April 13 - Rest

Some things that stood out to me in Ezekiel 1-3: God tells Ezekiel that He is sending him to a rebellious people; He tells Ezekiel that they will give him "looks" and He tells Ezekiel not to be afraid! If God tells you not to be afraid, you can bet it is going to be scary. So, if God knows they will not hear what Ezekiel will say, then why does He bother sending him at all? 2:5 explains that the purpose is for Israel to know they they have a prophet among them. It's almost like our "due process." He also explains to Ezekiel that Ezekiel himself will be saved by proclaiming the Words of God. It is interesting to think of God calling His 'chosen people' a "rebellious nation." It makes me think of our churches today - there are many that do not proclaim the Word of God. They are rebellious; not wanting to be scorned by a rebellious people, they preach what the people want to hear. They do not want to offend the sinner, lest he not come to church. But at what cost do these churches keep the rebellious sinner in their midst? They threaten the children among them and their very own flock. And, then, sin begets sin. Where does the line get drawn in omission of offense? Jesus offended when He came. He endured scorn for our us, how much more shouldn't we endure scorn and 'looks' for Him? Proclaiming God's word is not negotiable.

God tells Ezekiel that the blood of the rebellious will be on Ezekiel's hands if He does not proclaim the Words of God. He says it twice in 2:18 and 20. In contrast, He says that if Ezekiel does as God instructs/obeys, Ezekiel's soul will be delivered.

Streams uses Ezekiel 3:22 as a springboard for rest in God. Although I do believe that God provides many passages for such admonition, I don't think this is one of them. I don't see Ezekiel getting much rest. I see him being tested in his obedience to God. There in the plains, Ezekiel sees God's glory and falls on his face! Rest? If you consider a quickened heart rate as rest. On the heels of seeing God's glory, he is sent out of the plains, back to his house where he is told that he will be shut in and bound in ropes. It doesn't resonate 'rest' with me...I think God was increasing Ezekiel's faith to prepare him for the hard work ahead of him. I'd love to hear your comments/perspective.

April 8 - Thorns in the Flesh

“Shew me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain.

:Shew me that my tears have made my rainbow.”

-George Matheson

What is at the end of your rainbow?

A cloud or a pot of gold?

p s a l m 4 6, v v. 4 - 7

p s a l m 4 6, v v. 4 - 7

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; god shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah.

from Spurgeon, Treasury of David:

Divine grace, like a smoothly flowing, fertilizing, full, and never failing river, brings refreshment and comfort to believers. This is the river of the water of life...[i]t assures the citizens of Zion that the Lord will unfailingly supply all their needs. The streams are not transient like Cherith, nor muddy like the Nile, nor furious like Kishon, nor treacherous like Job's deceitful brooks, nor worthless like those of Jericho. They are clear, cool, fresh, abundant, and gladdening...Jerusalem, which represents the church of God, is described as abundantly supplied with water. This means that in seasons of trial, all-sufficient grace will be given to enable us to endure to the end.

from cool dat! (don't expect Spurgeon's elloquence here!)

The parched and wasting circumstances of my trials enable me to appreciate more fully the refreshment taken from God's streams in the desert. Without the trials, in my hurry to get to the places I think I need to be, I might pass by God's quiet streams, leaving them untasted, and become all the poorer for it.

p s a l m 4 6, v v. 1 - 3 ~ s e l a h

p s a l m 4 6, v v. 1 - 3

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Selah.

[God] is more present than friend or relative can be; yes, more present than even trouble itself. Spurgeon, Treasury of David

S e l a h We can sit and wait while earth dissolves, mountains race, and oceans roar.

S e l a h We can calmly confront the danger, meditate on the terror, dwell on its separate items and united forces.

S e l a h We do not suspend our song in alarm, but we tune our harps with deliberation in the midst of the storm.

Unfortunately, too often we speak in haste, lay our bewildered, trembling hands on the strings, and strike the lyre with a rude crash, marring the melody of our life song. Spurgeon, Treasury of David

April 2 - Keep Looking Up

A-ha! Here I am, writing on the blog :) I have wanted to write the last few days but, alas, time did not allow.

Today's devotion said a lot about depression, and I am not going to focus on that...it is a topic for another day. Rather, I want to talk about the eyes being kept heavenward!

I just drove back from New Mexico (home away from home) and I have to tell you that your eyes are easily cast to the heavens...in fact, they are drawn there...why? Well, there is little distraction when you look out and see only the fields that stretch out and lead into the plains ... the plains give way to the mountains and their majesty. The song by George Strait played often during our drive through the deserts and we could see God's fingerprints all around us.

I remember China and the city of Guangzhou (Gwon-Joe) where it was buildings all around. I remember coming out of LAX and, to my surprise, the first thing I noticed was the SKY! It was night but it still caught my eye...the openness of El Segundo (!) Of course, in contrast to driving back from New Mexico or toward Arkansas, you gain a new perspective on openness. But, there in lies the truth. It is in our perspective and our disposition toward God that leads our eyes heavenward, is it not?

"...They looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." In reading chapter 16 of Exodus today, I was struck by certain pronouns. In verse 3 the Israelites complain that "you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger" and they are talking to Moses. But Moses did not lead them into the wilderness, God did. Moses points out to them in verse 6 and again in 8 that it is God that their complaints are against.

In verse 3 it says that "the children of Israel said to (Moses and Aaron), 'Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, where we sat by the pots of me and when we ate bread to the full!'..." They acknowledge God's hand in Egypt but not in the desert. Clearly they have no faith or, at best, little faith. But then, in verse 6 it says that Moses and Aaron spoke to "all the children of Israel." This indicates to me that it was not all that approached them in complaint. In verse 20 it says that "some" of the Israelites did not heed Moses instructions regarding taking only enough food for them to eat and not store any for later. That means others did follow instructions. Again in verse 27, "some" of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather food even though they were told it would not be there and had been told to gather twice as much on the day before. Again, this means that there were others obeying instructions...others with greater faith...those that had they eyes on the cloud of God's glory, shall we say, heavenward. Just as there were some among the Israelites (God's chosen people) with little faith or no faith, there are those within the church with little faith or no faith. (In studying the New Testament we learn that the nation of Israel as God's chosen people is a foreshadow of the church.) I say all of this, because we need to pray for each other...the saved and unsaved...the little faith and the great faith. And, we need to pray for ourselves..."(Lord) Increase our faith." Lk 17:5.

In our prayer meetings after the Sabbath sermon, a woman always prays for those in the church that are unsaved. The first time I heard her, it struck me as odd. But each week that she prayed for the unsaved among us in the church especially the children, I became more and more aware of the need for this particular prayer. I then interpreted this need for faith as a need for increased faith among the faithful. Then, I read this,

We need, also, to guard against unbelief as we would against an enemy.
Faith needs to be cultivated. We need to keep on praying. "Lord, increase our
faith." for faith is susceptible of increase. Paul's tribute to the Thessalonians was, that their faith grew exceedingly. Faith is increased by exercise, by being put into use. It is nourished by sore trials.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Faith grows by reading and meditating upon the Word of God. Most, and best of all, faith thrives in an atmosphere of prayer.

It would be well, if all of us were to stop, and inquire personally of ourselves: "Have I faith in God? Have I real faith--faith which keeps me in perfect peace, about the things of earth and the things of heaven?" (The Necessity of Prayer by E. M. Bounds, p 21)

In conclusion, I read these words yesterday which struck me square between the eyes and I believe they relate very well to our keeping our eyes HEAVENWARD:

I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to
fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth "home." Before
you know it, I am calling luxuries "needs" and using my money just the way
unbelievers do...I don't think much about people perishing. Missions and
unreached peoples drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of
grace. I sink into a secular mindset that looks first to what man can do, not
what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. (Don't Waste Your Life by John
Piper, p 112)

FAITH

God honors FAITH! This 3 little word sentence says lots and is filled with motivation. When it seems that FAITH is hard to come by - this sentence spurs me on. Sometimes, as weak little human sinners, we need some kind of motivator. The really sad thing for me is that FAITH isn't gained once - NO! it is something that you have to continually strive for. Wouldn't it be easy if once you obtained great FAITH it was yours at that same degree forever? Well, for some reason (maybe that God wants us to exercise our spiritual muscles) we get to wake up each day and deem in our hearts that today we are going to TRUST and have FAITH in our God. If we can't seem to do anything else - this should be our daily goal - and sometimes our every breath goal.

I did NOT think I was the endurance athlete in my family - but apparently, we were a little mixed up in our thinking. The triathlete got to be the sprinter in life and the couch potatoe got to be the ultra marathoner of the family. Endurance is gained by mere discipline. Disciplining your spirit is an all out war. Good thing that I have God (the victor) on my side. A big part of that discipline is waking each morning and declaring my TRUST and FAITH for the day. Don't think of it over the long haul - for this is very discouraging to an endurance athlete - a really good friend told my girls not so long ago, "we'll run from this light post to the next and then we will walk from that light post to the next." Taking our lives in this manner greatly reduces the overwhelmingness of life and has a tremendous advantage with our abilities to have FAITH. God is AMAZING in all circumstances - be they heart ripping or joy topping. Trust Him and He will honor you in ways that you can not even fathom. Live your lives for Him and Him alone. The rewards are so beautiful!

(I am also posting this on the streams blog - so that my really dear friend will NOT be mad at me)

Mar 21 - Increasing Faith

"According to your faith be it unto you" Matthew 9:29

When I give out a copy of Streams in the Desert, I always recommend that the devotion be read followed by reading the Bible chapter that the verse is taken from, in today's case, Matthew chapter 9. Before I get to Matthew 9, let's look at a few of the statements in today's readings:

"Praying through" might be defined as praying one's way into full faith,..." c-bug said once during devotions, "we cannot go around this or under this, we have to go through this." She was referring to the grief and mourning that lay ahead of her and her family.

"...no earthly circumstances can hinder the fulfillment of His Word..." Thank God that our ignorance, mistakes, wants, etc. cannot thwart the fulfillment of His promises.

So, reading today's devotion, I am left looking at the verse "According to your faith be it unto you." I read chapter 9 of Matthew and in this chapter there are several examples of Jesus healing according to the faith of those in need. "When Jesus saw their faith" bringing the lame man to Him, He healed (9:2). To the woman who touched the hem of His garment to be made well, He said, "your faith has made you well"(9:22). He raised the daughter of the ruler from the dead because the ruler believed He could (9:18). Two blind men begged Him for mercy, and He asked, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" and then He told them, "According to your faith let it be to you." Again he heals a mute and demon possessed man because of the faith demonstrated in the act of bringing this man to Jesus (9:32). Again and again, we see in this chapter the deomonstration of faith and the results of the faith.

In Luke 17:5, the disciples cry out to Jesus, "Lord, increase our faith." This is what our prayer needs to be every day. Our faith is not to be left stale or 'as is' but instead, it should be increasing every day. This beggs the question, How?? How do we increase our faith? I have begun reading a book by E. M. Bounds (an author introduced to me in Streams) and I will share with you some of his comments that I highlighted yesterday (while I was getting highlights LOL):

"Faith is increased by exercise, by being put into use. It is nourished by sore trials."

"Faith grows by reading and meditation upon the Word of God. Most, and best of all, faith thrives in an atmosphere of prayer."

"Doubt and fear are the twin foes of faith."

In closing for today, I leave this quote found also in E.M. Bounds book "The Necessity of Prayer."

"Ask of God more faith. Beg of Him morning, and noon and night, while you walk by the way, while you sit in the house, when you lie down and when you rise up; beg of him simply to impress divine things more deeply on your heart, to give you more and more of the substance of things hoped for and of the evidence of things not seen." -anonymous