steep me

Monday, March 23, 2020 (7:41 a.m.)

Blessed God,

This morning I am asking You to make me aware of the blessings that You have for us. Fear is easy. As is anger. I’m seeking a renewed faith. Hope. Oh yeah, and love! The greatest of these being love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Oh most Blessed God, how I truly do thank You. I got to sing of Your perfect love drowning all our fears [♪No Longer Slaves♪].

Two different pastors reminded us of Your great might and power. Thank You Lord. Yes. Thank and praise You!

Tears! Full exhale. Natural inhale. More tears. Tissue. Another exhale. Repeat. Oh yes… and singing!

♪You split the sea So I could walk right through it My fears are drowned in perfect love You rescued me [exhale] And I [inhale] will stand and sing [exhale/inhale] I am a child of God♪

While I’m at it Lord, let me start at the beginning. ♪You unravel me with a melody You surround [exhale] me [inhale] with a song Of deliverance from my enemies ’Til all my fears are gone I’m no longer a slave to fear I am a child of God♪

Yes Father. I depend on this Truth. I am Your child!

Thank You Lord. Left to my own devices I would be afraid. Very afraid. Instead I consciously choose You. Your Word. Your Truth. Your promises!

The word “steep” popped into my mind, leading me to Matthew 6:30-33 in The Message. Thus the tears mentioned above.

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” Thank You Father.

Praise You. Bless You. I need Your reality! Your initiative. Your provisions. Properly gear me in readily identifying them as they come my way.

Yes Father. I want to easily recognize Your hand and Your work. Without hesitation. Gladly. Happily. Eagerly. Promptly. Yes please Father. Prepare me to willingly be steeped in Your perfect plan.

From [New Hope] church yesterday we were reminded that You give beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3). That “we are not alone, Jesus is in control.” We are to “look THROUGH the chaos, not at it.”

So much Truth Father. You called light into darkness (Genesis 1:2,3). None of this surprises You. You are still on Your throne. You will make something good out of this. And I get to choose to believe You at Your Word.

The Life Recovery Bible Serenity Prayer Devotional for Matthew 6:25-34 calls us to remember, “We need to ask ourself at every turn in life, Am I accepting this present moment, or am I pretending - trying to escape into the past or the future? Each day there is something to find joy in, and there is strength promised for the troubles of that day. The psalmist wrote, ‘This is the day that the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it’ (Psalm 118:24). We, too, can choose to find joy, strength, and sanity when we accept each day’s realities.”

Oh yes Dearest Father! Amen to that.

Steep me in Your Truth and Your promises. I love You. And I purpose to live this day as the day You have made! Do all You must to that end.

I love You. I need You. I want You. I choose You. And I thank You. Lord, how I thank You! Use me exactly as You alone know is best. Amen.

(590 words ~ 9:42 a.m.)

♪Through it All♪

Sunday, March 22, 2020 (7:22 a.m.)

Oh most dear and blessed God,

Yes! Most dear and blessed God!

How I thank You. Absolutely, genuinely thank You.

You are so good. You provide. You allow. You teach. You guide.

You let me wake up singing again. ♪Through it all, through it all My eyes are on You Through it all, through it all It is well…♪

At the time I didn’t realize exactly how much this one song would impact my thinking. Yes Father. Through it all, my eyes ARE on You! Through it all, it IS well.

It may not always seem like it. I quite often need to intentionally change my focus. And every single time? You are here!

♪Far be it from me to not believe Even when my eyes can’t see And this mountain that’s in front of me Will be thrown into the midst of the sea♪

Here I turn to Revelation 20:10. The Defeat of Satan. And I pray to You Blessed God. Anchoring my hope to the promises of Your Truth. Revelation 22:20a. “He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’”

And my reply? “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (20b). Yes, Lord!

♪So let go my soul and trust in Him The waves and wind still know His name… It is well, it is well, with my soul… Through it all, through it all My eyes are on You And it is well with me♪

Thank You Father. Thank You that we get to choose to believe that ♪Through it all… It is well♪

Do all You must and You know is best. We love You. We need You. We thank You. Amen.

(288 words ~ 9:40 a.m.)

♪into the future♪

Saturday, March 21, 2020 (10:04 a.m.)

♪Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ Into the future…♪

Yes Father. It just keeps slippin’.

♪I wanna fly like an eagle To the sea Fly like an eagle Let Your Spirit carry me I want to fly like an eagle ’Til I’m free Oh, Lord, through the revolution♪

Isaiah 40:31

"I'm slipping!"

Saturday, March 21, 2020 (7:07 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

I confess to slipping. Sliding right over to… 

… tears!

Yep. Ones that fall straight from my eyes.

Thank You Father. Thank You Lord.

I was all set to attempt avoiding You today, I didn’t want to try to be grateful. I planned to wallow. Just give up and be sad.

Thank You for changing that in me Lord. I didn’t do it. You did!

Psalm 94:17-19 and Jonah 2:1-9 remind me again of Your perfect care for us. I can choose fear or hope.

“Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have died. I cried out, ‘I’m slipping!’ And Your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer” (Psalm 94:17-19).

Yes Lord! Renewed hope and cheer. I had to confess my truth to receive Your Truth. I can’t pretend. Act as if. I must be real. Authentic. Honest. Open. Willing.

Mm, yes Father. Thank You.

The Life Recovery Bible’s comment reminds us, “94:16-23 In the final analysis, we can count on no one but God to stand up for us against our enemies [viral though they may be at this time]. He is our fortress and mighty rock. When we stumble into temptation, [like wanting to avoid You!] He is there to keep us from falling. Because He is our defender, He does not allow sin to destroy us beyond hope. Knowing that God is so intimately involved in our life should encourage us to live for Him.”

Yes Lord! This IS the day that You have made! I WILL rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). NOT by my own sheer will and determination. No. By absolutely surrendering to Your call.

Another comment in The Life Recovery Bible helps cement my resolve. This from the book of Jonah “2:1-10 It took Jonah three days inside the fish to realize that he would have to follow God’s plan for his life. God had called Jonah to do something he didn’t want to do. Jonah tried to do things in his own way and suffered the consequences. We all have similar choices. We can do things God’s way and receive His help and blessing, or we can do things our way and suffer the painful consequences. God will go a long way to rescue His wayward children and lead them back to Himself. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom to realize that God’s way is the only way.”

Quite readily I add my own “Amen!” to that!

Lord, I desperately need Your presence. I don’t need to know Your plan. I choose to believe it to be one for good and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Maybe that’s why I’m still singing the song with which I awoke. Questions 67 and 68 by Chicago. ♪I’d like to know, Can You tell me — please don’t tell me It really doesn’t matter anyhow♪

Yes Lord. Thank You that I get to practice being grateful in the not knowing. Blind faith and trust. In You!

I very well may be slipping. Thank You that You are here to catch me!

Thank You Father. Yes. Thank You.

Use me as You know is best. I love You. I need You. And I thank You. Amen.

(573 words ~ 8:15 a.m.)

"Thank You"

Friday, March 20, 2020 (7:49 a.m.)

Holy, Holy God,

Thank You.

Yes. Truly. Thank You.

When I don’t know what else to say to You, “Thank You” is always the way to get started.

Thank You Lord that it really, truly does ‘nudge my heart in the right direction’ (Guideposts Daily Devotions, Nov 27, 2013 Julia Attaway “Say ‘Thank You’ to God”).

Oh Yes Father. Thank You.

"God's hearty help"

Thursday, March 19, 2020 (6:36 a.m.)

Different.

That’s what I have to say about today. It’s already different. Thank You Father. Thank You for giving us the tools we need to handle different.

Yes Blessed God,

There are a lot of differing opinions. And with them all, we get to come back to Your Word. Your will. Your way. Thank You God. You are SO good. And I am so grateful.

I come to You this morning by way of the apostle Peter’s letter written “To show us how to live well in a shattered and hopeless world” (The Life Recovery Bible THE BOTTOM LINE PURPOSE”).

“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless - cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything - encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (1 Peter 4:7-11).

Your hearty help. Oh, yes indeed!

Illustrated Bible Handbook tells us, "we are to choose to love each other deeply (8) and serve each other faithfully with our spiritual gift (9). We are to do this 'with the strength God provides' so that the praise and the glory may be His (10,11)."

This I am asking in Your Son’s most holy name. Thank You God. Amen.

(297 words ~ 9:43 a.m.)

"Warning!"

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 (7:15 a.m.)

Father God,

Blessed Jesus,

Holy Spirit,

We, as a people of the human race, are in need. Of You! Each of You!

 “Social distancing.” “Shelter in place.” “Unprecedented.” “Flatten the curve.”

These words and phrases have become the norm. How I call on each one of You collectively to be the Father, Son and Holy Ghost we have been taught to believe You to be.

I turn to 2 Corinthians (13:11-13). Your apostle “Paul’s Final Greetings” to the church at Corinth. Listed as “New Covenant Ministry. Written “to explain new life in Christ.”

Looking at the overviews of this letter I find such hope Father. Truly. From one moment to the next this world does not know what is coming.

Turning to, depending on, trusting and believing in Your promises is where I am right now. Father, thank You that ‘You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16).

According to The Message, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to Him.”

Oh amen Dear God! Amen!

How we truly thank You for loving us so much. And ask (Matthew 7:7) You to continue Your work in guiding, teaching, molding us. We need You Father. So incredibly much!

Looking at the overview for 2 Corinthians New Covenant Ministry Illustrated Bible Handbook again I view Your Word as being “full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are” (Hebrews 4:12).

This letter begins with Paul’s greetings and is broken up from there:

Chapter 1. Comforting Others

Chapter 2. Deep Love

Chapter 3. Transparency

Chapter 4. Confidence

Chapter 5. Motivation

From here it gets a little more complex:

Chapter 6, 7. New Covenant Exemplified

Chapter 8, 9. Giving under the New Covenant

V. Authority under the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 10-13)

Chapter 10. Appeal, Not Command

Chapter 11. Serve, Not Exploit

Chapter 12. Weakness, Not Strength

Chapter 13. Warning!

And this is where I had originally turned. 2 Corinthians 13:13. “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Yes! Please.

In this particular time of unknowns, another favored verse comes straight to mind. 1 Corinthians 13:13. “There are three things that will endure - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.”

(1:58 p.m.)

NONE of us knows what will happen next, Lord. Thank You that YOU do!

Turning back over to 2 Corinthians 13 in The Life Recovery Bible, I read the comment. “13:11 As Paul closed this letter to the Corinthians, he left them with some worthy challenges and goals to pursue. In essence, he admonished the people to open their minds and hearts to personal change and the healing of their relationships. Such spiritual growth and interpersonal harmony can be fueled by faith in God, the ultimate source of healing love and peace. As modern readers of this letter, we, too, can benefit by acting on Paul’s wise counsel.”

Amen, Precious Father!

As I read the various translations for verse 11, it is The Passion Translation I present here. “Finally, beloved friends, be cheerful! Repair whatever is broken among you, as your hearts are being knit together in perfect unity. Live continually in peace, and God, the source of love and peace, will mingle with you.” Yes. Oh please Dearest Lord.

“Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20).

You know best Father. Do all You must. We love You. We thank and praise You. We need You. Desperately! Thank You Lord. Amen.

(781 words ~ 2:29 p.m.)