A new life verse for 2008

My friend, Mike, suggested this as my life verse for the new year-

Psalm 51:8 Cause me to hear joy and gladness; the bones You have crushed will rejoice.

It's a good verse, but I really hate to blame God for my own blunder....the bones that were crushed were my fault, not Gods.

I wonder how often I blame God for my mistakes?

Looking back at the last few years is an interesting exercise for me. I thought 2006 was a really hard year for a number of reasons. 2007 was equally difficult, and now 2008 is hard for a whole lot of other reasons. It's funny how many ways we make life difficult.

As I look at the last few years I do realize that God has been working in my life to accomplish a lot. He's been molding, shaping, working...to conform me to the image of Christ. I just didn't know I needed this much work. There are days when I ask, "when will these tests be over?" The truth is that they will not end until life is finished or Christ comes back. God is in the business of conforming us into his image, and that's a difficult process....it's often painful.

So, although my friend's verse is good I think I will use this verse for the new year. It is more in keeping with my long term goals-

1Co 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

His unseen work

Deut. 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. ............................................................ My son in law showed me this photo from a few days ago here in Dallas. This is just one of the series from an office in downtown Dallas, Texas. If you have never seen downtown Dallas I need to tell you that there are dozens of buildings, not just these few. What you see in this photo are buildings that are over 30 stories tall. Everything else is hidden by the fog.
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My thoughts were immediately of all the buildings you can't see, all the people who are moving in the streets below. There is a lot more going on than you can see here....and that's true in our lives as well. We only see a little bit of what God is doing. Below the surface is a lot more going on than we even know. We only see a little bit of what God is working on...we only see what he reveals to us.
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How much more is he doing in my life that I can't see? Through these last few weeks I have been occupied with my own health and recovery from an accident and surgery. But what I can't see now is what other things God is working on, what other things he has been doing. Soon the fog will clear and I will be surprised at all the Lord did that I couldn't see before.
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All that we see now is but a small part of God's amazing work in our lives. One day the fog will clear and his plan and work will be revealed. If you could see all the other buildings hidden in the fog you would realize that you missed most of Dallas. You weren't able to see all that was going on below because the fog hid it from your view. This is true in your life today. God is working....even if you can't see all that he's doing right now. Know that there is much yet to be seen and one day the fog will clear and you will be surprised at all he has done. He's an amazing artist.

The walk ahead

Some thoughts on a Monday morning.....

I got to go back to church yesterday. It was great to see everyone. I've been recovering from surgery for a couple weeks, and to see people again was great.

I was thinking this morning that the walk ahead of me will be hard. I have 6 months of recovery before I can really begin to walk again, then a lot of rehab. I've been told it will be a year before I'm back to "normal". It seems like a hard walk ahead, but I must cross this bridge...there is no other way to the other side.

I had some great time in the word today, but am not getting a lot out of it. Right now I'm just reading....yes, I always find something new, and grow from my time in the word, but there are times when I read a passage and it "hits a chord" with me. It connects..... I haven't had that for a while.

Yesterday I read Psalm 27 again where David is invited to seek God's face. His reply is "Yes, I want to do that!" Each time I read that I reply with David, "Yes, I want to do that..." But then I think, HOW do I do that? How do I seek God's face? What would that "look" like? I'm working on that, I'll let you know.

This morning I was also reading about Paul & Silas in jail singing hymns after being beaten. I wonder about that. They were beaten, in pain, in jail, it's dark...midnight in fact, and they are singing. I wish I could talk to Paul about that. "How did you do that?" There was a real joy for them in their suffering that came out in song. I haven't been singing much through these last few weeks...I can't sing...but I have been listening to some great worship music, does that count?

One common note that all of my observations point to today is the photo....sometimes our walk with God is difficult. There are days when we wonder how we will ever get to the other side. It seems so impossible, but in my life I am often drawn back to an amazing passage in Proverbs. It's life directions for difficult walks....

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Saturday's cartoon

I really like this cartoon. It made me smile because we seem to complain about the funniest things. Here's a guy who survived the flood of all times, and is complaining anyway. We each find ourselves doing this same thing....complaining in the midst of amazing blessings. The Jewish nation did this very thing in the wilderness when God provided manna. Their response? "Can he provide meat too?" Never content, never thankful, never happy....I think one of the side effects of the curse is our lack of contentment with God's provisions. I must admit that I have to fight against this very thing in my life as I recover from my own small trial.

A smile for Friday

I saw this photo and thought.....I needed that. It took my mind off of my bum foot. This is a species of monkey I had never seen before, and his profile made me smile. I hope it helped your day as well. He does have a great haircut though. That does help his overall look.

He is big enough

This morning I got some time to read, pray a bit, and have been listening to some worship music- FFH, Bart Millard, Chris Rice, Sara Groves, Chris Tomlin, and Gateway worship. Worship music is a great way to get your focus on the Lord, and spend time just thinking. There is some great worship music available and often I will put on the ipod and just sit back to rest for a bit with some of this great worship music playing. They don't do as well as the birds in choir the other morning, but it's close.

Here's a song that really stood out (sung by FFH) this morning. It's great theology and quite dogmatic in a time of religious correctness. It's great that the only God who is has found us, loves us and invites us to worship him. So that's what's I'm doing this morning.....worshiping the God who is big enough for any problem I have.

You are God alone
by Phillips Craig and Dean

You are not a god
Created by human hands
You are not a god
Dependant on any mortal man
You are not a god
In need of anything we can give
By Your plan, that's just the way it is

Chorus:
You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
Your are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne

You are God alone

You're the only God
Whose power none can contend
You're the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You're the only God
Who's worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that's just the way it is

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Unchangeable
Unshakable
Unstoppable
That's what You are

Stopping places

Psalm 46:10 "Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything."

We will all find ourselves at "stopping places" in our lives. I'm at one now. God's stopping places on our walks with him are not punishments. They are times of rest, refreshing, reflection. It's a time to step back from the rush and spend time with God. It's a chance to realign your life with what God wants.....

I don't do well at stop signs....the ones at the corner or the ones God creates. I find myself in such a hurry to go somewhere I often forget to ask God, "where am I going?" This stopping place for me has been hard because I find that I must let other people help me do things. I can't do everything myself. That's hard...to lose independence and mobility is hard. It's an imposed stopping place in my life that has me thinking- Why the stop? What do I need to learn? Where should I go from here? What can I take from this to help others? How should my life change because of this time of rest and reflection?

I know for sure that this time is a life changing event in my life. I don't know yet what parts of me have been changed....that will be revealed as the days ahead unfold, but I am excited to see what God does with me when the light again turns green.

Broken Open

Here's Jude's new poem. It's always great to see her new work.

The choir in the trees

Psalm 104:12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches.

It's still about an hour till dawn, but as I sit here in the dark waiting for the new day I find that I'm entertained by one of the best choirs I have ever heard. Outside in the trees the birds are celebrating the new day in song. It's an amazing choir. First from the tree near my window I hear one bird sing, and then from a distance another replies....and then a third from somewhere else and soon we begin the chorus again from the bird closest to me. Each of them has such a different song. Each telling a different story. Each has memorized his part well and waits to fit it in with the grand choir around me. I am really enjoying my free concert this morning....what a treat to have such an amazing choir to start my day....the choir in the trees.

Waiting......

I knew this day was coming....the day when boredom would set in. Healing doesn't come as quickly as boredom does. I'm ready for this time to be over....time to be better...NOW!

I have read a lot, watched too much TV, I'm tired of the Internet, it's so bad that when Joye went to the store the other day I asked her to get some Ovaltine. I haven't had that since I was a kid. Where did that come from? Way too much TV....that's where.

I have also discovered that even with hundreds of channels on TV there is nothing to watch. And I'm completely tired of the news programs. Did you ever notice that there is never anything new on the news? The only difference is the names, the news is always the same. Suddenly today I realized, I've seen this news before! And I'll see it again.....as Solomon said, "there is nothing new under the sun."

I'm also tired of politics. Talk about corruption, pride and arrogance! It's amazing to watch, and in a recent politician's demise I really felt bad for his wife. I can't imagine how she felt standing there with him after what he had done. What a very sad situation.

I knew this would come....boredom....but I didn't expect it after only a few weeks. Since I have never been forced to rest and heal like this before I had no idea that this would be so hard. I will tell you one thing- after this I don't ever intend to retire!

Good news? To be bored I must be feeling better...

Crossroads

Photo by Martin Liebermann, (C) by http://www.martin-liebermann.de/

It's been 10 days since I had surgery for a crushed heel. I never planned on being here, but here I am. My plans were taking me in another direction. I didn't intend to take this road. I didn't plan on this in my life, but here I am....

I'm reminded of a great verse in Proverbs which talks about this:

Pro 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

And so I find that the Lord has made a turn in my steps....he has changed my direction and added crutches. If I'm wise I will only complain for a moment about the new direction and then quickly seek God's reason for the change- where are we going now? what is the new plan? who am I to meet on this road? why am I here?

God wastes nothing. Even my course change, surgery, recovery time, and all that comes from this has a purpose. One of the amazing stories in the bible is a story told in the book of Acts in which Phillip is taken from a very successful ministry and sent to a desert road leading to Africa to talk to just one man. The change in direction changed this man's life and the history of Ethiopia. But I wonder if Phillip didn't ask, "why am I leaving such a great ministry to talk to just one man?"

So I ask, as anyone would, "Lord, where are we going? What are you doing with me? What do you want me to learn? What's down this new road?" I know his plan is better than mine, but I do wonder where this will all lead. And like Phillip on the desert road, I will go where he sends me even if I don't see what he's doing right now.

You know it's a bad day when....

Monday's cartoon

I'm so glad that being part of God's family is based on faith alone.....

Recession!

There's a fearful word being used by all the news sources with great zeal....it's the "R" word....RECESSION!

Chicken Little has returned shouting, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" The media is making sure that no one listening to their monologues gets away without a healthy dose of fear. They are so good at their fatal forecasts that many are looking up just to see if the sky really is falling. I'm not advocating that their concerns are not valid, but what I want to address is how we respond to the temptation to fear difficult times.

Just for fun let me contrast some of the things being said in the media with a few words of encouragement-

-"Friday's employment report strongly suggests that an official recession has arrived," wrote David Rosenberg, North American economist for Merrill, in a note this week entitled "Recession a reality."

-"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'…. for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” –Jesus

-"There are people out there, amazingly enough, who say that we have not yet had any hard evidence to support the U.S. is in recession, I mean, hello? I think we've had more than enough evidence," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of private client research at Charles Stanley.

-“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” -Paul

-“The U.S. economy is heading for a recession in 2008, according to a poll conducted on behalf of CPA firm Rothstein Kass by Russ Prince, a leading authority on private wealth. Over 61% of hedge fund industry principals surveyed indicated that a recession in 2008 is a “very likely” scenario.”
-Hedge Funds Anticipate Recession in 2008 Yahoo Finance

-“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” -Paul

-“Over the past half century, every U.S. housing downturn as sharp as the current one has translated into a U.S. recession. U.S. house prices are falling at an annual rate of nearly 4% — an event not seen since the Great Depression — and the downward trend is accelerating. The credit crunch that has emerged since late July is a clear signal of a move closer to recession. Tighter credit conditions mean that the drag on the U.S. economy will soon spread beyond the housing sector to affect consumption and investment decisions.”
-Recession 2008? Wall Street Journal

-“Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” -Habakkuk

These are indeed difficult times....times of war, worry, financial distress, change.....there are real reasons to be tempted to fear. Our challenge, as Christians, is to not let the "winds" of fear take our eyes off of the Lord and his promise of care. Throughout the bible God uses the prophets to remind us of how he has taken care of his children in the past...how he provided water in the desert for 2 million escaping slaves, how he fed them with manna in the wilderness, how he met their needs as they trusted him.

Difficult times may be coming this year and it will give us great opportunity to trust the Lord and see him care for us. The God who created the worlds can care for our needs in the midst of difficult days. Trust him to do what he has done many times in the past....trust him as Habakkuk did when he said,

“Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”

Saturday's cartoon

I'm so glad he took care of this one, but even more excited that he took care of all of them. Because of what Jesus did all my sins are forgiven. That's why Paul could boldly say in Romans 8:1- Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

One author describes it this way- because of what Jesus did on my behalf on the cross God not only considers me just but he treats me that way too. How amazing, justified by God for God....we are blessed and amazingly forgiven if we have trusted Christ for salvation.

Jesus, thanks for not only getting this one, but for getting them all.