"hope does not disappoint us"

Tuesday, September 3, 2013 (6:06 a.m.)

Blessed Father God,

I'm outside. Waiting. Anticipating. Expecting. The sky has every element it needs for greatness. Clouds. Clarity. And just a hint of color.

(6:12 a.m.)

Yep! Here it comes. Beautiful! Spectacular. Everything for which I had hoped. Thank You Father.

(6:22 a.m.)

And JUST when I thought it was over, with nothing left to see, “WOW!”

Where did THAT come from? Intensity! Brightness. Crispness to the east. Soft, muted swirls to the south. Far less color. Equally beautiful in its own right.

What a gift Father! Such an opportunity to keep looking just when I thought I'd seen it all. Thank You for calling me to this. You do NOT disappoint!

(6:49 a.m.)

Now there is definitely a thought! YOU do not disappoint!

People, circumstances, situations may or may not disappoint us. You don't!

(7:48 a.m.)

Almost an hour later and I'm still trying to put this together.

Father, what nuggets of Truth do You have for me this morning? In reading Romans 5:5 in Your Word I am reminded that “hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

A health tip I read the other morning is a quote by Jim Roth. “The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy.” I confess to often having built those same walls to keep out disappointment.

Thank You for again reminding me that it is in YOU that we have hope. Hope that does not disappoint us!

Empower and enable me to use Your hope well this day. I love You. I long to be Your good and faithful servant. Thank You, Father. I love You. Amen.

(295 words ~ 8:09 a.m.)

envelop

Labor Day Monday, September 2, 2013 (7:32 a.m.)

Amazing God and Father,

Thank You for the love with which You envelop us. Love which takes us from one set of circumstances straight into another.

Wow! May I just say, I didn't see this coming at all!

I honestly thought I was coming out here to talk with You about the phrase that ran through my mind much of the night. A phrase I'm not that familiar with. One I had to look up just to make sure I had it right. “Tempest in a teapot”. Maybe we're going to save that for another day?

So... back to being enveloped by Your love.

(8:41 a.m.)

Searching Your Word, I haven't found a verse where Your love envelops us. Instead, in The Voice, I read of a cloud that enveloped the Tabernacle and Your glory that filled it (Exodus 40:35).

Psalm 32:7 is mentioned with You as David's hiding place, keeping him out of trouble, enveloping him with songs that reminded him that he was free.

Isaiah (50:10) encouraged those who were listening to acknowledge You, “the Eternal One as God”. Taking seriously the Truth that “If you are enveloped in darkness with no light to see, take confidence in the name of the Eternal One; rely on your God.”

Even Obadiah had cause to mention the word envelop. In this instance (1:10) it was in reference to the shame that followed Edom's violent history with Judah.

Matthew (17:5) and Luke (9:34) both tell of the bright cloud that enveloped Jesus, Moses and Elijah as Peter, James and John looked on while “Voice from the Cloud: This is My beloved Son. With Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”

John 1:14 tells of Jesus, The Voice, taking on flesh, becoming human and choosing to live alongside mankind. John reiterates having seen Him, “enveloped in undeniable splendor – the one true Son of the Father – evidenced in the perfect balance of grace and truth.”

In 1Corinthians 10, Paul reminded his listeners of their ancestors having been “once safeguarded under a miraculous cloud in the wilderness and brought safely through the sea” (v.1). “Enveloped in water by cloud and sea, they were, you might say, ritually cleansed into Moses through baptism” (v.2).

While all of these verses are well and good, it is Paul's words to Your believers of Colossae to which I cling most strongly. Colossians 1:2, “to you, dear holy and faithful brothers and sisters in the family of the Anointed who live in Colossae. May grace and peace from God our Father [and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One] envelop you.”

Yes, Father. If I can't find a verse substantiating Your love enveloping me, I will hold tightly to Your grace and peace.

Thank You for so much time together with You this morning. Empower and enable me to use it well this day. I love You and I long to serve You. Thank You Father. I love You. Amen.

(501 words ~ 10:01 a.m.)

"ascribe to the Lord"

Sunday, September 1, 2013 (6:30 a.m.)

♫Thank You, Lord...♫

I've been singing that for quite some time already this morning. Then I remembered it to have been a line from ♫Mighty To Save♫ which we sang in church last night.

Twenty minutes spent out in the front yard watching the clouds in the sky change from one color to another also yielded two “Oh, Jesus!”s and a refrain from ♫Majesty♫. Also sung last night.

Now I'm back to thanking You Lord. And just like that [snap] back again to singing ♫Majesty♫. Father, You are amazing. And I am truly thankful.

Reading in 1Chronicles 16 (David Sings Praises to God) I am again blown away by all I find. I came here because of verse 27. “Majesty and honor march before Him. Strength and gladness walk beside Him.” Verse 23 is why I stayed. “Sing to the Lord, O earth, Declare each day that He is the one who saves!” Yet it is verse 29 that has me most excited.

I slowed my reading in verse 28. “O people of all nations of the earth, Ascribe great strength and glory to His name!” Then came the piece de resistance. Verse 29; listed here in various translations:

“Yes, ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name! Bring an offering and come before Him; Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!” (TLB)

“Give to the LORD...” (CEB)

“He is wonderful! Praise Him...” (CEV)

“Shout Bravo! to GOD...” (MSG)

“Credit Him with the glory worthy of His magnificent name; gather your sacrifice and present it before Him. Bow down to the Eternal, adorned in holiness.” (VOICE)

Blessed Father, how I thank You for the various ways the same thing can be said. Each offering its own flavor to the same Truth. Ascribe. Give. Credit. Shout Bravo!

Yes. Bravo, God! What a glorious, majestic, awesome morning You have provided thus far. Empower and enable me to use it to Your good; “ascribing to You the glory due Your name.”

I love You Father. Thank You. Amen.

(349 words ~ 8:10 a.m.)

♫ Rise and shine ♫

Saturday, August 31, 2013 (6:28 a.m.)

Good God,

Good and kind, loving and merciful God. Thank You!

There has been outstanding, unsurpassed beauty in the sky these past several days. The phrase “Well worth the price of admission” flows freely from me. And I am thrilled to give You the glory for it all.

Father, thank You! No sooner had I thought 'glory' then another children's song began singing in my head. ♫Rise and shine And give God the glory, glory... Children of the Lord♫

It's a song I first heard about 30 years ago. It tells the story of Noah, the ark, Your plan. The flood. Noah's obedience. And ends with ♫Everything is hunky dory, dory Children of the Lord♫

So maybe it's a bit simplistic, yet it's what brought back the memory of seeing last evening's rainbow.

(7:47 a.m.)

And right here may I just say, “WOW!”

And thank You!!!

In looking up 'rainbow', I turned to Ezekiel. The PURPOSE of this book is “To help the people in exile understand how God's glory and righteousness made their present judgment necessary and their future restoration certain.”

The KEY VERSE (36:26) tells of the new heart, the new and right desires, the new spirit You will provide Your people. “I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love.” The verse right above it (25) speaks of being cleansed, “as though I had sprinkled clean water on you... your filthiness will be washed away, your idol worship gone.”

With all the rain, preceding last night's rainbow, we've had plenty of clean water sprinkled on us. Which brings me fully around to Ezekiel 1:28a. “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him [the vision You provided Ezekiel]. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.”

Rainbows. Outstanding beauty. And Your glory. Yep! ♫Everything is hunky dory, dory Children of the Lord♫ Thank You Father.

Empower and enable me to serve You well this day. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(357 words ~ 8:11 a.m.)

Everyday

Friday, August 30, 2013 (7:21 a.m.)

Most Blessed God,

THANK YOU! Thank You. Thank You. It's exactly the same thing I said when I first started waking up. Thank You.

“Thank You, thank You, thank You” quickly became ♫Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love♫

As I look all over Your Word this morning, I am reminded of Your enormous love and provision for us. Thank You Father. Thank You for the privilege of being loved by You.

In the midst of singing praise to You another song inched its way into my being. A 50's rock and roll song. It speaks of love, most probably not sung in regards to Your love for us. Or even ours toward You. Yet here it is at the base of my soul.

A song, with a very 'catchy' tune telling that ♫Everyday it's a getting' closer Goin' faster than a roller coaster Love like YOURS will surely come my way♫ As it continues through the verses, “everyday it's a gettin' faster” until ♫Everyday seems a little longer Every way love's a little stronger Come what may do You ever long for True love from me♫

Your Word teaches that You DO long for true love from us (Mark 12:30). Oh how I long to give You the love You so rightly deserve.

With both songs alternating themselves within me this morning, I bring You all the verses that have come through looking for You in them. “Everyday” led me to Romans 12:1-2, An Appeal for Commitment. While ♫Praise Him♫ ultimately took me to Psalm 8 (v.2) by way of Matthew 21:16.

Father God, there is absolutely no way I can ever give You all the thanks and praise You so rightly deserve. I get to come before You exactly as I am. Offering You what little I have. And You change me right where I am.

Taking these verses to The Life Recovery Bible, I read how skewed our Self-perception is and I am excited to follow the lead over to Psalm 139:17-18. “How precious it is, Lord, to realize that You are thinking about me constantly! I can't even count how many times a day Your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, You are still thinking of me!”

Thank You that when I awakened this morning my first thought was to just start saying “Thank You”. Look at all the treasures that have already come from that choice.

With that being said, I turn back to where I started. Romans 12:1, The Message. “So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.”

Today I ask You Father to keep working in me that I would truly embrace all You do for me. Wholeheartedly saying, “Thank You!” Everyday.

Thank You Father. I love You! Amen.

(509 words ~ 8:54 a.m.)

♫Give Thanks♫

Thursday, August 29, 2013 (6:29 a.m.)

Holy God,

Thank You! It's a phrase I want to say more readily and often. It's a habit I long to cultivate and have grow into something wonderful on Your behalf.

I woke up singing a different song. It was about smiling. I alternated using our grandsons' three syllable names. Imagine my surprise [except You would have already known!] when instead of coming here singing ♫Smile a Little Smile for Me♫ it changed the minute I sat down.

I was more than pleasantly surprised to find ♫Give Thanks♫ in The Celebration Hymnal. Thank You God. While singing twice of giving thanks with a great heart, as well as giving thanks to the Holy One, we are reminded to ♫Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son♫

Continuing on, it tells us twice more ♫And now let the weak say, “I am strong;” Let the poor say “I am rich,” because of what the Lord has done for us.♫ Ah, yes Father. Strong and rich.

Psalm 126:3 is referenced here. That's why I took the chance of finding it in the hymnal in the first place. To see if there was a Scriptural mention I could turn to. Rather than reading only the one verse, I am delighted to be reminded through the chapter of how You deliver Your people from captivity and fill them with laughter and joy.

The Life Recovery Bible's comment for this psalm affirms the pain of exile and the promise of complete transformation while reminding us that change rarely comes overnight. Father, thank You that You absolutely know what is Your best for each of us.

Thank You that You know exactly how to teach us to truly give thanks. I ask to be a good and faithful student, as well as servant this day. Continue Your perfect and transforming work in and through me I pray. I love You Father. Thank You. Amen.

(322 words ~ 7:29 a.m.)

choose wisely

Wednesday, August 28, 2013 (8:29 a.m.)

Awesome God,

You helped me change my thinking. Before even getting out of bed my mind was going in one direction and You brought it completely back around to You. Thank You Father.

This morning I am here asking that You would help me learn to choose wisely. I am so grateful to You for the change that took place in me earlier just by remembering that “perfect love casts out fear” (1John 4:18). With the thought having barely come into mind, the music started immediately. Strong enough that I could honestly almost physically hear it.

♫Even though I walk through the valley Of the shadow of death Your perfect love is casting out fear... And I will fear no evil For my God is with me And if my God is with me Whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear? Oh no, You never let Through the calm and through the storm Oh no, You never let go In every high and every low Oh no, You never let go Lord, You never let go of me♫

Blessed Father, there is a peace that washes over me when I allow my mind to relax and truly take this in. ♫And I can see a light that is coming For the heart that holds on A glorious light beyond all compare And there will be an end to these troubles But until that day comes We'll live to know You here on this earth♫

Strengthen my heart to hold on Dearest Father. You are Truth. You are wise. And I am here asking to live Your Word. In response to the disorder and evil that comes from jealousy and selfish ambition, mentioned in James 3:16, verse 17 says, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.”

Oh, to be able to live each day as one who truly embraces Your Truth! To choose wisely all Your Word says to us. “And as we live with Christ, our love grows more perfect and complete; so we will not be ashamed and embarrassed at the day of judgment, but can face Him with confidence and joy because He loves us and we love Him too” (1John 4:17).

Let me live in and with and through and for Your perfect love that I would truly fear no evil. I love You Father. Thank You for loving me into being. Keep me close to You this day. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(460 words ~ 9:57 a.m.)