We can Choose

 
 

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.
My Father will love them, and we will come to them
and make our home with them. 
Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
These words you hear are not my own;
they belong to the Father who sent me.
John 14:23-24 (NIV) 

We can choose

To listen to God, to obey Him, to love and pay

attention to His voice, or …  

We can choose to let the world’s voice control us.

I do want to give God the reins of my thoughts, my emotions and my actions - to let His word control my life.  But it’s a constant battle - choosing to listen to His Spirit rather than the voices around me.   

As I listen to the noise of the world, I sometimes wonder whether anyone is really choosing, or if we are just being swept along by the tide of our culture.  And I wonder how much of the time I’m being led by something other than the Word of God.

It doesn’t come easy, and it’s not a given, that if I believe in Jesus, the Son of God, I will automatically live within His direction.  I must still choose.

As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is God’s letter to the world, and I specifically know that the words in that Book are applicable to my life as a child of His.  So I will choose to trust that God has directed the words written there.

God does not change, and God does not need to be taught by people in our time who want to change His word to suit their own desires.  What He has said in this Bible will forever stand. 
 
We are all made in His image, and in that, we are made so that we can choose.  And what we continue to choose determines who we are - whose children we are – the Children of God, or children of Satan.  We cannot just go our own way and think that God will bless our lives – it doesn’t work like that.  We must choose His directions on this path of life.

So we can choose.

When the world says it’s right to dishonor God’s word - 

when I’m told that God changed what He's always called sin.

I can choose to believe the words of false prophets,

or believe what God said.  

I can choose to trust Him.

I can choose to remember that I can’t control

what others believe or how blinded they’ve been.

But 

I can choose to remember that God is 

“The Word.” 

He is trustworthy and true 

and today I can choose 

to believe only Him.

Pictures in Time

Dear Friends, 

I spent a few minutes this morning looking at some old photos, I can’t believe how the years have flown by.  We were so young, so alive, so able – and now, what I find are many beautiful memories inspired by the pictures on my computer.  

These, my memories, belong to the cherished ones in those pictures, and we all see them differently.  I see them as they surround me, and Ron sees them through his eyes.  I don’t know what the other faces in those pictures remember, or whether they smile at the memories,  But those times, they are past, and I cannot live in the past.

Lately, I’ve also spent some time thinking about the future.  Oh yes, at 84, there is still a future, but it’s definitely not anything like those pictures on my computer, or in my mind.  It’s a future that my mind can’t even decipher.  When I try to think of the immediate future it’s a little difficult, since it could contain more beautiful memories, or maybe some truly difficult times.  I guess I believe it will be a combination of beauty and pain.  

So when I look at the future, I find myself not wanting to spend time thinking about the immediate future, but instead, looking  forward to the future time when I’ll be taking a trip to my final home, my ultimate life.  

Trying to picture the beauty and the excitement of seeing my Savior, my God, gives me comfort, and yes, excitement.  I’m also filled with peace when I think of that life.  It’s something so beautiful and so foreign that my mind cannot paint a picture of it.
So, I will just bask in the reassuring picture that Jesus gives us when He says – 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

and

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, 

would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you

 to be with me that you also may be where I am.  John 14:2-3 (NIV)

The Heavens Declare

In the silent night – the expanse of the heavens may tell us a little about the God who made them.   As I look at that night sky from a place far from city lights I believe that, if I can focus these human eyes further into the heavens, I’ll be looking right into the throne room of God. 

Here we are, minuscule ants in the vast universe, alive on a planet spinning in space.  The heavenly vastness is almost unbelievable.  It tells of a powerful unfathomable maker, and I know with certainty that it didn’t just happen to be so beautiful, so unreachable.

Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV)
The heavens declare the glory of God;

    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

 Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.

When I hold a tiny kitten – a newborn, when I stroke his soft fur and feel the beat of his little heart, I see the tenderness of God right there in my hand.  When I was allowed to hold my own babies and can remember the choking in my throat at the wonder of such a gift - such a helpless, precious gift, I can feel God’s tender heart touching mine and I know for certain that this tenderness didn’t just happen to be so unspeakable.

Matt 6:26 (NIV)
Look at the birds of the air,
for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.

This world is full of many created beings that inspire admiration – admiration and fear.  Or maybe not necessarily fear, but maybe an intake of breath, a feeling of caution or a wariness.  But, no matter - large and small, God made them.  Predator and prey, He made them beautiful, awe inspiring, and necessary in the arrangement of His world. 

When God created the things of our world, He said, “It is good.”  I believe He was and is delighted with the work of His hand.  I believe we can almost see Him smile as magnificent horses run in unison across the open prairie.  I believe He likely chuckles as the bear cubs tumble together in the woods, and maybe He grins as the tuxedoed penguins show off the clothing that He gave them. 

Genesis 1:25 (NIV)
God made the wild animals according to their kinds, 

the livestock according to their kinds, 

and all the creatures that move along the ground
 according to their kinds. 

And God saw that it was good.

Another thing I see that speaks a picture of God is love.  When we see, in God’s people, a love for others, it tells us something about our God as well.  The quality of love must come from someone who loves. 

We see the “good Samaritans” in our world reaching out to the hurting.  We see love in families, friends, and even strangers.  We see a willingness to put others before ourselves.  We see hospitals and homes for abused women established by believers, and we see them meeting in prisons and other places of need, and God sees them as well.  And I believe He smiles. 

1 John 4:19 (NIV)
We love because He first loved us.

He is Beyond

In my mind and heart I try to understand and picture God.  What if He is not that picture - then what?  If God is more than that, then what?  

I’ve been reading a book, “The Knowledge of the Holy” by AW Tozer.  This reading has brought many questions to my mind and some answers.  But it did make me think, and thinking is a good thing, right?  So here are a few of my thoughts.  They are not necessarily Mr. Tozer’s conclusions, but they are ideas that came from the “thinking.”  

The first, and probably most exciting thing to me is that, if I reduce God to the attributes I read about in the Scriptures, or to what I personally deduce about Him – All Knowing, All Holy, All Powerful, Always Present, etc., I still cannot see God as I see the things of this world.  I cannot truly know what I want to know about Him, because

He is Beyond my Comprehension

Do you ever try to picture God when you’re praying to Him?  I do, and it doesn’t work.  My mind cannot!

Oh, I can picture Jesus, the Son.  But not really, because I always remember that I’m only picturing His human likeness, not the essence of God in Him. 

If I try to picture the Holy Spirit, that doesn’t work either.  I feel His presence - sometimes, and I hear Him when He speaks to me - sometimes, but still my mind cannot completely know Him.

So God, the Three-in-One, is not anyone or anything that my fragile mind can imagine.  He is Too Much! Too Great!  Too Beyond!

God is Beyond

Beyond the distant side of everything,

not just everything I see

But everything

Beyond the yearning in my heart

not just everything I want or need

But everything

Beyond the worlds that He created

not just everything we touch 

But everything

Beyond the thoughts of greatest minds

not just every word we read or hear

But everything

Because

God is Beyond!

He is more than we can think.  He existed before our minds were created.  God was not created – He is!  He was!  He is Always!

If God is not within the reach of our imaginations, what then?

I will Love Him as He revealed Himself in the Scripture.  I will worship Him because HE IS GOD!  I will worship Him even if I, in my humanity, cannot paint a picture of Him. 

Therefore, I must not reduce Him to anything my mind can conceive, because He is Beyond! 

He is the only True and Living God.

The Window Pane

Recently I heard a woman say something terribly sad.  She said, “all men are worthless.”   She had been hurt deeply by several men in her life, but she spoke with such bitterness, condemning all men.

This post isn’t meant to belittle the hurt that anyone has suffered at the hand of another person, but I feel such sorrow for this woman, because she is not seeing beyond her pain.  And in not seeing beyond, she’s not allowing herself to experience blessings that are waiting for her, just behind the stormy clouds.

Memories

The snow was settling on the branches
of the pines, there’s was little hint of
sunshine on the trees across the drive. 
It was a beautiful winter wonderland.  

But there was a smudge on the window, and that was bothering me.  If, when I looked out that window, my eyes were glued to the dirty smear on the inside of the glass, I would never have been able to see the beauty painted on my window that morning.  There was something incredible out there to see.

There are many lessons to learn about the places that our focus can take us.  If we look at a rose and worry about the prickly thorns, we’ll never be able get close enough to smell the beautiful fragrance.  If we are afraid of getting our feet wet, we’ll never be able to enjoy splashing in the puddles.  So many ifs, aren’t there?

I believe many of us have had to handle things in our lives that were terribly difficult and painful.  It’s like picking up a rose and getting pricked with its thorns?  We aren’t prepared for it.  Life is sometimes like that.  Many times even the most worthwhile endeavors end up hurting us.  

Looking beyond the spotted glass, looking beyond the stop sign, looking beyond the pain and hurt, beyond the struggle, all these things are still worthwhile “if we look beyond.”  If we look beyond the windowpane, maybe we’ll see a beautiful picture that God has painted beyond the clouds, beyond the storm.

Look beyond the window glass.

Yes, look beyond the pane.

Look beyond perfection’s loss

while standing in the rain.

Look beyond the prickly thorn and smell the yellow rose.
If we look beyond,

and trust God’s heart

We’ll see roses in the snow.

My friends, maybe we could all try to look beyond our past and our pain.  With God’s help, I believe it will be worth the try.

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Jesus told his disciples just before He ascended into heaven.  Matt 28:20 (KJV) lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Diane

The True King

 

As a child I read stories about kings and castles, about golden crowns and chariots and thrones, and about a Lion who was the king of the jungle.  

Now that childhood days are long past for me, I find that those kings and queens have lost their allure.  

But today let’s remember those childhood stories and try to imagine ourselves talking to a king.

On the far side of the forest there is a mountain on which a tall strong stone castle stands, diminishing the view of anything else.  The deep moat around it is designed to keep the likes of us out.  Everyone knows that only those with a special authority can cross the drawbridge into this most forbidding, beautiful realm.  Only a very special few can come before the throne of the king - the monarch of that kingdom.  Only a very few noblemen have the right to speak to that king. 

That is the tale from my childhood, but things are different for those of us who belong to the True King, who are citizens of the true kingdom.

THERE IS ONLY ONE

There is only one True Kingdom, and one totally unlimited ruler.  He is THE KING.  He is the Monarch of all things.  And He is The Designer, The Creator, and even more than that – the OWNER of everything!  

The Bible tells us about Him. 

"Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”  Isaiah 40:28  (ESV)

and

"He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.  He wraps up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud does not burst under them.  He obscures the face of the full moon and spreads His cloud over it.  He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness.  The pillars of heaven tremble and are amazed at His rebuke."  Job 26:7-12 (NASB)

Or

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

As The Bible describes the real KING, he grows bigger, more powerful, more unreachable, and further from our understanding with each word we read.  This is the True King.

 I’m afraid that we don’t give Him the devotion, the respect and the obedience that we owe Him.  Maybe it’s because we don’t understand what it means that He is the KING!

But if I do understand, at least in a small way, His character and attributes. and if I see myself in comparison to Him, GOD - THE KING with that awesome power, wisdom, might and greatness, then I feel small, weak and unimportant.

BUT IT’S NOT THAT WAY AT ALL, 
I AM IMPORTANT 
I’M IMPORTANT TO THE ONE WITH ALL THAT POWER.

WE 
ARE IMPORTANT TO HIM  
BECAUSE WE ARE CHILDREN OF THE KING.

Children of the King have permission to cross the drawbridge, go through the castle gates, approach the throne, get up close and whisper in the King’s ear. 

Oh yes, He is still above all, above even his children, but as his children, we have a special place in his heart.  It is a place so special that He came to earth as a man, suffered and died on a cross to sign our adoption papers, making us members of His family.   

And that alone allows us the right to approach His throne and actually sit down there and talk to our Father - THE KING.

Called to be Holy

 Dear Friends, I sometimes question the possibility of living a life that reflects Jesus. When I think of His strength in the desert, resisting the temptations of Satan, I feel so inadequate.  When I think of the hours Jesus spent just helping people, healing them, listening to them, and being present in their lives, I wonder how I can possibly be like Him.  My heart so wants to be that way, but my world sometimes interferes.  

In the Bible I read - 

.... just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."  1 Peter 1:16 (ESV)

We're called to be Holy!

We're called to be Holy - His children.

We're called to draw near to His throne.

We're called to live life in His presence.

We are called,
and He's calling us home.

Home to the arms of our heavenly Father.

Home, though we're dwelling this day on the earth.

Home to a place filled with love and compassion

Home is the place of His children's re-birth.

We're called - listen closely as Jesus directs us.

We're called to take steps that walk only His way.

We're called to give Jesus our total devotion.

We're called to be Holy each hour of the day.

He calls - holds us close, as He gently erases

the sins that could turn tender hearts into stone.

We're called to the arms of the One who forgives us

and calls us His loved ones,

His children,

His own.

Diane August 2024

Please give me back my rainbow

 

Please give me back my rainbow
the symbol of God’s promises, 
kept time and time again.

No matter how his children sinned
and live within sin's stain 
our God still paints forgiveness
precious treasure through the rain

If we look at the entire story of the flood, we find that God’s anger at sin is terrifying.

The rainbow first appeared to men after God had washed the world of an epidemic of sin and debauchery.   The Bible tells us

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.   

So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”  Genesis 6:5-8

But there was one man who did not yield to the sin that prevailed on the earth.  His name was Noah.  Again the Bible says,

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

 God gave Noah instructions to build a boat.  One that would hold all that God wanted to preserve on this earth.  Noah spent many years building this “ark” and after that God sent the animals to him and they all entered the boat and “the LORD shut him in.”

 It rained for 40 days, and water came up out of the earth and covered everything.  

But after Noah and his family had been in the ark about 370 days and there was dry land, God said, 

 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”  Genesis 8:16

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:  I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”  Genesis 9:12-17

God promised to remember His people.  The mighty, All-Powerful God of the universe made a promise.  It was that He would never again flood the entire earth.  God keeps His promises.  Even with all the evil in our world over the centuries, we are still here.

The rainbow in the sky should not only remind us of our loving, promise keeping God, but also the lengths that He went to, in order to make sure the human race would go on.  It should remind us how He hatred and was disappointed in the sin of the men He created.  

When I look at the rainbow (in the sky) I see two sides of our God, His love and His justice.  

It saddens me to see the way that beautiful symbol has been misappropriated by our culture.  And God is Love, and He has a right to ask that we honor Him by obeying His just requirements.

So I pray that someday the world we live in will remember and give us back our rainbow.

God of the Small Things

 

Do you not know?  Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.  
Isaiah 40:28 (NIV) 

When I look at our Mighty, Awesome God of Power. who made the amazing universe – God who created the unnumbered stars, the roaring thunder, the mighty wind and weather, and the limitless space.

I wonder

I wonder, Father, do you care about the small things?  I think that my everyday life is such a small thing compared to all your mighty works.  My movements, in and out of this, my place of prayer – do you care about them?

If I think about it, do I take for granted the fact that, when I wake in the morning, I do! 

(I wake in the morning.)  

Each part of this body that slept, at least part of the night, begins to do what our maker designed it to do.  Is that a small thing?

Many small things make up life.  But are they small?

The day begins, and so many small things amaze me.  I look out the kitchen window and see grass and trees.  I see the dew on the ground.  I see little, tiny wrens picking at pieces of something they find on the ground.  Oh, they are so precious, sashaying around, not strutting as if they were proud of themselves, but still letting every inch of creation know that the creator thinks they are special.

 I turn on the TV.  I like to watch a Tim Janis video as I arrange my thoughts to meet my Father.  The videos highlight God’s creation in glorious color.  As you look at waterfalls, trees, flowers, mountains, animals and abundant birds, you hear beautiful old hymns voicing the love and care of our Father, the maker of these glories.

Small thing – ordinary thing – no!  Just what I needed today to focus on the maker of this small life I’m living.  This was just what I needed to focus on Him and not on myself.

Later, an email comes in from a person who “just happened to think about me” on a day I felt forgotten.

Small thing – no! Just what I needed today to focus on God’s love and care for his people.

I see a picture of one person worshipping God in a foreign country.

Small thing?  No!

Not small or ordinary.  We need to see the truth that we’re not alone in this battle.  Many of God’s children care as well.  

----

As for our lives today, we are in the process of moving from our home to a smaller place.  When we moved to Indiana about 4 years ago, we wanted a place in which we could breathe.  After being in our mountains for about 30 years, moving to a city was a bit difficult.  We’ve enjoyed the large beautiful green lawn, the flowers and the garden, but it’s gotten a little hard to keep in the shape we believe this home and neighborhood deserve.  And of course our bodies, though made by our God, begin to get a bit tired after 80 plus years.

We’re excited for the move, and still a little disappointed that we have to leave this home that we’ve grown to love.   There’s an amazing story to that.  When we bought this home 3 ½ years ago, the previous owner told us that she had walked through every room praying that the home would be a blessing to us. 

Yes, God was in those small things.

So we move on.  Our place will be smaller – but in all of that, we KNOW that God cares about the small things, and He is always with us.

We pray that we’ll be able to pass on to its new owners the peace that has enveloped us here.  Peace that we believe came about because of the small prayers of that precious lady.

Well, you get the idea.  Arrangements have been made that we could not imagine, with the speed and ease that we didn’t expect.  So we will move on – not far, but well.  

Our God is in all things – the big and the small things.

Psalm 137

 Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept 

when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars we hung our harps.  

For there our captors asked us for songs.

Our tormentors demanded songs of joy. 

They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

HOW CAN WE SING SONGS OF THE LORD WHILE IN A FOREIGN LAND?

I sat with my Bible this morning and this Psalm showed up as I opened it.  I use the Bible app, so I’m not exactly sure how that happened.  But it struck me forcibly. The world of the Israelites, when they were slaves in Babylon, was not so very different from our world today.  I thought about that and put myself in this picture.  The words rang multiple bells.  As we read these phrases stand out to me.

“We remembered Zion.”  Today, we may remember the times God spoke to our hearts, the times when, unasked and unrecognized, His Holy Spirit comforted us every day and when our worries were only short lived. We remember a world, a life, filled with less ugliness, and less “in your face” disobedience to His will and His word.

We may remember a world that was less bombastic – a world that didn’t seem to be screaming at the top of its lungs,” Hear me!  Look at me! Imitate me!  Worship me!”

“We hung our harps.”  Maybe today we stopped the music of speaking His words, the beautiful music that came from the talent given to us by God.  We hung up our harps, out of reach.  We stopped, and when the culture asked us to write a song for them, we did not!

We are being asked to "sing a song of joy."  The world wants our joy, but in a strange voice.  “Sing a song of joy.” they say. They want God to bless their own song, not His song.  

How can we sing of The Lord while living in a foreign land?  We are citizens of God’s eternal kingdom, every other land is a foreign land, no matter how pleasant it might seem.  So yes, today we must sing the songs of our LORD in this world, in this foreign land.

How can we?  That’s the question.
We must and we can, but the song must be God’s song from God’s heart, from God’s word.  We can, only if we remember Zion.  If we remember God in His Glory.  If we remember God with His might and His strength, we can sing His song.

Psalm 137

They say 

sing a song in our presence and stay.

Sing joy from your hearts and then play evil’s song
in a wonderful, beautiful way.

Sing - praise to the sins of today.

“Sing a song filled with Joy” they will say

“Sing the song you sang loud on that day

when you were there near His presence

when you lived in His Kingdom.

Sing a song and bring blessings our way.”

But we hung up our harps we might say.

‘cause this world is so empty and grey 

that the song from our hearts could never be sung 

in a world that has traveled this way.

But there must be a way
to remember to sing

if God’s kingdom we claim,

if we honor His name

to sing in our joy, with the courage He’ll bring.

If we remember Zion’s beauty 

and know our welcome there,

if we see the picture of the sins
that we no longer bear - 

our greed, our envy, hate and pride

the dreadful things we could not hide,

then

we’ll sing the song of welcome 

to the sinner by our side

and

we’ll help them see a God
who loves each person there. 

Let’s pick up our harps and sing 

to God our Almighty King.

We’ll sing of THE TRUTH AND LOVE – 

who is

JESUS, sent from above.

We’ll play the tunes the angels wrote 

on clouds that God designed.

We’ll sing of Jesus Christ, the Precious Lamb, 

Savior Divine,

Reflection

 

I woke up this morning – staggered into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Sometimes that's enough to ruin someone’s day!  It was for me.  What I saw was hair standing on end, puffy eyes, new wrinkles where I had engaged with the pillow all night, and a semblance of my 84-year-old self.

What I saw was a reflection, a likeness, a replica of the person standing in front of the mirror.  Oh my goodness!  There was work to be done!

Nothing could change the me I saw in that mirror
 into the me I wish I'd seen.

But at least there was something I could do to help. (That’s what a hairbrush, a washcloth, cold water, face cream and of course a toothbrush were for.)

This got me to thinking about reflections.  Mirror Images – replicas – likenesses – resemblance – representation.  They all speak of basically the same thing.

So as we normally do, let’s look at a couple of scriptures.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 John 2:6 (NIV) Whoever says he abides in him (Jesus) 
ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Walking the way that Jesus walked?  When we read Jesus’ words, we find that He made it perfectly clear what our walk should be like. 

The sermon that Jesus gave on the mountain to His disciples (Matthew 5-7) begins with Jesus describing people as He sees them.  He calls them all blessed - those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, are humble, merciful, and hunger to be righteous, and then some who are pure in heart and peacemakers.  

Then Jesus goes into the importance of the law (the teachings of God that were taught through the ages.)

Next, He elaborates on some of the commands that His people have tried to keep over the centuries.  He shows us that those commands are only helpful if we understand the bottom line – that obedience that must come from our hearts and minds, not just a thoughtless action.

Jesus is really showing us how to live as imitators of Himself.  He spends a lot of time discussing the reason people do the things they see as good. Those actions, giving to the poor and praying, etc. mean nothing when they are done to glorify ourselves.

As the sermon progresses, He speaks of reactions when you are hurt, of favoritism in your interactions. And then He speaks of the love and care His Father has for all His children.

Jesus sums it all up with the directive to build our lives on His teachings.  Build your house on THE ROCK!

Those three chapters in Matthew are enough to begin seeing whether our lives reflect the face, the walk, and the heart of our Savior.

I look into my mirror Lord,
and there looks back at me
a tarnished broken piece of art
that’s not what it should be.

If I could see
Your mirrored face
within that glass 
I’d see

all beauty strength and goodness
shining,
blazing 
back at me.

My Father, help me as I strive
to reflect your face today,
to be a mirror of Yourself
as I try to walk your way.

May kindness, love and patience shine 
in the glass that other’s view.

And my Father, God, I humbly pray 
that when I rise and greet the day 
I will reflect my Savior’s face
in ways that honor You.

But God Was

           In the beginning

 the earth we stand on was not 

 

but God was!

The light that shines on us was not 

but God was!

No mountains, no valleys, no oceans, no streams,

no sunshine, no moonlight, no trees and no dreams.

God Only 

Almighty

Eternal

The One

not made nor created, God, Spirit and Son

from the beginning – beginning of time

before minutes and hours only God 

The Divine

No form yet detected, emptiness – night

water hung in the darkness 

awaiting the light

The Spirit then floated, hovering still

as our world saw its birthing, awaiting God’s will.

And GOD said

“Let there be light,” and there was light. 

He spoke and it was!  

It had not been.  

But know this with certainty 

God Always Was!

Psalm 90:1-2 (CJB)

Adonai, you have been our dwelling place
in every generation.

Before the mountains were born,

before you had formed the earth and the world,

from eternity past to eternity future you are God

Psalm 108:1-5

Psalm 108:1-5 
I wonder if David woke up with a smile on his face the morning he wrote these words. 

He says, “My heart, O God, is steadfast.”   David was full of confidence, trusting - maybe even feeling secure in God’s love and in his own relationship with God – the Almighty.

Next David makes a commitment to “sing and make music with all my soul.”  In other words, when he sings, when he makes that music, he promises that it will come from his heart and deep in his soul.  He speaks as if his musical instruments are almost alive.  He says, “Awake harp and lyre.  I will awaken the dawn.”

Maybe he said, harp and lyre help me praise.  Help me make music so special that it will even make the sun come up over the horizon.   

“I will praise you Lord among the nations.  I will sing of you among the people.”  David was convicting me that my own singing, my own life, my own writing should be all about praising God.

Telling people of His glory, His majesty, His might and His love - that’s praising Him.  Praising Him is also telling God Himself that I love Him; telling Him that I know - I believe - that He is wonderful! 

The word, “wonderful” is often used carelessly.  But “a wonder” refers to something that is almost impossible to fathom - inexplicable.  That’s the wonder that David felt about the God of the universe.

David talks about God’s love being higher than the heavens.  He says, “Your faithfulness reaches to the sky.”  David can’t describe in words something he can’t see, or hear, or feel.  We’re like that as well.  The most expansive word David seems to use for something beyond his comprehension is the heavens – the sky.  So David says that God’s faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Isn’t it exciting to you that when we finally see God in all His splendor, majesty and might, we may even be able to describe Him?

When David praises God for His “faithfulness” it seems that is a word our current world doesn’t seem to understand.

Faithfulness - God IS faithful – committed and trustworthy.  He will never let us down.  He will never be torn away from his care for us.  We can go our own way; God does allow us free will.  But He never turns his back on us.  He is always at the door, ready to say, “Welcome home child.”  He is the Father.  He is the Savior.  He is the comforter.  He is a very perfect faithful God.

David finally says in verse 5, “Be exalted O God above the heavens.  Let your glory be over all the earth!”  All the first portion of Psalm 108 leads us to this!  

My heart, O God, is steadfast; 

I will sing and make music with all my soul. 

Awake, harp and lyre! 

I will awaken the dawn. 
 

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; 

I will sing of you among the peoples. 

For great is your love, higher than the heavens; 

your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; 

let your glory be over all the earth. 

Psalm 108:1-5 (NIV)

Pilgrimage

 The dictionary definition of a pilgrimage is basically a journey.  Sometimes it's a journey for personal growth and exploration that may or may not have a spiritual focus.  

Or could it possibly be a pathway that leads to an encounter with God?

Jesus said

“I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.”  John 10:10 (ESV)

We are each on a Pilgrimage, on a journey through life.  On this journey we can, if we choose, grow closer to the one who created and sustains all of life.  God created us to glorify His name; To give Him glory; To let people know just how awesome He is.

“. .  bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”  Isaiah 43:6b-7 (KJV)

Our journey continues.  It doesn’t stop!  We keep moving, even when we don't think we are.  As long as we live, we’re on that journey.

On that journey we follow a pathway, a road, a trail.  Life goes on and on and on.  No matter how often you’d like to get off that pathway, sit down by the side of life and quit, or run ahead on the pathway to see what’s around the next corner. There is no way, you still go, step by step, by step.  Sometimes you take those steps alone and sometimes you are carried. 

When you were just a tiny baby the pathway was bright and noisy.  But you didn’t have to worry about anything, those around you provided what was needed.  You didn’t look ahead because you didn’t know anything but your own place on that pathway – the place was called NOW. 

As you grew and took your first steps you learned just how hard that pathway was, you fell and weren't always picked up.  You cried and weren’t always comforted.  But during that time you still knew there was One who had watched over you from the day you were conceived.  You fell asleep knowing that He would still watch over you.  Truly, you knew it in your heart.  You may not remember that, but God was there all the time. And as you grew you learned just who it was that carried and watched over you.

Psalm 139:7-12 (NIV)

Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee
from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far
side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light
become night around me,” even the darkness will
not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, 
for darkness is as light to you. 

For you created my inmost being, you knit me together
in my mother’s womb.

When we are on the journey through life, we can rejoice or resist, grieve or grow, compare our path to our neighbor’s path, or be contented with the road we’re traveling on.  We can take a detour around our ambitions, or stubbornly go our own way.  We can walk with God and with other Christians or try to “go it alone.”  We can try to circle back, speed up, slow down or even crumble. But we cannot stop!  You are still on that journey.  That sounds so tiring, doesn’t it?  

But here’s the blessing.  God has made us so that we can rest. We can sleep.  Sleep is like the rest in the middle of a musical piece.  It gives us a chance to breathe, and the rest gives the music an added dimension, an added atmosphere.

When I wake from my slumber I see in my window
a mantle of light 
softly touching the morn.

When the black sky recedes
from my wakening sight, 
and the sun’s mighty radiance erases the night,
I reach for my Savior.  I call on His Name,
and the strength to go on
is reborn.

May your day and your night be filled with the blessing of knowing who watches over you as you travel this path of life.

Diane

Why, God?

How many times do we ask “Why” in our daily lives?  We see hate and crime.  We see a heartbreaking news headline.  We see a child mistreated.  We see disasters.  We see people pushing grocery carts in the street, and we ask “Why?”

Why, God?  Why do you not “fix” it all?  Why, God?  Why do you not make life easier?  Why God?  Why?

Do you listen for the answer?  Or do you prefer to question in a tone that sounds like you’re telling God that He’s not measuring up to your expectations?

My husband and I just finished reading the book of Job in the Bible.  Job was really facing a heartbreaking, painful time, and he and his “friends” all questioned why.  The friends seemed to think they knew the answer, but God didn’t see it that way at all.

I sometimes like to think that, if I ask God, He will straighten me out – straighten it all out - straighten the world out.  But God knows me, He knows what I need.  He knows what the world needs and much of the time the answer is not rescue from the hardships.  

Many times, the hardships are what we need to drive us in the direction of His arms.  But dear friends, your hardships may not be sent to drive just you in that direction; instead they may be used to drive others to the arms of our Father.  You, my friend, may have a major role to play in bringing others to the knowledge of God’s love through your own pain and hardships.

If I ask “Why” when skies are black and clouds spill tears

If I ask “Why” infirmities grow constant with the years

If I ask “Why” this world is up-side-down

If I ask “Why” I see not smiles, just frowns

If I ask “why” but don’t discern God’s presence in the pain,
I’ll never understand the answers
or know God’s power and majesty will reign.

Am I a Pilgrim?

Am I a pilgrim?  A pilgrim is one who is journeying – not at home. 

The dictionary defines a pilgrim as “possibly a person who is traveling to a sacred place-a better place.”


Have you heard the saying, “Home is where the heart is?"  Do you believe that? 

If I am a pilgrim - someone searching for a better place, my heart must be telling me that I am not at home.  If my home is within the arms of Jesus, then that’s where my heart will be, that’s where I will feel at home.  

 Deuteronomy 33:27 

The eternal God is your dwelling place,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

We are living in a world of fear and anxiety.  Could it be that we're not sure where we really belong?  Could it be that we feel lost – or that we don’t recognize our own true home?

Perhaps it’s because it’s been too long since we’ve spent any time there.  Or perhaps what we thought was home - what we pictured in our mind, was not real, but "photoshopped."  That idea of “home” conformed not to God's design, but to the picture we see in the world. 

But if we look at the verse in Deuteronomy 33, we see that God is our home.  He is our dwelling place and His everlasting arms  will never fail us.

My home is in the arms,
the mighty arms of Jesus,

those arms that held my sins upon the tree.

My home is in the arms,
the gentle arms of Jesus,

arms that reach to comfort and to free.

My home is in the arms, the steady arms of Jesus,

who changes not and will forever be.

My home is where God's heart is,

the heart that broke with His great love for me.

See you at home, my friends.

He Caught Me.

Dear Friends, this is something I wrote quite a few years ago, but sometimes, even in our old age, we continue to feel that we're on a carousel.

Sometimes feelings of inadequacy, and of regrets for the times we've hurt others continue to dwell in our thoughts.  But, I want each of us all to remember the very last line of this poem.  He said, "I caught you my child, when I died."  

Jesus is still all powerful.  He is the one who cares. He cares so much that He died on a cross and took all of those sins, regrets, and hurts on His body.  He caught us when He died and rose again, and He continues each day to hold us tight!

“Catch me God,” I cry

from this carousel I’m on." 

The nights and the seasons, stampeding, go by.

Dark pains and dark pleasures about me all fly, 

and I cry, 

“Catch me please, God – before I die.”

“Catch me God,” I cry,

as the black in my heart edges in.

My life and my actions increasingly grey - 

the good and the perfect are further away,

and I cry,

“Catch me please God – before I die.”

“Catch me God,” I cry,

The carousel mirror cries back at me

It tells of a life full of sin beyond measure -

a self-centered life hurting those I should treasure

and I cry,

“Catch me please God – before I die.”

At once, the carousel is still.

My world has crashed.

I’ve lost the will 

to run,

I've lost the strength to hide. 

And no excuses will abide 

since the mirror has shown me what’s inside.

Then I found that

playing the game of catch-me-if-you-can

is not something our Father will do.

I had to stop running, reach out,  

take His hand. 

and listen to Him - then I knew

that He was there all along seeing my plight.
He answered each time I prayed in the night.
He hurt when I hurt and He said when I cried

“I caught you my child, -- 

when I died.”

Diane Gruchow

A letter to God

 

Psalm 51:6-13 (NKLV)

You desire truth in the inward parts, 
and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear joy and gladness, . . .

Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Friends, have you ever read Psalm 51 as if it was a personal letter to God from you?  Have you ever felt the strong desire to bathe in the love and forgiveness of our Father?  

As I read Psalm 51 this morning, I thought, not of the bold, overt sins that I’ve committed, but of the hidden part.  This Psalm speaks to me of that part within my heart that harbors unforgiveness, that harbors the pain of past hurts.  It speaks of resentment that I continue to hold on to.  It tells me that God wants me to recognize that truth and to know wisdom.  

So I ask Him to purge those thoughts and feelings from my soul - from my mind. and help me to feel, and to hear the joy of His salvation, of His forgiveness.

And I trust Him, as I have for all these years, to restore that joy into my heart and uphold me, because He is generous and loving.

Love, Diane

It's Almost Time

It's almost time!  Easter is just around 

the corner!  But, before we sing of His resurrection, before we glory in the Conqueror’s might, let's take a minute 

to walk with His disciples during 

those dark days of uncertainty.  

I’d like to walk with those men and women because I believe that we all have days of uncertainty.  We all have days when we wonder what tomorrow will bring.  We all wonder, at some time or another, if tomorrow will even come, don’t we?

Can you imagine the disappointment? 

Can you feel the aching pain?

Their leader is dead.  

Their hope was in vain.

Those hopes seemed to vanish, eclipsed by the roar 

of the thunder within, and the words “nevermore.”

Their plans for tomorrow were lost in the storm 

of the evil before them, 

in the winds of despair.

They questioned, “God, why, and God how could it be

that Jesus, our Savior, is no longer there?”

As we walk with the people who walked with our Lord, 

we can feel in our hearts the despair they endured.

On the other side of the cross, on the other side of the empty tomb, we can only scarcely imagine what they might have felt.  We can’t really walk in their shoes because now we know the rest of the story.  They told us! And in their words we  find our solid hope.  

I, for one, wish His friends hadn’t been required to walk that path,  But I’m so grateful that they were finally able to touch the scars and hear His voice, and know that He was truly alive after all.

May you live in hope as you consider the joy that was just around the corner for those disciples.

From my heart, Diane