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“This is the day You have made let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 

An odd verse to think of this morning as I began to write in my prayer journal, and yet, perhaps not odd at all – on this day that we will gather with friends and family to remember and to celebrate the life of my brother Andy – because for us, as believers, there is REJOICING both in life and in death. For in life, he lived “full throttle”, to quote a dear friend of his. He climbed mountains, skied slopes, raftted rivers, rode and hiked the trails of national parks and the back roads of West Viriginia, he went diving in oceans with the fish and out of planes to soar among the birds. Andy lived and he REJOICED in each adventure! 

The validity of his enjoyment came from the tales he told – with words and wth his art – he captured our minds with his adventures. From the excitement of climbing El Capitan to the humorous story of a motorcycle encounter with a huge turkey – the pictures were vivid and remain alive in us today and we REJOICE in the life God allowed him to live. 

However, as another of his dearest friends reminded us as he slipped from us last week, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”.  And so – even in his death we REJOICE! To think of him closing his eyes here and opening them in the Presence of God – oh to see the painting or the sketch that would have come of that – oh to hear his story of the ultimate adventure of his life – there in the Presence of the Almighty! There where he knows no pain or suffering or fears or sorrow – only the grand adventure of eternal tomorrows. 

I can only imagine what it must be like for him to walk by Your side Father – what his eyes saw when Your face was before Him. I can only imagine what his pencil would have drawn or his brush painted when he was surrounded by Your Glory. Did he dance in Your Presence? Or did he fall to his knees? Did he sing hallelujah or was he able to speak at all? I can only imagine the beauty he would depict as he forever worships You … I can only imagine* – And the image makes me REJOICE! 💜 

(*adapted from I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me)

Ah Father, You are, as always, GOOD! And I am glad and better for knowing Your goodness – to see it and feel it – to hear it and simply sense it. Your nearness, Your intimate knowledge and care of me, Your intimate involvement with me do not go unnoticed. You reveal Your HEART to me – Your gigantic, loving, full of GRACE heart – and my heart, my life, my mind, my direction – these pieces of me begin to change or be repaired. They are stretched and molded and broken and made alive – by the revelation of Your heart – to look and feel and  see and to respond more and more like You. Your heart reveals Your passion for me so I am moved with compassion. I am moved to give – love, money, gifts, a place, or the warmth of a smile or simple kindnesses – because You gave and continue to give. You forgive so I am moved to forgive. In Your patience with me I am moved to be patient with others and have learned to be still and wait on You. You are attentive to and remember me and this moves me to be attentive to and remember the needs of others. This is not me, this is You loving, living, and moving in me. 

I journal daily of Your goodness Father but this morning, in this quiet, shadow filled room – in the warmth of my blankets and one small light – remembering how I have seen You this week and dwelling on Your Word opened before me – I am overwhelmed by YOUR HEART, the very essence of Your goodness and the reason for Your Presence with me.

May I stay overwhelmed and moved by Your heart and may it (Your Heart) be worn on my sleeve, branding me as  “YOURS”. May it be seen in my actions … heard in my speech … felt in my presence … and missed in my absence – that I might, in the ‘likeness of Him’ – Your heart made flesh, draw others to You so that You might be glorified and their hearts, like mine, might forever be changed. 

When the day is over, just before I crawl into bed, I write in my prayer journal. I write in it of the mornings as well, but the day’s end is reserved for Thank you prayers … Prayers that flow from reflection on the good and bad and mundane things of the day … Reflections that bring realization of God’s presence, protection, correction, provision and most often an awareness of His LOVE. It’s easy to thank God for all the good things He’s done or ways that I’ve witnessed His goodness; the challenge comes in seeing His goodness in the bad and mundane things of the day – but even then – when my focus is on Him thanksgiving flows free and pure. 

Occasionally, however, these bedtime prayers are not from the reflections of the day but reflections of a passage of Scripture or a lesson learned … Tonight’s prayer was an overflow of the 12th day of Christmas. On this final day the symbol we focus on is the CROSS and the name of Jesus is SAVIOR. 

The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  — 1 John 4:14-15

So, from tonight’s page in my journal, may you be encouraged to thank God for His LOVE …

Father, Thank You for LOVE even when I fail You. Love that sent YOUR ONLY Begotten Son to be my Savior – the Savior of all who believe — confessing that Jesus is YOUR SON. Love that hung on a cross that I might KNOW forgiveness and freedom. Love that sent YOUR SPIRIT to abide in me that I might abide in/with You. Love that Redeems and Pardons — and shows mercy and grace — LOVE that never leaves. LOVE that comforts and heals and encourages and hears my prayers even when they are whispered from my bed or spoken in a car or thought in my mind and not journaled here on these pages. Thank you for LOVE Father — I LOVE YOU TOO ❤️

On the 12th day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE gave to me … A Savior who is Christ the Lord. 

Ok, so I still don’t know what my “word” is but I do have an idea of what God wants me to focus on this year … 

                                                                            Prayer. 

I have to confess this nudge from the Spirit came as a bit of a shock to me since He has been teaching me for years to pray daily – to pray throughout the day – to stop and pray with and for people – to pray as the Spirit leads – to pray the scriptures back to God – to pray when I awake at night (which is more and more the older I get – LOL!) … But I also have to confess, when I stop and think about it, that the nudge was somewhat expected as I’ve recently realized that I’ve been letting time and events and life get in the way of practicing these things well. 

So, this morning when the Spirit ‘nudged’ me – I journaled: “TEACH ME TO PRAY” and Ephesians 6:18 came to mind … “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” … This led to Romans 12:12 where Paul gave instructions to be constant in prayer … And from there it was Colossians 4:2 where we’re told to devote ourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving … He kept leading and I kept journaling. The verses weren’t new to me but they were a wake up call to how lax, even weak, I have become in my prayer life – not in the practice of it but in the depth of it. 

And so the FOCUS for 2019 has been set in motion. 

Learning more about prayer … More about … What it means to the Father and what it means to me … about what affect it has … and how to be constant(ly) in prayer … More about praying in the Spirit and on all occasions as Paul instructed … About how to listen and not just talk to God … How to pray not for my will but in alignment with and for His will … How to be more faithful in praying, not just telling God what I need and thanking Him for all He has done (Philip 4:6-7) – but for others, I mean Paul said: “all believers everywhere” … And being more faithful not just to say I’ll pray for you but to actually stop and pray for/with the person asking for prayer … And the list goes on …

So, it seems like there will be much to learn – or relearn – and much, I’m sure, to put into practice if I am to go deeper into prayer. I am humbled for sure but eager to see where and how He leads, teaches, changes, and grows me in this amazing gift and privilege that comes with being His daughter. 

Ok, do you know what your ‘word’ is for 2019? I don’t. I want to – I thought I did. I was all prepared to glean what I could about ‘light’. You know, the light that Jesus spoke of when He said: “You are the light of the world” in Matthew 5:14. But – as much as I want ‘a word’ – I don’t want to simply decide what it is because I read a verse I liked or to grab it out of the air – or more specifically off of a page of “2019 word suggestions” (yes those pages really do exist) just to say I have one. So, instead, I’m waiting and listening … Trusting I will know when it’s time for me to know. 

Today, on this first day of 2019, as we consider resolutions or as we make plans for the hopes and dreams we have for the new year – let us remember God and His calling upon our lives … to be Holy as He is Holy … to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength … to love others as we love ourselves … to turn from sin and love righteousness … to go and make disciples … let us consider these things and plan accordingly- that at the end of 2019 and each day in between now and then – we might hear Him say “well done My good and faithful servant” … NOT because we lived up to a resolution or because we measured up to someone else or saw a dream fulfilled – but because we lived for Him ❤️

Father, You are Good. Perhaps there is no time of year that reminds me of this TRUTH more than now. Now with all of the TREES and twinkling LIGHTS … Now – with all the shopping for GIFTS that will soon be wrapped and placed under the tree … Now with the all the Christmas music playing everywhere … There’s no where to look or way to drown out the beautiful sights and sounds of Christmas. And for this I am glad – for while I know to some, if not most, these sights and sounds are more and more reminders of our over commercialized and secular celebration of this SACRED HOLIDAY, for me, the trees that fill my house and the songs that fill the air are ALL sweet and treasured reminders of You Father💜. Your gift of LOVE come down to earth, wrapped not in paper and bows but swaddling cloths. Your gift of HOPE to those who were without any. Your gift of JOY for those who had waited for this PROMISED MESSIAH. Your gift of LIGHT to a world filled with darkness – and Your gift of PEACE proclaimed on that silent with the message of “GOOD NEWS of great joy that would be for all the people – a SAVIOR, who is Christ the Lord!”

Prayer: Father, protect and develop this focus daily in the midst of a world that will clamor for my attention, and help me to share the GIFTS with those around me everyday.

Amos 4 (April 27) The Propelling Love of the LORD”Yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD. (6,8,9,10,and 11)

Amos delivers more startling judgement from the LORD – reminding them of how they had gone from city to city sinning more and more – of their oppression of the poor and needy – of their meaningless sacrifices and tithes – and their boastings about it all – and then of of all He had brought down on them because of these things and “YET” how they had not returned to Him.  

The love of the LORD propels Him to go to great lengths to have His people return to a right relationship with Him.

Look at Exodus 19-20 to see the lengths He went to in order to proclaim the commandments to Moses before the people at Mount Sinai – which included in part “Do not have any other gods before Me … Do not make for yourself an idol …for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God …” And lest we think for a minute that this same love does not apply to us let us refresh our minds with John 3:14-17. God made a way where there was no way for us to approach Him – not because He had to but because He desired to save us and – not just to save us but to dwell with us forever and to love us as His own – John 14:15-21. 

While chapter four leaves us wondering what God is going to do – the one thing we know for sure is His Glory will be seen … Because we know that God’s glory is always seen in His dealings with His people – whether it is in the triumph He gives them over their enemies or in the display of His mercy and grace toward His wayward children. 

I know this deep pursuing love of God in a very personal way. He has pursued me more than once when I veered to the right or left. His pursuit of me from the ‘pit’ (A story for another day), when like Israel, I liked to ‘boast’ of worshiping rather than truly and faithfully worshiping God alone, is what led me back to Him and how He taught me of His grace. His pursuit of me is what saved me from my self then – and it is what prepared me for everything in between then and now. Grace revealed His mercy and love – and these continually pointed me back to His grace – and together they developed a relationship of reciprocal love and devotion that strengthened me to weather storms of life that would have otherwise destroyed me. This life-giving relationship continues to fill me daily with strength and peace, courage and comfort, and a wisdom that teaches me to totally rely on Him. He picks me up when I fall and turns me around when I get off track. He is my life and the lover of my soul – and I am forever and profoundly thankful for His faithfulness to pursue and love me.❤️

After-words …

“They have lost the perception of right and wrong because their hearts are hard and sin is numbing their conscience. They have lost all traces of truth because their unrighteousness is suppressing the truth -(Romans 1:18-19). All of their social sins reflect their spiritual poverty, and they engage in worship with a warped mindset. They love to make a show of their offerings, but they lack any heart-affection for the LORD.” First5

In Amos 4:7-11 God’s quest is to get His people to wake up from their apathy and indifference to sin, so they will repent and turn from their sin. The point of God’s repeated discipline is to direct their lives back to Him because He loves them. If Israel would repent, God would relent from his judgment. But five times we read this sad phrase “…yet you did not return to me, declares the LORD.” This little phrase “…yet you did not return to me” holds such a deep sense of sorrow because each and every time they reject God’s correction by refusing to repent, they are rejecting God’s mercy and healing … they are rejecting God’s forgiveness and grace … they are rejecting God’s power to restore their lives … And the saddest part of all is that ultimately, they are rejecting God.” First5

“Over 85 times in this short book, we read about God’s discipline and judgment due to sin. This emphasizes the truth that cultivating sin in our lives will accumulate judgment. When we stubbornly continue to seek our won way, it will result in God’s painful discipline. But when we earnestly repent and seek the Lord, there is restoration and life – because God is the giver and restorer of life! First5

“Where we are right now doesn’t have to determine where we end up.” First5

“But there is another beautiful truth tucked inside this passage to encourage our hearts today. It’s a truth about God. … He is patient and long-suffering. He’s totally committed to His relationship with His people, including you and me. His desire is for ongoing, unbroken fellowship and intimacy with us. he won’t sit back or ignore us or abandon us or walk away when we wander around lost in sin. Instead, He continually pursues us. God’s love is relentless and strong. He’ll do whatever it takes to woo us back to Him when we get off track or stumble or sin.” First5

Amos 1 (April 12-13, 2018)

Personal Messages From the LORD
Amos, a shepherd, is sent to the Northern Kingdom to deliver some not so welcomed news to Israel during a time when life was good. 

Sometimes when I’m reading God’s Word the oddest things pop off the page and grab my attention.  For instance in today’s reading I find it interesting and a rather prominent statement of God’s character that He didn’t just send “a” message in this first chapter – but five personal messages to Israel’s neighbors – calling them by name and listing their egregious sins and the judgment/consequences of those sins.

 This is perhaps my favorite character of God – the fact that He is personal and intentional in His relationship with His people. It is comforting to me to know that He is paying attention, knows how I’m feeling, and what I – not just another human – but Mary Ellen need/want. His words and actions aren’t generic they are specific – words written for ‘all’ but delivered to me through the written page, other’s words/messages, or His still small voice. If I’m paying attention I will notice that something as simple as a smile or as big as a $200 check that arrives in a card – with a message that says ‘not sure why, but I was impressed to share this with you’ – are delivered at just the right time. I often ask Him in the morning, ‘help me to see Your fingerprints today and to hear Your voice, even if it’s a whisper – and He does … that smile came when I was hurting on the inside and needed a friendly face, but they had no idea… and the check met a financial need that I didn’t even know about at the time.

So why does this mean so much to me? Because knowing that He is personal in His relationship with me encourages me to be personal in return … I pray personal prayers – I look and listen expectantly for Him – I trust deeper – and I respond more quickly, which. – I suppose – is why this chapter and the five personal messages of conviction grabbed my attention. 

I noticed in each statement of judgment there was the word ‘Because’. God didn’t just know that they had sinned, He knew what they had done and He didn’t just say ‘you have sinned against me’, he said it’s ‘because …’. Much like the gift of the smile and the check, if I am alert – like He tells me to be – I will often hear His warning before I’ve ever stepped into the sin – and I will see the way of escape that He provides.

… God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:1

And, if I have already stepped or fallen into sin – I can rest assured that because He is personal He will tell me exactly what I’ve done (Amos 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, and 13) and allow me to confess my sin and find forgiveness through the blood of Christ. 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Even as I was writing this – my daughter came in and started telling me some things that God had been teaching her and some very personal ways He has been showing up and personal things He’s been doing. With this bottom-line commentary … God is good!

After-words ..

“He (Amos)delivered warnings and God’s messages of judgment during a time of peace, wealth and great prosperity.” First5

 “Israel saw its wealth as blessings from God. But Amos would reveal their breach of covenant with Him.” First5

“Despite how uncomfortable today’s reading may make us feel, let’s allow it to be a springboard in our conversations with God throughout the day. I want to be in tune to His whispers and promptings … Because we have access to God’s word and know about His character and promises, we can fully trust Him … He’s aware of every circumstance. he knows the big picture and will not ignore injustice. His timing has purpose … We can trust that God is in complete control …” First5

Hosea 1 (March 12, 2018)

A Prophet and a Prostitute

Hosea is a prophet of God during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Joash, King of Israel, he is instructed by God to marry a prostitute – one who would be an adulterous wife – a marriage that would represent the Israelites unfaithful relationship with their God. 

• Note Hosea’s obedience to such a call – and consider the heartache that must have been involved for him – 

•  *” Like the Lord, he would have a wayward wife and a broken heart.” (HCSB Commentary)

• The naming of the three children Gomer had after marrying Hosea had to be another heartbreak for him as they represented judgement, a broken relationship, and “forfeiture” of God’s love. 

• *I find it worth noting that Hosea is only included in the birth of the first child. The second and third child are simply attributed to Gomer. I’m not sure what this means but I have to wonder if it is to imply that they were the products of her unfaithfulness.

Hosea 2 (March 13, 2018)

His Redeeming Love

I love the HCSB commentary on this chapter:

 *”These verses elaborate on the “Not my People” oracle in 1:9-11. They open with the divorce formula in verse 2 that begins the rebuke in verse 1-13: “She is not My wife and I am not her husband.” The forgiveness section in verses 14-23 announces the restoration of Israel. The LORD again becomes “My husband” (v.16), and Israel becomes “My wife” (v.19); “No Compassion” also receives compassion, and “Not My people” (v.23).” 

• Oh the depth of God’s love and compassion, so torn with grief and stirred with anger at His ‘wife’s” betrayal that He inflicts such punishment – only to lead her back to Him where He “speaks tenderly to her” and gives back to her what He had taken (v. 14-15) – REDEEMING her and once again claiming her as His own forever. 

Hosea 3 (March 14, 2018)

A Beautiful Pursuit

The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD love the Israelites, …” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver … (v1-2)

Oh to have this servant’s heart – the very heart of the LORD … To love as HE loves His people. To pursue one steeped in sin and unfaithfulness – to purchase her from another lover and take her back to live with him … Obedience and Love certainly define Hosea

• Note the requirement he places on her – to live faithfully with him and as he would with her
• Also note the comparison to the Israelites plight and eventual return to the LORD (v 4-5) which again defines the purpose for God’s request/call on Hosea’s life

• *personal note … Oh the brokenness I feel right now to think that this is what I should have done when my husband left me? Yes,  I let him come home the first time but  should I have done more than beg him to stay when he left the second time telling me he knew he couldn’t remain faithful?  Should I have knocked on the doors of his lovers and brought him back home?  I don’t know the answer to these questions but I do know that  eleven years later I am still living without him and my children have known 11 years without their father as part of their lives and family. My heart is broken at the thought that perhaps Hosea’s call was mine too and I failed – I can only call out for forgiveness where I failed and plead for strength to move forward and not get stuck here looking back at the regret of “what if” … Oh Father forgive me and help me – please help me to keep my eyes on you and not the past. …Thank you for reminding me that it might be best to remember all the times I’ve wandered away from you in unfaithfulness and how you pursued me and spoke to me tenderly in the wilderness drawing me back … Allowing me to return – forgiving me – loving me – and restoring our relationship to even more than I could have hoped for❤️ Yes, LORD! I praise you for Your beautiful – unfathomable pursuit of me! 

Hosea 4 (March 15, 2018)

“Hear the word of the LORD, O Children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land.” (1)

Hosea is given a strong message to deliver to the people of God … One that describes their faults and guilts and charges both the people and even more the priests/leaders

•  It is a call for them to “recognize the moral and spiritual corruption of the rest of their countrymen who have abandoned their God and forfeited their right to be called His people. These adulterous inhabitants have abandoned (1) TRUTH or integrity, the quality of being reliable and genuine; (2) FAITHFUL LOVE … and (3) the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. They had ceased to care about knowing Him or the truth about Him (Rm 1:18-32). As a result they were violating the Ten Commandments (HS. 4:2) and suffering the consequences (v 3). HCSB commentary

Note the reference to prostitution and adultery in this chapter and imagine the difficulty Hosea must have had with this message and the personal implications of his wife. We must not miss the underlying message here that no matter what they chased after or who they worship they were never fully satisfied

• “The people of Israel are on trial. They’ve broken the covenant, and God is holding them accountable for their actions. For generations, corrupt priests appointed by the wicked King Jeroboam II had failed to teach the people the law, and now they are ‘destroyed for lack of knowledge'(6). Their malnourished hearts stopped hungering for God’s faithfulness, mercy and wisdom. Instead of feeding on God’s Word, they turned to idolatry, gorged on fleshy fare and never felt full satisfied.” F5

• “Wickedness will run rampant in our lives unless we get a regular intake of God’s Word.” F5

• At the same time … “We can know God’s Word in our head and still fall away if we do not allow God to rule and reign in our hearts.” (Rom 1:21-24) F5

• “We shouldn’t shake our heads at the sins of Gomer and the Israelites without examining our own hearts.” F5  

Father, help me to be satisfied in You alone. Alert me if and when I begin to chase after other gods or to desire things that would compromise my faithfulness to You. Help me Lord God to not just hear Your Word but to love it, to not just read Your Word but to know it, and not just to know it but to live it out everyday – that others may see, know, and follow after You. May it always be a part of my day – whether from the page or from Your Spirit bringing to mind and life what He has hidden in my heart❤️

March 16, 2018

Hosea 5

God is very specific with His message through Hosea … Addressing not just the priests, but the Israelites as well as the “royal house” – no one was exempt from the discipline that God was bringing. 

He made sure that they understood the depth of what He knew about them – from their acts to their what was in their hearts – there was nothing He did not know.

 *Even though God knew all about them, they did not know Him (4:1) (v 7)

 *”Israel’s many evil actions had so enslaved them to sin that they were unable to repent” (v 4) (Rom 6:16-20)

He wanted them to understand that what they were about to experience was coming from Him …

• He would discipline them (2)
• He would withdrawal Himself from them (6)
• He would pour His wrath out on them (10)
• He would destroy them (11-12)
• He will tear them to pieces and not be there to help (14)
• He will carry them off and send no one to rescue them (14)
• He will retreat … Until they admit their guilt and earnestly seek Him (15)

And He told them why …

•  They had been a snare (1)
•  They had become prostitutes in life and in their hearts (3,4)
•  They had become corrupt (3)
•  They were arrogant (5)
•  They remain in their sin, intent on pursuing idols (5,11)
•  They are unfaithful (7)
•  They give birth to illegitimate children (7)

March 17, 2018

Reflections From the Week

Father, I confess this study is difficult for me – such a reminder of times past when I was not faithful to Your ways and a sad eye opener to the consequences I am facing even now … But thank You that with those hard reminders also comes the awareness of how You pursued me 💕 how You did not forsake me 🙌🏻 and how You have forgiven me ❤️ Thank You for letting me hear Your tender voice in the wilderness, for making my ‘valley of trouble into a gateway of hope’, and for leading me back under the shelter of Your Wings and the foot of the cross where Your Grace poured out … where I have known and learned from Your faithfulness …. love …mercy…grace…and compassion 🙌🏻. Help me to continue walking faithfully with You – never again forsaking You for other gods. Guard me Father from getting stuck in thoughts and regrets from the past for I know there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! Help me instead to fix my thoughts on You – and all that is true and honorable, and right and pure, and lovely and admirable – to think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise 🙌🏻 For there I will find peace that guards my heart and mind as I live in Christ Jesus. Thank You that even now as the enemy targets me with all my wrong choices and their affects on myself and others – Your Spirit reminds me of the confidence that I have through Christ Jesus – that neither death nor life, neither Angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING in creation will be able to separate me from Your love ❤️.