On the Way!

An online merchant sends me a notification that my order has been shipped. In most cases, I also receive a link I can use to track the package. On the day the order is to arrive, I receive another notification that the item is out for delivery.

I like having access to that information. Once I know the item is on its way, my anticipation builds. And when I receive an “out for delivery” notification, I listen for the noise of the delivery truck. I go to the door and thank the delivery person. If I’ve been away from home on delivery day, upon my return, I check the front and side entrances to the house (or the mailbox) to see if the package was delivered.

This morning, I received an “out for delivery” notification. [See photo.] I clicked the link to the tracking information. As I looked at it, I realized afresh that while I’d worked at my tasks and while I’d slept, people had been working day and night to get the item to me. Other people had been involved in the manufacturing and marketing processes before it could be shipped and sent to me. A virtual army of people had been used to provide the item I wanted.

Realizing that so much goes on behind the scenes reminds me to wait patiently for God to act. He knows, even though I don’t, what’s going on and when and how and through whom His answers to prayers will come. And, oh, the joy when His gift arrives.

Love—Every Day

Valentine’s Day 2020 is over. Millions of dollars have been spent on cards, chocolates, flowers, gifts, and dinners in fancy restaurants. But what if each of us determined to express genuine love every day? Wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place to live? But we tend to forget to do that once the day is over, just like we forget about Jesus once we’ve celebrated Christmas and Easter. Likewise, by the time we’ve eaten the last of the Thanksgiving turkey, we’ve forgotten all about giving thanks for our blessings.

But I watched a video recently about a young adult who expressed love as he went about his regular day. For example, when he noticed a potted plant that was dying due to lack of water, he poured life-giving liquid on the droopy plant that very day (and in the days ahead). The plant began to thrive. When he observed an older person struggling to push a heavily-loaded cart over the curb and onto the sidewalk, he hurried to help out. When he noticed a young mother and her school-age child sitting on the sidewalk and begging for money needed to sustain their lives, he gave them some.

A friend mentioned that this Valentine’s Day she continued an 11-year-old tradition of writing one compliment on each of several paper hearts and making a trail of them from her son’s bedroom door to the kitchen. I pictured his smiling face as he picked up the hearts and read the compliments as he made his way to the breakfast table.

Perhaps you and I could also come up with creative ways to express love? Every day!

SOAPing

Most mornings, I use a Bible study method called SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer).

I handwrite or type one or more verses of Scripture. 

During the Observation portion, I also read the surrounding verses, look up some of the related verses listed in my Bible, and use the free tools provided by www.blueletter.com and/or the YouVersion app in order to better understand what the passage means. 

During the Application portion, I reflect on what the Scripture and the additional insights I've gleaned mean to me. 

Then, I type/write out a Prayer.

Let me show you an example.

Scripture

Isaiah 29:19, NKJV:

The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Observation

In order to understand the context of this verse, I read the entire chapter and tried to mentally answer the Who, What, Where, Why, When and How questions. The passage itself provided answers to some of them. For example: The LORD is obviously the one who is making the promises in the verse above, as well as other thrilling ones like this one: “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness” (Isaiah 29:18, NKJV).

I’m not sure what the “in that day” phrase refers to. A day of reckoning that passed in long-ago times? A future reckoning? (I’ll need to do further study to find that out.) However, the truth is: God will set things right again! When He does, there will be a great reversal. The meek shall increase their joy in the LORD. The poor shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The deaf shall hear the words of the book. The eyes of the blind will see.

Another exciting thing will also occur, just as the LORD promises in Isaiah 29: 23, NKJV: 

But when he [Jacob, Israel] sees his children, 

The work of My hands, in his midst, 

They will hallow My name,

And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,

And fear the God of Israel.

The New Living Translation renders that verse this way: "For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Israel. They will stand in awe of the God of Jacob."

That time, “that day,” will be a fulfillment of yet another one of God's promises that's found in this chapter:

Application

I will wait patiently and prayerfully for God to set things right. How and when He does it is His business, not mine. I trust Him to do a marvelous work--in His time and in His way. In the meantime, I will honor His name and stand in awe of Him for He is an awesome God at all times not just when He astounds me with “miracles.” Every day, I see His awesome work all around me. And those glimpses prompt me to praise Him.

Prayer

Father, I take joy in knowing You are indeed the God who sees and the God who acts. Help me to keep a quiet and trusting heart as I wait for You to set all things straight. 

NOTES: 

• I don't always write/type this much. But when time permits, I do enjoy and benefit from "digging deeper." However, even a little bit of SOAPing helps me.
• I encourage you to try this method and then post a comment to let me (and others) know what you think of it.

Where's the New?

A devotional in the January-February 2019 issue of The Upper Room begins with a delightful story (page 8) about a little boy who expressed great excitement about the coming of a New Year. But when the New Year arrived, he ran around looking everywhere for the New Year--or at least something new. But, of course, he found everything the same as before. "Where's the new?" he demanded.

The writer of that story (Sriparna Mahanty from Odisha, India) goes on to say that she often wonders whether or not there's anything new in her life now that's she's a Christian. You and I wonder the same thing, don't we? After all, as she points out, the Bible does say, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB).

Although we may look pretty much the same, there will be more love that shows on our face and in our voice and in our

actions. We will be more forgiving and more patient with others. There are other pieces of evidence, such as those listed in Galatians 5:22-23, that prove we are changing from the inside out. We'll give up many of our old habits and develop new (better) ones. We'll see changes in our attitude-- sometimes subtle ones, sometimes major ones. 

The "new" is there and will become increasingly evident the more we talk with God, the more we read and study His Word, and the more we do what it says. 

Just as a seed that's planted grows imperceptively over time as it comes to full fruition, so also newness of spiritual life is a process that begins the moment we receive Christ. We are growing. We are becoming all that Christ will enable us to be. In the meantime, let's not be disappointed if we don't see major newness all at once. Rather, let's look for all the little signs of new growth we see in ourselves and desire more.

Brick by Brick

When I read the insight James Clear added to a familiar quote, I realized he was right. Indeed, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.”

Worthwhile projects take time and effort. None of us can construct something magnificent overnight, no matter how much we wish we could. However, we’ll witness our dreams becoming more and more of a reality if only we’ll follow the example of hardworking brick masons. They build beautiful structures by laying one brick at a time, hour after hour and day by day. Furthermore, they work as long as it takes to finish the job.

How hard and how faithfully do we work to reach our goals?

Wait for the Light!

When troubles come, we worry about how things might turn out. We feel uncertain about what we should do. If it seems that the outcome may not be the one we want, the one for which we pray, we feel hopeless and disappointed.

Having felt this way in times past, I love to watch the sunrises, particularly those over the ocean for they are so striking. Out of the blackness of the night, the first signs of dawn appear above the eastern horizon. The light is barely discernible, at first, but grows ever brighter. The sun rises slowly, its movement imperceptible to the human eye as the bright orange ball rises higher and higher, bringing welcomed light and warmth to a dark and chilly world. 

Sometimes clouds obscure this wondrous sight, as it did the morning when I took the picture posted here. But I waited patiently for the sun to rise above the cloud cover and to shine its glorious light on the earth.

In like manner, may you and I learn to wait patiently on the Lord to provide light for the dark paths on which we sometimes walk. As we wait, may we follow the advice David shares in Psalm 27:14, NIV:

Wait for the LORD;

be strong, 

and let your heart take courage;

wait for the LORD!

As we wait for Him to act, may we be encouraged by what our God says in Isaiah 41:10, NIV:

“...do not fear, 

for I am with you; 

do not be dismayed, 

for I am your God. 

I will strengthen you and help you; 

I will uphold you 

with my righteous right hand.” 

Yielded and Still?

Photo by Johnnie Ann Gaskill.

In the 1907 hymn, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” writer Adelaide A. Potter pictures herself as a lump of clay in the hands of the potter. She says she is yielded and still, willing for God to do whatever He chooses with her. 

In so doing, she’s applying to her life this great truth, spoken by the prophet Isaiah many centuries ago:

Although we know we should be still and even though we want to be still as we wait for God to act, it’s hard, isn’t it? Especially if we are in pain. Especially if we have no clue what’s going on. 

At such times, we often behave like young children who are too immature to understand why parents and doctors who are sincerely trying to help them are treating them in ways that often bring more pain. (Think: throat cultures, shots, tubes inserted into infected ears, etc.) 

Such handling makes NO SENSE to a baby or a very young child. Is that child still? NO! Does that child kick and scream? YES! Does his resistance prolong the process and make it more difficult for everyone concerned? YES!

But as the child matures, he learns to be still (well, somewhat still, at least!) when undergoing measures that will help him feel better. Likewise, the more you and I mature in our faith, the more we’ll learn to be still while God does for us--and with us--what He knows is best.

Yielding ourselves to Him--being still and quiet in His loving hands--takes lots of maturity, lots of faith. Our faith grows as we read and practice the principles found in the Bible; as we learn (experience by experience) that our God loves us and wants to help us, rather than harm us; and as we learn from the examples others set for us--and from the insights they share with us.  

Yielded and still? Not always. But increasingly so!

JOY

After reading the text of the online obituary for a 66-year-old woman I'd never met, I watched the video tribute created from photos provided by her family. I noticed how her face radiated joy in each of the photos, even in those I assumed were taken during her two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. Whether at the beach or other vacation spot or at home or attending the birth of a grandchild or interacting with her six grandchildren…, she seemed to radiate joy and love for others and for life itself. That made me wish I had had the pleasure of knowing her.

Along about the time I read her obituary, my daily Bible readings brought me to several passages about joy. For example, Galatians 5:22 says that joy is produced by the Holy Spirit within those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Joy, along with eight other “fruit” (love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity (faithfulness), tolerance, and self-control), will be as evident in the life of a believer as apples on a tree.

Reflecting on that prompted me to ask myself these questions, which you, Dear Reader, may want to ask yourself:

• As others look at my life, what “fruit” (evidence, proof) is there that the Holy Spirit of Christ lives within me?
• Is His “fruit” so evident that even those who don’t know me personally can see it and sense His presence?
• Can they/Do they see there is a distinct (and desirable!) difference in my life than in unbelievers whose lives are controlled by their “lower nature,” which leads them to “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5: 20-21)?

I had fun coloring this card a friend gave me.

Be Patient!

Flowers only bloom when they are ready.

People are the same way.

You cannot rush or force them open~

just because you think it's time.

Be patient.

                 ~author unknown                

A Prepared Feast

Dear Reader, I’m thrilled to share with you the following quote, which I've paraphrased slightly. I found it in the April 13^th devotional in The Listening Heart by Judy Gordon Morrow. (Note: For each devotional, she writes the words she senses Jesus saying to her.)

Spending time with Me is like enjoying a banquet of My love. When you set apart time to be with Me, to feast on My love, then I will fill you up with everything you need: My love, My joy, My peace, My hope, My patience. You will be filled with Me and My attributes. You will see the results of this time with Me in your daily lives. For example, peace will replace anger, hope will replace despair, joy will replace anguish...

As I thought about those words, I recalled these words in the chorus of the old song, Come and Dine, written by Charles B. Widmeyer in 1906:

 “Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine;”

You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;

He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,

To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

These two writers discovered, as countless others have, that the Bible is a veritable feast for anyone who accepts the gracious invitation to partake of it--as often as we want to!