With all your heart

Jesus said that the most important command is to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mk 12:30).

I desperately want to love the Lord with all my heart. I think I do. I say I do. Still, I wonder...is there more of my heart that can love Him? Is there a part of my heart that doesn't yet love Him more than anything or anyone? How do I know? Is there a "test" I can take? A questionnaire to complete?

If I want to love the Lord with all my heart, I need to examine my heart. But I also need to seek God's heart on every attitude, every desire, every habit. I need to search the scriptures to understand the LORD's heart - what does He love? What breaks His heart? What pleases Him?

Today I will focus on a simple but familiar scripture:
With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?...He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6, 8)

I will lay my heart before the LORD. Holy Spirit, teach me to love the LORD my God with all my heart. Teach me to love with God's love, seeing others through the eyes of Love Himself, walking in humility, filtering every thought, every attitude, every action, every plan through Love.

Be still

How hard is that, in these days of instant-everything, drive-thru, microwave, take-out, etc. We wake up with a long list of "to do's" and go to bed thinking of what we need to get done the next day. Electronics surround us - in our homes, cars, stores, offices - our Blackberries keep us connected with everyone all the time.

But our LORD calls us to "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." (Ps 46:10).

If we truly believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and we believe His Word, we cannot ignore His call to step away from busy-ness. To disconnect from distractions for a while. To cause our minds to focus on Him - only Him - and dwell in the secret place of the Most High for a time.

Be still. Some call it meditation. Scientific studies have shown that meditation is good for the body in terms of heart rate, anxiety levels, blood pressure. But they can't begin to measure what holy meditation - time spent "being still, knowing that the LORD is God" - does for the health of the soul.

I will be still. I will know that He is God. I will revel in His wonder, His awesomeness, His Being.

And when I return to the electronic-filled, busy, hectic pace of my workday, I will pause every now and then and remember my "Be still" time, smiling and knowing that He is also there with me in the not-so-still time.

Be still. It's a healthy habit.

Wisdom Seeking

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Ps 111:10)

Seeking wisdom is a good thing - a healthy habit. Wisdom brings understanding. Wisdom brings knowledge. By "turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding" you will "understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."

Where do we begin if we desire to seek wisdom? We begin by fearing God. Not a cowering in the corner kind of fear, but a realization of Who God is, Whose we are, what He has done for us, and what He promises to those who love Him.

We begin by gaining perspective. When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, Moses asked a reasonable question: Whom shall I say sent me? If I say to the Israelites, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?" - what shall I tell them? (Ex 3:13) God's response: I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you." (Ex 13:14)

Focus on that one short section of scripture -- Who God says He is -- what that means in terms of who I am (or who I am not!). His role/my role. His promise/my acceptance of the Promise. His boundaries/my freedom. His great love. It's all wrapped up in just a few words: I AM WHO I AM.

Stay there a while. How does that NOT bring you to fear the Lord, and to the beginnings of understanding and wisdom? How can you keep from praising the Lord, our God, who loves us beyond measure?

Need more details about gaining wisdom, or why it's imperative that we develop the healthy habit of seeking wisdom? Spend time in the book of Proverbs, written precisely for, "attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young -- let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance -- for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Prov 1:1-7)

After spending time in Proverbs, spend time on your knees. Ackowledge Him. Fear Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. Surrender everything to Him. Then do it again tomorrow - it's a healthy habit!

Staff of strength

OK, you know the Lord has something in mind when you sense a prompting to read a daily devotion from a book you haven't picked up in many months, and then see the same theme on the very page you are on in another book. Here's what happened this morning:

This morning as I'm praying and trying to come to life with my coffee in hand, I feel prompted to read today's devotion from Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman, a devotional I picked up over a year ago. From time to time I've read a few days at a time, but not really consistently. So I turn to the reading for today, and the verse is short and simple: Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Ps 23:4). The writer tells the value of a staff when walking in difficult territory - and his reminder that the Word of God is a staff. He then notes other verses that have been his staff in times of impending danger, He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord (Ps 112:7), and at the loss of a child, Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Ps 30:5). He quotes Martin Luther's wife as saying, "I would never have...come to appreciate certain difficulties, or known the inner workings of the soul; I would never have understood the practice of the Christian life and work of God if God had never brought afflictions to my life." God always sends His staff with His rod. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be (Deut 33:25). Each of us may be sure that if God sends us over rocky paths, He will provide us with sturdy shoes. He will never send us on any journey without equipping us well. (pp 47-48)

Less than an hour later, I opened Intimate Faith by Jan Winebrenner, to the page I stopped on yesterday. The section began, "Say "staff" and I think of the good Shepherd from David's psalm. I think of his promise to guide, protect, provide, and comfort. But held in the hands of the King of Kings, the staff becomes a scepter representing sovereignty and the divine authority of our omnipotent God." (p 72) When sending out His disciples, Jesus said, "take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff... (Matt 10:10) - they were to take the sandals and the staffs they had, but not additional ones.

Winebrenner comments that "We are to travel the path of discipleship gripping the staff as a symbol to remind us of the Shepherd's goodness and faithfulness, and as a symbol of his sovereignty and the strength he gladly exerts on our behalf to demonstrate his lavish love for us." (p 72)

The disciples were not asked to go barefoot - they were to wear their sandals. Paul told us to have our feet "fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." That means to keep your gear on and be ready for the journey. "Assured of the truth of the gospel - that God has made a way for us to become his children through trust in his Son, that we are his beloved, and that he has promised never to leave us or forsake us - we can be ready for anything that enters our lives. (p 73).

What an awesome God we serve! He provides the shoes and the staff - we are to keep them handy, on our persons, ready at all times for the journey. Thank you, LORD, for speaking into my heart this morning, and for showing me Your truth.

David believed God

I ws reading Psalm 116 this morning, simply desiring a fresh perspective since we have spent so many months in the Gospel of John. I was struck by the simplicity of this Psalm, and by the powerful application to our own lives as believers.

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

The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, save me!"

The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumblng, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
I believed; therefore, I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."

How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
O LORD, truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD - in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD.

David's experience:

• David recognized that he was in need
• He cried out to the LORD
• In the middle of sorrow and trouble, he asked the LORD to save him
• The LORD heard his cry and saved him from death.
• He was freed from his chains of sorrow and trouble.

David's response:

• He believed.
• He understood that his salvation was from the LORD, and not coincidental, nor his own doing.
• He responded with a heart of love and devotion - a desire to "repay the LORD for His goodness."
• He recognized his own - and all mankind's - sinfulness, his affliction, the reality that indeed, "all men are liars." For us to receive LIFE, we must recognize our need for a Savior!
• He lifted up the cup of salvation - interesting that this sounds much like Jesus' words to his disciples that they were to "drink this cup in remembrance." Though David did not live in Jesus' day, he got it - that there was a cup of salvation poured only by his God.
• He fulfilled his vows in the presence of the people - he lived out his faith in community, publicly, where all could see his commitment to the LORD. He demonstrated transparency and openness.
• He "sold himself" into servanthod to the LORD - realizing that God had freed him from the chains that had been binding him to trouble and sorrow, and that true freedom comes in total submission to God's hands and His plans.
• He praised the Lord!

David demonstrated a heart for God - loving the LORD with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

Passionate people are not bystanders

Just finished reading David Jeremiah's book, Life Wide Open. I long to be a passionate person. Correct that: I am a woman of passion for her God, and I will follow every opportunity for Him, I will enter every door He opens.

Scripture that came to mind during my prayer time is:
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

1. We are not alone - we have a cloud of witnesses surrounding us!
2. Sin does easily entangle us, and we are all beset by encumbrances.
3. We are not helpless - we are to lay aside the encumbrances and the sins which entangles us. Laying aside encumbrances gives us a concrete vision of our role in achieving the freedom Jesus desires for us. Laying aside requires identifying the encumbrances, and the sins which entangle us. Can you see it? Sin entangles us like ropes wrapped around our arms and legs. Have you ever been caught in a tangled web of rope? Seaweed? Spider web? Sin entangles us much the same - but we CAN remove it from our persons. It takes work, it takes diligence, it takes intentionality. But with Christ we can find freedom.
4. When we believe the promises of Jesus, when we look back at the evidence and understand - and borrow - the faith of the "great cloud of witnesses" who surround us, we can run with endurance the race set before us.

5. There is a race to run - Christ wants us to finish strong, having run with endurance.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!

Being Still

Today is a Day of Reflection for me - a "God day" - a day when I commit myself to seekng the Lord, listening, searching God's Word, resting in Him, yearning to hear from Him. It began with John 17, the chapter my small group will discuss this week. The intensity increased as I realized Jesus' prayer for future believers (that would be me!):

May Beth and the believers in her life be brought to complete unity to let the world know that God the Father loves them as much as he loves His Son, whom he gave up on the cross for their sake. (personalized 17:23)

So it's all about love. It's all about letting the world know that God loves them, that He sent His Son to demonstrate his Love. Love in the form of a baby, gentle and dependent on others to care for him. Love in the form of a man who laid down his life for his friends. Love in the form of a servant, who washed the feet of his disciples. Love in the form of healing for those who believe in Him, the Son of God. Love in the form of a man who - though He was God - set aside his equality with God and tok on the very nature of servant, in human likeness, and was obedient to the Father, even to death on a cross.

Love. Agapao. Love that desires closeness. Love that is unselfish. Love that delights in another. Love that regards with favor, goodwill, benevolence. Love that is faithful. Love that acts - not stagnant, ineffective - but actively esteems, loves, indicating a direction of the will and finding one's joy in someothing or someone.

And Love. Phileo. Friendship love. God extends His phileo love to us. He applied the word phileo to Abraham, His friend, willing to give up his son if God so desired, just as God gave his one and only Son for us.

Today I commit that I love God the Father with agapao love. And I desire his phileo friendship. I desire to be called His friend.