Monday Morning Musings

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!"  (Psalm 103:1 ESV)

That verse has been resonating through my heart and mind since I woke up to this view this morning:

For that view this morning.  And for the privilege of waking up to a variation of that view every day.......bless the LORD, O my soul.

In spite of those glorious views, we're still trying to sell our house.  There are a number of reasons for that, which I won't enumerate here.  Yet even though we have the desire to relocate, we're still waiting for a buyer, with no real prospects on the horizon.  Even so.......bless the LORD, O my soul.

We had a wonderful day yesterday.  A precious time of fellowship and Bible study with our Life Group.  A wonderful worship service.  Exceptionally good music.  A challenging message.  It was a glorious day.  Bless the LORD, O my soul.

There was a men's lunch after services yesterday, which meant I got to have lunch with a dear friend.  Good food.  Laughter.  Good times.  Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Sundays are typically long days for us.  We get up very early and drive a long distance to our church, stopping along the way for pancakes at Cracker Barrel.  Toni is the waitress who always takes care of us there.  Yesterday she was having a rough morning, but we were able to chat with her and cheer her up a bit.  A good way to start our day.  Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Yesterday was longer than most Sundays.  There was a Life Group Leadership Summit last evening, which meant our day in Spartanburg was longer than normal and we were much later than normal getting home.  It was a good day, but a really long day, and we were weary when we arrived home.  That weariness has carried over to this morning, in spite of a good night's sleep.  Even so......Bless the LORD, O my soul.

My normal aches and pains are really aching and paining this morning.  I'm moving a little more slowly than I sometimes do.  In spite of that......Bless the LORD, O my soul.

I've been studying Daniel this morning, in preparation for leading our Life Group lesson this coming Sunday.  We're studying Daniel 9-12 this week.   Those are challenging chapters.  And the greater challenge for me is to adequately cover that material in the time that will be available.  As I study and pray and prepare......Bless the LORD, O my soul.

And as I am studying these chapters about the end times, the Red Alert on my phone continues to sound the alarm - again and again and again and again - as bombs are being dropped into Israel.  As I hear that alarm, and as my heart is burdened, and as I pray for Israel.......Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Indeed, in every circumstance of life, Bless the LORD, O my soul.


"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far a the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  The steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him.  Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion.  Bless the LORD, O my soul."  (Psalm 103:1-3, 8, 10-12, 22 ESV)

Hard Questions

There's a lot on my mind this morning.  And so, once again, I am interrupting my self-imposed blogging break to share these thoughts with you.

Summer is ending and children are going back to school.  That is an occasion for prayer.  For my grandsons.  For my son and daughters-in-law and niece as they resume their responsibilities as teachers.  For friends who are sending their children off to school this morning.  For some of them, this is the last first day of school before their children graduate.  For others, that journey is just beginning.  In every case, back to school day is time for some serious praying.  Because it's a hard world out there.

Yet even as our children venture out into this hard world with their new clothes and new lunchboxes and new book bags, all across the world children and their parents are facing a different set of harsh realities.  And they could only wish for a beautiful late summer day with a new lunchbox and new book bag, and for the opportunity to innocently begin another year of school.  Their world is much harder.

We've been studying Daniel in our Life Group this month.  Yesterday our focus was on Daniel 6.  That's the chapter about Daniel in the lion's den, a familiar chapter to those of us who grew up regularly attending Sunday School.  As I think about everything going on in our world, Daniel's story becomes so much more than just a Bible story I remember from childhood.  Daniel's story is very much the story of many men and women and boys and girls around the world this morning.

In Daniel's day, King Darius had signed a decree that no one could worship or pray to any god or man except himself.  The penalty for violating this decree was to be cast into the lion's den.  And that, of course, is equivalent to a death penalty, since we all know what would happen if a person were to be cast into a den of hungry lions.

How did Daniel respond?  He knew the decree had been signed.  He knew what would happen if he continued to pray to his God.  Even so, "when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.  He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously."      (Daniel 6:10 ESV)

In spite of what it might cost him, Daniel continued to pray, just as he had always done.  If we bring Daniel's story into the 21st century, Daniel is very much like men and women and children in the Middle East today whose lives are on the line because of their faith in Jesus.  For Daniel, the command was to renounce his faith or face the lion's den.  Men and women and children in the Middle East today, and in other parts of the world as well, are faced with a similar threat:  renounce your faith, convert to Islam, or die.

The question is often asked, why doesn't God put a stop to this?  Why doesn't He protect these people from this kind of persecution?

My question is a bit different.  Why do they have to suffer like this and I don't?  Why am I protected from this kind of suffering?  No one stood at the door of my church yesterday to prevent me from entering.  No one is knocking on my door this morning and holding a gun to my head to prevent me from praying or reading my Bible.  And for that, I am very thankful indeed.

But what if they were?  Would I be strong enough in my faith to stand firm?  When that kind of persecution comes to this country, and it likely will at some point, will I be strong enough in my faith to do as Daniel did?  Will I be strong enough in my faith to continue doing as [I] have been doing previously?

If it were difficult to go to church, if there were men with guns blocking my way, would I go anyway?  If I were commanded not to pray, would I pray anyway?  When persecution comes, will I stand firm?

Why are believers in the Middle East suffering such profound persecution?  Why do some suffer and not others?  Why them and not me? 

Hard questions.

But things we need to be thinking about.

I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary.
I believe whatever the cost.
And when time has surrendered
And earth is no more,
I'll still cling to the old rugged cross.

(Gaither/Oldham)

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed."  (1 Peter 4:12-14a ESV)

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."                (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV)

A Few Thoughts about Getting Older

Today is my birthday.  Which brings inevitable thoughts about getting older.  I can remember when, once upon a time, I thought anyone who had passed their 60th birthday was really old.  Having passed that milestone several years ago, I no longer think of it in quite the same way.  Because the truth is, I really don't think of myself as old.  I don't feel old.  At least, not on most days.  Other days, well, that's a different story......

I'm interrupting my self-imposed blogging break to share a few thoughts about getting older.  Recently I have been reading Pursue the Intentional Life by Jean Fleming.  I'm not sure how this book first got my attention.  Likely it was when I had ordered another book from Amazon and this came up on the "people who ordered what you ordered also ordered this" page.  The title intrigued me, particularly since being intentional is very much on my heart and mind these days.  In fact, I recently wrote a post on this topic.  You can find it here: http://susanssittingroom.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-creature-of-habit-few-thoughts-about.html

As I'm making my way slowly and thoughtfully through Pursue the Intentional Life, there are already a number of things that have jumped off the page into my head and heart.  (I'm not reading slowly because this is a difficult book to read.  Quite the contrary, it is very easy reading, but I want to do more than just read it and then check it off my list; I want to ponder what I'm reading.)

One of the things that first stood out to me was Fleming's question to herself:  what kind of old woman will I be?  And there is the companion question:  how should I think about my remaining years? 

In this season of life, these questions mirror the questions of my own heart.  What is my life purpose in this season of life?  What should I be doing in this season?  What should I be becoming in this season?  How can I bring God glory in this season of my life? 

In chapter 2, "Why I Wrote This Book", Fleming writes, "I see this book as a touchstone in my spiritual journey.....a book to help me live my highest until the Lord calls me home.  I long to see Christ's life formed in me.  I want to become the person God had in mind when He created me.  I yearn to touch the world for God's glory and advance His kingdom.  The substance of this book represents my earnest desire to 'number [my] days....that [I] may gain a heart of wisdom.' (Psalm 90:12)"

That statement mirrors the desire of my heart in this season of my life.  And so I continue to read, and to ponder, and to search out God's plan for me in this season.

Fleming shares that Jonathan Edwards, that great American preacher of days gone by, had seventy resolutions for his life, all of which he wrote while in his early twenties, and which he read every week for the rest of his life.  His Resolution 52 is one to take to heart, no matter which season of life we are in.

"I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again.  Resolved, that I will live as I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age."

Today, on the occasion of my 64th birthday, that is my resolution, for the coming year and for all the years ahead:  to live as I shall wish I had done.

Edwards read his seventy resolutions every week.  That kind of reflection requires time.  Where do we find that kind of time in the frantic pace of life in the 21st century?
We don't "find" it.  We have to choose it.  To work at it.  Today, on my birthday, my prayer is that, in the days to come, I would choose well.

Today, on my birthday, my gift to you is to make you aware of this book, Pursue the Intentional Life.  To recommend it to you.  And to pray for you who read this, that we might all choose the intentional life.  That we might all seek to "number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

And now the blogging break continues!

"It is my longing and intention to live in Jesus, with Jesus, and for Jesus, to the end of my life." (Jean Fleming in Pursue the Intentional Life)

Taking a Break

Yesterday I cleaned out the pantry.  Finally.  It had been much too long since I had done that.  So, yesterday I finally did it.

No more I really need to clean out the pantry.  Or One of these days I'm going to clean out the pantry. Or Maybe tomorrow I'll clean out the pantry.

Yesterday I quit talking about it and actually did it.

Everything out.  Shelves cleaned.  And a lot less stuff went back in than had come out!

No more out of date stuff on my pantry shelves.  No more clutter. 

And the discoveries.  I actually have four jars of pimentos.  Who knew?

As I was cleaning and decluttering, and discovering all sorts of things I didn't know I had, it occurred to me that my pantry is a lot like life.  Yours and mine.

We may look good on the outside.  My pantry had looked fine as long as the doors were closed!

But on the inside there's a lot of stuff.  Unnecessary stuff.  Stuff that needs to be thrown away.  Maybe even some spoiled stuff.

I probably need to clean out the pantry more often than I do.  Maybe you could say the same.

And I probably need to do some personal "cleaning" as well.  Some soul-searching.  Some decluttering of my thoughts.  I need to take some time to examine what needs to stay and what needs to go.  Not just in the pantry, but in my life.  Perhaps that's also true for you.

From time to time we all need to take some time to think about what needs to stay and what needs to go. To examine how we spend our time.  To consider if we're investing our lives in the way and in the places that God has in mind for us.  I know I need that.  Perhaps you do too.

Because I need that, I have decided to take a blogging break.  Some time to refocus.  To be still.  To declutter and reorder my life.  To listen.

I'm taking a break.  But before I go, to those of you who have visited me here regularly and who have encouraged me in this blogging journey, I say a heartfelt thank you. 

"I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me."  (Habakkuk 2:1 NASB)

Things Are Not Always What They Seem

I tried a new recipe for dinner last night, one I had found on Pinterest.  The picture was beautiful.  It looked tasty, and all the ingredients sounded yummy.  It wasn't.  What seemed like a good idea most definitely was not!  My official taste tester (the hubby) has ruled against this one.  "Pineapple Crock Pot Chicken" will not be appearing on our menu again.

We have a rather large pyracantha bush at the end of our front porch.  I have written about this bush before.

Last winter that bush was covered in snow.

All that snow, combined with extended periods of sub-zero temperatures, caused us to wonder if that shrub would make it through to spring.  Once all the snow had melted and the spring thaw had come, I thought the bush was dead.  In fact, when the landscape crew was here to see what needed to be done to get our yard ready for spring, I told them to cut it down because it was dead.  I wish I had taken a picture that day.  But why would I have done that?  I thought it was dead.  Things were not what they seemed.

That was on a Wednesday.  When the crew came to do the work on Saturday, just a few days later, there were green leaves on that bush.  And about a week later it looked like this.

Every day that plant became a little greener. And there are several more plants around here that I had given up on because they took too long to come out of their winter hibernation.  In each case, I was wrong.  I was too impatient.  Every one of those plants I had given up on now has green leaves!  Actually, a couple of them are beginning to show their fall colors now, but that's a story for another day.

That pyracantha that appeared to be dead is in fact now a very healthy green bush.  Things are not always what they seem.  I was convinced that the bush was dead.  I was wrong.  Which makes me wonder how many other things I have been wrong about.  Hmmmm.......

I gave up too soon on this plant.  And the message from that experience to my frustrated, impatient, waiting heart is not to give up on other things too soon.  Things are not always that they seem.

Just because a plant appears to be dead doesn't mean that it is.

Just because it seems that prayers haven't been answered doesn't mean that they won't be.

The person with the newest, fanciest clothes and the shiniest new car may be the one who is deepest in debt.  Things are not always what they seem.

Just because a person has a smile on her face doesn't mean there isn't some deep hurt within. 

Just because something is on the internet or on television does not mean it is true.

Things are not always what they seem.  Appearances can be deceiving.  That's the lesson I was reminded of this morning as I looked out the window and saw this pyracantha.

The plant appeared dead.  But it wasn't.

Sometimes prayers seem unanswered.  But they aren't.

Winston Churchill was right.

"Never, never, never, give up."

That's as true with our prayers as it was with the pyracantha.  Things are not always what they seem.  Sometimes things seem pretty hopeless.  Even so, don't give up.  God is never early.  Never late.  Always right on time.

"Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.  For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened."  (Matthew 7:7-8 AMP)

Red Alert

An Israeli software developer has created an app for both I-phones and the Android system called Red Alert.  When a rocket attack is detected in Israel, the app sounds a warning siren on the phone.  I have that app installed on my phone as reminder to pray for Israel every time I hear that sound.

I've been hearing that sound quite a bit over the last few days.  In fact it interrupted my Bible reading several times this morning, which gives me just a hint of what life must be like in Israel these days.

 

 

This instruction comes from the Psalms.

 

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!  May they be secure who love you!  Peace be within your walls and security within your towers."  (Psalm 122:6-7 ESV)

 

As I was thinking about this passage of Scripture this morning, I was reminded of an anthem I first learned when we lived in Colorado......Peace Will Come.  And since I had already written a post about that, today I am reposting and elaborating on a portion of the previous post. Whether or not you have the Red Alert app on your phone, will you pray for Israel?  Will you pray for the peace of Jerusalem?  Will you pray that peace will come?

 

When I think about those verses from Psalm 122, and when I see this photo that I snapped so hurriedly when we were in Jerusalem in January, my mind takes me back to Colorado and to an anthem I first remember singing when we lived there.  (Thanks, Rg!)  The anthem title was Peace Will Come.

 

It isn't the composer (David Danner) or the music that stirs my memory so much, but the lyrics that I still remember more than twenty years later:  "Peace will come to those who let the Son of God be born to them......born in their hearts, their homes, their lives......Peace will come when we hear the still, small voice of God."

 

Then, and only then, peace will come.

 

And so we pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Anne Graham Lotz wrote about this in a recent Facebook post (July 31, 2014):

 

"There will be no permanent peace and safety for Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace Himself comes to establish His reign on earth. So in effect, when I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, what I am really praying for is not for the terms of a ...treaty. I’m not praying for an independent Palestinian state or the recognition of Israel’s right to exist. What I’m really praying for is the return of Jesus. Yeshua. Israel’s Messiah. The Prince of Peace."

She's exactly right.

Because peace is not about politicians.

 

Peace is not about politics at all.

 

Peace is not about negotiated treaties and cease-fires that are immediately violated.

 

Peace is not a process.

 

Peace is a Person.

 

And His name is Jesus Christ.

 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  (Isaiah 9:6 ESV, emphasis mine)

 

 

 

A Word of Correction

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."  (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

These are familiar words.  Words I, and perhaps you, have quoted repeatedly.  I have ended prayers with these words.  I have made these words my entire prayer.  I have often rattled them off without a thought.

But recently these words have pierced my heart.

There were a couple of occasions recently that were really difficult for me to deal with.  On these occasions I was angry.  And beyond that, my feelings were hurt.  It happens sometimes, doesn't it?  Other people don't always make choices we agree with.  Their decisions don't always fit our plan.  Someone says something or does something, and we react. And when that happens, we don't always respond well.  I certainly didn't.

The first time, I reacted badly.  I said a lot of stuff.  Nobody heard me.  Except my husband, who had to listen to my rant.  And the Lord.  He heard me.

"Coincidentally" on that particular day, the verse of the day on my Bible app was the one that began this post.  I put "coincidentally" in quotation marks because I don't believe in coincidences, and I think having this verse come up on my phone on that particular day was definitely not a coincidence.

In the middle of my rant, I thought of that verse.  The words of my mouth weren't acceptable.  They were angry and unkind words.  Beyond that, the meditations of my heart definitely were not acceptable.  The things I thought, but didn't say, didn't honor the Lord at all.  I recognized the incongruity of claiming that verse for the day and then responding as I had.  I repented of the things I had said and the thoughts I had thought.

A few days later there was another similar incident.  Same people.  More hurt feelings (on my part).  More words and thoughts.  And the Psalm that was part of my daily Bible reading that day.....Psalm 19.  So, once again, on a day when my words and my thoughts were anything but pleasing, the Lord confronted me with this verse.

Today when I looked at the calendar in my kitchen window, there it was again:  let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight.

My first response was a bit self-serving. It isn't the words of my mouth that are the problem.  I don't swear.  I don't use "those" words.  I'm doing OK on that part.  It's just the meditations of my heart that are the problem really.

But then there was that gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit.  Is that really true?  Is the verse just talking about "those" words?  Does everything that comes out of my mouth honor the Lord?  Is everything that comes out of my mouth bringing glory to Jesus?  Is everything I say pointing others to Him? 

The Holy Spirit reminded me of Paul's admonition to the Thessalonian Christians to "walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory." (1 Thessalonians 2:12 ESV)

And then He took me to this passage in Ephesians:

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."  (Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV)

As I ponder these passages, my heart is grieved by how I have failed the Lord.  Grieved at the things I have said and thought that are not in a manner worthy of the God who has called me.  You see, it isn't the things we say and do when all the world is watching that are really the issue.  It's the things we say and do when no one is watching that become the stumbling point.

My heart overflows at the goodness of God to correct me when I go astray.  To open my eyes to times when I fail Him.  To help me realize that, no matter what others do or don't do, my obligation is to Him.  To live a life that honors Him and draws others to Him.  May I always be obedient to that task.

Father, forgive me when I fail You.  Forgive me for my words that have not been pleasing to You.  Forgive me for the thoughts and the meditations of my heart that have fallen far short of what is acceptable in Your sight.  Forgive me when I have thought too highly of myself and have given myself too much credit.  Keep my heart and my mind fixed on You, dear Lord, and may I honor You in all do and say and think.  Amen.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts.   And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  (Psalm 139:23-24 KJV)