Archives For November 30, 1999

He Putteth Up

December 16, 2011 — Leave a comment

I read this the other day:

He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

– Acts 13:18 NLT

So glad He puts up with me too.  [thank You God!]

x

…Oh, and here’s a little hymn I wrote:

He putteth up with me
He putteth up with me
Just as He didst with Israel…and every other person He created
He putteth up with me

[cha, cha, cha!]


Training Journal – 12/16/11:

  • Current plan: 10K Training
  • Today’s session: Easy 4 mi run
  • Comments: Good run on another brisk morning.  After starting out a little fast, I remembered the “easy” part of the training day plan and slowed down…

MASSIVE

December 1, 2011 — Leave a comment

Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.

Jesus…was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

Jesus wept.

– John 11:4, 33, 35 NIV

Chewing on the MASSIVENESS of those verses…

  • God can be glorified in and through all things – am i living with that default setting?
  • My God isn’t some unfeeling, distant, stoic who won’t or doesn’t understand or identify with me.
  • He did. I can.

MASSIVE!

As those three items – and a load of others – bombard us over the next six-plus weeks, I resolve (and challenge you) to remember:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us … And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

John 1:14, 16 ESV

Good words…

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

– George Matheson

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

– Genesis 3:8 (NIV)

I’ve read that verse many times – maybe you have, as well.

Maybe its familiarity has resulted in my under appreciating the gravity of the verse* – the depth of regret that Adam and Eve must have felt when confronted about their sin and understanding the consequences.

This week, I’ve been listening to a new album called, Music Inspired By The Story [iTunes, web]. Its a collection of songs “written in the first person perspective, that depict timeless biblical stories and provide a completely new context into how God’s story of love and redemption intersects with our story of brokenness and failures resulting in a new story of hope and rescue.” [source]

While all the tracks are great, one has stuck in my mind: Good (ADAM & EVE). In light of the gravity of Genesis 3:8, to imagine Adam and Eve thinking:

If I could / I’d rewrite history / I’d choose differently
If I could, I would
I’d leave out the part / Where I broke Your heart
In the garden’s shade / Fix the mess I made
If I could, I would

If I could / Close my eyes and then / Dance around again
If I could, I would
Be who You adored / Why did I need more?
When beauty was not trained / To hide behind my shame
If I could, I would

If I could / Hold one memory / It would surely be
How You walked with us
I’d go back in time / Untell my first lie / And let Love’s injury
Heal in spite of me

wow

I sin so many times each day and sadly give the singular or collective gravity little thought.

Many of us even categorize and rank sin and then relate “appropriate” regret.

We forget that ALL sin disappoints God just as much as the Adam and Eve’s did and that it should result in a regret and brokenness just as profound as theirs…and too often doesn’t.

Forgive me, God.

I’m so grateful that God so Loved

…for Greater Love

…for No Condemnation

…for Forgiveness

…and for a promised return to how He intended things to be.

x

*I could probably say that about many passages…

Just Like Me

September 29, 2011 — Leave a comment

I find these quotes comforting.  Not solely for their content, but the identity of the person who thought/penned them:

“The burden is too heavy for me.”

— Moses, Numbers 11:14

“Life’s been nothing but trouble and tears”

— Jeremiah, Jeremiah 20:18

“How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and
day after day have sorrow in my heart?”

— David, Psalm 13:2

“When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.”

— Psalmist, Psalm 94:19

We showed this in church this morning…

Faith, Hope, Love…

…Amen.

Meant To Be

September 6, 2011 — Leave a comment

Several weeks ago, I shared Matt Redman’s song “Endless Hallelujah” during the offering time at church.  The song has quickly become one of my favorites from his new 10,000 Reasons album [iTunes].

One thing that gets me each time I listen to the song is the phrase:

Ev’rything as it was meant to be

In the context of the song, it’s:

When I stand before Your throne
Dressed in glory not my own
What a joy I’ll sing of on that day
No more tears of broken dreams
Forgotten in the minor key
Ev’rything as it was meant to be

The thing that challenges me in regard to that phrase is the frequent difference between how I feel or expect “things to be” and how God would have them – in His position as Sovereign Lord in my life.

Quite often, miles and miles separate the two…

…and my version of my “story” is without adversity or challenge.

With certainty, God has promised a life with, as the song’s chorus declares,

No more tears, No more shame
No more sin and sorrow Ever known again
No more fears, No more pain

We may enjoy a foretaste of that on earth, but the reality of a life like that – life “as it was meant to be” – will only come in heaven.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

— Revelation 21:3-4 (NIV)

Maranatha!

No Doubt.

July 26, 2011 — Leave a comment

[Youtube link]

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3

Here is a great post from Michael Hyatt’s blog (CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers) that is worth reading and chewing on …

(Click on image to read article…)

The quote at the end is encouraging:

“It all works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out yet, then it’s not the end.”

– Max Lucado