Wednesday, April 25, 2012

In the Stillness


In the stillness, my soul hears His beat more loudly.  
     Constant.
          Loving.

His rhythm is continual, never ending.
     Calming.
          Steady.

In the quiet, He whispers truth for me to hear.
     Trust Me.
          Believe.

From false thought-beats pounding, He supplies refuge.
    Faithful.
          Mighty.

Raw wounds, tender cuts, and God says "Hush. I will fill."
  Inward.
           Healing.

He instructs. Counsels. Reminds me, "Step forward."
    Forgive.
               Bless them.

Healing begins as whispered blessings are spoken.
         His Words.
               Heart-felt.

Jesus says deny myself, pick up my cross daily.
     Seek Me.
          Follow.

So I keep His commandments, abide in His love.
    His Joy.
          In me.


And in this stillness, my soul is at rest.
In Him.
            Always.  

Grace and peace,
Angie


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Focus



Night slips into day that slips into night allowing time to slide together.  Life-hurts and unexpected arrows fuel emotions and thoughts that work overtime.  Weariness.  I wonder where a day went  . . . devoured by what ifs, and whys, and how-do-I-do-this moments that have no boundaries.

Come to Me,
All who are weary and heavy-laden,
And I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

And "automatic pilot" could be an easy out, which has been a prime choice of mine in years past.  What are other ways we endure life-hurts in our own strength?
     Ignore brokenness by stuffing the pieces into hiding.
     Run from disappointment by starting something new.
     Numb the pain.
     Cause a physical pain to mask the emotional pain.

But God gave another plan.  A perfect plan.  He sent His Son to walk through brokenness, pain, rejection, disappointment and unjust circumstances.  Because of this, we have an understanding Savior who shows us the way back through the darkness of life-hurts to wholeness with the Father.

"I am the way, 
and the truth, 
and the life.  
No one comes to the Father 
except through me.
John 14:6

Jesus knows the hurt.
     He shows the way out.
          Jesus stands and knocks on the door of our souls.
               He saves us from destruction.
Jesus stands before the Father as our advocate even as we stumble and bumble through life-hurts.

As a ballerina learns to spin, she finds a focus mark.  That mark keeps her world in balance.

When life sends enemy-spins, a mark to focus is needed.
To keep balance in our hearts, there will be a mark on which we focus.  

I know mine.
Take My yoke upon you,
and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart;
and you shall find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29

Jesus.

And what do I learn when I stare at Jesus?

Jesus asked His  closest friends to come aside and pray with Him on Passover night before His capture and crucifixion.  And He showed that friends were only part of the journey . . . He went further, alone, before His Father.

He prayed.
     He cried out.
          He agonized.
He shared His heart with His Father, God.
     He submitted.
          Jesus surrendered to the Father's will.
And He blessed His enemies with forgiveness.

"Father, forgive them;
for they do not know what they are doing."
Jesus.  
Spoken from the cross. 
Luke 23:34

God allowed difficult-beyond-human-ability circumstances for Jesus and, because of them, we can know He understands ours.  He is gentle and humble and life-giving in His teaching:

But I say to you who hear,
love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, 
pray for those who mistreat you.

And just as you want people to treat you,
treat them in the same way.

But love your enemies,
and do good, 
and lend, expecting nothing in return;
and your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the Most High;
for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
Luke 6:27-28, 31, 35

And His servant Peter said it again another way:

To  sum up,
let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly,
kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
not returning evil for evil,
or insult for insult,
but giving a blessing instead;
for you were called for the very purpose
that you might inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:8-9
What is your focus mark?
In the middle of life-hurts, I pray it is Jesus.
Love always,
Angie


Click on this link to hear Jason explaining the song Where I Belong
Then listen to the whole song:  Where I belong by Building 429

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Trials and Temptation

The past weeks since returning from Uganda have been turbulent emotionally, frustrating mentally, exhausting physically.  And desires to quit, hide, and run thicken the circumstantial chaos.

Ever been in a place like that?  Every breath labors.

We are stepping through the storm that was on the horizon weeks ago.  It is here.  Winds come in waves, hitting full force some days, making it hard to breathe.  And every heart-muscled-emotion screams for air, a deep and satisfying inhale.

This is battle.  For those who choose to follow Jesus Christ, the heat of the battle takes place inside us.  No matter the outward circumstances, the bottom line of the battle is this: will we live surrendered to the authority of God through Christ or not?

Countless friends have sent this Truth:  The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.  Exodus 14:14

Father, it feels foolish to be silent when others defend their actions publicly, but the direction from You is to be silent.  I never knew being silent would take such energy and cost so many tears. 
God allows trials in life to test us, they bring out our moral qualities or character, but temptation persuades to evil, deludes us, so that we may be lead to ruin.  God tries; Satan tempts.  Man may be tempted through the senses, the imagination, or the reason.   
If through the senses:  it appeals to greed, appetite, lust, or any one of the passions that bestialize man and create our grosser miseries and crimes. 
If through the imagination:  it dazzles to betray, comes as pride, ambition, or any one of the graceful and gracious forms that can be made to veil vainglorious egotism.
If through the reason: then temptation will come as the doubt of the true, suspicion of the good, or in any of the many forms in which intellect protests against the limits it so wishes. (Fairbairn, A.M.  Studies in the life of Christ.  London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1896.)
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness.  
And we learn He could not be perverted from the perfect will of God, His Father.  

I can be perverted from Your perfect will.  
It usually begins with wrong thoughts and powerful emotions, Father.   

We are destroying speculations
and every lofty thing raised up 
against the knowledge of God,
and we are taking every thought captive 
to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5

Jesus walked through many trials.  
And we learn of His character by reading His trials.  

Recently, the "trial" of Christ's death and resurrection has been celebrated by His followers all around the world.  As we celebrated in our home, we read the account of Jesus' last night with His disciples.  He washed all 12 of their feet, even the feet of Judas.  Moments later, Judas left to commit betrayal.

Jesus knew.  And Jesus washed his feet.  Jesus ate at the table with him, too.

In the garden of Gethsemane, while Judas was on his way to give a kiss of betrayal, Jesus was in agony.  To be in agony means to have extreme and generally prolonged pain; intense physical or mental suffering; a violent struggle.  (dictionary.com)  In the midst of this agony, He knelt and prayed to His Father,
If You are willing, 
remove this cup from me.  
Nevertheless, not my will, 
but Yours be done.
(Luke 22:42 ESV)

Jesus, even in the midst of His stormy trial, did not fall to the temptation to take matters into His own hands.  Christ's trust of God was implicit.

Father, thank You for the example of Jesus, trusting You in the midst of life-storms.  I will follow Him.


May our circumstance not dictate our response.
Instead, may our response to the circumstance God allows glorify Him.
Love always,
Angie