present tense

Thursday, January 11, 2018 (7:19 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

I just begged the question, “How can that even be real?”

Technology is allowing me to watch the sunrise 450 miles north and 75 miles south of here. Present tense. Live. As it is happening.

You amaze me Lord. Colors. Clarity. Real time. And You are even closer than all this. Right here. Right now. All around. And within [cue ♪Quinn the Eskimo♪ and think of Jesus]. Amazing!

(8:12 a.m.)

As I sit here considering all You are, I am thrilled to read Your Word. Right now. Present tense. Real time.

Romans 5:11, “And not only will we be saved, but we also rejoice right now in what God has done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we are now God’s friends” (Easy-to-Read Version).

Oh most dear and holy God. I turn to You. Rejoicing. “I trust You Jesus”. Words I am learning to practice saying. Present tense. In the here. In the now.

I love You Father. My mind wanders. I go off on a tangent ["a completely different line of thought or action"]. I am asking You to keep me on task today. Present tense. In the moment.

Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your beauty. Your grace. Your forgiveness. Your presence. Your will. Your way. Line me up to live each moment of this day as You would have me. Not squandering or wasting a bit of it.

I love You. I long to serve You. And I ask You to “make it so Dear Lord. Make it so!” Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(271 words ~ 9:02 a.m.)

"life and radiant health"

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 (7:09 a.m.)

Holy God,

Let’s talk about love this morning, shall we? Your love for us. Ours for You. And one another. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Oh, most Holy God, thank You that we have so many translations of Your Word from which to choose. To compare. The Message. The Voice. Amplified Bible…

There is the flowery descriptive rendering in The Passion Translation. As well as the simplicity of the Contemporary English Version. Speak deeply into my heart this morning Dear Lord. Into my mind, my spirit, even my strength (Mark 12:30).

I love You and I long to love as You command. As I search and study Your Word, I ask You Blessed Father to guide me in understanding as well as action.

Even as I use the word understanding, I turn immediately to Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on Him to guide you, and He will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with Him in whatever you do, and He will lead you wherever you go. Don’t think for a moment that you know it all.”

Yes please! Sign me up for trusting You. Completely. Mm. Yes!

Contemporary English Version for 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us, “Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.”

Oh how I confess to not being so many of these. Continue Your gracious, purifying work in me. Mm, yes. Purify me Blessed Lord.

I read Proverbs 4:20-23 and envision You speaking directly to me. “Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully. Don’t lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning. Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”

It IS Your Word I ask to penetrate deep within my heart, bringing life and radiant health. Yes Father.

The Passion Translation, “Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, and it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Oh most Dear and Holy God. How I long to live each moment in the power and purity of Your love. Not easily irritated or quick to take offense. A safe place of shelter. Never giving up or stop believing the best for others.

Yes Father please. I long to live Your Word. Do all You must to this end. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(545 words ~ 8:29 a.m.)

Blessed Hope

Tuesday, January 9, 2018 (8:36 a.m.)

(9:06 a.m.)

Distractions. Fearful thoughts. Wonders. Doubts. Hope. Yes, Father. Thank You for hope. Will You talk with me this morning about Your Blessed Hope?

(9:40 a.m.)

Reading (Titus 2:11-14). Hoping. Wanting. Looking. Searching. Breathing deeply. And asking. Yes Blessed Father, teach me so much more about Your Son, our Blessed Hope.

Three worship songs with which I am not familiar offer Your Truth and history. ♪I Believe♪ by Gold City; ♪For These Reasons♪ by Lincoln Brewster and ♪Blessed Hope♪ by Mac Powell & Shawn Lewis.

Sing to me Dear Lord. Teaching me that I will come to believe, trust and hope in You. Readily. Eagerly. Completely.

“I trust Jesus”. Words I want to live, not just recite. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20b).

And now a smile. As I read the comment for the last words of Revelation. The Life Recovery Bible “22:20-21 It is unhealthy to harbor unrealistic dreams about a future that will never come about. But it is very healthy for us to anchor our new life and recovery in the certainty of Christ’s return. By trusting Christ with our future, we can better deal with our past and live a more productive present.”

Mm. Yes. Trust. Hope. Deepening “our personal relationship with Him. As we trust in Him and possess the hope of meeting Him face to face, we will grow closer to Him. Then Christ’s unconditional acceptance and unlimited power will continually undergird us in recovery.”

Oh yes. Come, Lord Jesus. Our Blessed Hope. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(293 words ~ 10:19 a.m.)

Spirit's fruit

Sunday, January 7, 2018 (7:29 a.m.)

Lake Arrowhead, Ca

Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You. I woke up this morning thinking of the fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Mm. Yes. Your Spirit’s fruit. Thank You.

The first word that came was patience. As in the importance of packing ours on every single trip we ever take. Oh, and now the smile as I read a definition for the word: “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”.

Oh yes Blessed God. Yes! Grant us better understanding of what it will be to truly live Your way. Or maybe not understanding. Ability!

Here my mind splits off in so many directions. The original version of what has become known as The Serenity Prayer. And how do we experience joy?

“God, give us grace to accept with serenity [the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled] the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”

Yes Father. Grace. Acceptance. Serenity. Courage. Change. Wisdom.

“Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.”

And now the twist back around to the Fruit of Your Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a). I confess to You Blessed Father, these are not the attributes that come out first when I am under pressure.

Continue Your holy work in me Blessed God. How I long to not only pack my patience, but to actually exude Your patience! Your love. Joy. Peace. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And self-control. All of Your Spirit’s fruit.

Yes. Please. Grow me in the way You would have me be. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Your path. Your way. High-yielding with Your Spirit’s fruit.

I love You. I want to serve and represent You well. Thank You. Amen.

(400 words ~ 8:33 a.m.)

"wisely and well"

Saturday, January 6, 2018 (8:43 a.m.)
Lake Arrowhead, CA

Blessed, Holy God,

I love You. And I honestly feel like crying. My emotions are all over the place. Up one second. Down the next. Sadness. Concerns. And then a smile.

A gentle gust of wind. Just enough to move the branches right outside the window. Causing me to smile. And bring the tears even closer to the surface.

Yes. Father. I love You. I don’t know what all is going on inside me. The official end of the holiday season? The last day of another trip? Regret/guilt over time less than well spent?

Oh, most blessed God, how I confess to judging myself. Again. Harshly. Forgive me. Mm, yes Father. Deep breath. Genuine smile. Sit up straighter. Settle my thinking. Rejoice. Repent.

Thank You Father that I get to choose what to do with my feelings. Hold tightly to them? Allow them to exist? Attempt to extinguish them? Or just let them wash over me and be gone.

Let’s try that.

Antonyms for regret are: welcome, applaud, satisfaction, happiness... Let me welcome these misgivings I am experiencing Dear Lord that I would turn to You asking as Moses did, “Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well” (Psalm 90:12).

Yes Bless God. Yes! The smile is real. Giving way to hope. Hope that You do indeed hear our prayers. That there is nothing so insignificant that we can’t bring it to You for healing.

Illustrated Bible Handbook Faith and Feelings states that You fully love and accept us. That while our feelings may surge, our perspectives will change “by consciously relating ourselves and our situation to God”. I am experiencing that very thing right now.

By turning to You honestly, openly and willingly I am trusting You to hear and answer. And before I can even finish my thought You sing to my heart.

Thank You for the ease with which to find the lyrics. ♪Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!♪ I do Blessed God. I do come. Just because I can!

♪Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt; Fightings within, and fears without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!♪

The Wise Men came. This day (of Epiphany) celebrates their arrival. Teach me to live it well. Wisely and well.

Thank You Blessed God. Thank You for Your love. For Your mercy. For Your grace. I love You. Let this Truth be obvious. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(456 words ~ 10:07 a.m.)

"very good"

Friday, January 5, 2018 (6:38 a.m.)
Lake Arrowhead, CA

Holy God,

Good morning. Good New Year. Good. Very good.

(7:38 a.m.)

Mm, yes. Very good.

I’m reading in Your Word Blessed God. Genesis 1. Paying particular attention to verses 26-31. Yet having tremendous feelings of overwhelm.

We have ailing friends and family members. Many requests for prayer. And mixed emotions across the board. Thank You that I get to take another deep breath. Breathing in all Your goodness. Your blessings. Your Truth. Your promises. Your love. Your presence. And hope.

Thank You Father that I don’t have to try and make sense of my feelings. Thank You that I get to look to You and believe that “with all our failings, we are special” (Illustrated Bible Handbook; Human Nature: Man in the Image of God).

Because of Your love for each and every single one of us, we have the privilege to think. Feel. Value. Choose. Very heavy concepts to be sure.

Thank You Father that even though we carry Your image and likeness imperfectly, we each have the possibility of change. Restoration. Repair. To be made new (Ephesians 4:23-24). Mm, yes Dear God. Once again, in this present New Year I am asking You to continue Your work in me.

Jesus, You told Your disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). And You told the Jewish people who believed in You, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

I look to You as Truth. I look to You for truth. Thank You that Your Word is filled with You and Your truth. Grow me. Nourish me. Guide me that I would truly be “very good” in Your sight.

I love You. I long to serve You. And I thank You. Amen.

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

Anew

Monday, January 1, 2018 (6:35 a.m.)
Lake Arrowhead, CA

Blessed God,

A new month. A new year. Anew. Mm, yes. Father, speak to me this morning about experiencing time with You “in a new or different and typically more positive way”.

I read sections in Your Word where You promise hope anew (Psalm 78:7); life anew (Isaiah 58:9-12). And I feel renewed. Recharged. Revived. Restored.

Blessed Holy God, how I ask You to use this new year, this new day for Your good and Your glory. I love You. I long to serve You. And I thank You for another opportunity to learn to follow You. Anew. Thank You, Father. I love You. Amen.

(123 words ~ 8:05 a.m.)