Like Little Children / Heaven Is Here

Today's RST is based on a quote from Max Lucado's "And The Angels Were Silent"...

"Oh, for the attitude of a five-year-old! That simple uncluttered passion for living that can't wait for tomorrow. A philosophy of life that reads, 'Play hard, laugh hard, and leave the worries to your Father.' A bottomless well of optimism flooded by a perpetual spring of faith that washes over the light and temporary scrapes and bumps. Is it any wonder Jesus said we must have the heart of a child before we can enter the kingdom of heaven? [Jesus said] "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3"

The phrase "the kingdom of heaven" reminded me of a quote of Ellen White's (from her book "The Desire Of Ages") that states that heaven isn't merely some far-off abstract concept but a tangible, practical, very real benefit that we can have right here and right now as a result of choosing His Way over our own.

"Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.' Isa. 26:3. Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory...As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, 'Come, learn of me,' and in thus coming we begin the life eternal."

You've been prayed for today...

A Time For Everything

Today's RST is a passage I hadn't thought about in a long time but had written down to get back to later--so here it is...from Ecclesiastes 3:

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Love that...read it again and think about it, think about your life...

I also love the subsequent couple of verses...

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;
yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
I know that there is nothing better for men
than to be happy and do good while they live.

So that's the plan according to Solomon...be happy and do good while you live. Sounds simple, but think about that for a second...think about what it takes to be truly happy and content and at peace, and think about what you actually think and do...

You've been prayed for today...

Audio RST -- Psalm 116

So I was on my way to work this morning at "o-dark-thirty," slowly waking up, listening to some mellow gospel music, and I heard this song--funny how early in the AM I seem to hear things a little differently than I do later in the day...and interestingly enough the first couple of verses of Psalm 116 were the verse of the day at BibleGateway.com. So here's the song (e-mailed it--sorry, can't post it here), and here's the Psalm--I hope they bless you as they did me today...

Psalm 116 (excerpts)

I love the LORD, for He heard my voice;
He heard my cry for mercy.
Because He turned his ear to me,
I will call on Him as long as I live.

The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need, He saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

How can I repay the LORD
for all His goodness to me?
O LORD, truly I am your servant;
you have freed me from my chains.

You've been prayed for today...

Gridiron Wisdom

Hey, Y'all,

Hope you had a restful and enjoyable weekend. Today's RST is interesting--wisdom from the gridiron (it's not every day I run across an RST in the sports section):

"Fullback Roosevelt Leaks, who faced considerable obstacles in becoming the first black All-American football player at Texas, said 'We all travel different roads. Whether yours is a "tougher" road or not, there are always obstacles on the road. You just have to keep moving forward,' he said. 'The things that at first deter you, they usually make you better.'"

Of course that quote brings to mind Romans 8:28 which we discussed previously, but it also reminded me of John 16:33--"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Interesting that Christ says outright that in this world we will have troubles, but He also says that He wants us to have peace and take heart because He has overcome that same world (which of course reminds us of the also previously mentioned John 14:27--"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid").

So there you have it--God's desire for us (and His promise to us if we access the blessings offered) is a peaceful (peace-full) and untroubled heart, regardless of obstacles and bumps in the road. So...sweet! That sounds like a plan--thanks, Father.

You've been prayed for today...

Memories and Altars

Hey, Y'all,

Back to our string on memory and our "shape" and God's hand in our design...this thought is based on an essay called "Making Memories Count: Finding God's Purposes In Remembering" by Katie Brazelton and Dee Eastman (on PurposeDrivenLife.com this past July 14). Reminded me of a quote of Ellen White's: "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history" (LS 196).

"Try to see God's purpose in giving you a memory. God shows us repeatedly that one of the main values of memory is for us to 'remember Him.' In the Old Testament when Joshua was trying to cross the Jordan River with the children of Israel, God demonstrated his mighty power by parting the water, allowing them to pass through the river completely on dry land. However, God did not stop there.

"He then asked Joshua to build an altar with stones from the exact spot the river had been parted. The altar served as a symbol to remember the day that God 'showed up.' It worked powerfully among the Israelites and met their deepest need. These 'remembrance stones' were to be displayed forever, as a symbol of God's love, strength, and faithfulness.

"He longs for our memory to serve the same purpose. He wants us to be able to lift our eyes to Him in difficult as well as joyful times. What symbols could you place in your life that would cause your gaze to shift, so you would be reminded of the vastness of God's love for you? Is there an 'altar,' are there 'remembrance stones' in our life, or do you need to build into your daily routine these reminders that will help draw you into his presence?

"Open your heart to the power of past memories. It may sound crazy that God can use sad memories to redeem the hurtful parts of our past, but it is true. In fact, we have found that even in the most painful and gut-wrenching times of our lives, God has ultimately taught us about grace in a way we would have never learned without it.

"In his book 'Telling Secrets' Frederick Buechner writes: 'The sad things that happened long ago will always remain part of who we are. But instead of being a burden of guilt, recrimination, and regret that make us constantly stumble as we go, even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that lies ahead.' The key here is making peace with our past.

"Of course, this takes courage, most often involving the hard work of forgiveness toward ourselves and any who have hurt us. But by doing so, we can move past the past by removing its power to hurt or hinder us and they can truly become 'a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that lies ahead.'" (Love that Buechner quote).


You've been prayed for today...

Laughter In God's Presence

Hey, Y'all,

We'll get back to the previous string on life's experiences and our "shape" next time--today's is an actual Random Spiritual Thought I just ran across (thanks Bud!) and I had to pass it along. Read it carefully, maybe a couple of times and let it sink in:

It is the heart that is not sure of its God that is afraid to laugh in His Presence.
--George MacDonald

Think about your church, the people you know, your own life for that matter: is their God, is your God, distant, or angry? Or is He personable and warm? Does He have a sense of humor? Or is He perpetually annoyed with you and the rest of us?

Brought to mind the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept." (John 11:35). I've gotta say, I've read and heard innumerable explanations of that text, but I still can't entirely wrap my head around it--I mean I get them all, I hear what they're saying, but He's getting ready to resurrect Lazarus, and as a result it's about to become clear to many of His followers that He's not just a Good Man or a Great Teacher but something much much more...and yet, He wept. Love that. Don't even know why, don't understand why, but I love that Jesus, God, wept. That doesn't sound like some distant and annoyed God who barely tolerates us. It sounds like the kind of God I want to know better and understand better and emulate better. How 'bout you?

(You've been prayed for today, BTW).

Embrace The Past, Your Memories, And Your "Shape"

Hey, Y'all,

Got some interesting responses to the past couple of RSTs--will pass those on in the next few days. Today's thought continues the idea that we have a unique "shape" that is in part a product of our experiences (and it's based on an essay by Rick Warren entitled "Make The Most Of Your Memories"):

We rarely see God's "working for our good" in pain or failure while it is happening. Only in hindsight do we understand how God enabled a problem to "work out for our good" as we are promised in Romans 8. That is why it is important for us to take time to remember our memories.

Some memories, even in hindsight, are painful to deal with. It is easy for us to feel resentful toward people who have caused us pain, or even to question why God would allow us to go through the experience at all. But God knows these things happen to all of us, and--this isn't easy--because of His ability to bring good out of bad situations we should gratefully accept the way He shapes us in these experiences. The Bible says, "What right have you, a human being, to cross-examine God? The pot has no right to say to the potter: 'Why did you make me this shape?' Surely a potter can do what he likes with the clay!" ( Rom. 9:20-21 JB)

Who you are today was sovereignly determined by God, so you shouldn't resent it or reject it. Instead of wishing "things" were different or trying to reshape yourself to be like someone else, you should celebrate the unique "shape" God has given you through your experiences, good and bad. "Christ has given each of us special abilities -- whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts." (Eph. 4:7 LB)

Forgotten experiences are worthless, however. Moses told the Israelites, "Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him" (Deut. 11:2 TEV). Paul worried that the believers in Galatia would waste the pain they had been through. He said, "Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not!" (Gal. 3:4 NCV). Extracting the lessons from your experiences takes time. Pause to see how God has worked in the various defining moments of your life, the good ones and the bad ones, and consider how he wants you to use those lessons to help others.


Hmmm...that's pretty hard stuff. Believe me when I tell you that I know some of you have gone through dark places that I can only see in my own darkest nightmares, so by no means am I pretending to have the answers. But there's something to this ability of Our Father to do this "God-sized" thing, and that's to support us so thoroughly in the hard times, even the ones that seem too heavy to bear, that when we come through the other side we are permanently changed by His presence there with us. We're wounded to be sure--with a few more gray hairs (or fewer ones of any given shade) and more non-laugh-lines, but we are better, more patient, more mature and tolerant, with better perspective and understanding and empathy for others who are suffering as well.

I'm going to mull that one over a bit more...not 'cause it's easy, but 'cause it's true: God enables our suffering to become bearable and to take on meaning which prevents the bitterness of senseless suffering, and He is thus in fact able to bring good out of bad--not that bad becomes good--it's still painful; it's just not merely meaningless suffering, it becomes what James 1 said it would become--an opportunity to choose to recall the painful memory rather than shun it, to share it with God, and to be transformed (by our profound conversations with Him about our pain) into better people.

You've been prayed for today--have a happy and restful Sabbath.

Churchill and "Shape"

Today's RST comes to us from my mom (thanks, Mai)--and it's a quote of Sir Winston Churchill's she ran across the other day:

"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents.  What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour."

 

Very cool, especially from a man who knew a thing or two about "their finest hour."  (Nerd Alert: for those who unlike me--geek--didn't read every book about WWII they could get their hands on when they were a kid, Google that phrase, and while you're at it, "The Battle of Britain."  Those were the dark early days of WWII when the outcome was still very much in doubt).

 

At any rate, great quote, and interesting idea, that we are each given chances in life to do "special things, unique to us, and fitted to our talents."  How does that happen?  How are we so outfitted?  Think about it for a while--more later.

 

You've been prayed for today...

 

 

 

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You Are Where You Are

Read this quote several weeks ago and it's been rattling around my brain since then...

You are where you are right now, and nothing can change the path you've already traveled. Where you're headed, however, is entirely up to you: the next step is yours to decide.

Reminds me of a passage we've talked about before (and an RST also on the subject--thanks Mai and Facho for reminding me about it).

"'Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, even now it shall spring forth.' Isaiah 43:18,19. We can either get stuck in the pain of the past or move on to new beginnings. New beginnings do not ignore or erase the past, but they take us beyond its sometimes devastating hurts. They lead us out of its destructive bondage. The past is a teacher, true, but it is not our master. As someone has aptly said: 'Don't try to run forward while looking backward.'"

Reminds me of Philippians 3 where Paul says much the same thing: don't forget the lessons of the past, but set the past aside, don't let it dominate your thinking about the future, and press on.

Ran across 3 brief thoughts (via e-mail from one of you) along a similar vein, so more on that tomorrow.

You've been prayed for today...

God Doesn't Leave You Hanging

Hey, Y'all,

TGIF...today we're picking up where we left off yesterday with the idea that, regardless of external circumstances, God is with us, living and working in us, and that God is not a God of confusion but of peace, peace that transcends our ability to understand how or why...

This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it, the LORD is his name: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
Jeremiah 33:2,3

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.
Isaiah 1:18

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5,6

Love that last verse--of course we tend to get tunnel vision on the "He willl direct your paths" part while missing the 2 conditions--first that we have to know Him and trust Him completely, a process that takes both time and consistent effort to make a quiet space in our schedules ('cause it's not like our lives naturally make it easy to seek spiritual things--or maybe it's just me ), and secondly, to check with Him first before running off in a given direction (here again, I'm sure it's just me). Neither one is the easiest thing ever to accomplish, but then nothing worthwhile ever is.

In another version it says it like this:

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know Him, recognize Him, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

Amen to that...you've been prayed for today...

One Last Response To "God in The Middle Of It"

Hey, Y'all,

One last thought on "God In The Middle Of It (With Us)"--thanks for sharing, Cathy. BTW, I know lately these have been a bit longer than usual, but based on the number of responses to this string of RSTs, obviously a lot of you are or were wrestling with hard things, so thanks for sharing with the list and just keep on keepin' on (with your spiritual walk), God is not going to leave you hanging (BTW, more on that new topic next RST)...

"The hurricanes of life come. Just like a physical hurricane leaves one disoriented and fighting for survival, so it is with spiritual hurricanes. As the winds pour down destruction, so will the spiritual arrows of overwhelming fear. As the spiritual attacks try to destroy us, we must LISTEN to that still small voice that was once easier to discern. When the spiritual attacks come in the midst of a hurricane, it can be very difficult to know whose voice we're really hearing, it's very difficult to really know God's will and at such a vulnerable time--my survival depends on being in His will.

"This is where Faith comes in. Faith is action. I have to step out while I'm being attacked and keep focused on His Word. The Word is Jesus talking directly to us since Jesus IS the Word. My part is to keep LISTENING and stepping forward as I stand on His Word. As I do this, it becomes more clear that I AM in God's will. This is not easy when there's intense fear and anxiety trying to confuse and paralyze me. The key is to LISTEN, ask God if this is the direction to take, and then DO it. You probably will do it shaking in your boots because you're wondering if you really acted upon God's Word and not your own or Satan's. As you keep moving forward in Faith you gain confidence that you did choose the right course of action. You're further uplifted to realize that the attacks did not overwhelm you or destroy you. They lost their power the more you stood on His Word and moved forward to Victory. God IS awesome! He'll take you through the storm to Victory IF you trust Him and His Word.

"There is one particular scripture that I hear over and over and that has helped me and keeps me from losing it, it's Isaiah 41:10...

"Do not fear for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will help you, I will strenghten you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." But most of the time what I hear is " DO NOT FEAR!" Thanks for letting me share--I just wanted to help others who may be going through their own storms that seem to be overwhelming."

Thanks again, Cathy--love that text--brought to mind a few other passages...

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:8,9

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not consume you."
Isaiah 43:2

(BTW, if you ever mis-type Isaiah 43:2 and type 42:3 you'll find the answer to the question, "does our Heavenly Father have a gentle and patient way about Him?" Check it out...
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." Love that verse...)

And finally, of course, James 1--look that one up on your own 'cause it's well worth the read (again) and I don't want to make this installment too long (woops--too late!).

So what do I love about all of these passages? None of them talk about any expectation that we're going to escape life's ups and downs and skate through life just 'cause we're christians or "good people," in fact, if you think about it for a minute, you realize that many of these "spiritual giants" had a lot more to deal with than others around them (and than us for that matter). Interesting then that nowhere are we told that "good solid christian life = smooth sailing" --- so where did that idea come from?!? Furthermore, the opposite seems to be true: "follow me and you'll be swimming upstream." So what's the point of that?!?

3 things come to mind right away: He doesn't say you won't have troubles, but He does say you'll be able to get through them 'cause He's right there with you (yes, "in the middle of it all"). 2nd thing: troubles and hard times are inevitable here on this earth, so we might as well embrace them as a fact of life and allow God's working in us to enable growth and maturation and to improve our empathy and perspective (James 1 again). And 3rdly, this isn't all there is. Yeah, I know, settle down, I'm not saying by any means that we should live in some sort of ethereal otherworldly zone where we try to ignore this world and its inhabitants--because in fact the opposite is likely to be much more constructive to a healthy perspective: who hasn't had the experience of moping around feeling sorry for yourself when you see something and suddenly realize that someone else's life is much much harder than yours. What I am saying is that, as "believers," one of the things we believe is that there's much more after this, that this place is just a temporary stop, and that any "injustices" or hurts or burdens borne down here will pale in the light of eternity and its rewards of peace and joy and complete contentment (not my concept, I just work here--check out Romans 8).

So hang in there, God didn't promise a walk in the park, but He did promise to be right there with you--in the middle of it all.

You've been prayed for today...