Last day of January. My least favorite month begins tomorrow. 57 days until Opening Day.
Terry Kath, born on this date in 1946 (died 1978), said, “But then there was Hendrix, man. Jimi was really the last cat to freak me. Jimi was playing all the stuff I had in my head. I couldn’t believe it, when I first heard him. Man, no one can ever do what he did with a guitar. No one can ever take his place.” BrainyQuote
The word for today, from Dictionary.com, is fenestrated, an adjective which means, “having windows; windowed; characterized by windows.”
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7
(From The Business of Heaven, C.S. Lewis) No Half-Way House
“There is no half-way house and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him ‘Are you the son of Bramah?’ he would have said, ‘My son, you are still in the vale of illusion.’ If you had gone to Socrates and asked, ‘Are you Zeus?’ he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, ‘Are you Allah?’ he would have first rent his clothes and then cut your head off. If you had asked Confucius, ‘Are you Heaven?’ I think he would have probably replied, ‘Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste.’ The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the question. In my opinion, the only person who can say that sort of things is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the whole mind of man. If you think you are a poached egg, when you are looking for a piece of toast to suit you, you may be sane, but if you think you are God, there no chance for you.We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three effects–Hatred–Terror–Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.” (What Are We To Make of Jesus Christ?)
Father, I pray that we, as your Church would ascribe to You the glory due Your name. May we truly worship You “in the splendor of holiness.” Thank You for the power of Your voice, that brought everything we see into being. This morning, as we observe the wonder of a lunar eclipse, may we be reminded of the beauty of Your creation and the incredible power that created our universe. Then remind us of who Jesus is. Remind us that He is no “moral teacher,” that that opinion of Him is not even rationally possible. He is God and man together, and he is Lord. May we worship Him as such.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:22
“Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you.”~~Walter Winchell
(BrainyQuote)
This, by the way, is how I would define marriage. I believe it is the kind of marriage that Christi and I have had for going on thirty-one years, now.
Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is abstemious, “sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.” Unfortunately, I have not been able to accomplish this trait.
Today is Love Your Pet Day. At our house, we do that every day. But maybe today, we’ll get them a special treat. Yes, I said “them.” Don’t ask.
I got off work at 3:30 yesterday!! I know, right? We had all the receiving finished, my work queue was empty, so the manager said we could go home early. On a Friday!! It was glorious. Christi had left early for a mammogram appointment (everything was fine, she was told), so I called in an order at O.C. Burger, and she picked it up on her way home. We were eating dinner and watching TV shows before 6:00PM. Unheard of!
Today is the day we make the big switch from ATT/DirecTV to Charter. The installer is supposed to be here between 1 and 2 this afternoon. One thing I need to do before he (why do I assume it’s “he?”) arrives is to go through the shows that we record and make a list so that we don’t forget any with the new system. I just hope everything works the way it’s supposed to.
I think Rachel and Justin are supposed to come over this evening to eat and hang out. That’s always fun. Other than that, we don’t have a lot planned today.
There are 44 days, 2 hours, and 58 minutes until Opening Day of baseball season.
On this date in 2003, a fire broke out in a Rhode Island nightclub, killing 100 people and injuring almost 200 more. The fire was started by an unapproved pyrotechnic display put on by the band Great White. You can read the store at History.com.
Today’s birthdays include
1902–Ansel Adams, American photographer 1906–Gale Gordon, American TV and radio actor, Mr. Mooney on The Lucy Show 1924–Gloria Vanderbilt, American clothing designer 1925–Robert Altman, American film director, Mash 1926–Richard Matheson, American author, I Am Legend, What Dreams May Come 1927–Sidney Poitier, American actor, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, A Patch of Blue 1929–Amanda Blake, American actress, Gunsmoke 1934–Bobby Unser, American racing driver 1936–Larry Hovis, American singer/actor, Sgt. Carter on Hogan’s Heroes 1941–Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer 1946–J. Geils, American guitarist, J. Geils Band 1946–Sandy Duncan, American singer and actress 1948–Jennifer O’Neill, Brazilian-born actress, Summer of ’42 1950–Walter Becker, American guitarist, Steely Dan 1951–Randy California, American guitarist, Spirit 1951–Edward Albert, American actor, Butterflies Are Free 1954–Patty Hearst, American socialite 1960–Joel Hodgson, American comedian, Mystery Science Theater 3000 1963–Charles Barkley, American basketball player 1966–Cindy Crawford, American model 1967–Lili Taylor, American actress, The Conjuring, The Haunting, Mystic Pizza 1967–Kath Soucie, American voice actress, Rugrats, Dexter’s Laboratory 1967–Kurt Cobain, American musician, Nirvana 1978–Lauren Ambrose, American actress, Six Feet Under 1983–Justin Verlander, American baseball player
Randy California was a guitarist, singer, and original member of the rock group Spirit. He was born on this date in 1951, and passed away in 1997. Here is their song, “I Got A Line On You.”
William Wallace Lincoln, P.G.T. Beauregard, Frederick Douglass, Max Schreck, Percy Grainger, Chester Nimitz, Walter Winchell, Kathryn Kuhlman, Dick York, Ferruccio Lamborghini, Burt Lancaster, Gene Siskel, Ty Longley (oh, the irony), Hunter S. Thompson, Sandra Dee, and Curt Gowdy are among notable deaths on this date.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
(From Praying With the Psalms)
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29:5-11
David the psalmist uses metaphors of thunder, lightning, earthquake, and storm, some of the most powerful forces in nature, to describe God’s word: “in such a way the world of nature becomes a parable of the world of grace.”
“God, your commanding voice in Jesus stilled storms on Galilee and quieted hurricane fears in disciples’ hearts. Now train me in trust so that I may put aside my timidity and embrace your might word with robust faith. Amen.”
(From Daily Guideposts 2016)
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
In today’s reading, Jeff Japinga writes of an encounter that changed his way of thinking about service. He has a friend who is a pastor of a small church in Brooklyn. The membership is around fifty people, but on evenings when they serve up a hot meal to homeless people, over two hundred might show up.
Jeff was on hand one day when a local food-surplus organization delivered three tons of fresh green beans to the church. Three tons. Can you even imagine how many green beans that is?? Jeff is 6’5″ and says that the stacks towered over him. As volunteers came and went, cooking for the night’s dinner and bagging fresh green beans, Jeff found himself next to an actor “who, in a few hours, would be performing his role in a Broadway play.” Jeff inquired as to how it felt taking bows at the end of a play with all of the applause. “‘Actually, I get more satisfaction from working here,’ he said, ‘because it’s not about people saying thank you to me for something I’ve done. It’s about me saying thank You to God through what I’m doing. that’s what gives me the deepest satisfaction.'”
Jeff has adjusted his thinking because of this encounter. It is not about doing good deeds and being recognized for them. “It’s about intentionally asking how I might use part of my skill that day to say thank You to God.”
It takes great humility to serve in this way, but I have come to believe that it is the best way. I always cringe when we applaud people for their works of service. This is not why we should be serving, not for men’s applause. Consider what Paul says about Jesus Christ in the famous hymn from Philippians 2.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:1-11
Father, continue to teach me this humility. Let the offering of my “good works” to you be enough. I don’t need the recognition or applause of men. Let my heart be such that everything I do, I do for you in humility and grace. And never, ever let me fall into thinking that I am repaying you for the infinite grace that you have lavished on me.
“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”~~Rabindranath Tagore
(BrainyQuote)
Today’s word of the day, from Merriam-Webster, is astrolabe, ” a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant.”
Today is Chocolate Mint Day. Ooh, and I still have some Girl Scout Thin Mints left!
We made a decision last night to postpone the Galveston trip we had planned for April. The house we rented is available for a week in October, shortly after our anniversary, so we plan to move our vacation days to that week. The reason for this is that my mother’s radiation treatments will, more than likely, not be completed in time for the April trip, plus, she may be really tired, still from all of the going back and forth to Weatherford for the treatment. Everyone involved has been consulted, and all agree that this is a good plan. Then we will move our yearly anniversary trip to Glen Rose to November, for Christi’s birthday.
It’s Friday!! And I am working next Saturday, so I will be taking this Monday off, so . . . three day weekend! Which doesn’t quite make up for having pretty much no weekend next week. We have a PAT meeting at church next Sunday, so I will be busy both Saturday and Sunday. But then, there are only two more weeks until our March Glen Rose weekend, for my birthday. Good times.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
(From Praying With the Psalms)
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
Psalm 29:1-4
We who believe in Christ are able to hear something “to which others are deaf: the voice of God.” No, we don’t (usually) hear an audible voice. We hear the voice of God in a “wide range of sound: from the ‘still small voice’ that calms the heart, to this thunderous boom that inspires awe and wonder.”
“I don’t hear enough of what you say, Lord. Cure my partial deafness so that I may attend to your deep, authoritative word resounding through the world in stormy majesty. Amen.”
(From My Utmost For His Highest)
Today’s reading is “The Initiative against Drudgery.”
Arise, shine . . . Isaiah 60:1
If we sit around waiting for God to help us, it likely won’t happen. “God helps those who help themselves” is not a biblical statement, but is frequently misquoted as one. The truth is that God helps those of us who cannot help ourselves. Nevertheless, we cannot just sit and wait, most of the time. Yes, there are times when we must do nothing but wait. But these times are not the norm.
Whenever God inspires, we must “do the thing and not lie like a log. If we will arise and shine, drudgery becomes divinely transfigured.”
How we perform the tasks of drudgery is a great indication of our character. “Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything to do with the ideal–the utterly mean grubby things.” Consider the act of Jesus in John 13. He bent down and washed the feet of a bunch of fishermen. “It requires the inspiration of god to go through drudgery with the light of god upon it.” Have you ever watched a saint do something in such a way that it almost becomes holy? It might be something totally ordinary, but once we see them do it, it is different forever. “When the Lord does a thing through us, He always transfigures it.”
This all goes hand-in-hand with a quote from today’s Daily Guideposts reading. “All of life can be prayer if you let it.”
Father, teach me to let all of life be prayer. Show me the holiness in the commonplace, the divine in the drudgery. In this way, let me worship you without ceasing, in every moment of my life.
Good morning. It is Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Hump Day!
Today’s Word of the Day is pillaloo. Now, that’s a right British sounding word, if you ask me! What it means is, “Expressing distress, sorrow, or grief: ‘oh!’, ‘alas!’, ‘woe!’, etc.” Or, as a noun, it means, “An utterance of ‘pillaloo’; a cry of distress, a howl. Hence: an outcry, a noisy disturbance or altercation; uproar.” So I guess this could be considered a “pillaloo?”
Today is Zoo Lovers Day. Now, I do love the zoo, however, I feel that this is another one of those “holidays” that should be set aside for a Saturday or Sunday. If I wanted to go to the zoo today, I would have to take a day of PTO.
Today is my mother’s birthday! Happy birthday to Bonnie Bickley!! She was born on this date in 19-mumblemumble. I’m certainly not going to tell you how old she is! I will call her later. I’m not going to call them at 6:00 AM. 😀
Hey, the Texas Rangers won last night!! They defeated the Athletics 3-1, with Primps Fielder going 2-3, with 2 RBIs. Well done! Colby Lewis got the win, and Neftali Feliz got his first save of 2015. The Red Sox are back in action tonight, continuing their series with Philly at 6:05 CDT. The Rangers are still in Oakland for two more games, so tonight’s game will, once again, start at 9:05 PM CDT. Ugh.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29:9-11
(From Knowing Jesus)
Today’s reading is “Jesus, Gentle Servant.”
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”
Matthew 12:14-23
The passage from Isaiah that Matthew chose to quote to describe Jesus was originally about Cyrus, the Persian ruler. Cyrus was God’s servant, and, “as ancient conquerors go, he was not cruel and vindictive.”
We can also learn much from the context of this quote from Isaiah. If there ever was a time when Jesus would have been justified in losing his temper, it most certainly would have been those times when the Pharisees were attacking him, and, in this case, seeking to kill him. But Jesus “simply withdrew from the conflict and kept on healing the sick, while admonishing them not to talk about what he had done.” His response is a perfect fit for the prophetic passage used to describe him. “He was God’s gentle Servant, refusing to retaliate and crush his enemies.”
It is important to note that, in our belief system, our theology, Jesus IS God! He is fully divine, yet fully man, a truth that is pretty much impossible to comprehend. Yet, when he left heaven to accomplish our salvation, “he humbly assumed the role and character of a servant.” When he was baptized, and again, at the transfiguration, the voice of the Father affirmed him as “my beloved Son.” He was fully empowered by the Holy Spirit for his life and ministry. “In the end, he offered himself on the cross by the Holy Spirit and he was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit.”
The Isaiah quote also speaks of the fact that Jesus did not “strive and shout in the streets like a demagogue.” The word for “cry aloud,” or “cry out,” could equally refer to “barking dogs, cawing crows, obstreperous drunks, and rowdy theater audiences.” (“Obstreperous” means “noisy and difficult to control.”) Jesus shunned such antics; he “refused to scream and shout and demand his own way.”
The last two metaphors used by the prophet were the “bruised reed,” and the “smoldering wick.” “The reed might barely stand and the wick may be giving its last flickers of light, but Jesus did not stomp on the reed or pinch the wick.” These are people who need the encouragement of Christ; his “joy, peace, satisfaction, and purpose in life.” How often to we quench the hope of someone like this?
Jesus never treated the weak with contempt. How often do we do that? Jesus helps to restore them. The gentleness of Christ replaces despair with hope.
Isaiah looks distantly into the future and sees a time when Jesus will bring “justice to victory.” He will bring “justice, peace, and hope to the nations.”
The way in which Jesus conducted himself is our path to take as his disciples. “The Creator, Sustainer, and Savior of the world took the gentle road, not the ruthless road, to establish his kingdom. He wins our hearts because he is gentle. His followers must emulate him, gently touching the bruised reeds and flickering wicks of this world.”
Father, I am convicted by today’s reading. Help me to ponder this truth about Christ throughout this day, especially when difficult circumstances confront me. I failed in this respect last night in our Huddle group, but I pray that I have learned something valuable from it. Help me to emulate the nature of Christ today and every day.
I pray for this day. I pray that you would bless my mother on this, her birthday, and give her a sense of inner peace and tranquility today. She is your daughter, I know this well. Take care of her and bring blessing to her today and every day. I pray for our travel to work and home, today, that it will be safe and smooth. Thank you for your protection each day. I pray that Christi’s work day will be productive and free from anxiety. Help both of us to stay focused today. I pray for Stephanie, that she will have a blessed day, and that she will feel your grace and love today. Teach us all your ways, that we might walk in your truth. I pray, also, for Rachel and Justin, that you would bring blessing to them, provision, and protection, giving them whatever they need most for this day. Give us this day our daily bread.
May your will be done, on earth, as in heaven.
How do we respond when people attack us, or even simply disagree with us? How do we treat those who are weak and/or needy? Do we trample on the bruised reeds and blow out the smoldering wicks? May we all emulate the gentleness of Jesus.
Good morning. Sadly, it is only Tuesday, April 7, 2015. 161 games left!! (Just kidding . . . I won’t count down every game of the season. At least not here.)
Today’s Word of the Day is savage man. “In outdoor shows, pageants, masques, etc.: a person dressed in greenery, representing a wild man of the woods.” Also, in “Heraldry. A figure of a wild man, typically represented as naked and wreathed with greenery and depicted as a supporter of a coat of arms.”
Today is No Housework Day. I don’t think that needs any explanation.
Yesterday, I felt a little off, from my morning prayer time, all the way until I got home in the evening. I can’t really explain it, but, oddly, Christi said she felt the same way. Hopefully, today will be better.
Fortunately, the Red Sox were not at all “off,” yesterday. They pounded Cole Hamels and the Phillies (along with five other pitchers) for five home runs (including Hanley Ramirez’s 9th inning grand slam) and 8 runs to defeat the Phillies 8-0. The Rangers did not fare so well on Opening Day, as they were nearly no-hit by the A’s, and lost 8-0. Yovani Gallardo was, apparently, not impressive in his first outing for Texas. In the AL East, Baltimore and Toronto also won, with NY and Tampa losing. In the AL West, Houston, Oakland, and Seattle won, with Texas and LA losing. There are fewer games today, as some of the teams who played yesterday (Boston included) take the day off.
Tonight is my Huddle night. I don’t remember and “homework” given to us for this week.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Psalm 29:1-8
(From Solid Joys)
Today’s reading is “What It Means to Pray for Your Enemy.”
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:44
“Prayer for your enemies is one of the deepest forms of love, because it means that you have to really want that something good happen to them.”
It is possible to do “nice things” for your enemies and not have a desire for things to go well for them. But when we pray for them, we are more deeply in the presence of God, and God knows our hearts. We are also interceding on their behalf, before God. In short, when we pray for our enemies, we are asking God to do good things for them.
Take, for example, the words of Jesus, as he hung on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Or the words of Stephen, as he was being stoned to death: And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60)
This is more than a call to just do nice things for our enemies, like greeting them or helping them when they have needs. This is a call for us to want the best for them, “and to express those wants in prayers when the enemy is nowhere around.”
We should, above all, desire their salvation, along with their presence in heaven. So, we should pray as Paul prayed for the Jews, “many of whom made life very hard for Paul,” Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)
Father, I am convicted by this reading today. Although I have no true “enemies,” at least not in the sense that Paul did, there are still people who make life difficult for me, and I should be praying to you on their behalf, asking for good things to happen to them. May your Spirit lead me in this direction, going forward. Teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth, even, and especially, in this are of praying for my enemies.
I pray for this day, that our travel to work will be smooth and safe. I pray for Christi’s day, that there be no stress/anxiety, and that her work will go smoothly. I pray for Stephanie, that her heart would be full of your love for her, and that she would show that same love to others. May your life shine through my life as I work today, that I might display the Gospel in all things that I do. I pray for my parents, that you would give them strength and hope today, keeping them in your care. I pray for Rachel and Justin, that you would open doors for their future as they seek a path forward. Provide for them whatever they need most today.
Your grace is sufficient.
If you can’t imagine desiring good things for the people you dislike the most, you aren’t following Jesus.
It’s Friday morning, June 29. Tomorrow is the last day of June. We have next Wednesday off, because it’s July 4! It will be nice to have a day off, but I’ve never been fond of the mid-week holiday.
Today is “National Camera Day.” So get out there and use a camera today. Phones don’t count. I tell you what, though…some people are taking some pretty good pictures with their phones, these days.
On this date in 1967, Jayne Mansfield died in a car crash. On this date in 2003, Katherine Hepburn died at age 96. And, on this date in 1613, the Globe Theater burned down. It was the theater where most of Shakespeare’s works premiered.
As this week grinds to a close, we’ve had friends in the hospital, having surgery. We’ve had friends with their friends and family endangered by wildfires in Colorado. Apparently, there’s been a hurricane in Florida? I barely even knew about that. One friend is struggling with his job. There is a lot to be praying about. I’m going to go ahead and get to the devotional, now.
Father, I pray that you would teach me something this morning that will lead me down the path to intercessory prayer. Keep my spirit focused.
Today, I’m reading Psalm 29. This one is simply a psalm of praise, extolling the power of the “voice of the Lord.”
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
My Utmost For His Highest
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Matthew 5:30
Does Jesus speak literally here? I must believe that he does not, otherwise, we would see a lot of people walking around with no hands and no eyes. “There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them.” If there is anything that is hindering us from following God, we must “cut it off.” There are many things in this life that are not sinful. Yet some of those things must be sacrificed if we are to focus our attention on God and follow his ways. One trap, though, that we fall into as believers is that we tend to think that those things are the same for all of us. This is not necessarily so. “See that you do not use your limitations to criticize someone else.” I’ve run across some very godly people who see nothing wrong with having a beer. I know others who have said that they could never worship with someone who drinks alcohol. Which attitude is better? The second is trying to impose his own values on all Christians. If alcohol is something that you believe that God is keeping you from, then, by all means, don’t imbibe. However, if you feel that it’s okay to have an occasional drink, by all means, do so. But neither one should criticize the other! And neither one should flaunt their belief in front of the other. But this is not about whether it’s okay to have a beer with dinner. (Frankly, I can’t stand the stuff.) It’s about what God wants from our lives. And if there is an activity that keeps ME from following him properly, then I need to “cut it off and throw it away!” ME…not you. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you. This has only to do with me. You have to decide for yourself what those things are. I cannot decide for you; you cannot decide for me. The result, though…if we follow him…can be seen in verse 48. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Father, I praise you this morning for the power of your voice. It is your voice that called the universe into existence. You said, “Let there be,” and there was. “You spoke the words and all the worlds came into order…” Your voice can be so powerful that it breaks rocks and trees in half, yet so gentle that it causes a doe to give birth. Your voice has spoken in my heart, Lord. It spoke to me years ago and said, “Come to me.” And it continues to speak as it says, “Draw closer to me and pray.” Your voice calls me “son.” Your voice even calls me “friend.” May I always be able to hear your voice.
And, as I do so, may I heed what you tell me regarding things in my life that I need to curtail in order to follow you more closely. Show me things in my life that must either decrease or stop altogether. If there is anything in my life that is distracting me from the ministry that you would have me do, give me the wisdom and strength to “cut it off and throw it away.” But may I never be guilty of trying to force that thing on someone else, Lord. In this matter, we are all individuals before you, even though, together, we make up the body of Christ.
I lift up Bart and Summer to you as they continue to recuperate. May their recovery be quick and full. I pray for both that the surgeries accomplished what they needed to and that their healing will be complete. I also lift up the people in Colorado who are affected by the fires. Some have lost their homes. Some have miraculously had their homes spared. Nevertheless, they are all still in your hand of protection. Comfort those who have lost property with the knowledge that you are still with them, and, ultimately, that is all we need. Would I still think that if it were my home that burned? I pray so. I desperately pray so.
As I work through the leadership of our church, today I lift up Bill Lytle. He is an elder and has been faithful in leading the setup ministry for those of us who faithfully meet on Saturday mornings to transform the school cafeteria and stage into a place of worship for Sunday morning. I pray for his strength and courage as he continues in this ministry, and pray that you will give him the power of the Spirit as he continues in his leadership role. Give him, along with the other elders, your wisdom as you show them which direction you want our church to go.
I pray for this day. I pray that Christi will feel better today. She seems a little better, but still not feeling great. I pray for Stephanie today, who is also not feeling 100%. i pray that we will all feel like making it to the gym tonight for our workout. Keep us focused on our health, Lord, but not to the detriment of our spirits. Spiritual health is always more important than physical health. I pray that you give us a good work day today. It’s been a pretty good week in that regard. I pray that it will close out well.
Your grace is sufficient.
What’s hindering me from walking with God? Sounds harsh, but I need to “cut it off and throw it away.”
Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy 