The LORD is Great

Today is Thursday, the ninth of September, 2021.

Shalom Aleichem!

Day 23,191

Thirteen days until the Autumnal Equinox signals the official end of Summer. The days are, of course, already getting shorter, and I noted that, this past Tuesday evening, when I got off work at 8:15, it was already mostly dark.

The big news today is that I awoke to find my first Social Security payment deposited to our checking account! This, of course, make us breathe a bit easier, because we know this is done, and we know what we will see each month.

The first thing I did was to reactivate my WW (formerly Weight Watchers) account, but as a digital only account. I will not be attending meetings, but will continue using the digital tools. I need that “crutch” in my journey. For the past month, I have felt like I was walking in the dark. Digital-only is less than half of the full price, and I’m getting a pretty good discount from that for the first six months, because I committed to at least six months. My first month is free, and I will pay $15-ish for the next five months, then it will go to full price, $21.95.

C continues to improve. In fact, she said that she did not take any pain meds during the night last night. She did take one around 8:00 this morning, but that is exciting to hear.

I have no idea what I will do for the rest of today, after finishing this. I have a couple things in mind, to do today and/or tomorrow (or maybe both). And the reality of retirement is finally sinking in, since that SS payment appeared, today. It is a remarkably peaceful and calming feeling.

Today is Wonderful Weirdos Day. Embrace your inner weirdo.

The word for today is glitz, a noun which means, “ostentatious glitter or sophistication.” Glitz is helpful in celebrating Wonderful Weirdos Day. It can also be used as a verb. “I glitzed myself up for Wonderful Weirdos Day.”

Today’s quote is from E. Joseph Cossman, an American inventor. “Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.” There is great truth to this. I am reminded of Peter’s brief walk on the water. As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, his goal, he saw the waves and began to sink.

Significant birthdays on September 9:

William Bligh, British naval commander on the infamous HMS Bounty, 1754-1817
Leo Tolstoy, Russian author (War and Peace, Anna Karenina), 1828-1910
Harlan Sanders, the Colonel (KFC), 1890-1980
Phyllis Whitney, American mystery author, 1903-2008
Otis Redding, singer/songwriter (Dock of the Bay), 1941-1967

The first posthumously released single to reach #1 on the charts

Doug Ingle, rock vocalist (Iron Butterfly), 1946 (76)

Jeffrey Combs, American actor (Re-Animator, From Beyond, and other Lovecraftian films, as well as a number of Star Trek characters), 1954 (67)

Hugh Grant, English actor (Notting Hill, Love Actually, About A Boy), 1960 (61)

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS

God Speaks, by Daryl Madden

A truth that we know
God is everywhere
Let it come to reason
That He is speaking here

In this very moment
In all we feel and see
Heard within the silence
How is He calling me?

A gift of nature’s beauty
Wisdom in the Word
A soul within the way
Event that has occurred

Let us come to practice
Attune the soul to hear
The joy within the binding
Where each thought is a prayer

“This is what the LORD says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the LORD. They will sing, ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, for the LORD is good. His faithful love endures forever!’ For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the LORD.
(Jeremiah 33:10-11 NLT)

Today I am grateful:

1. for my Social Security payment coming in
2. for C's continued improvement
3. for the promises of joyful singing and praise in Your eternal kingdom
4. that my life is full of Your blessings
5. that You are great and mighty

Scriptures and Prayers from Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year

ORDINARY TIME – WEEK SIXTEEN – DAY FIVE

INVITATION

The LORD is good; he protects his people in times of trouble; he takes care of those who turn to him.
(Nahum 1:7 GNB)

As I pause in this quiet moment, I meditate on the joyous potential in our encounters and interactions in God’s presence. I try to focus on that presence as I begin meditating on His Word.

BIBLE SONG

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

Hasten, O God, to save me; come quickly, LORD, to help me.

May those who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” turn back because of their shame. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”

But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; LORD, do not delay.
(Psalms 70:1-5 NIV)

BIBLE READING

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you.
(Deuteronomy 28:1-6, 9-10 NIV)

DWELLING: SILENCE AND MEDITATION

As I read these passages again, I ask the Holy Spirit to guide my meditations and prayers.

David asks for protection from those who seek his life, but then he also asks that everyone who is actively seeking the Lord be able to rejoice and be glad in Him. Again, as previously noted, as far as I know, I have no humans seeking to take my life. I do, however, as do all followers of Christ, have spiritual enemies who would seek to derail and discredit my testimony. For me, though, the more important piece of this is praying for my brothers and sisters in Christ, that they are able to rejoice, be glad in Him, and be able to confidently say, “The LORD is great!”

In Deuteronomy, we see some promises, or, perhaps, consequences to obedience. I realize that this is specifically directed, by Moses, to Israel. Fair enough. But what can we glean from it, in 2021?

First of all, this idea of fully obeying “all His commands,” has, I believed has effectively been narrowed down to those two “jobs” I keep talking about. Love God and love people. Jesus has informed us that these two commands summarize the entirety of the Law and the Prophets.

If we can do those things, I believe that there are certain consequences that are presented here. No, we aren’t promised a “rose garden.” But we will have blessed lives. I believe that I have seen this come true in my own family. It’s not perfect. But neither am I. I have not been perfect in keeping those two commands, not by a long shot. But I believe that I have a blessed life. And I believe that I can take that stance by keeping my eyes focused on the Lord and His blessings, and not on those obstacles mentioned by our quote of the day.

As for the promises regarding being a “holy people,” and other nations fearing them, I also believe that those are exclusive to Old Testament Israel.

Father, I praise You for my blessed life. I thank You for Your greatness, displayed in my life and in the lives of others who follow You faithfully. I thank You that, long ago, You placed it in my heart to love You and love others. I am grateful that You are helping me more with the loving others part of this, lately. Most of all, I am grateful that I can proclaim, along with Israel, “The LORD is great!”

Help me to grow in holiness, as I grow in You. I pray that You would continue to uncover and reveal any idols that might still be in my heart. I thank You for Your forgiveness, and pray for Your help in extending that to others.

"Good God,
I know You're the source of everything good -
Your generous care and daily blessing are steadily on display.
Help me also know the call of Your blessing -
that I will never fully enjoy Your blessing until it's enjoyed by all.
Make me a blessing to all in my life so they too know Your goodness.
Amen."

BLESSING

“Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”
(Matthew 11:29-30 GNB)

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)

A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
(Psalms 23:1-6 ESV)

I pray for peace in our nation, peace in our world. I pray for racial injustice to end, and I pray for the pandemic to be over. Above all else, though, I pray for Your will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
(Romans 12:12 ESV)

Grace and peace, friends.

Blessing

Today is Tuesday, the thirty-first of August, 2021. Last day of August. And just in case anyone wonders, there still twenty-two days of summer left.

Shalom Aleichem!

Day 23,182

Six days until Labor Day.

It still feels like summer, in DFW, too, with temps soaring to the upper nineties every day this week, and no rain in the ten-day forecast.

Today is We Love Memoirs Day, which is fitting, because I just finished one, yesterday, and you can see the review of Willie Nelson’s Letters to America on my other blog by clicking here.

The word for today is gorgonize, a verb which means, “hypnotize; petrify.” “She felt trapped and totally helpless in his gorgonizing stare.” Wouldn’t that be an adverb in that context? What do I know?

Today’s quote, from Arthur C. Clark, is one that I love and believe I have used before. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” It’s true, right? Seriously, anyone from a primitive culture (and they do still exist on this planet) who saw the things we do with computers would only be able to assume that we were engaging in sorcery.

Birthdays for August 30:

Lizzie Arlington, the first woman to play men's professional baseball, 1877-1919
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, 1880-1962. The state park and lodge in Mena, Arkansas are named after her, because many of the original investors were Dutch.
Buddy Hackett, actor in The Music Man, 1924-2003
Frank Robinson, HOF baseball player and manager, 1935-2019
Roger Dean, album cover illustrator for Yes, 77 years old today
Van Morrison, singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, turns 76 today

Roger Dean album cover illustration

I’ve officially gotten my work schedule, which will be effective after the beginning of October, assuming the city goes ahead with plans to open the library on Fridays. It will look like this:

Every Tuesday: 4:15PM-8:15PM
Alternating Wednesdays: 9:15AM-6:15PM
Every Friday: 9:15AM-6:15PM
Alternating Saturdays: 9:30AM-6:15PM

So, based on the city’s work week, which begins on Friday and ends on the following Thursday (makes my head hurt trying to figure this out), I will work Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, followed by Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday. I actually like this better than my current schedule, which has me working Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, followed by Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. When you break it down like that, it looks fine (and I am NOT complaining, here), but if you look at the calendar week, I have weeks like this week where I am working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, as well as Saturday, which falls in the next pay week. So I’m actually working four calendar days, this week, and only two next week (Tuesday and Wednesday).

Like I said . . . if you think about it too hard, it makes your head hurt. I get twenty hours per pay week, but it looks like I’m actually working twenty-eight hours in this calendar week and only twelve hours next week.

Today, I’m working 11:15AM-8:15PM, and will be training in the computer center for the first time.

C is getting ready for her surgery on Thursday. She works from home today, and tomorrow will be the last day at the office for anywhere from four to six weeks (mid October, sometime), but may be able to work from home after two or three weeks, depending on how the recovery is progressing.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS

Glory to You, Lord God of our fathers;
You are worthy of praise;
glory to You.
Glory to You for the radiance of Your holy Name;
we will praise You and highly exalt You for ever.
Glory to You in the splendor of Your temple;
on the throne of Your majesty, glory to You.
Glory to You, seated between the Cherubim;
we will praise You and highly exalt You for ever.
Glory to You, beholding the depths;
in the high vault of heaven, glory to You.
Glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
we will praise You and highly exalt You for ever.
(TeDeum)

Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape—far from this wild storm of hatred.
(Psalms 55:6-8 NLT)

Today I am grateful:

1. that, in spite of the "wild storm of hatred" outside, You still have things firmly in hand
2. that You give me quiet and rest during these times in my own home; I don't have to fly away to some distant place
3. for Your blessing upon us
4. for Your face being turned toward us
5. for the call to be peacemakers, and the peace with which You gift us

Scriptures and Prayers from Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year

ORDINARY TIME – WEEK FIFTEEN – DAY THREE

INVITATION

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
(Psalms 57:9-10 ESV)

During this moment of peace and quiet, I pause to simply reflect on the presence of the Lord, with me at all times, in all places.

BIBLE SONG

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Increase the days of the king’s life, his years for many generations. May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

Then I will ever sing in praise of your name and fulfill my vows day after day.
(Psalms 61:1-8 NIV)

BIBLE READING

The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
“‘”The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you and
be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”‘
“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
(Numbers 6:22-27 NIV)

DWELLING: SILENCE AND MEDITATION

As I remind myself that I am always in God’s presence, I linger over these passages, allowing the Holy Spirit to move within my soul, guiding my thoughts, meditations, and prayers.

Let the words of my mouth 
and the meditation of my heart
 be acceptable in your sight, 
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
(Psalms 19:14 ESV)

These are two great passages, full of depth and encouragement.

The prayer of David is one that I am fully persuaded that God stands ready to answer.

We can cry out to God “from the ends of the earth.” It matters not where we are, He is there. It matters not when we are, He is there! Consider that our Father is currently present when you were born. He is “omnipresent,” with us at all times and all places. Therefore, He stands ready to hear us, no matter where we are.

Where is the “rock that is higher than I?” There can be various interpretations of this. I tend to see this “Rock” as Jesus. Matthew Henry, however, visualizes this rock as a place he cannot attain without the assistance of our God. I can equally see this as being true, as in the old hymn, Higher Ground.

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

Refrain:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

There’s another hymn, though, that speaks of the “Solid Rock,” being Jesus.

In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

Refrain:
This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these you need the Bible
In times like these, O be not idle
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these I have a Savior
In times like these I have an anchor
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

What a longing is expressed in verse 4: “I long to dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.” This is a sentiment that is expressed many times in the Psalms. And I can most certainly echo the prayer, as my heart grows more and more in its longing for Home. Doesn’t mean that I don’t like my life, here, but just means that I know where I belong, ultimately.

I believe that this prayerful psalm goes hand-in-hand with the blessing seen in Numbers 6. Such a beautiful passage that I have adopted as prayers for people for a long time, now. And I like it in many different versions. I have sort of “tweaked” it, combining a couple of my favorite versions to make it go like this:

May God bless you and keep you;
May He smile on you and gift you;
May He look you full in the face and give you peace.

The majority of that comes from The Message, but Peterson ends his with “and make you prosper,” and I would rather have it say “give you peace.” Prosperity is not my goal, here.

I pray this blessing over people when I see that it is their birthday. We frequently end our worship gatherings by either saying or singing the blessing. There are several contemporary songs that incorporate it. Matt Redman has a good one:

Then this one, more recently, from Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes (video is long, but powerful):

My favorite part of the blessing is the line that speaks of the Lord turning His face towards us. It gets translated “lift up His countenance toward you,” “look you full in the face,” “turn His face toward you,” and “show you His favor.”

The lowest point in the life of Jesus was when His Father turned His face away from Him, resulting in the cry of Jesus, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me??”

I am moved to tears, this very moment, as I try to imagine what it must have felt like for this ripping of personalities apart. Jesus, God incarnate, experienced a tearing like none of us will ever experience, couldn’t possibly even imagine. For those few hours, on that day, there was a rift in the Holy Trinity, that perfect fellowship which had existed for all eternity. The Father turned His back on the Son, because He cannot look upon sin. The Son, for that moment, took on all the sin that had ever been committed, and ever would be committed. According to the Apostle Paul, who wrote the majority of the New Testament, at that moment, Jesus became sin!

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

So, today, I pray for you, whoever happens to stumble upon this humble blog, and manages to read this far.

May the Lord bless you and keep you; may He smile on you and gift you; may He look you full in the face, make His face shine upon you, turn His face toward you, show you His favor . . . and give you peace!

Father, I am overwhelmed, this morning. There are tears in my eyes as I try to type this. This famous blessing is so appropriate to be prayed for all of Your people, today. It is even appropriate to pray over people who don’t know You or refuse to acknowledge You. I would ask You to make Your face to shine upon people all over the world, so that they might prosper and have Your peace in their lives. After all, Your Word does say that You show favor on the just and the unjust, alike. People who have never once acknowledged Your existence still reap the benefits of that existence, whether they know it or not. And I believe, with all my heart, that, deep down inside, they do know it.

May Your Holy Spirit fill us, today, Father. Fill us with Your presence, Your peace, Your blessing. Send us out to wherever we need to go, with Your Gospel of peace fitted on our feet. Peace. That is the key word in all of this. Make us peacemakers in this world, not rabble-rousers, not dividers. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” said Jesus. Lead us, O God, to the Rock that is higher than we are. Help us up to those heights which we cannot reach on our own.

I pray for the call to follow You out into those workplaces and neighborhoods, Lord, and I pray for the peace and well-being of those workplaces and communities. May You rain down Your special blessing on those who work in agriculture, who provide food and sustenance for us.

"May I see Your face, God?
For to live with Your face turned from me is more bitter than death.
I thank You that in this ancient blessing, 
I may place my life in the grace of Jesus and catch sight of Your face turned in delight toward me.
Amen."

BLESSING

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
(2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)

Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
(Proverbs 28:14 ESV)

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
(Psalms 51:2-4 ESV)

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 ESV)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
(Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
(Ephesians 1:4 NLT)

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
(2 Timothy 1:9 NLT)

There is a Hebrew word in that Jeremiah verse. “Makhashabah,” which means “texture,” a sort of “weaving” of a plan together. It’s the word that is translated “plans” in the ESV, and other translations, but “thoughts” in the KJV and WEB. Here’s the KJV.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
(Jeremiah 29:11 KJV)

“Thoughts” is the Hebrew makhashabah, while “think” is “chashab,” which literally means to weave or to fabricate.

So just as it is impossible to see what the weaver on the loom is fabricating until she is finished with the work, so it is not possible to see what the Lord is doing with our lives until He is finished. We need to trust in the truth that He knows what He is doing. He is weaving a perfect work, and “all things work together for good” in our lives.

Father, I praise You for this truth. And in this weaving, I wonder how much our prayers effect things. In light of that, and in that spirit, I ask of You to end this plague on our world. Please do away with the COVID-19 virus, once and for all, that we might have peace in our world and in our nation. We are unable to come together to fight this. We are too concerned with our own “freedoms” and “rights.” Please eradicate this. I believe that You can do this. I also pray for the racial strife to end, that all people, in Your Kingdom, will be treated equally. Oh, how look forward to seeing that multitude described in Revelation, of people from every tribe, nation, and tongue, praising Your Holy and majestic Name as one!

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

May the LORD bless you and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 NLT)

Grace and peace, friends.

Endless Summer

Good morning. It is Monday, May 18, 2015.

Today’s word of the day, from Merriam-Webster, is whodunit. This is actually a noun, meaning, “a detective story or mystery story.” Who doesn’t love a good whodunit?

Today is Museum Day. Now, I am a fan of museums, but why does Museum Day have to be on Monday?? I really can’t make it to any museums on Monday.

Just as predicted, about the only thing we accomplished yesterday was getting the grocery shopping done. We “touched” Christi’s mom and step-dad by picking up groceries for them and taking them to their apartment. Then we cooked up some brunch and settled in for a nice afternoon of R&R.

Back to work today, but we get a long weekend, as next Monday is Memorial Day.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah.
I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it;
ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him.
But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah. because they do not change and do not fear God.
My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant.
His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
Psalm 55

(From Solid Joys)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:1-2

Today’s reading is “The Light Beyond the Light.”

Summer is coming. Vacations are imminent. Students are out of school. For some of us, summer means absolutely nothing, other than soaring temperatures and electric bills. But for many, summer is synonymous with vacation.

“Jesus Christ is refreshing. Flight from him into Christless leisure makes the soul parched.” Do we forget about Jesus when we go on vacation? While it may, at first, seem like a sort of “freedom” to forego prayers and Bible reading for a while, in reality, what truly happens is that we become shallow, powerless, vulnerable to sin, and preoccupied with trifles and superficial relationships. We lose interest in worship and matters of the Spirit.

“Don’t let summer make your soul shrivel. Jesus Christ is the refreshing center of summer.” He should be pre-imminent in all things, as in Colossians 1:18, even vacations, picnics, long walks, and cookouts. During the summer, just as the rest of the year, Jesus says to us, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

But do we desire his refreshment? Do we desire his rest? Jeremiah 29:13 says, You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Acts 3:19-20 tells us, Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. All too often, we only speak of repentance as turning away. But when we turn away, we must turn to something else. When we turn to Christ, seeking him with our whole heart, we experience “times of refreshing.”

During summer, when many routines stop for a while, we must work extra hard to set our minds on things above, where Christ is. It could be said that “summer” is really just a pointer to the true “sun” that will be for all eternity. Revelation 21:23 gives us a glimpse of this. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Father, help me to seek this light, constantly. Summer really means nothing to me, as I don’t have any kids in public school, any more. I go to work every day, just like the rest of the year. Nevertheless, I pray for the ability to seek Christ daily, hourly, minute by minute, that my times of refreshing may come regularly. Let me not set aside prayer and Bible reading for any length of time, that I might not become shallow, and that worship and spiritual matters may always be important to me. Teach me your ways, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

I pray for this day, and the week ahead. I pray for safe passage to work and back again. I pray for a good work day for Christi and for me. I pray that her stress level might decrease today. I pray for grace and mercy enough for this day only. Let us look to you for our strength, always. Keep our children in your hands today, giving them what they need most desperately for this day. Continue to hold up my mother, Father.

Your grace is sufficient.

Are you looking for the endless summer? You can find it, but only in Christ Jesus.

Grace and peace, friends.