Sometimes you’re in the valley. . .

Hope in expectancy:

I have had times where I have asked, “Why am I here?”

There are two different issues—one, to know, “God is with me,” and another being the reality that, “I am with God.”

There are times where we know God is with us, that God is with us in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9, Where Paul quotes what God has said to him, “My power is made perfect in weakness.”).

Think of the times saints of old have experienced God being with them in jail, for example, like John Bunyan and the classic he penned, Pilgrim’s Progress, while serving time in jail for boldly preaching the gospel.

I wrote this prayer while being in a place I did not want to be, but it represents my lifting up my soul to God and seeing Him with me in my weakness. . . .

Valley Prayer

Here in this valley, here in this desert, I’m missing my friends, missing what’s familiar . . .

But now I’m looking to You, now I’m hoping,

Now I’m trusting in You. . . .

I will wait till You renew me. . . .

Those who never hunger, never get their hunger rewarded.

Here in this desert I find You word: You speak to me;

I am a “captive audience.”

Here all else is apart from me;

But now I’m listening to Your word, Your call. . . .

I long to see the mountain heights again—

The sun reflecting off the snowy peaks. . . .

But I am here now and I know You can see me,

And that is enough.

 

There are times God asks us, “if we are with Him?” This is extraordinarily told in the book of Joshua 5:14-15. Before going to fight for the Promised Land, Joshua encounters a man who says he is not with the Israelites or with their enemies; rather He says He is captain of the Lord of Hosts.

For My Sister

For My Sister . . .

This entry is for my sister, with whom I have shared much.

And I hope she knows how much I care for and admire her. . . .

This is a song I wrote a while back:

You’re My Sister . . .

You’re my sister and you are my friend,

You give me peace when I feel I’m at my end,

You’ve known me since you was only three.

I sing to you ‘cause the music says we’re free. . . .

You’re the one who saw me grow up,

Bashful, afraid, and curious.

You played your violin,

I thought, “Now what’s this screechiness?”

Now of the music that we’ll share, I can only take a peek. . . .

You’re my sister and you are my friend,

You give me hope when I feel I’m at my end,

You’ve seen me, oh-working to achieve,

I sing to you ‘cause you’re an example I believe in. . . .

You’re the one who grew up with me and all the neighbor kids.

We played in lots of back-yards, even Jen’s and our friend Chris’s.

Now the memories that we’ll share I can only take a peek . . .

You’re my sister and you are my friend,

You give me peace when I feel I’m at my end,

You’ve known me since you was only three,

I sing to you ‘cause together we are free, 

We are free . . . Come on let’s be free . . .

————————————————————————————

We grew up thinking we were special, ‘cause we were

Children of a king and queen.

But now we know that no matter how hard we try,

We can’t keep hard times from coming into our lives,

But I’m glad that I can look at a New Day

And a future shared with you. . . .

Thoughts on Love and God

"We Love to Know We're not Alone" (quote from movie Shadowlands, on life of C.S. Lewis, 1993)

Some thoughts on love and God. . . .

There's give and take to love.  Love can be both gentle and firm.  The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 paints a good picture of love:

starting in verse 2:  Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

v.3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned [seems to be something people can do to make themselves look better] , but have not love, it profits me nothing.

v.4 Love suffers long, is kind; love does not envy; love does not act unbecomingly, is not proud;

v.5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

v.6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

v.7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

v.8 Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease, whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

v.9 For we know in part and prophecy in part.

v.10 But when the perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

v.11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child; but when I became an adult, I put away childish things.

v.12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am also known.

v.13 And now abide these three: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.


I've been learning to love the family I was born in, and am believing what it says in Ephesians 3:15 where the Bible says, "Every family in heaven and on earth derives its name . . .[from the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ]."  Indeed, God created families as the basic unit of support and governance.  What does it mean to love but to prefer "the other" above oneself, and letting yourself be "beat" at times?  This satisfies more than showing all you know. . . .

The next verse (Ch. 14) says, "Pursue love . . ."  So chapter 13 sets out the ideal, and we are to pursue it, according to ch. 14:1. Sometimes it seems to love is something that sets an impossible goal for which to strain, but I believe God works in us to “will and to do” (Philippians 2:13).  And I believe it is one of those things that the more we do it, the more we are able to do it—able to put it into practice.

James 3:17-18: “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Because love and truth, or love and righteousness, go together, as the epistle of 1 John makes clear. And God helps those who want to change, who feel sorry for their sin and falling short, to change, as the first part of the Sermon on the Mount makes clear as well: Matthew 5:3-6: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” . . .

And back to the Epistle of James, in James 4:8-10, it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Begin to lament, to mourn and to weep.  Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into grief.  Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.”

This is good news. In fact, it is a major part of the Gospel of Jesus—that God comes to the aid of those who need Him, and is a “helper and a Father to the fatherless (as it says in the Bible many, many times). . .

One of the purposes of education is to teach to love, to understand from the "other person's" point of view, to develop compassion and empathy, and appreciation.  (in appreciation of a Great Books college I attended several years ago).


I had fun last night with friends I am living with visiting places of natural beauty in the vicinity. . .

It is my belief that Jesus loved the most.  He loved because He knew He was loved by the Father.  The Father loved the Son and the Son loved those around Him, those who were His own, "John 17:6." And the Bible also says, "We love because He first loved us"(1 John 4:19).

Another favorite verse of mine is Ephesians 2:8-10: "For it is by grace you have been saved, that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, lest any one should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He prepared in advance for us to walk in."

I believe salvation is fairly simple.  After living a life of humanness and love toward those around Him, after doing God's will, Jesus submitted to God's will in letting Himself be arrested, beaten, mocked, and finally crucified.  He did this without losing His humanness or becoming embittered, or using His power unjustly.  He died, gave up His Spirit, and then the good part: He arose on the day after Sabbath--Sunday, then appeared to his followers and disciples, giving them the command to continue His mission of doing good, and then was raised up to the heavens in the clouds.

Romans 10:9-10 says "The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, the Word of Faith that we proclaim, that if you confess with your mouth that He is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart one believes resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made resulting in salvation."  So a simple prayer of belief can say: "Dear Jesus, thank you for your love.  I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose again.  I accept You into my life.  I ask you to teach me how You want me to live and help me obey You. Thank you. Amen."
God desires to give us blessing, the blessing that shows we are God's.  The book of Hebrews talks about the "rest" God gives to His people for following Him. Ch. 3:9-10: "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.  For he/she who has entered His rest has him/herself also ceased from his/her own works as God did from His."

And isn't that a major theme of the Bible?  That God and Jesus desire people who belong to them, people redeemed and thus "bought back" from darkness?  People They have a real relationship with?

And I believe this is the joy and redemption people who believe in Christ possess.  I believe only Jesus brings this because He lived a perfectly unselfish life, being obedient to the point of death, and giving even as blood spilled from His body, loving His own even to the end.  Therefore it was impossible for death to hold him in the grave (Acts 2:24), and Romans 1:4 says, "He was declared the Son of God, with power according to the spirit of holiness, through the resurrection from the dead."

. . . But back to my theme about love: It blesses the person being loved, and also brings fulfillment to the person doing the loving: It is mutually beneficial.  And to bring wholeness and holiness to places where there has been hurt and anger/pain is the answer to problems and leads to a new beginning and a new dimension to life.

But I don't believe we really experience this until we take the risk and reach out to others in ministry or helping, and making ourselves a "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1) in response to what God has done.

Anyway, I enjoyed going out with friends with whom I live, and was reminded of the supremacy of love. 


Good friends, good times.