Quick to Forgive

Friday, September 30, 2011 (7:04 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

I made another mistake. I pretended my feelings weren’t hurt when they really were. I wasn’t quick to forgive. I was unkind. Impatient. Jealous. Envious. I was proud. Rude. Self-seeking. I kept records of wrongs. I did not rejoice with the truth. I stopped protecting. Trusting. Hoping. Persevering. All the things 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes as love, I have not been. Forgive me Father for I have sinned.

Lord. You are so good. I came out here with my own agenda. I thought I’d do all the talking. Begging forgiveness. And here You are again. Willing to teach me. As always! Thank You Lord.

Ephesians 4:30-32 and Colossians 3:11-13 are right here to speak to me again. In reading this section of Ephesians, I know that if I had a tail it would surely be between my legs. “Stop being mean, bad-tempered, and angry. Quarreling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives. Instead be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.”

Forgive me Lord. I truly thought I knew what I was doing. I meant no harm. I honestly believed I could play around with bitterness without getting too sucked into the pull of resentment. Not!

Even as I turn to Chapter 3 of Colossians, I read “Principles to Live By”. Dark underlines and brackets remind me that I have been here before. And here is the conformation. Ouch Lord! Thank You for helping me to remember how You would have me behave. Everywhere I turn in this short section I feel Your prodding.

Wiggle as I may, I can’t get out of this one with You. Whether it’s in the Bible verses themselves, The Life Recovery commentaries or The Illustrated Bible Handbook here You are firmly giving me a clearer, less attractive view of myself and my behavior. Ouch Lord! Forgive me.

Colossians 3:8 tells me, “But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.” Oops!

Verses 9 and 10, “Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with His label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.” Forgive me Lord. I slipped right back into my old ways thinking the outcome would be different this time.

Thank You for Your willingness to speak to me this morning. Thank You for showing me such a glaring, unflattering image of myself. Verses 12 through 14 keep hammering the truth home. “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else You put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”

I forgot Lord. I truly thought I could play around with grudge holding and cattiness without getting caught up in it. Not!

Verse 15-17, “Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ – the Message – have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives – words, actions, whatever – be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” Yes Lord. Thank You!

Thank You for not leaving me alone in the depths of my own childishness. Thank You for reminding me that Your Way is the BEST Way!

“To make progress in recovery it is essential that we take a personal inventory and then made amends to the people we have hurt. This means shedding our denial and learning to be truly honest with our failures…We need to make amends where necessary, to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt, and to forgive those who have hurt us.” I haven’t done this Lord. I pretended instead.

Reading under the heading Christ, The Pattern for a Fulfilling Life “Paul speaks of our lives as hidden with God in Christ. The source of fulfilling Christian experience is in heaven, not in ‘earthly things’… What is a truly spiritual life like? It is simply a daily walk in which we forgive others as the Lord forgave us; in which we are compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. It is simply living with others the kind of life that Jesus lived when he walked on earth, and thus to reveal the loving and holy character of our God.” I haven’t been doing this Lord. While You want us to 'live a life of love in the real world', I’ve been nursing a grudge from the past.

Thank You Lord that You are loving and forgiving. Thank You that You are good and trustworthy. Thank You that we are called to be like You. Help me do exactly that. And forgive me for being such an extremely slow learner! I love You Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(929 words ~ 8:58 a.m.)

“Love Comes From God”

Thursday, September 29, 2011 (8:02 a.m.)

Awesome Blessed God,

Thank You! I get to love You because You first loved me (1John 4:19). Now here’s a direction I wasn’t expecting to take! I thought we were going to talk about being renewed or made clean. Let me hear [and apply J] what it is You would have me learn from You this day.

Ah. Again. “Love Comes From God”. Starting with verse seven. “Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God, and they are getting to know Him better.” Mm. Getting to know You better. This is definitely a good idea!

Reading [and learning!] again, “In this act [You sending Your only Son into this wicked world to bring us eternal life through His death (v. 9)] we see what real love is: it is not our love for God but His love for us when He sent His Son to satisfy God’s anger against our sins” (v. 10).

But Your teaching doesn’t stop there. No, no. We are taught so much more in verse eleven. “Dear friends, since God loved us as much as that, we surely ought to love each other too.” Here again we are caught between something we know we are supposed to do but are far too often unable to accomplish in and of ourselves. Thank You Lord that You came to teach us how.

Thank You that I get to come to Your Word each day. Thank You for the sacrifices that have been made to afford me this freedom.

I got to experience the fruit of Your love yesterday Lord. There was a misunderstanding, followed by sullenness and silence. That’s our old pattern around here.

This time, in the very midst of my typical “Well, I’ll show him!” demeanor, my heart softened. I recognized my hurt feelings and I knew I did NOT want to be angry.

(10:41 a.m.)

Thank You for interruptions of friendship Lord. Three different phone calls from three dearly loved women. Each friendship build on the solid foundation of You as our cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

As I prepare to go from here into a day of tying up loose ends, I ask You Lord to go before me. Go within me. Beneath me. Beside me. Above me. Behind me. Show me what to feel, be, think and do (Mark 12:30). Guide and direct my time and energies. Let me be an excellent steward of both. I love You so very much Dearest Lord. Thank You for first loving me! Amen.

(441 words ~ 10:58 a.m.)

sufficient grace

Saturday, September 24, 2011 (8:43 a.m.)

Primm, NV

Blessed Lord,

Do we talk this morning about ‘sufficiency’ or ‘grace’? At this particular moment I’m not at all sure where to find the verse Paul spoke of concerning Your grace being sufficient in weakness. I forgot to bring a concordance and I am relying on You to guide me directly where You want me this morning.

Right now my body is filled with aches and pains. I can do some stretches and exercises to find some relief but I’m sure that throughout the day I will be limited in my movement. And right here I choose to say “Thank You Lord”. Thank You that I have You to come to with every single problem I have.

Perfect Lord and Savior, I believe my body is desperately trying to tell me something. And I confess to consistently trying to ignore whatever it is. I attempt taking shortcuts away from the pain. This morning I am asking instead that You would use it to guide and direct me exactly where you want me to be.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 (7:08 a.m.)

And I’m back! Thanking You. Praising You. Asking You. Seeking You. Knocking at Your powerfully, mighty door.

Blessed Lord, You showed me the verse of Paul’s I was thinking of the other morning just moments after I asked for it. I’ve continued coming to it each day since finding it, along with a verse from Peter I had initially found.

Back and forth I go, considering the truth that ‘Your grace IS sufficient for me and Your power IS made perfect in weakness’ (2Corinthians 12:9). ‘And the God of all grace, who called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast’ (1Peter 5:10).

I claim these verses Lord as a reason for the aches and pains I am experiencing. This is all new to me. I’m used to having a pain, figuring out a way of relieving it and going on about my business. Now, instead, I keep bringing it to You. “Oh God.” “Ouch.” “This hurts.” And here again, I thank You!

Thank You that You are here. Ever offering Your Way, Your Truth, Your Life (John 14:6). Turning to this verse, I am again knocked into an awareness and sense of truly being AGOG [excited and eager to tell J] with You!

Bracketed above Chapter 14 are verses 34 and 35 of chapter 13. “And so I am giving a new commandment to you now – love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that You are my disciples.”

All of a sudden, the pain doesn’t matter to me! The truth of these two verses and the attached commentary make me want to run out the door shouting of Your goodness.

I’ve read this section before. The date written in the margin is “4-2-96”. Something else was going on in our lives at that particular time. Today, at this very moment, Your Truth again brings us full circle.

Thank You Lord. Thank You for the truth, the goodness, the power of Your love! Truly Lord. I long to dive right into and live amidst Your Word. There’s a freshness here. A newness. Something sparked when I read again that 'loving others as You would have us is beyond our own capabilities.' Only the coming of the Holy Spirit would lift Peter, and the rest of us, beyond ourselves, giving him (and us) the ability to love others as You loved us.

I am reminded in readings of this new commandment that, “Being loved by God is just a beginning.” We have to accept Your love before we can offer it to others. “Our ability to love others (and ourself) is based upon the degree to which we have received God’s love (most often through other people). In this sense, it is appropriate to consider our need to be loved before we think of giving love to others. Otherwise, we will be trying to give something that we don’t have. If we try to do this, we will end up giving to others in hope of receiving something in return. This kind of selfish gift never feels good to us or to the person we are trying to help. When we love one another out of the overflow of God’s love, then our witness and service can be effective toward recovery.”

Dearest Lord, enable me to love as You would have me love! Truly fill my cup to overflowing (Psalm 23:5) that I would freely share Your bounty with others.

I love You Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(743 words ~ 9:07 a.m.)

"Thank You."

Friday, September 23, 2011 (7:24 a.m.)

Loving Lord,

Good Morning. I love You. Thank You. Before fully awakening, I thought of all kinds of things for which I am grateful. Now it is just coming out, “Thank You.” Pure and simply, “Thank You.”

I don’t know that I have ever before Biblically searched “Thank You” but The Message has me stopped at Psalm 86:11-12. The peace and calm that have encased me seems much like a comforting bubble. “Train me, God, to walk straight; then I’ll follow Your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship You in joyful fear [I DID just read that as ‘fearful joy’! J]. From the bottom of my heart I thank You, dear Lord; I’ve never kept secret what You’re up to. You’ve always been great toward me – what love!”

Too often I think I’ve come up with a feeling that has never been expressed to You before, then I read a verse like this and remember that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Lord, today I am asking that You will remind me to readily and joyfully say “Thank You.” You deserve so much more than everything I offer You. Search my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength (Mark 12:30) removing all that is not worthy of and glorifying to You. I do indeed love You so much. Help me do it better. Freer. Absolute. Pure. Simple. True. Unadulterated. Complete. Total. All encompassed by and with and in and through You. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(263 words ~ 9:13 a.m.)

surprised

Monday, September 19, 2011 (8:18 a.m.)

Awesome God,

You are amazing and I love You! I keep being surprised by circumstances. Unexpected things continue happening. Chance encounters with long time friends and an absolutely serendipitous opportunity to see and hear Willie Nelson casually perform on a seemingly insignificant stage in the middle of the desert. Wow. Thank You God!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 (9:10 a.m.)

I don’t know why I am surprised by Your surprises. Oh, but I confess to being glad that I am. Too often I take things for granted. I settle for routine. Mundane. That is NOT what You have called us to!

The Life Recovery Bible remains open to Exodus 33. While I remember being excited the other day while reading Your instructions to Moses, I still don’t know what led be there in the first place. My own underlining of a section in verse 13 draws my attention. “… guide me clearly along the way you want me to travel so that I will understand You and walk acceptably before You.”

Now there’s a request I would be wise to make. And I DO Lord! I believe You have a path set out for me to walk. And I also believe that I far too often stray from it. Forgive me Lord.

I don’t know how to live each and every moment aware of Your presence. I get bored. Think I know better. Go off on my own. Make mistake upon mistake before turning around and coming back, so many times with my proverbial tail between my legs.

Lord, I am asking You to continue ‘blessing me and keeping me; making Your face shine upon me and being gracious to me; turning Your face toward me and giving me peace’ (Numbers 6:24-26). It truly IS ‘in You I live and move and have my being’ (Acts 17:28). By this I am not the least bit surprised!

You are good. You are constant. You do not change. You are available. Loving. Kind. Patient. Forgiving. Trustworthy. Faithful. All things I long to be. Continue Your work in me Blessed Lord. Making me, molding me, filling me and using me EXACTLY as You wish.

Far too often I can’t see the forest for the trees. I get bogged down by the details and completely miss the essence with which You would have me live each and everyday. I desperately need Your perspective. Your guidance. Your leadership and fellowship. I love You Lord and I humbly ask that I would continue being surprised and renewed with every blessing You have for us. Let me see them clearly, ESPECIALLY when they come in forms that are not immediately identifiable. Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen.

(443 words ~ 10:18 a.m.)

unexpected

Friday, September 16, 2011 (8:01 a.m.)

Loving Lord,

Saturday, September 17, 2011 (8:58 a.m.)

Primm, NV

Absolute. Wonderful. Loving Lord,

It was all so unexpected [by me J]. Initially drawn to Colossians 1:26 by the phrase “Christ in you” (v.27) I read along. Learning more of what Paul had to say to the people of Colosse. And again I became immediately aware of how often I am surprised by Your all-knowingness.

You knew the struggles Your people would endure throughout the eons. There has never been anything that was unexpected by You. You prepared far ahead to supply our every need. How I thank You Lord!

Without meaning to, I complicate things. I hide. I seek. I find. I get excited. And then I hide again. This is NOT the growth process of which Paul wrote in verses 9-14. A chart in The Illustrated Bible Handbook shows it thusly: we are to know what You have willed, grow in wisdom and understanding, live life worthy of You, bear fruit in every good work, and increase in knowing You. Try as I may, I continue following my own entirely different cycle!

And therein lies my error! I try. In my own strength and understanding. I still want things to make sense to me. I want to see so I may believe, instead of believing so I might see.

Lord. You know my every need. As well as all my foibles. I bring them to You Lord. Trusting. Believing. Every single hope I have for living a new life in You and building healthy relationships is addressed in this letter. We don’t have to ‘try harder’ to ‘be better’. When ‘our efforts look to our own strength as a way to success’ they take us further away ‘from the only adequate power source – God in Jesus Christ.’

While I was not expecting to find this strong truth in such a short phrase, I am grateful for Your reminder to ‘expected the unexpected’ with You! “And this is the secret: Christ in your hearts is your only hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27 TLB).

Lord God I truly ask You to ‘bless me and keep me, make Your face shine upon me and be gracious to me, lift Your countenance [facial expression] upon me and give me Your peace’ (Numbers 6:24-26) that I would live this day in You, with You, for You and through You. I love You so much Lord. I long desperately to praise and glorify You for every single unexpected thing that comes my way. But You knew that already, didn’t You! Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen.

(442 words ~ 10:06 a.m.)

♫Come On Along♫

Thursday, September 15, 2011 (7:11 a.m.)

Beloved God,

Thank You. You love us. That’s what we need. My mind gets ahead of me. I think about things over which I have little or no control. And then I remember to ‘stop, look and listen’.

Thank You Lord that You would ever so gently lead me out here to You. Waking up with a melody and three short words [♫Come On Along♫] I thought I had little hope of finding, I persevered. I came out here and starting searching.

Several of the initial finds were definitely not what I was seeking. But then You reminded me. I added one more word to the search. Ragtime.

Taking my find back to Your Word I am blessed with hope! Thank You Lord. A simple, catchy tune has me practically ‘dancing in the aisles’ [if we had them J]. Once again, taking ‘artistic license’, I insert You as the focal point into this lively piece and I am blessed.

♫Come on along, come on along Let me take you by the hand To the man, to meet the man Who’s the leader of the band♫ Lord, You were the leader of Your band of disciples. And Mark 10 talks about some teachings and healing that took place one day because of people that were willing to ♫Come on and hear♫

Dearest Lord, I come before You this morning as one who desperately wants to hear and follow: Your voice, Your will, Your way. I keep making mistakes Lord. I say too little. Or I say too much. How I ask You to keep me close to You this day. Reading Your Word. Trusting Your Truth. Singing Your praise [even if it IS in the form of Alexander’s Ragtime BandJ].

This morning’s chapter (Mark 10) tells of You teaching about divorce, blessing the children, talking with a rich young man regarding his money, speaking of Your death, two of Your disciples jockeying for ultimate places of honor next to You and Your healing of a blind beggar. All this I found because I came on along.

Thank You Lord! Today is set to be a busy day. How I ask that You would bless us and keep us close to You. May Your ‘face radiate with joy’ because of us. That You would ‘be gracious to us, show us Your favor and give us Your peace’ (Numbers 6:24-26). This I ever so humbly ask in Your most precious name.

I love You so much. Thank You for calling me this morning to ♫Come On Along♫

(425 words ~ 8:24 a.m.)

Adonai

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 (7:35 a.m.)

Lord of all,

I woke up singing ♫Praise Adonai♫ Thank You Lord. I like calling upon You in song!

I also awoke knowing that the first thing I wanted [needed!] to do today was to come before You in prayer. Lord God, thank You that You are loving, forgiving, available.

(7:45 a.m.)

The earth just shook. We don’t know from where. We both heard it coming, without knowing what it was. Thank You Lord that even in ground shaking events YOU do not change! You remain unshaken. You are perfect. Holy. Mighty. Lord.

Father, how I thank You for the many ways You have to change my thought process. A shaking of the earth is just one of them! MY plan for today was to come and talk with You about Your truth of Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

As excited as I am about this verse, praising Adonai keeps pushing ahead. Thank You Lord. I continue “GoodSearch”-ing the meaning of the word and I am taken to a greater understanding of it and various verses related to it. At each one I stop, thinking I couldn’t be more excited and eager to tell [agog J] but it’s Psalm 16 that has me most securely gripped. Each verse speaks as if it were written directly by or about me.

As perfectly worded as this Psalm is, it is the commentaries at the bottom of The Life Recovery Bible page that I intend to quote. “Strength and security come from God alone; He is the only one who can restore us to sane living. We can draw strength from others who are, like us, trying to find and do God’s will. And as we recover, we can offer that strength to others. If we look to God as the source of our strength and joy, He will never disappoint us. People and other resources will let us down, but God will not” (vs. 1-6).

♫Who is like Him The Lion and the Lamb Seated on the throne Mountains bow down Every ocean roars To the Lord of hosts Praise Adonai From the rising of the sun ‘Til the end of every day Praise Adonai All the nations of the earth All the angels and the saints Sing Praise♫

And I DO sing praise to You dearest Lord of All! "When we seek through prayer and meditation to improve our relationship with God, we will find in His Word not only peace of mind and heart, but also good counsel that will keep us from falling into sin. Knowing that God is with us and that He will never abandon us should be a constant source of joy and peace. An important principle for our recovery is the realization that God is with us – here and now – and He promises to be with us through all eternity as well" (7-11).

Father, I confess to often having trouble recognizing and accepting Your presence here on earth. The thought of ‘all eternity as well’ is so far beyond my realm of understanding that I can’t even begin to go there.

Instead, I will continue this moment-by-moment seeking of learning to trust and obey You, the Lord of all lords. Master. Maker. Most Holy of holies.

Lord God, thank You for calling me to sing ♫Praise Adonai♫ Teach me to sing it more loudly. Evermore clearly. And succinctly. I love You so much dearest Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(605 words ~ 9:17 a.m.)

plans

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 (7:17 a.m.)

Good Morning Lord,

I got to see the beginning of a sunrise this morning. I was able to sleep soundly in my own bed for several hours. And I woke up still being a new member of the grandparent club. What a very exciting past few days!

How I thank You Father for a healthy baby, his excited and exhausted parents and for the opportunity to share in the newness of it all.

When we left here last week, we had well thought out ‘date’ plans. Food, travel, a newly released movie and a baseball game, complete with fireworks. Little did we know what You had in store for us!

Friday, September 9, 2011 (8:52 a.m.)

Finally! After days on end of searching, the verse I have been seeking is found. Thank You Lord. James 4:13-15, “Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to…’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’”

This past week I’ve become hyper-aware of how many of our best laid plans have not come to pass the way we had expected. Here again I thank You Lord. Thank You that we can scuttle about as much as we want, but it’s YOU who mandates our future! You hold all the keys to what Your will is and is not for our lives.

Thank You Lord. Thank You for awareness and reminders. Thank You that we truly can trust You with every single aspect of our lives. With that said Lord, I turn to You with the truth of the Proverbs – particularly 16:1, 9 and 19:21. You know my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength right now. You know all of the emotions with which I am dealing. There are conflicted feelings, concerns, joys, and full out love for others that are swirling within and about me. To all of these I point to the truth and promises of Your Word.

“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer” (Proverbs 16:1). “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (16:9). “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail” (19:21).

I trust this Lord. I trust You. I count on You to save us from ourselves and our own unwise decisions and choices. You are so good. You love us so much. You give us gifts we could never imagine. And we are grateful. Thank You Lord.

Thank You for surprises and changes in our plans. Continue guiding and guarding us Lord. Keep us ever looking to You for our every need and all of our plans. You alone are holy. It IS in You we trust!

Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(493 words ~ 9:37 a.m.)

resources

Friday, September 2, 2011 (7:33 a.m.)

Awesome, Blessed Lord,

Thank You for resources. Many mornings this week I’ve awaken singing ♫I’m alive♫ without being sure of the rest of the words. In finally taking the time to look them up just now I found them in ♫All Because of Jesus♫ Thank You Lord for a fairly easy find.

And thank You for where this led me. Acts 2:43 (The Message) “Everyone around was in awe – all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.”

How wondrous would it be to have that kind of faith and fellowship! Lord, I am still so bent on keeping everything I have. Truly, how I long for the freedom to let go of things and really take hold of You!

The Illustrated Bible Handbook tells how Peter’s preaching of the Gospel led to the conversion of 3,00 people. They formed “a devoted company, so committed to loving one another (cf. John 13:33,34) that they are willing to sell their possessions to meet one another’s needs.”

What would it be like to love and trust You that much? The comments in The Life Recovery Bible speak to that very thing. “2:42-47 … They committed themselves to spiritual growth by studying the Scriptures together, sharing together, and praying together. They helped those in need by sharing food, their clothing, and even their homes.” I confess to doing this only on a limited basis. It has to be too thought out. Too convenient!

“Their faith, joy and loving support were so contagious that large numbers soon joined them.” That seems much like ‘the proof of the pudding being in the eating’ to me! Truly Lord, I DO long to live my life and use the resources You have so generously provided to Your glory.

“Our recovery follows the same pattern as we grow in faith – it is never done in isolation. We need people to walk along with us, encouraging us when we become discouraged and holding us accountable when we stray.”

Yes Lord. People. Encouragement. Accountability. Your love. All the resources we need are found in You. ♫It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive It’s all because the blood of Jesus Christ♫ You provide every breath we breathe. You are the Author of all eternity. You’re the Giver of every perfect thing ♫To You be the glory Maker of Heaven and of Earth No one can comprehend Your worth King over all the universe To You be the glory And I’m alive because I’m alive in You It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive♫ Lord, help me live as though I truly believe this!

I love You so very much. Direct me in sharing Your resources this day Dearest Lord. Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen.

(491 words ~ 8:24 a.m.)

Jeremiah

Thursday, September 1, 2011 (7:45 a.m.)

Lord God,

You bless us. You bless us big. I don’t always recognize the blessings for what they are. But Your plans for us are always good. Jeremiah 29:11 came to mind last night when I had difficulty falling (and staying) asleep. Thank You Lord. As I remembered that You indeed ‘know the plans You have for us, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give us a future and a hope’ I was able to rest in You.

Knowing that verses 12 and 13 are equally as prophetic, I was somewhat eager to read them again this morning. “In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.” Lord, I believe You keep Your promises. Maybe not to my understanding of them, but keep them I believe You do. Thank You that You are trustworthy. Thank You that I can depend on You to keep Your Word.

Reading about Jeremiah again this morning I am once again smiling. While I might not appear over the top eager and excited (agog) to tell of Your Good News at this particular moment, I DO have that settled, contented feeling that ‘all is right with YOUR world’. We are not of this world. All is not supposed to make perfect sense to us right now. Our charge is to listen and obey (Hebrews 4:12 TM). We are not the Christ! (John 1:20)

This book (Jeremiah) is chock-full of truth.

(1:37 p.m.)

I thought I knew so much. Much earlier, I was content just reading the titles of The Life Recovery Bible’s Recovery Themes. Faithfulness Overcomes Failure, God’s Way May Be Painful, God Understands Our Emotions, Hope despite Disaster. Lord, these are promises we long to believe!

And then I read Eugene Peterson’s (The Message) way of relating Jeremiah 29:11-13 and I am stopped dead in my tracks. [“Whoa!” actually came out of my mouth J] “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”

This is the hope I stand on Lord. You are so much bigger than our obstacles and weaknesses. You can use our painful pasts to lead us to inner healing and righteous living. You were not put off by Jeremiah’s bitterness, anger, discouragement, depression or loneliness. And You accept and understand each of us just as we are. You are ready to heal our broken and hurting parts. What WE have to do is be honest with You!

Blessed Lord, You ARE the God of hope and recovery! Thank You for reminding me of this yet again. Guide, direct, lead and empower me this day I pray. I love You so very much and long to live my life as You would have me. Enable me in my search for You. Thank You. Amen.

(543 words ~ 2:10 p.m.)