"And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth." Revelation 14:3
I was surprised to find that I was jealous of these men. A new song that only they could learn?! I wanna learn a new song, I whined. Then it dawned on me that this is going to be awesome to hear! I decided that I wanted to be as close to the throne as possible. You know, for the ultimate surround sound. I'm sure it will be so loud that noone will hear me clapping along. I wonder if they will be marching around the throne. Sort of like a parade for the King. Ahhh, like the royal army they are. Won't that be wonderful to see!
I decided that I may not be able to learn the words to THAT particular song but I could learn the words to all the songs that John recorded as being sung in heaven. I wanted to know all the words to the other songs so when I get there, I'll be able to join right in! So, I wrote one and sang it and you know, every time I sing and play it, it's a new song. It made me realize that those 144,000 have probably never sung together until that point in eternity. Every time we sing a song, it's new.
Today I'm praying for those that need to sing a song... out loud!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
No Excuse
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20
I fancy myself an artist. Wood carving, ceramics, sculpting, quilting along with numerous other mediums have produced clay roses, wooden birds and tapestries. I love to take a block of wood and make a pink pinewood derby car or a hunk of clay and make ladybugs for a macrame necklace. I take great pleasure in learning new artforms. One thing I've noticed though, no matter what artform it is, I can see my personality in the finished piece. When I create something, I leave my mark. So when I read the above verse, it occurred to me that God has done the same thing.
Knowing that I can clearly see God's eternal power and divine nature by looking at what he's made, I began to meditate on his creative process. It began with speaking. Words. He spoke into formlessness, emptiness, and darkness. He spoke light. Then he stood back and said, "That's good!" I often think about there being no time restrictions in heaven. I wonder if I can go to that time in eternity to watch the light come on! Wouldn't it be cool if Jesus narrated it while it was all coming into being? I can picture him standing there saying,"Let there be light!" Sigh... how can anyone NOT love that thought?
I fancy myself an artist. Wood carving, ceramics, sculpting, quilting along with numerous other mediums have produced clay roses, wooden birds and tapestries. I love to take a block of wood and make a pink pinewood derby car or a hunk of clay and make ladybugs for a macrame necklace. I take great pleasure in learning new artforms. One thing I've noticed though, no matter what artform it is, I can see my personality in the finished piece. When I create something, I leave my mark. So when I read the above verse, it occurred to me that God has done the same thing.
Knowing that I can clearly see God's eternal power and divine nature by looking at what he's made, I began to meditate on his creative process. It began with speaking. Words. He spoke into formlessness, emptiness, and darkness. He spoke light. Then he stood back and said, "That's good!" I often think about there being no time restrictions in heaven. I wonder if I can go to that time in eternity to watch the light come on! Wouldn't it be cool if Jesus narrated it while it was all coming into being? I can picture him standing there saying,"Let there be light!" Sigh... how can anyone NOT love that thought?
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Accuser or Forgiver
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." ~Jesus
When asking for prayer for someone, why is it important to ask "Are they a believer?" Should it matter? Would I treat them differently if they weren't? Why? Shouldn't my prayers be just as fervent for all people and my actions just as loving? By answering, "No or yes", aren't I judging them? If I ask them if they know Jesus and they say "yes", do I believe them? Or do I scrutinize their lives to see if they measure up to my definition of "believer"? Forgive me Lord! How easy it is to justify my own sin and unkindness while chiming in with the accuser of my brothers and sisters. (Rev.12:10)
"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." ~Romans 14:4
Today I am thanking God for convicting me of a wrong attitude and asking His help to love people with everything that REAL love is! (1Cor.13)
When asking for prayer for someone, why is it important to ask "Are they a believer?" Should it matter? Would I treat them differently if they weren't? Why? Shouldn't my prayers be just as fervent for all people and my actions just as loving? By answering, "No or yes", aren't I judging them? If I ask them if they know Jesus and they say "yes", do I believe them? Or do I scrutinize their lives to see if they measure up to my definition of "believer"? Forgive me Lord! How easy it is to justify my own sin and unkindness while chiming in with the accuser of my brothers and sisters. (Rev.12:10)
"Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." ~Romans 14:4
Today I am thanking God for convicting me of a wrong attitude and asking His help to love people with everything that REAL love is! (1Cor.13)
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
New Things
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2Corinthians5:17
It's so exciting for me to see the Holy Spirit brighten someones face. That moment when the light comes on and they are filled with an unfamiliar joy that they recognize as God himself. The realization that HE REALLY DOES LOVE ME oozes out thier eyeballs. I can't thank God enough for allowing me to see the miracle of a new creation in Christ. When they read the Bible, it all makes sense. They now have the interpretor and it feels like being let into an exclusive club.
I remember it well. I was sitting at a table with an unopened Bible in front of me and a cassette deck playing an old Chuck Swindol tape. Chuck read a verse that said something about a lamb being led to the slaughter not opening it's mouth... I randomly opened the Bible and looked down at the page. My heart froze as the verse he was reading was the same verse my eyes landed on. My mind shrieked, "Oh NO! God is real and I am in deeeeep trouble!" I asked God to forgive me for the mess I'd made of my life and my whole being was filled with an unexplainable peace and joy. I felt like I was walking 2 feet off the ground. When I went to bed that night, I laid the Bible on the headboard and prayed saying, "Okay God, if this feeling is gone tomorrow, I'm going to chalk it up to zeal and too much coffee." The next morning I grabbed the Bible, randomly opened it with my eyes closed, pointed to a verse, opened my eyes and read, "The joy of the Lord is new every morning..."
Today, I'm praying for those who need to know that God is real and that He really does love them!
It's so exciting for me to see the Holy Spirit brighten someones face. That moment when the light comes on and they are filled with an unfamiliar joy that they recognize as God himself. The realization that HE REALLY DOES LOVE ME oozes out thier eyeballs. I can't thank God enough for allowing me to see the miracle of a new creation in Christ. When they read the Bible, it all makes sense. They now have the interpretor and it feels like being let into an exclusive club.
I remember it well. I was sitting at a table with an unopened Bible in front of me and a cassette deck playing an old Chuck Swindol tape. Chuck read a verse that said something about a lamb being led to the slaughter not opening it's mouth... I randomly opened the Bible and looked down at the page. My heart froze as the verse he was reading was the same verse my eyes landed on. My mind shrieked, "Oh NO! God is real and I am in deeeeep trouble!" I asked God to forgive me for the mess I'd made of my life and my whole being was filled with an unexplainable peace and joy. I felt like I was walking 2 feet off the ground. When I went to bed that night, I laid the Bible on the headboard and prayed saying, "Okay God, if this feeling is gone tomorrow, I'm going to chalk it up to zeal and too much coffee." The next morning I grabbed the Bible, randomly opened it with my eyes closed, pointed to a verse, opened my eyes and read, "The joy of the Lord is new every morning..."
Today, I'm praying for those who need to know that God is real and that He really does love them!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
What?
"Do you want to be made well?" ~JESUS
For the longest time I thought that was the strangest question that Jesus ever asked anyone. The man had an infirmity and had been laying by the healing pool for thirty-eight years! His answer was a surprise too. Instead of saying something like, "Of course!" he blurts an excuse for not getting well. "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool..." I wonder if he was hoping Jesus would hang around the pool with him to toss him in when the waters stirred. You can read the whole account in John 5.
Not just the question tugged at my mind but the fact that this man didn't go to Jesus for healing like so many others, Jesus went to him. In fact, this guy didn't even know who it was that healed him!
I'll be thinking about this today... and praying for all those who need more than just physical healing.
"See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." ~JESUS
For the longest time I thought that was the strangest question that Jesus ever asked anyone. The man had an infirmity and had been laying by the healing pool for thirty-eight years! His answer was a surprise too. Instead of saying something like, "Of course!" he blurts an excuse for not getting well. "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool..." I wonder if he was hoping Jesus would hang around the pool with him to toss him in when the waters stirred. You can read the whole account in John 5.
Not just the question tugged at my mind but the fact that this man didn't go to Jesus for healing like so many others, Jesus went to him. In fact, this guy didn't even know who it was that healed him!
I'll be thinking about this today... and praying for all those who need more than just physical healing.
"See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." ~JESUS
Monday, January 21, 2013
Pruning the Vine
"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." ~JESUS
As a child we would drive from California to Washington almost once a year to see my Grandparents. I would watch the fields of grapevines tick past the window like a giant flipbook. I loved the symmetry and endless rows of vines in training. Each stem was perfectly straight and each were a set distance from the other. There were whole fields where the vines had white tubes around the stem to aid in thier training. They made for the most interesting patterns as they fluttered past the window. When I read this verse I couldn't help but to think about those trips.
The younger vines were pruned sparingly. They were treated with the utmost care and patience. Each branch was pulled taut but not tight across the wires. They reminded me of when I first came to know Jesus. God clipped off the obvious branches in my life that weren't bearing fruit and surrounded me with His care.
As I grew in faith the prunings became more painful. Some of those fruitless branches had grown quite long and I was very attached to them. It was then that God showed me an old vineyard. The vines were pruned back so severely that it was a wonder they were even still alive. The stems were thick and come harvest time they were dripping with fruit. It was then that I realized that without the pruning the vines would stop producing. I needed to submit myself to the vinedresser if I wanted to bear fruit.
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..."
As a child we would drive from California to Washington almost once a year to see my Grandparents. I would watch the fields of grapevines tick past the window like a giant flipbook. I loved the symmetry and endless rows of vines in training. Each stem was perfectly straight and each were a set distance from the other. There were whole fields where the vines had white tubes around the stem to aid in thier training. They made for the most interesting patterns as they fluttered past the window. When I read this verse I couldn't help but to think about those trips.
The younger vines were pruned sparingly. They were treated with the utmost care and patience. Each branch was pulled taut but not tight across the wires. They reminded me of when I first came to know Jesus. God clipped off the obvious branches in my life that weren't bearing fruit and surrounded me with His care.
As I grew in faith the prunings became more painful. Some of those fruitless branches had grown quite long and I was very attached to them. It was then that God showed me an old vineyard. The vines were pruned back so severely that it was a wonder they were even still alive. The stems were thick and come harvest time they were dripping with fruit. It was then that I realized that without the pruning the vines would stop producing. I needed to submit myself to the vinedresser if I wanted to bear fruit.
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..."
Friday, January 18, 2013
Quieted by Love
"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
My imagination goes wild when I meditate on this verse. Sometimes I imagine the throne room of heaven and come up with wild images of angels dancing ballroom style in some quasi-medieval revelry. The deep sound of a male voice stops the whirling, the crowd parts, and the King begins to walk across the floor toward me, singing, TO ME! Melt, melt... even better than being in the front row at a rock concert when the lead singer is singing straight at you. Sigh.
Other times, I imagine staring across a campfire and seeing that look of pure love in the eyes of the man on the other side. My man. I don't have to use my imagination very much for that one. I see that look in his eyes every day. Blush.
Nothing quiets my soul as much as knowing that the Lord my God is with me, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in me, he will quiet me with his love, he will rejoice over me with singing.
Today, I am praying for those who need to stare into the eyes of love.
My imagination goes wild when I meditate on this verse. Sometimes I imagine the throne room of heaven and come up with wild images of angels dancing ballroom style in some quasi-medieval revelry. The deep sound of a male voice stops the whirling, the crowd parts, and the King begins to walk across the floor toward me, singing, TO ME! Melt, melt... even better than being in the front row at a rock concert when the lead singer is singing straight at you. Sigh.
Other times, I imagine staring across a campfire and seeing that look of pure love in the eyes of the man on the other side. My man. I don't have to use my imagination very much for that one. I see that look in his eyes every day. Blush.
Nothing quiets my soul as much as knowing that the Lord my God is with me, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in me, he will quiet me with his love, he will rejoice over me with singing.
Today, I am praying for those who need to stare into the eyes of love.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Brotherly Love
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."
When I first read this proverb, I was puzzled. Isn't brotherly love a deeper love than a friends' love? Why then did one of the wisest men to live say that a brother is born for adversity?
I began to meditate on the relationships of brothers. It's always pure joy for me to listen to men talk scripture and wrestle different doctrines. It reminds me that the word of God is likened to a double-edge sword and just like a weapon, there is training involved. I began to watch my brothers at church and realized that;
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
I had failed to realize that when iron is sharpened, sparks fly. Tiny sacrifices are sharpened off and sometimes blades need to be ground deep to sharpen out chips. I'm so grateful for my brothers. They use adversity to sharpen each other.
I concluded that brotherly love is deeper than mere friends' love by virtue of choice. You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family!
Today, I'm praying for all my brothers.
When I first read this proverb, I was puzzled. Isn't brotherly love a deeper love than a friends' love? Why then did one of the wisest men to live say that a brother is born for adversity?
I began to meditate on the relationships of brothers. It's always pure joy for me to listen to men talk scripture and wrestle different doctrines. It reminds me that the word of God is likened to a double-edge sword and just like a weapon, there is training involved. I began to watch my brothers at church and realized that;
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
I had failed to realize that when iron is sharpened, sparks fly. Tiny sacrifices are sharpened off and sometimes blades need to be ground deep to sharpen out chips. I'm so grateful for my brothers. They use adversity to sharpen each other.
I concluded that brotherly love is deeper than mere friends' love by virtue of choice. You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family!
Today, I'm praying for all my brothers.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Toddler Love
"...that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children..." Titus2:4
Nothing has taught me what real love is more than having a husband and a toddler. I remember once being so angry at something a youngster did that I cried out to God "This can't be where you want me! I'm not happy!!!"
Immediately, the Spirit of God was there asking, "Happy?" I wiped my nose and sniffed a few more times and whined, "Yeah! I'm NOT happy. I don't want to clean toothpaste smears off of the walls first thing in the morning... I didn't sleep last night.. Do you see that mess? Even the baby has toothpaste in her hair!!! Errr!!!" I was seething. Then came the still small voice...
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Do you see happiness in that list? Look at yourself through MY eyes. You are a spoiled little toddler making exuses not to have to do something. How many times have you asked me to teach you to love like I love? Well, here's the first lesson, child. Practice. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Choose to love, practice love and never forget how much I love you."
What a wonderful way to spend the morning... Spiritual spanking, comforting crying babies, cleaning up toothpaste and singing, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me..." Opera style...
Time to go fetch the coffee from the microwave!
Today, I'm praying for all the mother's of toddlers. GOD BLESS YOU!
Nothing has taught me what real love is more than having a husband and a toddler. I remember once being so angry at something a youngster did that I cried out to God "This can't be where you want me! I'm not happy!!!"
Immediately, the Spirit of God was there asking, "Happy?" I wiped my nose and sniffed a few more times and whined, "Yeah! I'm NOT happy. I don't want to clean toothpaste smears off of the walls first thing in the morning... I didn't sleep last night.. Do you see that mess? Even the baby has toothpaste in her hair!!! Errr!!!" I was seething. Then came the still small voice...
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Do you see happiness in that list? Look at yourself through MY eyes. You are a spoiled little toddler making exuses not to have to do something. How many times have you asked me to teach you to love like I love? Well, here's the first lesson, child. Practice. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Choose to love, practice love and never forget how much I love you."
What a wonderful way to spend the morning... Spiritual spanking, comforting crying babies, cleaning up toothpaste and singing, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me..." Opera style...
Time to go fetch the coffee from the microwave!
Today, I'm praying for all the mother's of toddlers. GOD BLESS YOU!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Cold Love
"Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." ~JESUS
Jesus spoke these words when asked about the signs of his return. The words struck me as I looked around at the world today. It was easy to see how the love of most has already grown cold. It's always easy to see how other people are failing.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" ~JESUS
Ugh! Has my love grown cold? How could I know? Am I one of the "most"? I asked God, "What is love, anyway? Where's the checklist so I can mark off each aspect of it? Teach me!"
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~1Cor.13:4-8
My coffee is cold.... yuck.
Jesus spoke these words when asked about the signs of his return. The words struck me as I looked around at the world today. It was easy to see how the love of most has already grown cold. It's always easy to see how other people are failing.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" ~JESUS
Ugh! Has my love grown cold? How could I know? Am I one of the "most"? I asked God, "What is love, anyway? Where's the checklist so I can mark off each aspect of it? Teach me!"
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~1Cor.13:4-8
My coffee is cold.... yuck.
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