No Words of My Own Today…

TODAY

I have no original thoughts today, but these words–my gleanings from the Word of God–are enough to make the guilt-ridden rejoice, the rejected take heart, the fearful relax, and the richly blessed give thanks!…. Who is a God like our God?!

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea…. Micah 7:18-20

You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger tuned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Is.12:1-2

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning…Lam.3:22,23

The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil…Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD you God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zeph.3:15-17

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”…heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies… Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I am sure that [nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom.8:15,17,31-33,35,39

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! II Cor.9:15

As Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, and we are rooted and grounded in His love, may we all have strength to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this love that surpasses knowledge, so that we may be filled with all the fullness God intends for us! This is my prayer for all who read here.

–LSPrairie Crocus

Come and drink…

LOVE IT!

I found myself in a new place among unfamiliar faces this past weekend, but sharing in a very familiar tradition—the passing of tiny cups of juice and bitty cubes of bread while old, old verses were read:

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. I Cor.11:25

There was an invitation for all who are trusting Jesus as their Saviour to partake.  It was a rightly sober few moments of remembrance and of gratitude for a Lamb slaughtered, for blood shed…for me.  How many times before have I chewed and swallowed, upended the tiny plastic cup of Welch’s best…but a new thought occurred to me in the process this time, perhaps because I am currently making my way through the book of Leviticus chapter by chapter.  And there is so much blood there!

For every infraction of God’s law, an offering must be made, an animal sacrificed.  Even unintentional sins resulted in bloodshed.  The procedures were very specific—a perfect and specific animal, an exacting procedure. This was holy business. Just this morning I finished reading the instructions pertaining to sacrifices. I don’t quite get the distinctions between the burnt offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering but one thing they have in common is BLOOD and always this blood is poured out at the base of the altar after being applied to the horns of the altar or thrown against the sides of the altar. And never is this blood to be consumed. It was strictly forbidden to eat blood.

“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.”. Lev.17:10-11

The explanation God gives is this: “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” Lev.17:11

Life is represented by the blood. Under no condition was it to be consumed, always poured out.

But something changed when the perfect Sacrifice came along, God’s Lamb, Jesus.  He invites, even commands His disciples to drink His blood–not literally, of course, but symbolically, to take the cup in recognition of their participation in the New Covenant. “Drink of it, all of you,  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Mt.26:27-28

This marked a radical departure from the endless round of sacrifices required by the Old Covenant.  At last an offering had been made which put an end to all other offerings. At last here is an offering that actually has the power to do away with sin, to nullify its deadly effects, to pronounce the worshiper clean!

And at last, the worshiper is offered the LIFE that is represented by the blood.  For the perceptive follower, this new paradigm had already been strongly hinted at.  Jesus had laid it out in pretty graphic language:

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. Jn.6:53-56

Many of His followers had turned back at those words.  Drinking blood? They would have known this was a violation of the law.  What then could He possible mean?  They didn’t stick around to find out.

But those closest to Him persisted in following, listening, and believing, even when they did not understand. What alternative was there?  Peter put it well: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jn.6:68,69    They hung on His Words and they followed even when they had questions.

And I too have been chewing this week on His words, considering this Life that I’ve been invited to participate in, to drink deeply of,  to let flow through me… Do I understand completely how this works?  How do I ‘feed on His flesh and drink His blood’ daily?  Do I comprehend how the Spirit makes this life real in me?  No, but I am counting on this Life to be lived out in me by faith, this Life like no other, that God has provided at the cost of His own life…

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I Jn.5:11-12

The Gospel makes some pretty bold claims, some would say exclusive claims.  Is there really no other way to find life?!  Aren’t other religious systems plausible means to life?

I heard it explained this way—yes, the Gospel is exclusive in this sense–it excludes all the ways that lead to death! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about Life, the way it was meant to be lived. And it is in fact exceptionally inclusive! Consider this all-expenses paid invitation:

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Rev.22:17

Unlike any other offers this Life is free, not hinging on my performance, my goodness, my devotion, or my ability to keep the rules.  And it’s all made possible by the blood of Jesus having been poured out as the ultimate Sacrifice.

So I come in awe, and I come grateful. I believe and drink deeply. The whole weight of who I am (and who I’m not) I cast on Jesus.  His Life is for me and for You. He tasted death for us so that we might experience True Life!

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Jn.17:3

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Heb.2:9

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Is.55:1-3

–LS

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God… You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. … If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you… I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me…(I Cor.15:50;Rom.8:9,11;Gal.2:20)

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,  how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.Heb 9:13-14

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,  which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight Eph 1:7-8… making peace by the blood of his cross”Col 1:20

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood  and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Rev 1:5-6

Too good to be true?

LIVE IT!

We have arrived—it seems too good to be true, and yet, here we are, unpacked and at home in a new place with a one-year lease. 

We arrived in town on a Monday morning with a job promised but no place to live. It was time to get our feet wet. We’d booked a hotel for four days hoping somehow against all likelihood to find a permanent place by week’s end…

We checked ads, booked appointments, viewed places, and got invited out to a community dinner! That was day #1.

Tuesday Jim started work and I checked ads alone, followed up on appointments and viewed places I could certainly not imagine living long-term—a makeshift basement solution, a dismal miniscule condo. Then came the last viewing of the day, a suite we had supposed would be too small, but may as well have a look…. It was just out of town on a quiet street at the top of a hill, backed by towering mountains. A great field sloped away at the doorstep, (a frisbee-golf course actually) and I could imagine my city grand-kids coming to play here, to visit ‘Grandmom and Grandad’. I have dreamed of this for a long time. And when the viewing was over I was so excited I could hardly sit still. It was beautiful, affordable and had wild places for grandkids to run. YES! This was it–just what we needed. And it was only day #2. Unbelievable. Surely God had gone before and held this treasure for us.

The rest of the week was just a matter of hoping and waiting for approval, getting papers signed, and meeting at the appointed time on Friday, the first of April to get the key! Incredible. God had made a way for us in a place where this sort of thing just doesn’t happen. Long are the wait-lists and many the persons looking for a place to live in this town. Yet here we are, that river crossed; all we had to do was take a step of faith and get our feet wet and God did the rest.

That is the short and sweet story of our week’s home-hunt. We had braced for a long drawn out ‘crossing’, for the awkwardness and inconvenience of temporary housing of some sort, for dashed hopes and rugged perseverance, stress and strain… Instead God simply led us right away to the place He had reserved for us. And more than that, he gave us harmony and peace together in the process and a calm trust that all would be well in His time…We had a sense that we were being buoyed up by the prayers of God’s people and carried along on the current of God’s great grace. If you were one who prayed on our behalf, THANK-YOU!  God gave me courage to make my way around a strange town and meet with strangers alone…He gave me sweet repose each morning as I sat quietly with Him in a quaint chapel with stained glass windows reading and meditating on His Word…He filled my days with beauty and peace…

I won’t pretend there weren’t moments of anxiety, especially in the night when things overlooked by day become monsters breathing terror: ” What will the heating bill be like?…what have we gotten ourselves into?! Surely there’s a ‘catch’ to this; it’s too good to be true. hiss, hiss..” But God is faithful, present by His Spirit restoring my faith with the reminder that we are just sheep having entrusted our lives to the Good Shepherd. What happens to us is His responsibility. Sheep are not expected to recognize every potential pitfall in the path ahead. They are not noted for their cleverness. They need only follow the Shepherd and trust His leading. The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He lead me beside still waters. He restores my soul…

River view panorama

One peaceful afternoon with nothing left to do but wait, I sat on a bench by the river in brilliant afternoon sun, water sparkling, runners passing on the trail, dogs being walked, families enjoying vacation time together… Snow-capped mountains rose in front of me and all around in an impressive panorama bringing to mind the psalm: “As the mountains are round about [our town], so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.” Ps.125:2 I don’t yet know the names of these peaks that surround us but for me they bear God’s signature, and have become a constant reminder of His presence and protection.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing!

What more can I say? It has been a week (now stretching to two weeks, as we’ve unpacked and gotten organized) of things too good to be true, were it not for the True and Good God that we serve, who sees and grants the desires of our hearts and has only good in store for His children! He is a good, good Father. Thank-you for sharing the journey with us. Now please share our joy!

–LS

The lyrics of this hymn come to mind as perfectly apropos for my heart to sing:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to his temple draw near,
Join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under his wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what he ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee!
Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee;
Ponder anew
What the Almighty will do,
If with his love he befriend thee!

Joachim Neander,pub.1680
tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1863

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Ps.34:8

“Behold the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in his holy Name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Ps.33:18-22

….your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you…Mt.6:32,33

Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” Ps.35:27

The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. Ps.34:22

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Ps.23:6

On the brink…

LOVE IT!

Two men camped at the brink of the Jordan about to cross over to the land of their enemies.  One wrestled the night away in terror and unbelief, intent on wresting from God what He had already promised: “I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea…” Gen.33:12  He was lamed in the process and walked with a limp ever after, a reminder that no man shall hold God hostage.  He will bless whom He will bless. God had already chosen to bless him and to make him a blessing. He would father the twelve heads of the tribes of Israel.

Five hundred years later this man’s descendants would camp on the banks of this same Jordan awaiting their crossing to the land of their enemies. Though the Jordan was flooding its banks the man who would lead them was ready.  He had waited forty years for this opportunity, forty years of watching an entire generation die in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Only he and Caleb had lived to see this day. 

In those forty intervening years He had been Moses’ understudy. He had seen the glory of God and when his time came to lead  He had believed God’s reassurances: “just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to al the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go…” Joshua 1:7,8

His name of course, was Joshua and there he was, up early and ready to go.  The Ark of the Covenant was with them, a  sacred symbol of God’s covenant promises and of His presence with His people.  What more did they need?

The instructions were simple.  The priests carrying the Ark were to lead the way because the people ‘had not been this way before.’   They had only to take a step of faith, to wade into the water and God would do the rest.

This story resonates for me right now.  I’m not sitting on a riverbank exactly but there is quite a torrent around me—boxes and totes and  antique apple crates being filled and stacked and ready for a crossing in the morning…We’re going to get our feet wet, ready to make a move into a new province, without knowing the particulars of where we’ll get to unpack and settle. But we have a calling—to a job and to family.  And we are ready to take a step of faith.

Would it be stretching the analogy here to observe that we as believers, are also priests?  We’re ‘a kingdom of priests’, appointed to trust God and follow His directives, to step out in faith even if it means getting our feet wet,  because others follow behind us and may find dry land on which to follow….

This miraculous crossing was to be for them a sign that the living God was indeed among them and would go before them and drive out their enemies. (Joshua 3:10) And sure enough, as the priests carrying the Ark took the first steps, the waters stood up like a heap and the people were able to cross over on dry ground.

During the crossing twelve stones were chosen to be set up on the far bank as a memorial for the generations to come, as an object lesson for the stories parents would tell their children “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” Jos 4:24

Joshua’s story inspires me—the way he just believed God and ‘rose early in the morning and set out…’Joshua 3:1 to do what God had prepared him to do. He didn’t know all the details but he knew God would lead the way. I want to be like that, strong and courageous, trusting, obeying, moving forward as He directs, overcoming obstacles in His timing…

Joshua’s name is the Hebrew equivalent of the One we know as Jesus, meaning, “The Lord is salvation”.  This is the likeness God is pleased to conform us to as we walk by faith. Christ in me, my Hope of glory. Rejoicing in His strength, I am strong. Believing His promises I am made courageous. Holding His hand I am led to my inheritance…

And now, I had better get closing up boxes and readying for the ‘crossing’ .
Thank you for your prayers.  The next post, Lord willing, will come from Alberta!

–LS

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever. Ps.146:5.6

Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. Joshua 21:45 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Requisite to Encouragement

LIVE IT!

Encouragement, whether you’re extending it or receiving it, requires faith. Ability to encourage is contingent on believing that what will be is more than what is now.  It takes vision, hope in what is yet unseen.  For faith is the stuff of things hoped for, things not visible, things yet to be…

If I have doubts that things really can get any better, I will be a poor encourager.  If I want to ignite faith in you, I must have faith myself. This makes sense to me.

But it occurs to me this week that receiving encouragement also requires faith. If I don’t believe that what you say is true, how will it encourage me? if I doubt your motives or overthink your kindnesses, your attempts at encouragement may only serve to strengthen my cynicism. “You’re just saying that.”  “That’s sounds too good to be true.”  “No, really? I don’t think so…”  Whether I find encouragement where it is offered all depends on faith.  And faith is strengthened or shattered by the messages I choose to believe.

Twelve spies took a peek at the land the Lord had promised them. It was good, very good.  Too good to be true.  Their gaze was quickly averted from the good things God intended for them to the obstacles that lay in the way.  Fearsome giants. Fortified cities.  Their own weakness. “We are like grasshoppers before them.” Only two spies believed, disregarding the strength of the opposition in comparison to the Word and proven character of their God. “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Num.13:30  Their encouragement came not from what they had seen but from what they knew to be true. But the people chose to listen to the faithless voices:  “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” Num.13:30-31 They refused the encouragement that comes of faith and ended up in despair and rebellion, looking for a leader to take them back to Egypt! They missed out on the good land God had for them.

We’ve been spying out  the land ourselves this week. It has resulted in an invitation to work an hour away from our grandkids, something we’ve dreamed of for years now. (Our oldest grandchild will be 7 this summer!)We can start the job any time, as soon as we can get there.

But rent is high and places to rent are very scarce. Looking too closely at rental listings is demoralizing.  Are we crazy? Why are we moving there of all places?! And yet we are confident that God is making a way and we are intent on following by faith.  So yes, I’ll be packing up a contingent of things this week, enough to live on, and just after Easter we plan to be heading out, for new beginnings in a new place.

It is not clear just how this will work out.  But we want to be like Joshua and Caleb, not focused on the impossibility of doing this thing, but trusting that God will provide as He leads the way.

God knows my sometimes faint-hearted faith; it is not beyond His ability to encourage.  I noticed a sweet thing yesterday as I meditated on the story of the two Mary’s showing up at the empty tomb early ‘Easter’ morning (in Matthew 28) What did they expect to find? Jesus had told them he would rise from the dead yet they came with spices to anoint His body…Did they not understand?  Did they not believe? 

All the truth in the world will fail to encourage the broken-hearted if it is not believed. 

But there is help for the faint-hearted. God knows. When they arrived at the tomb they found the stone blocking its entrance had been rolled away. Why?

Did Jesus need it out of the way in order to escape the tomb?  Certainly not.  I have a hunch it was rolled away in order that His followers could see and believe.  God Himself was at work to encourage their faith in what Jesus had already told them.  The only thing holding them back from the joy of the resurrection was their unbelief.  Now they are given opportunity to see and believe. “Come, see the place where He lay”  the angel invited.  “He is not here, for he has risen.” Mt.28:6

They hurried away to spread the good news with fear and GREAT JOY! Mt.28:8They had seen and believed. Faith had made the difference.

I know my faith falters easily. At the same time I know it is faith that pleases God; without it there is only sin and its assorted miseries (Rom.14:23).  But I don’t always know what to do about my feeble faith.  But God does.  Here I  glimpse the heart of my God who not only desires faith, but also encourages us toward it.  Here He arranges for the stone to be rolled away so we can see.  He arranges for a welcoming committee of angels who point out the obvious truth: “He is risen” and more than that they give instructions for a rendezvous:  “…behold he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.  See, I have told you.”  And He graciously repeats Himself as often as needed:  Fear not, fear not, fear not…. 

But best of all He gives us His Word, with its abundance of outrageous promises that would all be too good to be true if they were spoken by anyone but Him. There are things here that should make us live out the rest of our days skipping like spring lambs! Things like:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Rom.8:1-2

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. Jn.15:9

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Mt.28:20

God has given us His Word and He has given us His Spirit to breathe life into those words, to ignite faith and so to fulfill in us His joy. May He soften our hearts always to believe that we might be perennially encouraged and able to encourage. 

May He give us all ‘a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him’ that we may know ‘what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places’…Eph.1:17-19

This is my prayer for me, and for you  ( :

–LS

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for He has risen, as He said….See, I have told you. Mt.28:5

“…let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!  Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Ps.105:3-4

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” …  Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Ps.27:8,14

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Jn.20:29