two of His commandments, "You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:15-16)
God is sincere ... "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10: 22-23)
Every word has its place. Every word is alive.
The Word is God, the Lord Jesus. He is alive!
"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to His words, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:5-6)
"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
I never thought about this. Well I supposed I did, perhaps once upon a time. It reminds me of grammar. In searching the meaning of word I came across a variety of thoughts. Here is one person's conception of What Is A Word. Perhaps you have ideas to express as well.
Bonhoeffer says in place of genuine words we now have chatter. Words no longer have any weight. There is too much talk.
What is a genuine word? Is it original, real, true, honest, sincere? Chatter I suppose is saying nothing. Or saying little of any consequence. Too much talk, yet too little being said. Too much of nothing, too little of that specialness, too little meaning, too little truth.
Think again. If a genuine word is original, real, true, honest, sincere, are we not speaking of God?
God is original ... "Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90:2)
God is real ... "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exoduc 3:14)
God is true ... "These Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, 'You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." (John 7:28-29)
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' " (John 14:6)
God is honest ... Two of His commandments, "You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:15-16)
God is sincere ... "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10: 22-23)
Every word has its place. Every word is alive.
The Word is God, the Lord Jesus. He is alive!
"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to His words, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:5-6)
"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword; piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
peace ...
"Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons (children) of God." (Matthew 5:9)
During September, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's devotional insights have to do with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7.
I considered, what is a peacemaker? Someone subdued ... calm, anti war, a quiet spirit?
Does a peacemaker only have peace, be at peace or must there also be an attitude and action of creating peace in our surroundings?
What is peace? Is it the absence of war, the absence of fighting, the absence of hatred for all we oppose? How do we create peace? Can we ourselves?
Bonhoeffer says the children of God "are not only to have peace, but also to create it. ... they renounce violence and revolution ... the disciples of Jesus keep the peace because they would rather suffer themselves than cause others suffering. .. they preserve fellowship where others break it; they renounce self-assertion and are not provoked by hate and injustice. They overcome evil with good."
Peace .... Romans 12 tells us to 10"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. ... 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ... 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. ... 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ... 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Jesus is our peace.
You without Christ
have no hope
No future promise
made complete
through His death
on the cross.
You without Christ
face bitterness
and despair.
Alone,
you are
unwilling
to cross the bridge
Jesus himself
was and is.
You mourn
and are not comforted
You hunger and thirst
and are filled or satisfied
You fight against neighbor,
friend and foe.
Jesus is our hope
Our promise
Our peace
God the Father created all, even us, all of us, every single one of us. God created us. God created animal. God created human. Through Adam and Even's choices, division came and as a result, God created laws/commandments for His people to follow, to bring them to a relationship with Him. Many people did not see the commandments as a relationship tool, but as a painful rule. Couldn't do this, couldn't do that. They didn't want to follow. Didn't want to obey. They were going to do whatever they wanted, disregarding anything else.
God the Son
came and lived
and taught and
became
the bridge
dividing us.
He broke down the wall.
He died
for us.
Not for himself.
He died for us.
He became our peace
He became and IS the way.
We can be reconciled with God the Father
Through Jesus
Our Savior, our lifeblood, our hope, our promise, our tomorrow
Today.
Peace... found only through faith and obedience in and through the Lord Jesus.
"...You who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two (Jew and Gentile or unbeliever), thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity." (Ephesians 2:13-16)
Peace is not here, yet it is here.
Jesus is peace.
But until all
bow to Him alone
the peace of Jesus
is only here
for a few ... His followers ... the children of God
and not always then.
Obedience is not always sought after even by God's own.
No violence
No revolution
From the 1960s,
I remember,
'make peace, not war' or was it 'make love, not war'
A John Lennon song
Those who refused to go to war, to fight, were called pacifists. The government and others frowned upon them.
I wonder.
Perhaps their cause
was Jesus.
Perhaps Jesus
was their peace
and they were trying to create
His peace for the rest of us.
It seems it is an ongoing struggle.
Peace is not the same as security. Peace is not the protection of self. Yet, if we are obedient to the commandments of God, if we do what is right and true and place our whole body and soul into into the hands of God and His will, thereby allowing Him to be our anchor and our pivot point,we can have peace ... and security.
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2)
God
My Lord
is my rock
my protector
my salvation
my defense
my strength
my refuge
my confidant
my instructor / teacher / guide
my all.
He is the pebble that slew Goliath
He is the stone you stumble over
He is the rock that defeated Satan!
Peace ... only through Jesus forever and ever ... when will we want it enough?
During September, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's devotional insights have to do with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7.
I considered, what is a peacemaker? Someone subdued ... calm, anti war, a quiet spirit?
Does a peacemaker only have peace, be at peace or must there also be an attitude and action of creating peace in our surroundings?
What is peace? Is it the absence of war, the absence of fighting, the absence of hatred for all we oppose? How do we create peace? Can we ourselves?
Bonhoeffer says the children of God "are not only to have peace, but also to create it. ... they renounce violence and revolution ... the disciples of Jesus keep the peace because they would rather suffer themselves than cause others suffering. .. they preserve fellowship where others break it; they renounce self-assertion and are not provoked by hate and injustice. They overcome evil with good."
Peace .... Romans 12 tells us to 10"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. ... 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ... 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. ... 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ... 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Jesus is our peace.
You without Christ
have no hope
No future promise
made complete
through His death
on the cross.
You without Christ
face bitterness
and despair.
Alone,
you are
unwilling
to cross the bridge
Jesus himself
was and is.
You mourn
and are not comforted
You hunger and thirst
and are filled or satisfied
You fight against neighbor,
friend and foe.
Jesus is our hope
Our promise
Our peace
God the Father created all, even us, all of us, every single one of us. God created us. God created animal. God created human. Through Adam and Even's choices, division came and as a result, God created laws/commandments for His people to follow, to bring them to a relationship with Him. Many people did not see the commandments as a relationship tool, but as a painful rule. Couldn't do this, couldn't do that. They didn't want to follow. Didn't want to obey. They were going to do whatever they wanted, disregarding anything else.
God the Son
came and lived
and taught and
became
the bridge
dividing us.
He broke down the wall.
He died
for us.
Not for himself.
He died for us.
He became our peace
He became and IS the way.
We can be reconciled with God the Father
Through Jesus
Our Savior, our lifeblood, our hope, our promise, our tomorrow
Today.
Peace... found only through faith and obedience in and through the Lord Jesus.
"...You who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two (Jew and Gentile or unbeliever), thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity." (Ephesians 2:13-16)
Peace is not here, yet it is here.
Jesus is peace.
But until all
bow to Him alone
the peace of Jesus
is only here
for a few ... His followers ... the children of God
and not always then.
Obedience is not always sought after even by God's own.
No violence
No revolution
From the 1960s,
I remember,
'make peace, not war' or was it 'make love, not war'
A John Lennon song
Those who refused to go to war, to fight, were called pacifists. The government and others frowned upon them.
I wonder.
Perhaps their cause
was Jesus.
Perhaps Jesus
was their peace
and they were trying to create
His peace for the rest of us.
It seems it is an ongoing struggle.
Peace is not the same as security. Peace is not the protection of self. Yet, if we are obedient to the commandments of God, if we do what is right and true and place our whole body and soul into into the hands of God and His will, thereby allowing Him to be our anchor and our pivot point,we can have peace ... and security.
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Psalm 61:2)
God
My Lord
is my rock
my protector
my salvation
my defense
my strength
my refuge
my confidant
my instructor / teacher / guide
my all.
He is the pebble that slew Goliath
He is the stone you stumble over
He is the rock that defeated Satan!
Peace ... only through Jesus forever and ever ... when will we want it enough?
Monday, August 30, 2010
He is in the midst of life
From the pen of Dietrich Bonhoeffer we read, "We are supposed to find God in what we know, not in what we don't know. ... The revelation of God is found in Jesus Christ - He is in the midst of life."
Seek Him
He has already found you.
Know Him
He knew you before you were even born.
Follow Him
Listen to Him
Obey Him
Trust Him
He wants a relationship with You.
Love Him
He loves you.
God sent His son, Jesus, to die at Calvary for the sins of You and of Me, all who were, all who are, all who will come.
God is everywhere. Not just in death ... or suffering ... or sin .... or guilt ... not just negative aspects, not just ... but all ... all of your life, all of my life, all life, all aspects of life.
Have you found Him? Do you have a relationship with the One who matters most?
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Worthiness
"We must learn to look less at what people do or don't do and more at what they suffer." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
That's kind of hard to do, don't you think? We read daily about people who destroy their own lives and others. I doubt our thinking leads us to what they are suffering, but more along the lines of what were they thinking?! We are saddened, distraught about the life that has been destroyed and are angry at that one who caused it to happen. We often don't think about what was going on in their own life to reach this point of extreme despair. I suppose that is the point of a court trial. But not everything that is comes out in court.
God says all of life is worth living -- the life that was snuffed out, the life of the one who did the snuffing. He does the judging as well.
Each.
You
and
me
worthy
of
God's love.
He is
creator
sustainer
redeemer.
We
walk
in
view
of
Him.
He
sees
all.
Our
secrets
are
known
to
Him.
Our
actions
reveal
our
heart.
God
sees
all.
All
that
we
do
or
don't
do
God sees.
All
of
everything
you and I
do or don't do
will be judged.
Jesus,
The Almighty One,
The One Most High
He
rules
yesterday
today
tomorrow
No other
before
or after
has
this power.
He rules.
We will be judged.
Not all
will be
judged
righteous.
Some will be damned.
Cathy Orrick Luders
8.14.2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, June 4, 2010
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.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Graduation Day
May Day. Brings to mind children or adults dancing around a may pole or baskets of flowers given to a loved one. I've never done the former, only the latter, but not this year. The month of May ... Memorial Day activities, high school and college commencement ceremonies, weddings.
David Wayne, a fellow blogger, wrote about our remaining days being preparation for graduation.
This is the second day in 17 days I've had a reasonably good night's sleep, meaning 5 to 7 hours in a row. Thank you Lord, but won't you please, can't you please, make it more frequent... but let's not grumble, I shouldn't be so picky.
Last night I finished the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Renate Wind. Very good book. Made me consider more on the realities of death. What it is, what it means.
Earlier this week, a longtime church member died of cancer.
Death is a part of life, is it not?
Is death the end
or is it the beginning
Is our life on earth as we have it that is so important
or is our life in heaven that which is more so
We grieve.
We grieve again.
We grief for those who no longer live among us.
We grief for ourselves who no longer have the companionship of those gone on.
Grief continues and will always be sadness and sorrow
for companionship of loved ones gone
But joy comes in its wake when we realize ...
There is more, much more to our earthly life when with Jesus we walk.
~~~~~~~
Michael Spencer, the "IMonk" died April 5 of cancer. His legacy, and blog, continues ... Internet Monk
David Wayne, a fellow blogger, wrote about our remaining days being preparation for graduation.
I never thought about death in those terms. Graduation to my thinking is finishing high school or college and moving on to other educational pursuits or into the business world or getting married.
Death is not the end, but a beginning, Bonhoeffer says. It's a beginning because since we are one with the Lord, one in the Spirit, we look forward to, with joyful anticipation, to where we are going - to heaven, of seeing and being with our most precious Lord Jesus, face to face.
Ah yes, graduation day. Going home.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Proof
"Only when I forgo visible proof, do I believe in God." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
There are some who think we need to see
the miracle
Reach out and touch and feel
to believe
in the Almighty God.
But why?
Oh why
is His word
in His book
not enough?
It says in Genesis 1:1,
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
And of the earth,
in Genesis 1:12
God said
"Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb that yields seed according to its kind,
and the tree that yields fruit,
whose seed is in itself
according to its kind."
He divided the day from the night
-- the greater light, the sun
-- the lesser light, the moon.
The stars, the seasons
living creatures
upon the earth
and under the seas
and birds above the earth
And He made man.
From Genesis 1:26-27,
God said,
"Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness;
So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created Him;
male and female He created them."
We see the result.
It is there.
We live within the miracle.
Why do we not believe
Why do we need more proof
Why is it never enough?!
God sent His son, Jesus.
He said He would and He did.
But woe to all who refuse to believe,
who refuse to accept His promise,
His miracle
and best,
His eternal gift of salvation.
There are many miracles.
There are many who do not believe in any of them.
They ask for proof.
Proof.
Always someone asks another for proof.
Proof you love me.
Proof you will pay.
What is achieved?
"The proof is in the pudding" - you've surely heard that saying.
The proof lies within our heart ... we are in Him ... He is in Us
There are some who think we need to see
the miracle
Reach out and touch and feel
to believe
in the Almighty God.
But why?
Oh why
is His word
in His book
not enough?
It says in Genesis 1:1,
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
And of the earth,
in Genesis 1:12
God said
"Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb that yields seed according to its kind,
and the tree that yields fruit,
whose seed is in itself
according to its kind."
He divided the day from the night
-- the greater light, the sun
-- the lesser light, the moon.
The stars, the seasons
living creatures
upon the earth
and under the seas
and birds above the earth
And He made man.
From Genesis 1:26-27,
God said,
"Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness;
So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created Him;
male and female He created them."
We see the result.
It is there.
We live within the miracle.
Why do we not believe
Why do we need more proof
Why is it never enough?!
God sent His son, Jesus.
He said He would and He did.
But woe to all who refuse to believe,
who refuse to accept His promise,
His miracle
and best,
His eternal gift of salvation.
There are many miracles.
There are many who do not believe in any of them.
They ask for proof.
Proof.
Always someone asks another for proof.
Proof you love me.
Proof you will pay.
What is achieved?
"The proof is in the pudding" - you've surely heard that saying.
The proof lies within our heart ... we are in Him ... He is in Us
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Live a Holy Life
No matter what befalls us in the world, human power is not the answer. God alone, His being, His power. Only God accomplishes all that is. As human beings we are not personally capable of bringing about ultimate triumph in any situation.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “Only when we look at reality with clear eyes without any illusion about our morality or our culture can we believe, otherwise our faith becomes an ‘illusion.’ ''
We must “believe in God alone and in His power. We must have faith and utilize it every moment of every day. When we give in to ourselves, when we fail to see the world and live in the world as God commands, where is our faith? Is it an illusion? Faith is way more than accepting Jesus as our personal savior. That is the beginning. But faith is how we live our lives with God as our commander.
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16
Live a holy life.
Max Lucado notes, “People are watching the way we act more than they are listening to what we say.”
I penned these thoughts yesterday before my husband shared a Letter to the Editor published in The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) that day. The letter was titled “Compassionate family was gift from God” (page 4A, 3.8.2010 copyright 2010 The Gazette www.gazetteonline.com).
Here it is in its entirety.
On the evening of Feb. 6, my husband was feeling ill. He thought we should go to the hospital. En route, his condition began to rapidly deteriorate. I panicked and pulled into the drive of the first house I saw with lights on. This was at 10:30 on a Saturday night, and as I pounded on the door, I prayed to God that someone would answer. My prayer was answered. The gentleman who greeted me at the door called an ambulance and sat and prayed with me until they arrived. He and his daughter then drove me to St. Luke’s Hospital, where they stayed with me and other family members to await word on my husband’s condition. When the doctors delivered the devastating news, they grieved with us and tried to give all the comfort they could to people they had never met until that night. On Sunday morning, I received a call from this caring gentleman asking if there was anything that he or his family could do for us. He and his family came to console us during the visitation and also at the funeral. Words cannot explain the feelings we feel toward this man whom God sent to help in our time of need. Compassion and hope are still very much alive; sometimes it just takes awhile to find. - Bev Martin, Central City
My daily devotionals come from “I want to live these days with You” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I think, Yes, how I want to live these days with My Lord. And yet I wonder how I will accomplish it. I won’t really. Not fully. Nothing will be fully completed, fully accomplished, until Jesus returns, until we have gone on to meet our maker, until we have arrived at our eternal home on that celestial shore, until we see Jesus, face to face, on bended knee. Oh yes, I want to live these days with You.
Jesus, our protector and The One to whom our allegiance is show in all we do, everywhere we go. He is with us. We are with Him. It is through Jesus we are able to endure and it is through Him we are enabled to live a Holy life. It is because of Jesus' sacrifice we have been set free. He reigns. Jesus lives in us, we live in Him.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Security
Security
Is it
in another person
Is it
in 4 walls and a roof
Is it
in quantity of funds for work done.
Is it?
What is it?
What does it mean?
Where is your security?
Is it
in calmness
in peacefulness
in quietness
in solitude
in having no fear
Is it?
What is it?
What does it mean?
How do you obtain it?
Is it
in having a well-paying job
in being in good health
in having health and life insurance
in being surrounded with family
in having a husband or wife
in having children
Is it?
Is it
always being happy in everything going just as you planned
Is it
in contentment
in sleeping pain-free
in having no anxious moments
in assurance
Is it?
What is it?
Do you have security?
Where did you obtain it?
What does it mean for you?
"count it all joy when you fall into various trials ... ask in faith, with no doubting, ... Blessed is he who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of Life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." - James 1:2a, 6, 12
Today's reading in "I Want to Live These Days with You" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds me that security is found only in Jesus / God. No matter what befalls us it is only through faith that He can do what He says, what He promises. If we do not believe Jesus holds the key to all we ever need, then our security lies only in ourselves and that is not true security.
Being surrounded by fellow believers and studying His divine word and praising and praying to His holiness instills in us the necessity to stay totally tuned in and focused on Him.
For without Him we have nothing. All the fame and fortune and love we acquire is meaningless if we do not have Jesus first and foremost in our lives.
With Him we can achieve, we can overcome, we can be set free, we will have that security we so desperately crave.
"With God all things are possible" - Matthew 19:26a
"Only faith can sleep without a care, for sleep is a reminder of paradise; faith has its security in God alone. Faith does not believe in itself, ... but solely, completely in God -- whether there are storms or not." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Is it
in another person
Is it
in 4 walls and a roof
Is it
in quantity of funds for work done.
Is it?
What is it?
What does it mean?
Where is your security?
Is it
in calmness
in peacefulness
in quietness
in solitude
in having no fear
Is it?
What is it?
What does it mean?
How do you obtain it?
Is it
in having a well-paying job
in being in good health
in having health and life insurance
in being surrounded with family
in having a husband or wife
in having children
Is it?
Is it
always being happy in everything going just as you planned
Is it
in contentment
in sleeping pain-free
in having no anxious moments
in assurance
Is it?
What is it?
Do you have security?
Where did you obtain it?
What does it mean for you?
"count it all joy when you fall into various trials ... ask in faith, with no doubting, ... Blessed is he who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of Life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." - James 1:2a, 6, 12
Today's reading in "I Want to Live These Days with You" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds me that security is found only in Jesus / God. No matter what befalls us it is only through faith that He can do what He says, what He promises. If we do not believe Jesus holds the key to all we ever need, then our security lies only in ourselves and that is not true security.
Being surrounded by fellow believers and studying His divine word and praising and praying to His holiness instills in us the necessity to stay totally tuned in and focused on Him.
For without Him we have nothing. All the fame and fortune and love we acquire is meaningless if we do not have Jesus first and foremost in our lives.
With Him we can achieve, we can overcome, we can be set free, we will have that security we so desperately crave.
"With God all things are possible" - Matthew 19:26a
"Only faith can sleep without a care, for sleep is a reminder of paradise; faith has its security in God alone. Faith does not believe in itself, ... but solely, completely in God -- whether there are storms or not." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Are we truly liberated?
"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." - Matthew 6:34
Tomorrow
We will do this
or that
or something else perhaps
IF
indeed that which we desire
becomes a reality
IF
the funds we believe we need
are truly at our disposal
But when -- yes, when
has God ever said,
You need to have this and this and that in place before you can go forth?
He has never said that.
Never, Never, Never.
Others tell you what you need to make your life work
What, please tell,
what do others know about you and your life?
We can only surmise
what another bears.
What another considers
sharing with another,
their fears, their aspirations, their desires, their dreams.
But to really know another....
Only God knows
each one person
completely.
Only God knows
Where we will go
What we will do
The words we will say
The actions we will take
Only God knows
Tomorrow
He knows
Yesterday
He knows
Today
We can do nothing
about Yesterday
except remember,
mindful of
past mistakes
and pleasant memories.
We can do little
about Tomorrow
except pray to the Lord
for guidance and mercy
But Today.
We can live in the Present
with the spirit of the Lord Jesus
living within our hearts
guiding,
protecting,
instructing,
loving us.
We can be obedient to His teachings.
We can pray for His security today,
His peace surrounding us.
Today
We can
Be
Yesterday is past
Tomorrow is still to come
Today is here
bright sun or
dismal cold
The light of the world
has come, is here.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." - John 3:16-17
"Only those who place tomorrow in God's hands and receive what they need to live today are truly secure." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Are we liberated from endless worry or are we bound up tightly with every burdensome thought that crosses our mind, remaining forever anxious about what may or may not come?
Tomorrow
We will do this
or that
or something else perhaps
IF
indeed that which we desire
becomes a reality
IF
the funds we believe we need
are truly at our disposal
But when -- yes, when
has God ever said,
You need to have this and this and that in place before you can go forth?
He has never said that.
Never, Never, Never.
Others tell you what you need to make your life work
What, please tell,
what do others know about you and your life?
We can only surmise
what another bears.
What another considers
sharing with another,
their fears, their aspirations, their desires, their dreams.
But to really know another....
Only God knows
each one person
completely.
Only God knows
Where we will go
What we will do
The words we will say
The actions we will take
Only God knows
Tomorrow
He knows
Yesterday
He knows
Today
We can do nothing
about Yesterday
except remember,
mindful of
past mistakes
and pleasant memories.
We can do little
about Tomorrow
except pray to the Lord
for guidance and mercy
But Today.
We can live in the Present
with the spirit of the Lord Jesus
living within our hearts
guiding,
protecting,
instructing,
loving us.
We can be obedient to His teachings.
We can pray for His security today,
His peace surrounding us.
Today
We can
Be
Yesterday is past
Tomorrow is still to come
Today is here
bright sun or
dismal cold
The light of the world
has come, is here.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." - John 3:16-17
"Only those who place tomorrow in God's hands and receive what they need to live today are truly secure." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Are we liberated from endless worry or are we bound up tightly with every burdensome thought that crosses our mind, remaining forever anxious about what may or may not come?
Monday, January 4, 2010
In us, let HIM
"Morning by morning The Lord wakens me and opens my understanding to His will." - Isaiah 50:4b
I remember this verse from some time ago and thought it spoke to me so well I would include it on my blog. I did that a year or so ago. Today, Bonhoeffer's devotional brought it to me again, when he said, "Morning by morning He wakens me -- every new morning is a new beginning of our life. Every day is a completed whole." A completed whole -- interesting. On Sunday morning our pastor's message included Colossians 3:12-17. Verse 14 says, "But above all these things -- tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another (verse 12-13) -- put on Love, which is the bond of perfection" ... completeness.
Above all, be perfect, be complete, through Christ who lives within us.
Let His heart be seen in us (v 12)
Let His forgiveness be modeled by us (v 13)
Let His love unite us (v 14)
Let His peace rule over us (v 15)
Let His word dwell in us (v 16)
Let His name propel us (v 17)
I remember this verse from some time ago and thought it spoke to me so well I would include it on my blog. I did that a year or so ago. Today, Bonhoeffer's devotional brought it to me again, when he said, "Morning by morning He wakens me -- every new morning is a new beginning of our life. Every day is a completed whole." A completed whole -- interesting. On Sunday morning our pastor's message included Colossians 3:12-17. Verse 14 says, "But above all these things -- tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another (verse 12-13) -- put on Love, which is the bond of perfection" ... completeness.
Above all, be perfect, be complete, through Christ who lives within us.
Let His heart be seen in us (v 12)
Let His forgiveness be modeled by us (v 13)
Let His love unite us (v 14)
Let His peace rule over us (v 15)
Let His word dwell in us (v 16)
Let His name propel us (v 17)
Will you follow, will you obey?
Yesterday, Jan. 3, was my husband's birthday. He had a grand celebration and a belated Christmas with family and friends. The day before, on Saturday, we attended a funeral for a longtime member of our church. He would have been 100 years of age in February. But his life here on earth was fulfilled and the Lord took him home.
Earlier on Saturday I did my devotional study, which led me to Luke 9:57, "Lord, I will follow You wherever you go." My thought was we should not say, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go, and then find excuses. It is excuses we find too readily, reasons why something won't work, even when the Lord tells us to do it. Whether we are in Christ or in our selves, we all face similar trials and tribulations. How we respond, react, shows our true colors, our true allegiance. For all the new beginnings, the new starts we desire, do we continue to make excuses or do we define ourselves by following the Lord in everything?
Do we say, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go, ... but let me first go and bury my father ... let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house?" (Luke 9:57, 59, 61) But Jesus says, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Fear is the net that evil throws over us, so that we become entangled and soon fall. Those who are afraid have already fallen. If we are on a difficult mountain climb and are suddenly consumed with fear, we will surely stumble. Hence, such anxious good intentions do us no good. We can certainly never make a new beginning with them."
Fear.... we can't succeed. Do we rely on ourselves or do we seek that greater power -- the Almighty God -- to overcome our fears, and ultimately the evil that consumes us? The title of Bonhoeffer's devotional, "I want to live these days with You," depicts how I would like to live my life.
Only You
Have the answers
to all I seek
to all there is
Only You
can enable me
and protect me
guide me along the paths
chosen
Only You
can be my best.
Earlier on Saturday I did my devotional study, which led me to Luke 9:57, "Lord, I will follow You wherever you go." My thought was we should not say, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go, and then find excuses. It is excuses we find too readily, reasons why something won't work, even when the Lord tells us to do it. Whether we are in Christ or in our selves, we all face similar trials and tribulations. How we respond, react, shows our true colors, our true allegiance. For all the new beginnings, the new starts we desire, do we continue to make excuses or do we define ourselves by following the Lord in everything?
Do we say, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go, ... but let me first go and bury my father ... let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house?" (Luke 9:57, 59, 61) But Jesus says, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Fear is the net that evil throws over us, so that we become entangled and soon fall. Those who are afraid have already fallen. If we are on a difficult mountain climb and are suddenly consumed with fear, we will surely stumble. Hence, such anxious good intentions do us no good. We can certainly never make a new beginning with them."
Fear.... we can't succeed. Do we rely on ourselves or do we seek that greater power -- the Almighty God -- to overcome our fears, and ultimately the evil that consumes us? The title of Bonhoeffer's devotional, "I want to live these days with You," depicts how I would like to live my life.
Only You
Have the answers
to all I seek
to all there is
Only You
can enable me
and protect me
guide me along the paths
chosen
Only You
can be my best.
Friday, January 1, 2010
A new year, new beginnings, new starts,
Happy New Year!
Today I started a new devotional -- "I Want to Live These Days with You" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2/4/1906 - 4/9/1945).
Today's reading discussed good intentions -- the changes we think we will make in this new year of new beginnings.
Change, I find, is an interesting word. I doubt I ever thought about change quite the same way that Mr. Bonhoeffer illustrates it. He says it is not us who makes the change, the new beginning. It is not us who says, "This is what I am going to do." "This is what I will do."
It is only where God is that there can be change, a new beginning, a new start.
We can pray for change - for ourselves, our loved ones, our co-workers and neighbors, even our enemies, but we ourselves can not bring it about. That is all up to God and His will.
We can think we are wholly in His word, wholly immersed in all of Him, but when we continue to think and vocalize, "Why can't I make this work?!" "Why can't I say no?" that we are still following the belief we ourselves can do something to make it all better. And we cannot.
Diet and losing weight seems to be the perpetual change many of us want to make. I have gained weight this past year. Five years ago with God's blessing I rid myself of over 100 pounds.
But what now? I think it is up to me, yet for all my "good intentions," I have failed, I am failing. I tell myself, "say no." Yet I do not.
It is just as Paul says in Romans 7, starting with verse 15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do."
We do not truly live according to God's standard. We think we are, but even when a small part is to ourselves, we fail.
Mr. Bonhoeffer says we are to pray to God for a new beginning, that new start we so desire. But we must come to the realization that we alone cannot do anything, that we by ourselves have reached our limit, that someone else (meaning God) must make that new beginning for us.
Let God be in control of the reins. We must follow His lead, only Him.
Today I started a new devotional -- "I Want to Live These Days with You" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2/4/1906 - 4/9/1945).
Today's reading discussed good intentions -- the changes we think we will make in this new year of new beginnings.
Change, I find, is an interesting word. I doubt I ever thought about change quite the same way that Mr. Bonhoeffer illustrates it. He says it is not us who makes the change, the new beginning. It is not us who says, "This is what I am going to do." "This is what I will do."
It is only where God is that there can be change, a new beginning, a new start.
We can pray for change - for ourselves, our loved ones, our co-workers and neighbors, even our enemies, but we ourselves can not bring it about. That is all up to God and His will.
We can think we are wholly in His word, wholly immersed in all of Him, but when we continue to think and vocalize, "Why can't I make this work?!" "Why can't I say no?" that we are still following the belief we ourselves can do something to make it all better. And we cannot.
Diet and losing weight seems to be the perpetual change many of us want to make. I have gained weight this past year. Five years ago with God's blessing I rid myself of over 100 pounds.
But what now? I think it is up to me, yet for all my "good intentions," I have failed, I am failing. I tell myself, "say no." Yet I do not.
It is just as Paul says in Romans 7, starting with verse 15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do."
We do not truly live according to God's standard. We think we are, but even when a small part is to ourselves, we fail.
Mr. Bonhoeffer says we are to pray to God for a new beginning, that new start we so desire. But we must come to the realization that we alone cannot do anything, that we by ourselves have reached our limit, that someone else (meaning God) must make that new beginning for us.
Let God be in control of the reins. We must follow His lead, only Him.
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