I Sam 22:14, Psa 56:9, Luke 22:21 "Inquiring of God for You" (May 1)

It's rare these days that I cannot sleep but last night was one of those tossing and turning turbulent times. 

"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?"  I cannot even type the verse without tears streaming down my cheeks.  It's a low point for me as I look into my own heart, my brokenness, and my tremendous need for God.  "This I know, that God is for me." Psalm 56:9

Doesn't matter whose hand is on the table...Luke 22:21...traitor or friend.   What matters is whether I move in love.

Here's the House of Ahimelech in I Sam 22:14 moving in love to help David and the King will have none of it.  David---Saul's very own son-in-law.  Saul plots against him.  He takes the lives of 85 priests because Ahimelech "inquired of God for David." Saul has gone mad.  Wouldn't you just love for someone to inquire of God for your son-in-law?

May I never stop inquiring of God for my enemies and my friends.  And I offer deep thanks for all those white-hot teeming tears being collected this present hour.  May I live present, not absent. 

Psalm 34:15 and I Sam 21:11 "Your Redemption Is Drawing Near" (April 30)

Scripture interprets Scripture.
And it's all about being redeemed.
Your redemption is closer.

For every single believer, Luke 21:28 holds true:  Your redemption is drawing near.  It's one day closer than it was yesterday. One minute closer than when you opened this blog. 

So, "watch yourselves less your heart be weighed down with the cares of this life," even the blessings of this life---and no one wants to hear that.  We can become so tripped up in seeking the blessings of this day, this life.  It's a trap.  A snare. 

God's Eyes are toward you this day.  (Psa 34:15)
Your cries fall upon God's Ears.
Look to Him not to ambition.  (Psa 34:5)
Your redemption draws so near.

In I Samuel 21, there's a horror of a tale of a son and his father:  Saul and Jonathan. 
The father chased after ambition, recognition, success---at the expense of his family.
One little statement in 21:11 about David slewing 10,000 while Saul heralded 1,000---
and Saul's rage turns into a mission of death. 

And the question for me is this:  What will I do with ambition?  How did I get to this place where I am today?  Do I truly believe my redemption draws nigh?   That changes things for me. 

Psalm 59 and Luke 21 "Plumb Lines" (April 29)

Vertical Hope comes from corporate worship. (PDT)
Horizontal Hope comes from working out my salvation with fear and trembling.
The plumb line of the Scriptures.
Amos 7:8 says this is what God has shown me---what do you see?  A plumb line and God will never pass us by again.  The straight line of God's Word.  He is here for us.  He will never leave us helpless.  Never will pass us by again.  Here's your plumb line today:

I Samuel 19
Psalm 23
Psalm 59
Luke 21:1-19

I Sam 17:26 and Luke 20:46 "Bleating Sheep" (April 28)

It's all right to be satisfied and encouraged and gratified from others.
But it's not all right to demand that it happens.

Luke 20:46 - Beware of:
* looking good
* best tweets/ most loving comments
* best seat in the house
* words of honor

David's father doesn't want him to go to war...stay home and take care of the sheep.  David didn't live for recognition.  He was faithful where he was found.  Bringing comfort to his valiant older brothers at war, David sees this Philistine giant and questions out loud why this guy should defy the armies of the living God?  I Samuel 17:26.  David's eldest brother lunges down David's throat...I wonder why?  "Why have you come down here? ... I know the evil of your heart."  I Samuel 17:28.  Snippy, sarcastic, suspicious rhetoric from the older brother.  Why?  All David did was show up to help.  Doesn't the same thing happen to us?  We show up and someone slips and the slights start streaming.  So hurtful.  What does David do with his hurt?  Against all odds, he takes courage and stands up to the abominable Giant with weapons of heart not armor.  God's glory is not in our strength, not in our armor.  God glorifies Himself through our hearts.  Nor is His Glory in the applause of men.  The women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to celebrate David's victory over the giant.  So, what did the king see:
"Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”  King Saul heard those stinging shouts and became terribly displeased.  Verse 9 says that Saul "eyed" David from that day on.  Do I have my "eye" on anyone, watching how things turn out for them, with them, to them???

Stay home and take care of your bleating sheep. 

I Sam 16:7 and Luke 20:25 "God Looks At My Heart" (April 27)

Luke 20:25 Render to God what is God's. Live a quiet life. Mind my own business. Owe no man anything except to love him.  That's it...owe a life of love not distance, not making people pay, not manipulation nor shame nor half-hearted obedience---no presumption.  "The LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."  I Samuel 16:7.  Someone may look good on the outside but what's stirring within? 

"The unexamined life is simply not worth living."  Socrates

Luke 19:44 and I Sam 14:52 "Attached to Strong Men" (April 26)

Am I truly dealing with this present hour? During my life, I have attached myself to strong men, wise pastors, successful people, ever-present help.  I didn't trust my own intellect, even my own tastes.  I looked for the best, went after them, and patterned my life after theirs. Develop your strengths, that's what I would say. No more (as Hannah's verse goes).

I Samuel 14:52 ~ "When Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself."

And here's a verse to overlay on that kind of philosophy:
Luke 19:43 ~
Your enemies will
set up a barricade around you
hem you in on every side
tear you down to the ground
and your children within you.

And all because
Luke 19:44
You did not know the time of your visitation...am I living in the Present---
hearing, receiving and moving on the Spirit of God?  Am I dealing with this present hour??

I Sam 10:9 and Luke 19:8 "God Gave Another Heart" (April 25)

So much spiritual talk. 
But what does our lives look like today?
Do I see the Movement of the Spirit of God in my life today?

God's Standing Invitation to me, to you, changes our lives.
I cannot remain the person I am in the Face of a Holy God.

Zaccheus was curious, rich, a bully. 
A sinner who extorted people silly.
A ravenous tax collector working the streets.
Love compelled him to climb a tree to meet
a Stranger Who invited Himself to Zaccheus's door
And repentant leaves fell from Z's eyes ...  no more
I'll give half of what I have to the poor.
I'll restore 4-fold the defrauded's door.
Not a checklist for Z
Just evidence of The Almighty.

Confession.  Repentance.  Change. 
Evidence of a heart that moved from
Curiosity to Commitment.

And the verse, I Samuel 10:9 steps off the page...
God gave Saul another heart...
Not a moral one.  Not a spiritual one.
A civil heart to govern well in wisdom.

God, change us as we climb the trees of life this day.
God, give us "another heart" to honor You in what we do.

I Sam 7:12 and Luke 18:41 "I Raise My Ebenezer" (April 24)

I do not know what God is doing in my life.  I am at the end of my rope.  So, I've tied a knot and I am holding FAST.  But this is not about how strong I am.  I am free falling and expect a very Good God to catch me, Someday.

Meanwhile, this wild ride just became way more scarier.  So, I'll set up a stone between Austin and Fort Worth and call it Ebenezer.

I Sam 7:12 Then, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

God has helped me to this point in my life. I know He will help me again and again. I need Him so. I don't know how I can get out of where I am, but in this dark night, I'm reaching out for a Hand, hoping I will find His soon, to direct and disrupt, no demands. 

So, grateful to God for a standing invitation.  Luke 18:41 ~ "What do you want me to do for you?"  Could you, ... I know not what to ask before a holy God ... except, make me holy. 

I Sam 4:9 and Luke 18:8 "Read My Life into God's Story" (April 23)

I Samuel 4:9 reads "Be men and fight." For what? The ark of the Covenant? The Philistines were ignorant. They thought they could receive power from this chest. "They thought of it as a spiritual tool." Wonder how many things I view as a spiritual tool to find God? God gives justice to His elect who cry to Him day and night. When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth? Luke 18:8 So what am I worried about these days? How does it read into God's Story? Concerned about my husband not having a full-time job and where will we go? Concerned about leaving a mark and how will I do that? How do I live in ignorance like the Philistines or in forgetfullness like the Israelites? How do we then live?

I Sam 3:10 and Luke 17:31 "Live Into This" (April 22)

I Samuel ~ What it means to be human, desiring a good story for my life. One thousand years have passed since the calling of Abraham. It will one more thousand years of living before Christ comes, the Savior. We read looking back. We know the Story. I Samuel 1:18 - No More! Hannah. God will hear your childlessness. I Samuel 3:10 - Speak God, for your servant Samuel listens. I Samuel 2:9 - God will guard the feet of his faithful ones. Luke 17:31 - The Kingdom is coming. Don't look back for your purse, your possessions, your prize. "The biblical way is not so much to present us with a moral code and tell us 'Live up to this,' nor is it to set out a system of doctrine and say, 'Think like this and you will live well.' The biblical way is to tell a story and invite us, 'Live Into This.' ... We do violence to the biblical revelation when we "use" it for what we can get out of it or what we think will provide color and spice to our otherwise bland lives. That results in boutique spirituality---God as decoration. God as enhancement. The Samuel narrative will not allow that. Submit our lives to what we read and we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God's. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves."

Ruth 4:15 and Luke 17:3 "Not Left Out" (April 21)

Writing from a hotel on Westheimer while visiting Houston with our track team. Saved at a bar on Westheimer when I met a Man Who knew everything about me...and still changed my life. Ruth 4:15 ~ My God has not left me without a Redeemer. He has not left you. He shall be our Restorer of Life and a Nourisher in our old age. Hanging on to this verse with all my spiritual might. This love story of Boaz and Ruth whose child will become the grandfather of David. God never forgot Naomi and He hasn't forgotten me either. Luke 17:3 ~ "Pay attention to yourselves" and forgive over and over and over again. May His Name be Renowned in this city and in yours.

Luke 16:25 "A Great Chasm" (April 20)

Sometimes, all I know to do is to keep on searching the Scriptures for truth, not as a play book, rule by rule, line upon line, but to find the Living Word. So much of what I see today are people seeking to try harder, live better, be positive, change our thoughts...I used to live that way, no more! Life is too short to miss it. Luke 16:25 ~ Lazarus and The Rich Man. Abraham said to the rich man after he had died: Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. I am awestruck that this rich man is settled into this fixed chasm in Eternity and able to do nothing about his dilemma, anymore. Faces flash way-so-fast of those I love who have not bowed the knee. I cannot wrap my mind around an eternal decision that one moment in time will be finalized for every one of us. The Great White Throne of Judgment. Meanwhile, many years before this exchange between the unnamed Rich Man and Lazarus was another unnamed Concubine and a Levite. Judges 19:25. An unbelievable story of rape and rage. The unnamed girl is cut into 12 pieces and mailed as a message. Oh my word. Consider and speak is the message. What words can be found? And, again, tonight. The message for me is to deal with my own bosom sins, my own besetting sins. LORD, have mercy!

Judges 16:28 and Luke 15:17 "Come Home" (April 19)

There is no more important moment than this present moment. Am I living in the present? The prodigal comes to his senses, comes to himself, comes home. He didn't stop til he reached the doormat that read "Welcome Home." Will I come to my senses in what I'm doing to myself, to others? Will I come home to my LORD and not stop til I reach that moment in prayer. The crowds are pressing in to Jesus. The Pharisess are keeping tabs. It's a dead man, who is now alive, Luke 15, all because he came home humble. He came to himself when he realized that his father's servants were being treated better than he. Samson came home briefly in Judges 16. Departed again for his own delight, Delilah. Didn't make it all the way home. Departure. Destitution. Distance. Come Home Now ~ your God is Waiting, always.

Judg 13:25 and Luke 15:9 "Deal With My Own Bosom Sins" (April 18)

What do I do when the Spirit of God begins to stir? Judges 13:25 ~ "The Spirit of the LORD began to stir" in Samson. What happens after that? Such stories of spiritual rollercoasters in these chapters---Jephthah, now Samson. Do I deal with the energy that is dominant in my center---the one that is going to win out? Do I press hard to get my own way? Do I let go and let God. Or do I look to what others are doing flat out wrong? I blew up over something so trivial, last evening. What was stirring in me? "The easiest thing in all the world is to be constantly denouncing popular faults; but to wring the neck of one of my own bosom sins is a harder work by far, and a much better sign of conversion." Charles Spurgeon I am that "one sheep" that goes astray. Luke 15:9. It might look good to go after the sins of our husband, our children, our church, our ministry but is Grace stirring in our hearts? "To loathe my own sin, to humble myself on account of my ow personal faults, and to endeavor in the sight of God to renounce every false way, is a work of something more than human nature." It is the stirring of the Spirit of God in me and you. Charles Spurgeon

Judg 11:9 and Luke 14:28 "Counting the Cost" (April 17)

Am I counting the cost of what I participate in? Am I counting the cost of what I believe God wants me to do? Am I counting the cost of moving in love in my current relationships? Luke 14:28 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Jephthah was a mighty warrior with a dark shadow over his life. Son of a prostitute. Yet, he counted the cost and did what he knew to do best---he became a mighty warrior. So, when the chips were down, who did they go to---Jephthah who said: "if the LORD gives them over to me," then we will win. Judges 11:9. Counting the Cost for the Glory of God

Judg 9:2 and Luke 14:10 "Resting in the Lowest Place" (April 16)

What do we value, sitting in the place of honor, wanting to be right next to Beth Moore, John Piper, Tim Keller. What if we aren't recognized in this life. I am a nobody. It is my God Who lifts one up and places one under another. Don't sit at the place of honor, don't covet it. Luke 14:10 says: Sit in the lowest place. Can we be content there? Can we rest there? Abimelech counted the cost for himself ~ Judg 9:2 not for the glory of God. This son of Jerubbaal promoted himself, hired reckless warriors, killed 70 brothers. God returned the evil of Abimelech. God takes notice of every price we pay. Letting go of those things that count only on earth.

Judg 7:7 and Luke 13:24 "Enter Through Narrow Door" (April 15)

Luke 13:24 is a sobering verse to me. Some will say to the LORD---open the doors of heaven for me...and He will answer "I do not know where you have come from." Why are we here? To build the best life possible? Try the hardest that we possibly can? God says: “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer that He doesn't know you. Is it your own hand that is trying to craft, to build something of yourself? In Judges 7:7, God said that 32,000 was way-too-many to defeat the Midianites lest they think that "my own hand saved." So, God reduced the army from 32,000 to 300 exhausted warriors who worked for God's Glory first then Gideon's glory. For God's Glory!

Judges 5:31 and Luke 13:19 "What is the Kingdom Really Like?" (April 14)

You just have to read Scripture in context. This is all still about the Kingdom. Luke 13:19 ~ What is the Kingdom like? A mustard seed. A mustard tree. The shade leaves loom large and offer a respite, a rest. Don't we all need to find a little more rest in our lives. Something happened to me 6 years ago and as I faced my Maker, I changed my value on physical rest. Honestly, the spiritual value shattered first---reversed those days of "little sleep." I now sleep like a baby every single night. I am finding a little bit more of a rest spiritually, too, than ever before. A tremendous freedom to be free from what others think of me, even now. Judges 5:31 “May your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for 40 years. Physical rest. Spiritual rest. Oh, may we know a tiny bit more of rest this day than we knew yesterday. And for me, freedom from what this Christian community thinks. People seem to be so fixated on behavior without looking at what lies beneath their actions. What is the Kingdom really like?

Judges 1:2 and Luke 12:33 "Search the Scriptures" (April 13)

Search the Scriptures. Read them in context. Scripture interprets Scripture. Luke 12:32 says: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." There is that word again. One Thing Necessary---we read 2 days ago. Yesterday---seek the Kingdom. Today---God's Pleasure is to give you His Kingdom. So, Luke 12:33 says: Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Where is my heart this awful desolate abandoned lonely day? We also read Judges and a very strange story in Chapter One about Judah and Simeon taking possession of their land and going in and defeating 10,000, Judges 1:2, and then ... cutting off the thumbs and big toes of the king. How strange some of the stories seem. What does that mean for me this day to take possession, to seek His Kingdom, to ask relentlessly, impudently, for what God already wants to give. Search the Scriptures.

Josh 24:15 and Luke 12:31 "Seek The Kingdom" (April 12)

There is something so very appealing that our God Who sees and knows beckons us to keep the faith and seek His Kingdom. He knows the way we take. He sees what tugs at our heart---recognition, success, approval, meaning. And He invites us to live in the moment, present. For there is Someone Present in all of our moments and we do not face them alone. And it's an elderly Joshua who stands up to speak right before he dies. His last words. I don't think people today value the wisdom of the elderly like before. Joshua 22:31 God is in our midst because we have not broken faith. We live in repentance. Joshua 24:15 Choose this day whom to serve. Is it a decision we make with our minds? May God quicken our conscience and awaken our souls as only He can. To choose Whom I serve means: Luke 12:31 Seek the Kingdom and these things will not be added. One Thing Necessary ... Seek The Kingdom ... wonder what that means for me this lonely day?

Josh 21:45 and Luke 11:35 "Is My Light Really Darkness?" (April 11)

May I be more concerned, way more concerned, about taking possession of what God has given me, what God has done, than I am concerned about what is happening to me or what people are doing to me. Luke 11:35 says: "Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness." It might be. Listen to what people are saying to you. Truly listen. I may think I am right but am I really? Joshua 21:44-45 The Israelites took possession of what was theirs. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, not one of their enemies still stood. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Mind your own business. Lead a quiet life. Let God be God. Hold fast to Him. And value rest more than conquer. Listen to God's Word more than what others say. Our God will never fail us.

Josh 17:15 and Luke 11:8 "Impudence" (April 10)

This life is flat out difficult to live whether you are sixteen or sixty. I spent the better part of my afternoon undergoing inhumane tests for cancer. So far they are all negative and I am immensely grateful for that, having been down that harrowing narrow road. So, Joshua 17:15 speaks to me in the dilemmas of my day ~ If you are a great people, says Joshua, then take the land you already possess from the cave dwellers and from the savages, expecting the assistance of your God. Am I expecting the assistance of God to do what looms impossible this hour? Am I being impudent about it? Luke 11:8 makes me want to stand up in impudence. "Because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." I am rising up in impudence today cause I need God's help or I just might crater.

Josh 13: 1 and Luke 10:42 "Only One Thing" (April 9)

Choices. Martha was anxious and troubled about more than one thing. Jesus told her: "Only One Thing is Necessary." Mary chose the good portion. So, what's the good portion? If this is just about making good choices, we can "work" on our salvation but that's called works righteousness. The choices must come from a good portion, a good place in our hearts. It's about making choices for His Glory not mine, His Goals not my comfort. our LORD reveals our motivations in our choices---the intentions of our hearts---and thus, even choices may look really good, but are we controlled by the Love of our Christ. I may choose to say a good word to you this day and sin horribly in the midst. Man looks on the outward appearances; God looks into our hearts. Only One Thing Necessary. An incentive comes from Joshua 13:1 ~ You are advanced in years but there yet remains very much land to possess. As long as we have breath, we may choose to do what's right and the piercing of our soul will be found out. Choose this day the God you serve or you choose another god. Only One Thing is Necessary.

Joshua 10:9 and Luke 10:9 "The Kingdom is Near" (April 8)

About twenty centuries ago, on this Easter Sunday, God raised Christ from those among the dead. Mary prepared 75 pounds of spices from Nicodemus to prepare his body. Joseph of Arimathea wrapped His ravaged body tightly and totally. They prepared Him for a traditional burial not a Resurrection. Nobody really expected the Christ to rise, did they ??---except the Jewish leaders. The Jewish authorities didn't want that to happen, therefore good guards protected the entrance to the grave. Even when the first reports hit the streets that the tomb was empty, the response from the disciples was one of disbelief. Jesus was alive and when we believe that, so are we. Alive in Christ. The Kingdom is near. It is here. Luke 10:9 ~ The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. C. S. Lewis said it's the verse that Satan wants you to believe: the Kingdom of Heaven is here on earth and life here is what it is all about. No, it's a foretaste of what is to come---the day we live for---when we are with Him for all Eternity. Meanwhile, the Kingdom is near, even in your mouth. May the God you love draw you a little closer this Resurrection morn. Happy Easter. He's Alive and so are we!

Josh 7:5 and Luke 9:62 "Put Your Hands & Tears to the Plow" (April 7)

Oh, my fickle soul. I cannot talk myself out of this one. Holidays are family days but not yet for me. I try to make things work and what happens when they don't work out for me? Will I break faith? Everytime I live for this world, I do. God forgive me on this Easter Saturday as we move forward, O Dolorous Procession. Joshua 7:1, 5 - The Israelites broke faith...their hearts melted and became as water. I don't want a heart with little substance. Luke 9:58 - He knows. Just read that verse a few days ago and something moved in me. He knows. He had nowhere to lay His Head. Nowhere. No bosom buddies through thick and thin. His closest friends were both hot and cold. Betrayers and beloved. Yet, our Friend will alway treat us like beloved. Luke 9:62 - So, put your hand to the plow and don't look back. With tears streaming down my face, my hand is on this plow and I'm moving forward. Alone.

Josh 4:23 and John 9:20 "The Mighty Hand of Our God" (April 6)

It is the Mighty Hand of our God that is working in our lives. If I could tell you what God has done for Bob and me this past year, it's simply phenomenal. Can't share it here out of respect for others. Joshua 4:23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for the Israelites until they passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea. Wondering this day what waters the LORD your God has dried up for you. Why did He really dry up the river? Because they had to get across? God wanted all the peoples of the earth to know that the Hand of the Lord is Mighty, that you may Fear the Lord your God Forever. And we go back to the question that really matters in all of life. A question that each one of us must wrestle with. Jesus asked each of his disciples: John 9:20 Who do you say that I am? When we've stood on dry ground and didn't feel a trace of engulfing water, do we humbly bow the knee before our Maker?

Josh 1:8 and Luke 9:5 "Shake the Dust Off" (April 5)

I remember the spot where I was sitting---Verizon Wireless on Bryant Irving Street---when a dear friend called me to say that she heard I was moving to Austin. She told me that she hoped that I would "mind my own business" in A-town. "Stop sharing all those stories about things that happen to you---no one wants to hear it." Plenty tears fell as I sat on a bench in front of rows of cell phones for sale. And I mulled over the words way-too-long. Everyone hopes that their friends sift through their stories and blow away the chaff. And I reflect as I read words written centuries ago in Joshua 1:8. Mull over the Word, Bev. Let go of what others think. Nothing more important than chewing on God's Word not what I have done right or wrong. My High God is saying in Joshua 1:8 ~ "Be Strong and Courageous. Do not be dismayed." Shake the dust off your feet (Luke 9:5) whenever discouraging comments come---and they will---and move in love. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous ... the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Deut 33:26 and Luke 8:50 "Riding to Our Help" (April 4)

I believe tonight that my God is helping me. I don't see it. I don't feel it. I just "only believe." Luke 8:50 in the face of Deut 33:26 There is No One Like Our God Who rides through the heavens to our help. And He is committed to help us be holy not happy. Therefore, that help may look a little different than what I had hoped for. This we do know: Deut 33:12 "The Beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between His shoulders." Am I looking for God's blessings or Presence?Deut

Deut 30:14 and Luke 8:15 "Word in My Mouth" (April 3)

What is the Word that is in my mouth? What can I truly live and depend on in the mess I've made. I may not be like the "many-sin woman" but my sins are many. What Word is for me? Luke 8:15 ~ Hear the Word/ Hold it fast/ In an honest heart that lives in the present/ Bear fruit with patience for it will come one day. So, what is this Word for me? Deut 30:14 ~ The Word is in your mouth. And it is in your heart. Really, God? Deut 31:19 ~ Write down this Word, Moses. Put it in the mouths of the Israelites. Moses, you are going the way of all flesh. Before you go, I want you to know: These Israelites who rebelled in the wilderness, they are going to "whore after foreign gods" where I am taking them. They are NOT going to hold fast to Me. Wonder what Moses thought about his ministry as he began putting closure on his life. Did he think his ministry was a success? Put a Word in their mouths, Moses. Put a Word in mine, God.

Deut 29:9 and Luke 7:45 "So Many Sins/ So Many Tears" (April 2)

What am I known for? Is my reputation riddled with shame? This girl was known in the town for her many sins, not just for one. Yet, when the Silent Savior welcomed her into His Presence, He received her feeble fumbling flowing tears and touch. He didn't shrink back; didn't require her to change first; didn't even offer a word of advice or help. No, He received her brokenness and said: Luke 7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. Confess our sins to Him Who waits to hear, waits to untangle the mess, waits to offer hope. Deut 29:9 God establishes you, His people, to be holy to Him. He makes us holy---it's not our achievement, our goal. What do I want more than the Love of my Christ?

Deut 26:1 and Luke 7:27 "Live In It" (April 1)

A widow's son died. No name. Little fanfare. One look from Jesus. The young man sits straight up in his coffin. And Jesus leaves the Village of Nain. A nameless family is rejoicing with a lifeless son sitting up in his brier. And He moves on to another village. The man with the name whom Jesus loved...John. One look into John's eyes. This is what I am doing for everyone in the villages all over the place. The dead rise. The lame walk. It is not going to happen for you, John? What do you think? Luke 7:27 Blessed is the man who is not offended in Me and what I do. Or what HE does not do. Deut 26:1(ESV) "Live in it."