Garlands of Hosannas: April 2008

The Nevers of God

There are alot of things we can be sure God will never do, but there are also several we can count on that He will never not do. In less complicated words (I guess I'm trying to be clever here and I'm only confusing myself), I'll try to clear this up by explaining that there are things He has promised us He will do and things He has promised that He will never do. So here are some examples that might help you to follow along in my twisted thinking:

He will never not be with you

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." [Dt 31:8]

He is never not loving

It is His very being that cannot change and He has assured His love endures forever. "And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love," [1 Jn 4:16]; and, "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." [Ps 106:1]

He is never not patient

"The Lord is long-suffering and slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and loving-kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generation." [Nu 14:18 Amp]

He will never not be good

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." [1 Chron 16:34]

He will never not be righteous

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." [Is 51:6]

He will never not be compassionate

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." [Lam 3:22]

He will never not do as He says

"He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations," [Ps 105:8 NKJ]

He will never contradict His Word

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." [Mt 24:35 NKJ]

I think you get the idea. In this sense "never" becomes a positive word rather than the negative connotation I usually associate with it. You know what I mean, see if you recognize any of these:

You will never amount to anything

Your dreams will never come true

That will never happen

I've never heard of such a thing

Never in a million years

You will never see them again

You can be absolutely sure of God's nevers. I can't say the same about mine. I may use that word as advice or misuse it in presuming to proclaim some probability (as if I were a prophet or something). That doesn't necessarily mean you can bank on it. Not so with God.

He can be praised for all He is, all He's not, all He'll do, and all he'll never do - oh, and all He'll never not do.

I praise you, Father, that You will never not be with me for all eternity. I praise You for Your faithfulness and trustworthiness. Help me to form my words aright and to be truer to fulfilling my word. In Jesus holy name, Amen

Who You Gonna Call?

Being a single mom, I have latch-key kids (the world's term, not mine, for I dislike it immensely). We have a rule that the kids are to call me when they get home from school. Well, today that call did not come.

Twenty minutes later I phoned home - no answer. I called cells - no answer. I waited. I called again, and again. Thinking they are locked out, I figured surely they would call from a cell or a neighbor, right?

I take the route of prayer and chose the way of peace. Forty minutes later I feel a strong urge to leave work and head for home. My kind boss graciously obliged. I took that long ride home with Jesus by my side, praying for us all. The state of peace I desired required great effort.

I came to question my feelings. Did I have a natural concern for my children or was there a lack of trust in God? Surely I had at least a mustard seed size of faith? Was I feeling a need as a mother to DO something or was I worried and doubtful of God's response to my need? I had to have an answer - uncertainty and the unknown racked my sense of calm. Remember.....remember....remember.

All turned out well (all praise and thanks be to God). The kids merely locked out and cells dead. As for me, I can't say I got any answers to my inward probing. God did build my faith and gave me the comfort of prayer to the Ultimate Listening Ear.

Who else could I possibly have turned to but The One who was there and aware, and able to handle the situation? He's the right "man for the job" (any job)! "Who are you gonna call"?

Omniscient and Omnipresent Holy One; Thank you for your steadfast presence in the harry situations of life and thank you for our avenue of prayer that connects us to the One Who Is Able. In the name of your most beloved Son, Amen.

I AM ~ YOU ARE

You declared to Moses: I AM

I respond: YOU ARE

I Am Who I Am

You Are Who You Are

You Will Be What You Will Be

Outside the realm of Tense

Timeless

Self-Existent

Self-Sufficient

Inexhaustible

Undefineable

Indescribable

I and No Other

The One

The Only

The Always

Simply ~ I AM

Incomprehensibly ~ I AM

Completely

Wholly

I AM

YOU ARE!

Encouragement for Every Tomorrow

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

[Psalm 46:1]

God is ever-present; He will be with me wherever I am - whether here or there, near or far, today or tomorrow or next week - for He is always already there.

*****

His faithfulness reaches into every tomorrow

How wide, how high, how deep is His love?

Enough to reach into every tomorrow and enough to meet you in the mourn.

*****

Therefore I live for today,

Certain of finding at sunrise,

Guidance and strength for my way;

Power for each moment of weakness,

Hope for each moment of pain,

Comfort for every sorrow,

Sunshine and joy after rain.

Streams in the Desert, L. B. Cowman

*****

Encouragement from God's Word:

O God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas,

who formed the mountains by your power,

having armed yourself with strength,

who stilled the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

and the turmoil of the nations.

Those living far away fear your wonders;

where morning dawns and evening fades

you call forth songs of joy.

[Psalm 65:5-8]

*****

Dear Lord; Strengthen our hearts, our faith, our hope in you and let us not forget your loving-kindness. May we hold fast to our God of promise. Remove our thoughts of tomorrow and help us to live in this moment with you, knowing you will be with us, both now and then. Replace our doubts, fears, and worries with your perfect peace, comfort our minds with your word. We rest in you, Amen.

Battlefields, Then and Now

Now here’s something that stood out in my reading this morning from Judges 3:

"These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They forgot about the Lord their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles."
[Judges 3:1-2, 4-7 NLT]

I find two valuable lessons in this brief passage to heed in my own life.

The Lord tested the Israelites and they failed miserably. They were to be sanctified unto the Lord but they lived "among" the foe, convorting with the enemy. God foreknew they would not be able to handle the temptation and influence of these nations therefore He promised to drive them out [Joshua 13:1-6]. God gave the Israelites victory in countless battles so that they could inhabit the land He gave them [Joshua 24:2-13]. They were to totally destroy the Ites and take possession of the land [Dt 7:1] for they were detestable to God and set apart for destruction. Once they arrived they settled into complacent timidity and got comfortable in their new freedom. They disobeyed the Lord and did not completely conquer the occupied territory [Judges 1:21, 27- 36]. They married Ites and worshiped their gods (there is that peer pressure issue again). Their disobedience provoked the Lord to point that He would no longer drive out their enemies and their foes would be a constant snare for them [Judges 2:1-3].

God wanted to prepare them for battle because of their lack of experience. Untested faith is a weak faith. They would face years of warfare and the Lord wanted to teach them firsthand how to fight. I believe that this is a tangible glimpse into the unseen spiritual battlefield. Being a child of God is to be a soldier; hence the need for the "full" armor of God. I often wonder if the battles we read about in the Old Testament foreshadowed the battles that now occur in the spiritual realm. The Israelites stood on holy ground. Today it is our hearts that is holy ground. God sent a deliverer to rescue them from bondage of the enemy. Our Warrior and Savior Jesus Christ now resides within our bodily tents to drive out the enemy and empower us to overcome the temptations of the world, the flesh, and satan (as opposed to all the Ites of old). They were to rid the land entirely of the nations and we are instructed to rid our lives of the dangers that infringe upon our relationship with God.

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."
[Ephesians 5:3]

"The world is one of the enemies that must be fought and conquered on the way to heaven."
E M Bounds, Guide to Spiritual Warfare

God is the same today, yesterday, and forever and for our good He continues to test and prepare us for battle. Will we conform to the ways of the world in which we live or will we allow for His sanctification?

After eight years of being subject to Aram, God freed them and granted them peace. While this particular story has a happy ending, this began a pattern that was to be repeated by the Israelites for centuries:

"But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died."
[Judges 3:9-11]

The battle rages on in the heart of the Christian and in the realms for the souls of the lost but He has not left us to fight on this battlefield alone. He is among us and enables us to stand our ground in His mighty power. After the final victory of God’s final battle as depicted in Revelation has been fought, we will then have peace.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
[Titus 2:11-14]

Dear Lord God; Test me and make me strong, fitted for battle to drive out all sin. I choose not to live among the enemy that can capture my heart, but choose to be set apart for You. Give me an undivided heart that I may love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Bring to my mind daily to put on the full armor of God so that I may stand in the ranks - marching ever onward home. In the Name of my Deliverer, Amen.

Peer Pressure

I must admit this is a bit of a sore subject for me. Succumbing to peer pressure has caused havoc in my life and I have formed a very strong aversion to it. Webster’s defines peer pressure as; “social pressure by members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted.”

God has definitely made Himself clear in the Bible on the matter. He has provided a myriad of examples from many individuals by demonstrating the destructiveness of it as well as the rewards of overcoming it.

“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong.

When you are called to testify in a dispute,

do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.” [Ex 23:2-3 NLT]

A few instances that crossed my mind are:

In Exodus 32 we read about the occasion when Aaron gave in to the pleadings of the Israelites. He made a golden calf that resulted in the deaths of three thousand people at the hands of their own brothers and suffering from a terrible plague [Ex 32:27-35].
Could it be presumed that Sarai devised her plan to convince Abram to father a child with her maidservant because of the pressure she felt from Hagar for being barren? [Gen 16]
Herod chose to save face in the presence of his guests by honoring the request of Herodias to behead John the Baptist [Mk 3:26-28]. Jesus grieved the tremendous loss of his friend, cousin, baptizer, and fellow ambassador.
King Xerxes relinquished control to Haman upon his proposal to destroy the Jews. Xerxes allowed Haman to do as he pleased and an edict was issued for their destruction [Es 3:8-11].
Delilah’s persistent pressure persuaded Samson to divulge the secret to his strength [Jgs 16:15-19]. This led to his capture, imprisonment, and torture. Worse than that was the loss of the Lord’s presence [Jgs 16:20-21].
The Twelve Spies “spread among the Israelites as bad report about the land” [Nu 13:32] and “all the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly” [Nu 14:2]. No one saw the land God promised except for Joshua and Caleb. Because these two men of faith stood firm, God assured them that “their descendants will inherit the land.”
Then there’s Pilate. He stated more than once that there was no basis for charges against Jesus and that there were no grounds for the death penalty [ Lk 23:14, 22] but “their shouts prevailed [Lk 23:23] and “he surrendered Jesus to their will [Lk 23:25]. John 19 says that Pilate “was afraid”. In order to appease the crowd and dispel a riot he released Barabbas instead [Mk 15:15]. In Pilate’s defense, Jesus’ statement echoes the fact that Pilate’s power over him was granted from above [John 19:11]. He caved and our Christ endured shame, mockery, and unwarranted brutality at the hands of an angry mob.

The Bible also has numerous examples of those that stood up against the crowd of popular opinion.

Daniel, Hananiah, Meshael, and Azariah were brought to be trained by the Babylonians in order to enter into the kings service. They were living with the Babylonians and taught their language but they did not conform to their way of life. [Dn 1:5-20]. God blessed them with knowledge and understanding surpassing their peers ten times [Dn 1:17]. Being steadfast put Daniel in a position to share faith in his God with the King and eventually the nation of Babylon [Dn 2:46; 4:34-37].
Thankfully David followed his heart instead of the majority on the battlefield the day he faced Goliath [1 Sm 17]. While the Israelites hid in fear, David acted in faith. Standing up to our peers always takes courage based in faith. It requires a turn from peer pressure to a turn toward Spirit pressure to discern what is right and then boldly act upon your beliefs.
Moses endured the stress and strain of falling into the mold of the Israelites many times. It would have been easy to fall victim to the grumbling and complaining of his fellow countrymen. Had that been the case, who would have interceded on their behalf for God to be merciful and spare them his wrath?
Noah is an obvious example of someone who didn’t blend in with the crowd [Gen 6:9-7:1]. He was the most righteous man of his time. The times and the people were so wicked that God grieved over creating them. For 120 years he built the ark and I can imagine it was among much ridicule and strife. History as we know it could have ended right there at about 5,000 B.C. but not for God’s grace and Noah’s fortitude.
Finally I recall the example of Paul and Silas when they were arrested for freeing a possessed woman [Ac 16:19-24]. They stood their ground for the cause of Christ against an angry mob. This example serves to demonstrate that standing on principle can lead to mistreatment, suffering, and even persecution. Confronted sin has an explosive potential that can provoke an unexpected and undesirable reaction but we must trust God to defend, enable, empower, and protect. His will always prevails.

As Peter declared, filled with the Holy Spirit, before the elders, rulers and teachers of the law when admonished not to speak in the name of Jesus: "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." [Ac 4:18-20]. May I add that these were the same men who had his Lord crucified?

I can honestly say, without hesitation, that my life would have taken a whole different direction if I had not followed the detrimental detour of peer pleasing. The consequences of some of those choices are evident in my life to this day.

When I finally chose God over “friends”, I was able to realize truth and Jesus rescued me from the pit I jumped into with a group of my peers. He continues to provide me with the strength to resist the pull of this world without regret. God has been gracious to provide friends that build my faith and improve my character. They give voice to His will and I have learned to surround myself with those that will not be a bad influence on me. This fellowship doesn’t remove worldly pressure, only God can do that, but surrender to God can give me victory in the battle and make the journey a lot safer.

Thank You, Holy Spirit for empowering me to stand in faith. Thank You, Jesus for rescuing me from darkness. Thank You, God for pursuing me, drawing me near, and breaking that pull of my peers. May the rest of my days be filled with Spirit-pressure. Use me to open the eyes of others to the pitfalls of peer pressure. In the Name of my Lord and Master, Amen.

From This Day

Your mercies this day have been abundant.

You consistently heap grace upon grace.

Though the day has been a rolling ride,

You will reap good from it's toil.

From the circumstances of this day, create in me enhanced character;

From stress, build patience;

From the unexpected, build faith;

From provision, build thanksgiving.

Above All,

PRAISE!

I give thanks for the blessings and the challenges alike.

Keep me from sin in accordance with Your perfect will.

Circumvent any misdeeds of friends and family.

Shine Your Light on the lost.

Grant us rest as we wait upon You.

Language Divine

Spoken before time among the Trinity and that brought forth all things; used to create the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Used to speak to Your Son as He walked among us. Used to speak to me in my mother’s womb.

What language did you use to speak with Adam and Eve? Moses and the Prophets? You speak to all who are yours a universal language in every tongue.

What language will we speak for eternity? How will I converse with fellow brothers and sisters from other nations? In what tongue shall I praise You and proclaim the holiness of the Lamb?

When my heart worships and groans in prayer, what language does the Holy Spirit use to convey my petitions and Jesus speak in intercession? If I knew, I would learn it now. A secret known only by You and lost at Babel and possibly reserved for the heavenlies.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27) Your voice is unique to each person’s familiarity of language so that they may hear, listen, and discern.

Does Your native language have a name? Italian, Greek, French, Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin, Russian, Chinese, German, Scot….. Such diversity. You derived them all from what original holy, hidden tongue? I imagine them all melding into one glorious sound. Imbedded within each soul to be brought forth at the proper time.

You spoke ancient Hebrew to Moses, Aramaic through Jesus, Greek to Paul and today through Your Spirit.

The power in Your words to speak the universe into existence; the gentleness of Your words to encourage Elijah in a whisper; the authority in Your voice to rebuke the storm; the command to resurrect the Christ from death’s tomb. All the language of love.

Love is the same in every language for it is spoken by the heart and not the lips; audible through actions and not by voice.

You understand our language no matter what we speak for they are all Your creation – we are all Your creation. Even in communication we see yet another example of how You lower Yourself to our level (as varied as that is). All out of a desire for relationship. And you ask not that we learn a complex language divine to speak with You – only to speak.

God of all nations; I speak to you words of praise, adoration and thanksgiving in the only language I know; comforted in knowing You hear and understand. You fill me with awe and wonder. I lean close and strain to hear the language You speak amongst Yourselves. To be in the presence of the language of love, demonstrated throughout the ages in every tongue. Use my words to worship and tell of this great love to those that will listen in my language. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Eternal Father

Father of the eternal

Eternal Father

Father from eternity

Father to eternity

Father for all eternity

Father of creation before creation

Father of the eternal Jesus before He was born Son of Man

You have always been a father

Father of all fathers

Of all the things You are, You have never not been a father

Who can comprehend all that? Certainly not I!

Father of all man

A father of all ever born (whether they recognized You as such or not)

How many will there be from Adam until the end?

Will anymore be born to You after the "end times" and time is no more?

How could I ever doubt that You can never deny your own character?

How could I possibly not trust You when I consider all the children You've perfectly fathered? How could I not seek Your wisdom and guidance in parenting - You are The expert!

Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?

(Malachi 2:10 NIV)

Water Restored

It was a welcome sight to see a boat on the lake today as I crossed the bridge. A simple thing, really, but it signified restoration. It was unusual and a bit strange because it has been more than a year since I've seen such a common sight.

The drought we have experienced is quickly becoming a memory as God blesses us with precious rain and faithfully provides. What a solemn sight it was those many months to see dry lake beds. Grass was actually growing in the valleys that once held water teeming with life. A design not fulfilling it's purpose.

My thoughts often turned to imagine God's perspective, the immense sorrow He endures to see these vessels of His all dried up, spiritually dead, and not living up to our intended purpose.

Lost potential. A wasteland of useless space.

Without living water continually being poured into our souls, we too dry up; weeds take over; we are no longer serving as created or bringing others blessing and joy.

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)

Sustaining God and Father; I give thanks for Your gift of rain and praise You for Your mercy. In a sun-scorched land Your Living Water never fails to flow and satisfy our spiritual needs. Empower me to be a vessel of purpose for Your kingdom and Your glory. In Christ Jesus I pray, Amen.

A Psalm of Remembrance

In my morning Bible reading, a particular morsel really caught my attention. While this is not unusual, what is so unique about this reference is that I can't even point you to a particular verse. Let's look together at Psalm 70. Just a small portion of the descriptive subtitle states "to bring to remembrance" (NLT). Isn't that precisely what we need in desperate times? To remember God's past deliverance, grace, and provision? Recollection of past deeds always restores hope for me.

Now let's look a bit further into the actual Psalm itself. Can't you sense the urgency in David's petition? "Please God, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me. But I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God, You are my helper and my savior; O LORD, do not delay!" (vs 1, 5). The King James version for verse 1 states "make haste" and the New American Standard says "hasten to deliver me". Obviously he is in dire need. Where else is there to turn but the One and Only, God? But David also takes time to notice who God is. Praise always settles the soul and puts things in proper perspective, as he acknowledges in verse 4; "But may all who search for You be filled with joy and gladness. May those who love Your salvation repeatedly shout, "God is great!" (Thank you, David, for offering this prayer for all believers). He has spoken a mystical truth in these words; in that, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, when we shift our focus, God renews our countenance and graciously fills our spirit with His peace. If I find myself in a situation and recall His acts of past kindness', my faith is renewed to believe He is able and will do it again. I have found this to be true in my experience and noted a few occasions recorded in Scripture where remembrance changes one's outlook:

Song of Moses in Dt 32
Dt 7: 17-19
Mt 16:8-10

The most significant to note is the Lord's institution of the Lord's Supper. He gave the command for us to participate in this as a rememberance of Him and the new covenant in His blood, proclaiming His death until His return [Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24-26]. I am so thankful for this observance and the blessing this memorial brings to my life weekly. Remembering my Lord, His sacrifice, and His promised return keeps my life focused in Him.

You can be sure God remembers His covenant with His chosen as noted in Gn 9:15, Lv 26:42, 45; Ps 105: 8-10; Ps 111.

Mighty and merciful Father; When I recount Your deeds toward man in the past I am reminded that You are in control and altogether trustworthy. I praise You for Your goodness and thank You for being faithful to Your word and Your character. Thank You for turning our anxious pleas for aid into psalms of gladness. God is great! In the name of our Lord, Amen.

Salvation Praise

Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? O LORD, You are God! You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever in Your sight; for You, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever. (1 Chronicles 17:16, 26, 27) I give thanks for the salvation You have afforded my family. By faith I offer my heartfelt praise. In confidence we sing the song of the redeemed because of the sacrificial work accomplished by Your Son and our Savior. Work in us the desire to follow Your paths of righteousness for Your name sake, LORD. In the Holy Name of our Redeemer, Amen.

Oh The Drama!

Isn't God all about drama? Think about it. All of history is one long story played out in every genre imaginable. Action, adventure, horror, character, comedy, mystery; why even some heavy duty adult themes. It's all in there!

From the creativity and special effects of Creation, from the adventures and family feuds of the Patriarchs, to the grand love story of Calvary.

Here are just a few classics that come to mind:

The donkey talking to Balaam (Nu 22:21-34) is quite comical.
Saul consulting a medium to awaken Samuel's dead spirit (1 Sm 28:7-22) is a thriller.
There's the eerie hand writing ordeal of Daniel 5 that's enough to shiver your spine.
If it's epic battle scenes you want, there's several to choose from. I personally recommend the one envisioned by John in the book of Revelation or the many recorded in Joshua. Worth mentioning is the hysterical Midianites (Jg 7). God won that victory with torches and trumpets (a bit more dramatic than merely marching around a city seven times).

The intriguing mysteries get to me the most, like eternity; the Holy Spirit; the virgin birth; Jesus residing in my wretched heart.

We all await the revealing of God's suspenseful cliffhanger - when will it all end? When will the last act of the glorious return of our Lord, the last battle, and our big move to our new residence take place? Stay tuned. Until then, pick up the best book ever written; it's suited for every taste. Revisit an old favorite or find a new hit. Just stay plugged in and hear the voice of God echo through the pages of history - past, present, and future.

Sovereign Lord, I praise You for Your mighty deeds toward men from the beginning of time. As You continue to unfold drama daily in the lives of each individual, may we see the work of Your Hands culminating into a final act as You have preordained. You have used ordinary men to enact Your Redemptive Story in the most uncommon ways. Thank You for the central person in Jesus and for writing His saving role so perfectly (yet painfully). It pains me to think of some of the things you see in our drama, knowing we are not following the script of the Great Director. May Your story be more than a good book to us but the very core of our lives. Thank you for the variety in Your storytelling - an exquisite masterpiece! May You find us faithful as we await the return of our King for the final act leading us into Your eternal glory. In Jesus Name, Amen.

A Searching God

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may

strongly support those whose heart is completely His."

2 Chronicles 16:9 NASB

Do you remember the feeling you would get as a child when you disobeyed a rule or broke a valuable heirloom? That desire to hide - knowing if your parents saw you they would instantly know your guilt. I often thought that my parents were always looking in order to catch me doing something wrong rather than notice me doing anything right.

Imagine the major paradigm shift that occurred the first time I read this verse. My heart skipped a beat before it leaped for joy within me. I took a moment to reread it and then several minutes processing it. What wonderful news!

I imagined an active God constantly searching the earth to catch His children doing something right. The definition I found in looking up the hebrew verb shuwt for "to and fro" was to "go, move, range" which all indicated to me that He is diligently active in doing this. And not just for His pleasure but to bless with strength. Yet another passage that declares that nothing is hidden from Him and there is no place unseen or overlooked by Him.

The best part is that He looks at our hearts. Our actions no longer judged by a parents presumed motive or intent (or lack thereof). Not condemned in predictable human error.

There is a condition however; I must be committed to Him (which is the wording the NIV uses). Knowing He seeks good in order to bless rather than wrong to punish certainly makes committing all that much more desirable and the Holy Spirit makes it possible. The NASB uses the adverb "completely" meaning "altogether" or "indeed" with the word origin being "akin to" which is "truly" or "surely". I receive assurance of this blessing when I know that my heart is truly altogether His. I confess that it isn't 24/7; but when it is I'd like to think He caught me doing something right and will give me strenghten and encourage me.

Father; Thank you for searching the earth and strengthening those that love You. Continue to empower Your children to live righteously. Bring to my awareness the fact that You are actively looking to extend Your grace and blessing upon me; seeing the very depths of my heart. May it always reveal a deep and true love for You and Your ways. I give thanks that Your love will always remove fear and the feeling of a need to hide from You when I commit a rebellious act. I give praise to our active and living LORD that searches the earth to bless those whose hearts love Him! In Jesus holy name, Amen.