May 31 ... Esther 6 - 10

May 30 ... Esther 1 - 5 "Is Your Plan Going Well or Not?"

Esther 1:22  Huge Wealth.  Stunning Splendor.  Isn't that today's Hollywood, even our own hollywood circles.  People want to be somebody on this earth.  "Every man is master of his own house; whatever he says, goes."  That's what the king ordered.  Wonder why Persia didn't take the opportunity to return "home" to Judah.  They "preferred the comforts a well-established secular lifestyle could provide."  Sounds way-too-familiar!  So they put pressure on the beautiful women to show up.  That's not right.  What about those of us with redemptive dignity who aren't glamour-filled---would we have made it in Persia?  "Are they---or even am I---even interested fin real holiness, in what You call holiness?  Or are we mistaking tolerance and niceness and spiritual experiences for the deep change in the human soul that You desire?  Most of us seem to think Christianity is a moral and social policy to make life better for people rather than a redemptive plan for making people better in this life."  I am so grateful to God for His moving into my life in the midst of some suffering a few years ago to help me to really deal with deep change and let HIM change me way down deep as only He can.  Ask my husband, my son, some of my friends, and they will tell you that I'm not who I was---and I'm on my face in gratitude.  And I still have a long way to go but I have hope!  So, like all of us, we sometimes ask Crabb's question:  Is Your plan going well or not? It sounds arrogant.  And it is if it's asking about Plan B.  Is it going well in my life, in your life?  His Plan A?  Or am I wrestling with all those Plan B's that surprise me and crop up?  Radical Repentance.

May 29 ... Nehemiah 11 - 12

Been at an all-night LOCK-IN for graduation.  Really cool.  Up again cooking for all the family here for graduation.  I'll be BACK SOOOOOONNN!.

May 28 .... Nehemiah 10 - 11 "Stripping me of Myself"

Nehemiah 10:28 Those who kept The Revelation of God, together with their wives, sons and daughters, all joined in a binding oath to follow The Revelation of God given through Moses... to keep and carry out all the commandments, all His decisions and standards.  I LOVE THIS!  I want to be a part of a community that joins in taking binding oaths together for holiness.   And there is no action plan for holiness.  HE is delivering me from my troubles. Psalm 54:7.  The word "delivering" in the Hebrew means stripped of myself.  That is what HE is doing to me---stripping me of Bev.   Attaching me only to HIM.  Their oath, their word is stripping them of what they most prize in this world.  Do we really want to be a part of the community that takes oaths and swears to their own hurt?  Psalm 15:4

  

May 27 ... Nehemiah 8 - 9 "Our Great God, Majestic & Terrible"

Plunged back into that sea of joy!  The people were so alive in reading the Word of God.
 Nehemiah 8:10 ""This day is holy...the joy of God is your strength!" I love the context of this verse!
 Nehemiah 9:5 "On your feet!  Bless God, your God, forever and ever!"  This chapter so makes me want to be with these people as they listened to Nehemiah read the Book, facing the Town Square, at the Water Gate from early dawn until noon.  They make me want to say:  To God Be the Glory! 
Nehemiah 9:32 "And now, our God, the great God, God Majestic and Terrible, loyal in Covenant and Love, Don't treat lightly the trouble that has come to us!"  Even the kings and priests had troubles.  And for all who read this Word today, don't treat lightly our troubles, dear LORD!  May we know the "pull" we have on people...and if we don't, would you let us know that we may be set free from ourselves.  Dead to self; alive to YOU. "Graced with a disaster that our souls require so we may find our way home."  (SJoC)

May 26 ... Nehemiah 7 "The Greatness of our Work is Measured not by Results"

Nehemiah 7:1 - The wall is rebuilt in 52 days.  Amazing!  Wonder how they felt standing in this safe new place?  Ezra led them to reaffirm their commitments to follow God's Plan A.  No plan B within these walls.  Will the people be tested and found faithful?  Nehemiah knew that "the greatness of their work is not measured by the results they see but by their faithfulness to Me.  Whatever is done to know Me and make Me known, to advance My purposes, is a great work.  And I will use every great work done by My people no matter how small it seems, to further My great plan."  Plan A.  66 LL.

This post so reminds me of you, my friends.  Some of the "results" you witness this day in your marriage, your children, your friendships are not the results hoped for!  Life hasn't turned out the way you thought it would as you close some chapters.  But it is your faithfulness to your God in the midst of not having what your soul longs for.  Your willingness to let your heart break and love that person to your grave.  The greatness of your work is your faithfulness to a Good God in the midst of His silence.  Will He find faith when He comes? Luke 18:8.  I think He has!

May 25 ... Nehemiah 4 - 6 "Put Your Mind on the Master and fight for your family"

Nehemiah 4: 4 Nehemiah prayed, "Oh listen to us, dear God. We're so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads...Don't be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes." Nehemiah 4:20 "Our God will fight for us."  And they kept working with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other "from first light until the stars came out."  They even slept in their clothes.  Committed to the vision.   What is stronger in me?  A desire to please God and the vision He has given or a desire for my life, my marriage, my ministry to go well?   I must ask again today, what deeply stirs me?  Eternity or this life here?

Nehemiah 5:9 When the people protested for lack of food and money, Nehemiah responded:  "Is there no fear of God left in you?...May God empty the pockets and house of everyone who doesn't keep their promise to finish their calling—turned inside out and emptied."  Nehemiah knew he was doing a great work, Nehemiah 6:3. 

Neh 6:16 - When all our enemies heard the news of the finished work and all the surrounding nations saw it, our enemies totally lost their nerve. They knew that God was behind this work.   Do my enemies lose their nerve when they hear of God completing His perfect work in me??  When they hear that God is so behind the work of my heart?  IDK.  This I do know--- I want my enemies to be drawn closer to my God, their God. 

There is a relationship that I am wrestling through where I want someone to change for their good.  I'm so adamant that they are wrong and I believe I am right.  But that's not the issue anymore.  What stirs me from this book is that I must reveal to them the character of our Good God and not try to move them to change by my words, my prayers, my actions.  Of course, I should hope and pray for their good, their transformation, with all my heart.  But I'm so stuck on them changing that I've become unbecomingly arrogant and quietly demanding. 

Back in the close of the Book of Ezra, Crabb wrote:  "There's always a way back from sin.  Tears of hope will flow every time you experience My Loving Mercy when you fail...Ezra's burden for holiness led to tears of repentance."  What deeply disturbs me?  What are these tears that flow?  Tears of Hope?  Tears of Repentance?  I think they might be tears of pain.

May 24 ... Nehemiah 1 - 3 "What Stirs You Most Deeply?"

As we close the chapter of Ezra, I keep hearing the words:  "I will do whatever it takes to release your heart to delight in Me."  Plan A.  "At times you will fail, but I will break your heart over your movement away from Me and I will stir you to ongoing radical repentance...I so easily violate love for others by relating with my well-being more in mind than theirs.  I so often see people as opportunities for me to feel fulfilled rather than opportunities for me to relate with the secure unthreatened love of Jesus.  And that depersonalizes them into useful objects that I either appreciate or despise."  66 LL  The Book of Ezra gave me such hope for my sin.  The persistence of the people to follow God in the midst of overwhelming opposition not for the promise of blessings but for the promise of holiness is inviting, intriguing, and simply courageous.  I want to live by that priority.  I hear that kind of cry for holiness from your lives.

Nehemiah, "What stirs you most deeply?  Is it advancing your plan for your life or My plan for My world?  ... What broke Nehemiah's heart in chapter 1 wasn't the hardship he would face if he left his job in the Persian king's court to go to Jerusalem.  Nehemiah knew he was called to a great work when he heard that My plan was not going forward among My people and when he realized how deeply that troubled him."  66 LL.

Ezra 1:6 "Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I'm praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I'm including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you."  What a beautiful exhortation for moms to pray for their children who sometimes stray from the narrow path.

Ezra 2:5  Praying under my breath to the God-of-Heaven, I said, "If it please the king, and if the king thinks well of me, send me to Judah, to the city where my family is buried, so that I can rebuild it." Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem in 52 days.  Unbelievable burden and passion.

For those of you taking care of little ones, building into their lives...
For those of you serving in your churches behind-the-scene...
For those of you taking care of difficult loved relatives...
For those of you teaching bible classes every week...
For those of you moving to love your husbands...
For those of you faithful to God every day...
For those of you surrendering...

"Whatever anyone does out of a sincere desire to Know Me and draw others to Me is a great work."  May we all keep on praying under our breath:  Send me, dear God!  May I hear you calling me to a great work this day, no matter how small it seems to this world.   And may you know Ezra 2:8 that the Generous Hand of your God is with you in this..."

May 23 ... Ezra 8 - 10 "Don't 'Make Over' Others to Get Them to Like You"

Ezra 9:2 "The leaders led the way in this betrayal."  The exiles were plunged into a sea of joy in one chapter praising God, then in chapter 9, they are betraying the God they just exuberantly praised.  This band of escapees entered and embraced the lives of those who are not holy.  Ezra's response?  Ezra 9:3 When I heard all this, I ripped my clothes and my cape; I pulled hair from my head and out of my beard; I slumped to the ground, appalled.
Ezra prayed. 
Ezra fasted. 
Ezra wept. 
HE listened.
God, You allowed this battered band to get a firm foothold. 
God, You put us in good graces and gave us a heart to restore The Temple. 
But, Ezra 9:10 says:  "We have thrown your commands to the wind even though the prophets said, 'Don't cultivate their good opinion; don't make over them and get them to like you...don't build your own money and a tidy estate.' "  Don't I cultivate the good opinions of others?  Do I make over them to get them to like me?  What's beneath that?  I think about pursuing a full-time job soon and find myself  "making over" others because the job market is not in my favor. What do I want more than my Christ?  A job.   Can I just trust HIM and know HE doesn't need my help to make others holy.  Faithful is HE Who called and HE will do it.  HE is looking to restore repentant hearts.

May 22 ... Ezra 4 - 7 "A Scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven"

Ezra 6:22  "With great joy they celebrated the Feast of Unraised Bread for seven days. God had plunged them into a sea of joy (the biblical ax had splintered and shattered the frozen sea).  HE had changed the mind of the king of Assyria to back them in rebuilding The Temple of God, the God of Israel."  They had waited patiently on God, not on any man, both in captivity and now for more than 15 years.  Ezra 7:1 says:  "After all this, Ezra."  Ezra 7: 6 - He arrived from Babylon, a scholar well-practiced in the Revelation of Moses that the God of Israel had given.  Just at the right moment in time.  You never know what you are preparing for.  Because God's hand was on Ezra, the king gave him everything he asked for.  Ezra had committed himself to
studying the Revelation of God, to
living it, and to
teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.
Ezra's response:  Ezra 7: 27,28 - "Blessed be God, the God-of-Our-Fathers, who put it in the mind of the king to beautify The Temple of God in Jerusalem! Not only that, he caused the king and all his advisors and influential officials actually to like me and back me. My God was on my side and I was ready to go.  God did something for me today to show me that HE was on my side and I never expected it.  Am I living like I am ready to go?  God is doing more than I can see this day.  I just want that biblical ax to fall hard on my own frozen sea.  Thaw, o my soul, under the Intense Heat of His Gaze. 

May 21 ... Ezra 1 - 3 "Don't Look for Expert Coaches..."

Ezra 1:1 "In the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, God prodded Cyrus King of Persia to make an official announcement throughout his kingdom." God stirred up Cyrus to permit any willing Israelite to return HOME after 70 years of Babylonian captivity.  I just wept as I read names of clans of over 50,000 people who had been held captive.  There's something in me that is moved when I hear of captives like my friend Cyd who may have been murdered in Afghanistan or she's still captive there.  These 50,000 plus stable people of substance (remember how they didn't take the very poor captive but allowed them to work the land) are on their way home.  Oh my!  Restored physically.  But there already has been a spiritual restoration or they wouldn't come home to praise God like they have!  Ezra 3:11 "God is good; He will never quit loving us."


As we close the book of 2 Chronicles, we find a restored people in the book of Ezra longing for holiness, His Presence.  Something happened to them in captivity---"suffering is necessary until evil is finally banished...suffering opens the holy space in your soul that will be filled only when you're dancing with Me..."  66 LL.  And I'm reminded of Crabb's quote that ended the chapter:  "Don't look for experts to coach you in how to make your life work before you follow elders who will lead you into My Presence."  What are we really looking for in life?  "I want My people to know this:  if even in small ways you live to 'fix your life,' to arrange for your own pleasure in ways that violate holiness, your love for a better life now will eventually corrupt your love for Me."  66 LL.  The question Jesus will ask in about 400 years comes to mind:  John 1:38 - "What do you seek?"  What do I seek this day?




 

May 20 ... 2 Chronicles 35 - 36 "Graced With Disaster...Return Home"

2 Chronicles 36:13 Zedekiah, one more evil king, never gave God a thought; repentance never entered his mind. What do I do on days like today when repentance doesn't enter my mind?  When was the last time I repented? 

I LOVE how today's reading ends in 2 Chronicles 36:23 - "All who belong to God's people are urged to return—and may your God be with you! Move forward!"  

May 17 ... 2 Chronicles 25 - 27 "Making My Life As Good As I Can Make It"

Two Verses jump off the pages of today's reading:

2 Chronicles 26:16 - "But then Uzziah's strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud, he fell. One day, contemptuous of God, he walked into The Temple of God like he owned it and took over, burning incense on the Incense Altar.  

2Chronicles 27:8 -  "Jotham's strength was rooted in his steady and determined life of obedience to God."

Is life about our choices?  Do we really just choose to serve God and it happens.  Do we really just choose to love others and it happens? Am I really trying to choose to make the best out of what has been handed to me in this world?  Of course obedience is a choice---Joshua 24:15 - Choose this day whom you will serve...as for me and my house.  But there is Mystery in God moving His Plan forward.  One of my favorite quotes from 66 LL follows:  "No matter how great your path or how confusing and intense your suffering, live in the Mystery of My Love.  Struggle to trust Me.  Do not live with the priority of making your life in this world as good as you can make it.  You will suffer, at times unfairly, but you will be given what you need to enter strongly and wisely with Supernatural Love into every circumstance you face."  I've spent way too much of my life living with a priority of making my life as good as I can make it.  So what is God calling me to "let go of" where my priorities actually reflect a drivenness to accept my lot and make it as good as I can?  I've struggled lately with feelings of not being wanted---my perception, my interpretation from constructive feedback.  So do I deal with that by making my priority to make my life as good as I can in light of the pull on my life?  Romans 7:24---oh no.  Someone is setting me free from this mess I am in, praise God!

May 16 ... 2 Chronicles 21 - 24 "An Evil Greater than Cancer & Bombs"

2 Chronicles 21:4 Jehoram killed all 6 of his brothers---courageous Elijah wrote him a prophetic letter about his upcoming painful and fatal disease.  Oh to have courage to stand up and speak against moral evil when God calls us to do so, not fixed on our good life. 
2 Chronicles 22:1  Jehosheba kidnapped Athaliah's son, one-year-old Joash, and protected his life.  Jehosheba hid Joash for 6 years from his queen mom in his mom's own castle.  His queen mom laid her eyes on her seven-year-old after six years---what did she think?  She was worried only for her own success.  And Joash, in his early years, trusts his God.  Amazing. 

These are horrendous stories.  66 LL says:  "Only when you see the moral evil in the human heart will you surrender to the mystery of My plan.  In this world, I am destroying moral evil in My people."  There is moral evil in all of our hearts when we live to get our own way and determine what is best for us and live to get it.  "Greed, loveless sex, frenzied grabs for happiness with no concern for how others are impacted, more interest in making one's point than listening to another's, an inability to give or receive love, the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival, ugly parodies of community like courtesy without connection, laughter without love, weeping without worship---these are moral evils."  Galatians 5:19-21 The Message.  God, what are you saying to me as I walk through this life.  Oh LORD, help me to listen to your Voice.

May 15 ... 2 Chronicles 18 - 20 "Don't Know What To Do; We're Looking to You"

2 Chronicles 18-20(The Message)

2 Chron 18:6 Jehoshaphat said: "Is there another prophet of God around here we can consult? Let's get a second opinion."  2hron 18:12  The messenger who went to get Micaiah told him, "The prophets have all said Yes to the king. Make it unanimous—vote Yes!"  But Micaiah told the truth in verse 16:  "Is there another prophet of God around here we can consult? Let's get a second opinion."  I saw Israel scattered over the hills, sheep with no shepherd.  Micaiah got himself locked in jail for speaking God's words.  The king went to war and it was an arrow shot into a crowd that wasn't even aimed that took his life.  Jehoshaphat made it out alive and turned to God.  The next battle was so different for him.  A huge force of Moabites and Ammonites came from beyond the Dead Sea to fight J.  2 Chronicles 20:3 "Shaken, J. prayed.  He went to God for help and ordered a nationwide fast.  20:5 J. took a position and said: 'When the worst happens—whether war or flood or disease or famine—and we take our place before this Temple (we know you are personally present in this place!) and pray out our pain and trouble, we know that you will listen and give victory.'  2 Chronicles 20:12  We're helpless before this vandal horde ready to attack us. We don't know what to do; we're looking to You."  2 Chronicles 20:15 "Don't be afraid; don't pay any mind to this vandal horde.  This is God's war, not yours....you won't have to lift a hand in this battle, just stand firm and watch God's saving work for you to take shape. ..March out boldly----God is with you. "  This was a 360 for J.  "Believe firmly in God, your God, and your lives will be firm!  Believe in your prophets and you'll come out on top!  There was an exuberant victory parade!  Do I listen to God's words in my pain and troubles or look for a better answer?  These are the verses God used in my life upon learning that I had cancer.  I was helpless before God and there was an enemy in my own body.  But there is an enemy far worse than cancer---the battle for my soul.  Stand firm and watch God's saving work to take shape.  How can I better learn to stand firm, to live a quiet life?  Wonder what that means for me and you today?  In quietness and confidence may our trust be only in Him.  Isaiah 30:15.  God is walking with you!

bile site

May 14 ... 2 Chron 13 - 17 "A Million-Man Army Attacking on Every Side"

2 Chronicles 13: 2 War broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah started out with 400,000 of his best soldiers; Jeroboam countered with 800,000 of his best.  If you just look at the numbers, there is NO WAY Abijah can win.  Abijah speaks to Jeroboam in verse 9:  "Look at what you have done---you threw out the priests of God for priests of No-God.  2 Chronicles 13:10 - "We're sticking with God.  We have not traded Him in for the latest model.  Verse 11 says:  We're keeping our daily morning and evening prayers.  I love that.  Makes me want to do that.  2 Chronicles 13:12  God is on our side; he's our leader. And his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel—don't fight against God, the God of your ancestors. You will not win this battle."  Jeroboam with all his mighty warriors surprised them from the rear (while Abijah was praying desperately to his God) and J. lost the battle!  Judah was attacked front and back.  God gave them victory on all sides, hands-down because they trusted God.  Because of incidents in my childhood, I have felt like I have had to watch my back.  No more.  God is taking care of me on all sides.  He's got my back!  Again, another show of the weaker warriors overcoming the mighty.  Abijah died and his son, Asa, became the next king in chapter 14.  He did things right in God's eyes and so did his son Jehoshaphat.  Asa's army of 580,000 courageous warriors were attacked by Zerah the Ethiopian and his million-man army.  2 Chronicles 14:10 Asa prayed to God, "O God, you aren't impressed by numbers or intimidated by a show of force once you decide to help: Help us, O God; we have come out to meet this huge army because we trust in you and who you are."  Asa asked God for help! He so trusted God even though he wasn't perfect, Asa even removed his mother from her throne for honoring sex gods.  God defeated the Ethiopians million-man army.  Wonder what God is saying to each of us where the odds look insurmountable.  Okay, I just broke down crying asking God for help.  I have some odds like that this day.  For me this day, the question is this...Do I want God's Love more than I want man's love?  Is God enough for me? 

May 13 ... 2 Chronicles 9 - 12 "Desire Good Life more than a Good God"

2 Chronicles 9: 5 - The Queen of Sheba:  "It's all true! Solomon's reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed.  I perceive that her confirmation is based on what the eye can see.  And Solomon's wisdom---for what?  To confront injustice (like two mothers fighting over the same baby), to end poverty in his country, to heal wounds?  And just how did he amass such a fortune?  What about Solomon's heart? 
The quote from this chapter catches my eye:  "I owe you nothing.  I give you everything.  Your desire to fix things to relieve suffering, to confront injustice, to heal wounds, to end poverty, and to generate joy is commendable.  But your desire is too weak and misguided.  [Was that Solomon's problem?]  If I were to fix all you see that is wrong and paintful without first destroying evil, not one would dance at My party...I must do whatever is necessary to destroy the evil within your depths, where you desire the good life more than you want Me, and I must replace that idolatrous desire with the holy yearning to know Me at any cost in the midst of your worst pain."  Oh my!  I wonder where I desire the good life more than my Good God?

May 12 ... 2 Chronicles 6 - 8 "Hearts Penetrated by Disaster"

2 Chron 6:28-31 When disasters strike, famine or catastrophe, crop failure or disease---calamity of any sort—any prayer that's prayed from anyone at all among your people, with hearts penetrated by disaster, hands and arms thrown out for help to the Temple, will be heard.  "Listen from your home in heaven, forgive and reward us: Reward each life and circumstance, for you know each life from the inside."  Verse 35 says that HE will do what is right for each of us.  God is changing my definition of "right."

2 Chron 7:14 If you respond by humbling yourself, praying, seeking My presence, and turning your back on your wicked life, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven and forgive your sin...if I ever have a question about what to do in life, come back to this verse.  Life is all about His Presence not accomplishments.

2 Chron 8:1 At the end of twenty years, Solomon had quite a list of accomplishments. The bible says that Solomon built The Temple of God, built his own palace; rebuilt cities, colonized them, marched on enemies, fortified deserts and store-cities, built chariots, while acticing impulisvely and extravagantly.  At the end of every day, every project, it's ingrained in me to ask:  "What did I accomplish today?"  I wonder why that's consistently my evaluation?  Wonder why I don't ask if God was pleased?  Will I live this day to accomplish my tasks or for His Pleasure.  Rev. 4:11 - Only YOU are worthy, O God, in calamity or calm, to receive Glory, and Honor, and Power, for You have created us for Your Pleasure.

May 11 ... 2 Chronicles 2 - 5 "More Concerned about Woundedness or Selfishness?"

2 Chronicles 2:2 - Solomon assigned seventy thousand common laborers, eighty thousand to work the quarries in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred foremen to manage the workforce, plus he fed them all.  153,000 workers to lead.  Unbelievable.  A stunning spectacular structure, a showcase for Sheer Wonder!  And even in Solomon's splendor like never seen before, there still is a satisfaction only God can provide.    "God was awakening their appetite for the glory yet to come." 66 LL.

I love Solomon's humility in 2 Chronicles 2:6 - "And me, who am I to think I can build a house adequate for God... .  Yet, Solomon embraced the command.  I'm still wrestling through the what is God's part, what is our part thing.  I think I don't think deeply enough, though.  I'm seeing that my selfishness is where I need to look more deeply, my motives for doing 'my part.'  Why am  I so driven to do the work of the ministry?  Why am I so frenetic in my goals to live right? 

The opening paragraph of the 2 Chronicles chapter in 66 LL speaks to me:
"No matter what happens in our lives---- tornadoes, divorce, cancer, whatever----You want me to think more about how I'm relating to You and others than about how to get my life together.  And you want me to look deep inside, into my motives, to see if I'm really looking out for myself when I think I'm living for You."  I wonder if when I'm stuck on considering what is my part, if I'm really saying--- I'm concerned about getting my life together.  I've had a few too many people step on my toes in my lifetime.  Am I more concerned about what's happened to me than my own selfishness?  May we all deal with the deep issues God graciously brings to our minds this day, this week.  Romans 2:4 says it's the Kindness of our God that brings us to repentance.  Repentant Worship in the Temple.

May 10 ... I Chronicles 28, 2 Chronicles 1 "Sovereign Winds are Blowing...Set My Sails Accordingly"

I Chronicles 28:9  "And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father's God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he'll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he'll leave you for good. Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!" Oooh!  As my son graduates from high school in a couple of weeks, I love praying these thoughts to my God for my son.  Get to know your father's God!!!!  HE sees through your motives---not just your behavior but what is really going on inside of your heart!  HE will make sure you find Him!

 

I Chronicles 28:20  David continued to address Solomon: "Take charge! Take heart! Don't be anxious or get discouraged. God, my God, is with you in this; he won't walk off and leave you in the lurch. He's at your side until every last detail is completed for conducting the worship of God."  Again, I hope my children are aware of God's Presence in their lives!  HE won't walk off.  I so want to pray these verses for my son through his college days.

 

So, what lingers with you as you close the book of I Chronicles?  For me, I picture myself sitting at my one year check up after going through cancer this past year and hearing the news that they found something suspicious on my scan. And picking up 66 LL to read:  "I invite you to delighty in your distress.  Nothing else provides the same opportunity to move strongly and joyfully into life on the basis of My Promises alone, the Promises of My Presence!"  HE is with you and me, walking with us.  We are not alone in this.  Am I more afraid of losing God's Presence than the good life?  Crabb says:  "Wisdom recognizes the Sovereign Wind blowing through a pilgrim's heart, and humbles itself by settting its sails accordingly."  Set my sails, o my soul!

•  

May 9 ... I Chronicles 25 - 27 "I Am The Temple Today"

I Chronicles 25:9 - 24 men are part of this remnant and they are needed to worship God in the temple.  Each had 12 sons and brothers.  Amazing plan.  Fast Forward.  Each of us is part of that chosen remant today.  Part of God's Plan A.  Romans 11:5 - a "chosen remnant of grace" for this moment to worship our God.  Repentant Worship! " I Chronicles 22:1 shows this restored community that everything, even their failures, points them to the priority of putting Me first in their lives.  My Son made that possible.  He is your ticket to the party.  You will enjoy that hope only in the temple."  66 LL.  And where is the Temple today?  I Cor. 6:19-20 says our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  Not our own!  Bought with a price!  Therefore glorify God and worship Him alone~

"When you feel empty tomorrow, when life's troubles and disappointments continue, you will be tempted to devote more energy to making your life better than to drawing closer to Me.  It is not easy to practice the priority of rebuilding the temple over rebuilding your life.  And it's difficult even to know when you're violating it."  So, what captures my energy this Mother's Day?  Am I trying to make my life better or more concerned about drawing near to God?

May 8 ... I Chronicles 22 - 24 "A Powerful Benevolence is 'For' Me"

I Chronicles 22:17  David gave orders to all of Israel's leaders to help his son Solomon, saying, "Isn't it obvious that your God is present with you; that he has given you peaceful relations with everyone aroound you..give yourselves, heart and soul, to praying to your God. So get moving—build the sacred house of worship to God."

'The verse to give my heart and soul to praying to God stirs something inside of me.  I so want to give myself to praying to God, moving the very Hands of God for Plan A.  Teach us to pray.

Albert Einstein once said:  "The most important question anyone can ask is whether this world is a safe place to live...for beneath all that is in our lives, there is both pain and wrong.   I sense a powerful benevolence working on my behalf."  It's Sheer Wonder.  We don't deserve a thing.  God is with you.  Rebuild the temple not your life.  So what does that look like for me? 

May 7 ... I Chronicles 18 - 21 "For Me to Live is _____?"

1 Chronicles 18:6 God gave MAJOR victory over and over to David wherever he marched. Humble yourself, David. I Chronicles 21:1-2 says: "Now Satan entered the scene and seduced David into taking a census."  In verse 8, David confesses his sin---substituting statistcs for trust.  And verse 14 - God sent an epidemic and it took the lives of 70,000!  70,000!!! How could David deal with God taking the lives of 70,000 because of his sin?  David could smell the stench of death surrounding him at his expense for his arrogance. 70,000 lifeless warriors, abandoned parents, innocent children. Gone in one decision.  So what did David do?  David lifts forgiven eyes upward and humbly prays in verses I Chronicles 21: 16-17:  "Please!" with his head bowed, heart broken, and body covered in rough burlap. God walked with David in victory and defeat. What about the numbers game in our own churches and ministries today?  Do we do the same "substitutes for trust"?  Do we think it's success if 70,000 people respond while we are giving glory to God.  We honor those churches where 5,000 congregate. 
I wonder if those who respond really change? Or do they live their lives secretly disdaining their neighbors, sweetly demanding their children respond a certain way, and slyly distancing themselves from their spouse.  I read Phil 1:21 this morning:  "For me to live is Christ.  For me to really live is what?  Numbers that prove my ministry is really something.  Success that stamps me on the map.  Recognition that I've done well with my life.  Crabb puts it this way:
"We understand that progress on the journey is not measured by conventional external measures like:
achievement, prosperity or health
OR by conventional internal measures like:
self-esteem, social comfort, or recognition...
What therefore is wrong with each of us is
PASSIONATE ATTACHMENT TO THE WRONG THING.
For me to live is something other than knowing Christ better, enjoying Him more deeply, becoming more like Him, and revealing Him more clearly.
For me to live is ____________________________ ."

So where am I today? 

May 6 ... I Chronicles 15 - 17 "Seek His Presence Day and Night"

1 Chronicles 16:11  "Study God and his strength, seek His Presence day and night." This verse jumps out at me out of these 3 chapters of beautiful prayers.  The Promise of His Presence.  Today was my first evaluative scans after having had cancer exactly one year ago.  Miss Much Afraid showed up in the exam room, but that's the old Bev.  I looked down and there was a text on my cell from a dear friend:  "I will pray you sense His Presence because HE walks with you."  Oh my.  The radiologist found something unusual and prolonged the order with more scans.  Fear washed over me as I asked God to show me His Presence.  I sat among other women waiting to hear results.  A tv blared self-help tips while I opened 66 Love Letters to read the next chapter where I was.  Didn't want to go "fishing" for practical tips to overcome my fear.  I wanted to hear my God.  So I just read the next thing.  Here were the words that came to me:  "I invite you to delight in your distress.  Nothing else provides the same opportunity to move strongly and joyfully into life on the basis of My promises alone, the promises of My Presence now."  There it was again...the promise of God's Presence in the midst of my fear of losing my health.  "Seizing that opportunity will free you to passionately engage life for My Purposes with no demands."  Seek His Presence day and night!  So I wonder what that looks like for me, for you?  Am I more afraid of losing God's Presence than losing the good life here?

May 5 ... I Chronicles 12 - 14 "What is my Highest Good?"

I Chronicles 13:4 The entire assembly agreed that it was the right thing to do to bring the Ark of God back.  Did the soon-to-be King listen to the people rather than his God?  God makes it known in this book that David sinned in how he worshipped his God.  His drive to do it right, to be efficient and effective was stronger than his desire to please God.  I keep thinking about how he had 300,000 eager, seasoned warriors following him to defend him and make him a king.  Verse 15 says that one of them was worth 100 lesser men; the best of them were worth a thousand.  Verse 36 says: His band of men seemed as large as God's own army. Did he struggle with pride in being able to lead all these valiant men of God?

One cannot "cave in" to the best way to carry out God's plan.  Easy to say.  David was too busy rebuilding their lives not the temple.  I find myself this very day way-too-occupied with taking care of my life and health problems.  Good health.  Good success.  Good conversation. Good health.   Good connection.  Good responses.  Good health.  Good Night!!!  "Ever since Eden, we no longer desire relationship with God on His terms above every other good."  66 LL.  Well, that's it for me.  Do I want Him more ... or is experiencing my well-being, my highest good this day?  I walk in for diagnostic tests in a few hours to see where I am with cancer this day.  "Since Eden's failure, we are all narcissists, willfully self-centered to the core, often sociably well-disguised but still obesessed more with ourselves than with anyone or anything else." 66 LL.  Have Mercy, God!  May we not claim this day the right to define our lives and write our own scripts.  "So many 'goods' seem more desireable than the good of knowing, honoring, revealing, serving, and pleasing God." 66 LL.  So what will I value this day?  I will soon find out what my goals really are by the way I live today.  My prayer for you and me---make us holy as You Are, for you are holy and we are not.

May 4 ... I Chronicles 9 - 11 "His Embrace Became Larger"

I Chronicles 11:9 - "David's stride became longer, his embrace larger—yes, God-of-the-Angel-Armies was with him!"  Oh for more life in our steps; oh for a larger embrace to my suffering and joys.  David's confidence came from the Wall of his God not from his wall of fame.  He didn't place his confidence in all of those mighty men of valor and courage.  David's success was living in dependence on the God-of-the-Angel-Armies.  Saul died in disobedience, depending on his fame to pull him through.  I'm wondering this day in what I've witnessed.  Why is it people want to rub up against those with fame and fortune?  Everybody wants to be their friend.  Wonder why...wonder what they want more than drawing near to God?  If I were a successful author, an accomplished musician, a sought-after speaker, people would be knocking on my door, throwing their weight my way.  Not so with David.  He was a man after God's own heart not after the fame of this world.  So..."when you feel empty tomorrow, when life's troubles and disappointments continue, you will again be tempted to devote more energy to making your life better than to drawing closer to Me.  It is not easy to practie the priorty of rebuilding the Temple over rebuilding your Life.  And it's difficult even to know when you're violating it."  May we have eyes to see more clearly and ears wide open this very day. 

May 3 ... I Chronicles 7 - 8 "Not Entitled to the Good Life"

I Chronicle 7:40  "Excellent in Character, Brave in Battle."  What a joy to hear about sons who face battle with courage.  So many warriors in this geneaolgy.  Wow.  Fight the good fight of faith - I Timothy 6:12  Hold tightly to life!  I've lost a battle this day when I didn't hold tightly.  I gave up and didn't delight in my distress.  It's usually fight or flight when we fight our own battles.  I just wanted to fly away today.  Some of my loss of hope is founded in my demands.  "You are not entitled to the good life.  Stop whimpering as if you deserve what I am not providing.  That is what I still say to people whose resentment over suffering is keeping them from flowing with grateful hope in the stream of My Plan."  That would be God's Plan A not Bev's Plan B.  So grateful to God that He keeps no record of our battles lost.  I've been thinking this weekend about Lazarus coming out of that tomb.  He was dead, then he was alive.  But he couldn't unwrap himself.  Thank you to each one of you for unwrapping a strip that has kept me bound.  For I am a mess and I am ALIVE in ways I have never been before.  I want to be brave in the battles of my life where no whimpering is allowed.  Help us all, dear God, to learn a teeny bit more what it means to delight in our distress this day.  There's so much I just don't get!  Thank you for never giving up on us just like you did for these people. 

May 2 ... I Chronicles 6 "Delight in your Distress"

I Chronicles 6:32 - "As they carried out their work, they followed the instructions given to them."  This was about the only sentence I found in the genealogy.  But it struck me that as I carried out my work this week, I was trying to please people and say what they wanted to hear and gloss over some conflict.  Was I following the instructions given to me or working real hard at keeping the peace, not wanting anyone to feel bad.  I am so convicted over my manuevering.  Just trying to be sweet --- but that's not what holiness looks like.  Back to the genealogy...wonder why God wrote 9 chapters of genealogy??  I'm lost in it and want something to say of value---"expectations that God's Word will be immediately relevant to my desires for a fulfilling and satisfying life."  Busted.  Grateful to have 66 LL or I would be wordless.  So, here's a quote that touches something deep within me:  "I invite you to delight in your distress.  Nothing else provides the same opportunity to move strongly and joyfully into life on the basis of My promises alone, the promises of My Presence now and My satisfaction forever.  Seizing that opportunity will free you to passionately engage life for My purposes with no demands."