"He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."-Micah 7:19
You cast our sins
into the depths of the sea;
showering mercy down upon us
to the foot of the cross in repentance...
...and I can imagine how the joy
in Your heart flows down to us;
and returns to Your ears
as the grateful praise for your grace...
The whispers of Micah
envelop me, Lord...
bringing to mind that well worn fishing pole
kept near and ready as I hear You
whisper the words of reassurance to my spirit...
"You have confessed. I have forgiven. Hand over
the pole and taste of My rest..."
My praise arises once again on the wind of Your Spirit...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Make Us One
Father, make us one;
as You are with the Son
and the Spirit...
Jesus, our sacrificial lamb
led to the slaughter
for a perfect atonement;
draw our hearts together in love
to lead those that have not seen You
believe in Your love by the power
of the Holy Spirit...
...and thank you, Spirit; for the
sublime comfort You offer as an extension
of the Father's love...
quickening our spirits to hear Your whispers
as You lead us in that perfect way.
as You are with the Son
and the Spirit...
Jesus, our sacrificial lamb
led to the slaughter
for a perfect atonement;
draw our hearts together in love
to lead those that have not seen You
believe in Your love by the power
of the Holy Spirit...
...and thank you, Spirit; for the
sublime comfort You offer as an extension
of the Father's love...
quickening our spirits to hear Your whispers
as You lead us in that perfect way.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
He Rejoices Over Us
Zephaniah 3:17 "...He will rejoice over you with singing." NKJV
He rejoices over us with singing;
celebrating our existence
and finding joy in hearing His own voice
as the music washes over us...
Our security and comfort;
eternal hand of safety and warmth...
joyfully holding our lives in His hands;
and wrapping His spirit around us in peace.
He rejoices over us with singing;
celebrating our existence
and finding joy in hearing His own voice
as the music washes over us...
Our security and comfort;
eternal hand of safety and warmth...
joyfully holding our lives in His hands;
and wrapping His spirit around us in peace.
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Hook
I have been watching the DVD of the last Chronicles of Narnia movie that was put out by Disney a few years ago. The white witch manipulated Edmund with skill and an obvious knowledge of human nature. His unwitting help in her plan to destroy the human intruders and conquer Aslan became clear to him only after a measure of damage was done. There were "hooks" in his nature that made this possible. One of these hooks was his desire to cover his tracks. He doesn't come clean about his contact with the white witch when Lucy discovers him in Narnia for the first time. In response to the white witch's threat to the fox, Edmund volunteers damaging information in an attempt to appease her malice towards the creature. Her praise of his honesty is a cold comfort to him at the same time the fox appeals to him as royalty. The prophecy is acknowledged as the fox addresses Edmund as "Your Majesty".
The white witch's action of freezing the butterfly to death and turning it to stone speaks of the death that sin causes as those hooks dig in and begin the fester the affected area of "flesh".
How many times have we tried to cover our sin in full view of the Father's eyes? In 1 John 4:19, we are told that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The lie we believe about needing to cover ourselves when we mess up is an all too effective hook that festers in us as we hold onto the hook. Our efforts at trying to cover up the hook and pretend that all is well accomplish nothing to benefit us or others that are affected by the hook. Often, I think that we have stone butterflies caught within our spirits in the form of dead zones; those hooks that have been brought down as we unwittingly embrace the death caused by our sin.
The triumphant return of Aslan(thinly veiled reference to the risen Christ)restores the dead flesh and ignites the fire within once again. Our joy and fulfillment come as we allow Him to remove the hooks and continually learn to forsake impaling ourselves with those hooks in the first place. That process will not complete itself until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.
The white witch's action of freezing the butterfly to death and turning it to stone speaks of the death that sin causes as those hooks dig in and begin the fester the affected area of "flesh".
How many times have we tried to cover our sin in full view of the Father's eyes? In 1 John 4:19, we are told that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The lie we believe about needing to cover ourselves when we mess up is an all too effective hook that festers in us as we hold onto the hook. Our efforts at trying to cover up the hook and pretend that all is well accomplish nothing to benefit us or others that are affected by the hook. Often, I think that we have stone butterflies caught within our spirits in the form of dead zones; those hooks that have been brought down as we unwittingly embrace the death caused by our sin.
The triumphant return of Aslan(thinly veiled reference to the risen Christ)restores the dead flesh and ignites the fire within once again. Our joy and fulfillment come as we allow Him to remove the hooks and continually learn to forsake impaling ourselves with those hooks in the first place. That process will not complete itself until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Home and Hearth
My husband has this theory of male/female roles that I have found truly amusing; oh, I meant to say amazing:)...The male is the hunter-gatherer as in the cave-man days and the female is geared towards cave maintenance. Yes, there is some truth in that; yet the overall simplification of gender roles has me scratching my head. My raison d'etre as been reduced to home-making; while the pressure of the surrounding culture would have me be the career woman that brings home half of the game captured on the way back from beating the rugs...
The cold fact is that I am a domesticated female concerned at least in part with home and hearth. I may have to become the career woman at some point; but I am still in the process of trying to figure that out. I cashier at a local supermarket and work for a home care agency as well. My value to society will be gauged on the level of education my children achieve, the car in my driveway, and the degrees listed on my resume. I am in trouble.
I am not in the least the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman. Lord willing, I will grow closer to that ideal as I draw closer to the Lord. In the meantime, I will seek Him for the answers on how to combine home and hearth with bringing home the road kill.
I just hope my insurance will cover me this time...
Joy,
Lynne
The cold fact is that I am a domesticated female concerned at least in part with home and hearth. I may have to become the career woman at some point; but I am still in the process of trying to figure that out. I cashier at a local supermarket and work for a home care agency as well. My value to society will be gauged on the level of education my children achieve, the car in my driveway, and the degrees listed on my resume. I am in trouble.
I am not in the least the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman. Lord willing, I will grow closer to that ideal as I draw closer to the Lord. In the meantime, I will seek Him for the answers on how to combine home and hearth with bringing home the road kill.
I just hope my insurance will cover me this time...
Joy,
Lynne
Saturday, December 1, 2007
A New Day
Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. -Philippians 2:2
Harmony can be difficult among the body of Christ when our flesh gets in the way of our desire to follow Christ. Human frailty and hurt feelings cloud the issues with an emotional camouflage. Seeking Christ instead of a listening ear for our complaints is the key, I think; to getting us back to where we need to be. Letting go of real or perceived hurts frees us up to worship and grow towards who the Lord would have us become.
It is snowing outside at the moment. The wind is whipping aimless flakes of the white stuff in many different directions. It seems that modern life is much like this snow squall; so many things happening at once. Those little barbs of annoyance or injured pride often seem to lack reason; making us unsure of what happened to bring them about.
I believe that the Lord would have us put away our small annoyances in favor of seeing the big picture. We are human and so prone to falling far short of the Lord's compassion and mercy. The forgiveness and mercy we extend to our brethren will go a long way towards freeing us and them of the bondage of bitterness and roots of unforgiveness. It can happen to any one of us. The damage to our fellowship with each other and to God is seen in many ways: broken fellowship, a restlessness with our situations, and a distortion of the image that we represent to those who don't know Christ. Our joy will increase as we grow closer to the Father's heart.
Harmony can be difficult among the body of Christ when our flesh gets in the way of our desire to follow Christ. Human frailty and hurt feelings cloud the issues with an emotional camouflage. Seeking Christ instead of a listening ear for our complaints is the key, I think; to getting us back to where we need to be. Letting go of real or perceived hurts frees us up to worship and grow towards who the Lord would have us become.
It is snowing outside at the moment. The wind is whipping aimless flakes of the white stuff in many different directions. It seems that modern life is much like this snow squall; so many things happening at once. Those little barbs of annoyance or injured pride often seem to lack reason; making us unsure of what happened to bring them about.
I believe that the Lord would have us put away our small annoyances in favor of seeing the big picture. We are human and so prone to falling far short of the Lord's compassion and mercy. The forgiveness and mercy we extend to our brethren will go a long way towards freeing us and them of the bondage of bitterness and roots of unforgiveness. It can happen to any one of us. The damage to our fellowship with each other and to God is seen in many ways: broken fellowship, a restlessness with our situations, and a distortion of the image that we represent to those who don't know Christ. Our joy will increase as we grow closer to the Father's heart.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Celebration
I have been reading a book of writers commenting about what they read and why they read it. It is compiled by Philip Yancy and is entitled, "Reality and The Vision: 18 Contemporary Writers Tell Who They Read and Why". Chapter 8 is entitled: The Devotional Masters: A Love Affair. There is one portion that speaks to me in particular. "...this notion that the ordinary stuff of life is filled with spiritual significance is a theme that reverberates throughout all the Devotional Masters. They take our days and our hours and invest them with a sacramental value. And they invite you, they invite me to discover that right where we are is holy ground, in the families we have been given, in the tasks that we are assigned, among our neighbors and friends. It is this that makes living in our modern world bearable, even enjoyable. Indeed, it enables us, as George Fox put it, to "walk cheerfully over the earth."
What an encouraging thought; to think that daily life has a sacred quality to it that can wash over us and color our days in His radiance. I will give it my best effort and send up a prayer to God when I am faced with a mountain of laundry. "Sacred" and "laundry" do not easily walk with each other in harmony according to my thought processes. Yet, in many ways; the performance of these daily duties exercises our spiritual muscles. We are considering others(who are in desperate need of a clean white load)in our actions. I pray that this thought brings you a new portal in your thinking; as it has brought into mine.
Jesus was practical, as I think of it...water into wine at the wedding, feeding the five thousand, etc. He gave us a model for seeing the practical as an invitation to seeing the divine. I will be forever thankful for His willingness to communicate His truth to a cracked vessel like me in terms that reach a human heart.
Joy and fresh bread to you,
Lynne
What an encouraging thought; to think that daily life has a sacred quality to it that can wash over us and color our days in His radiance. I will give it my best effort and send up a prayer to God when I am faced with a mountain of laundry. "Sacred" and "laundry" do not easily walk with each other in harmony according to my thought processes. Yet, in many ways; the performance of these daily duties exercises our spiritual muscles. We are considering others(who are in desperate need of a clean white load)in our actions. I pray that this thought brings you a new portal in your thinking; as it has brought into mine.
Jesus was practical, as I think of it...water into wine at the wedding, feeding the five thousand, etc. He gave us a model for seeing the practical as an invitation to seeing the divine. I will be forever thankful for His willingness to communicate His truth to a cracked vessel like me in terms that reach a human heart.
Joy and fresh bread to you,
Lynne
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