He Leadeth Me
Isaiah 41:10
do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
1 He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Refrain:
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful follower I would be,
I am not a very fearful person. The older I become, the less fearful I am. I think of all of the “fear not” scriptures and remember that in 2 Tim 1:7 I am told God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a sound mind.
for by his hand he leadeth me.
Once again, I woke up singing, this time “ He Leadeth Me” by J.H. Gilmore. And I am comforted by the lyrics, as well as the words found in Isaiah 41 that urge me not to fear.
Join with me today in thanking God for His promises and declaring that “ today is the day the Lord has made—I will rejoice in it and be exceedingly, abundantly glad.
May we today and every day let God lead us and strengthen us as we put our trust in Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Is That Where the Story Ends?
(NCV) Jonah 4:9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry about the plant?”
Jonah answered, “It is right for me to be angry! I am so angry I could die!”
10 And the LORD said, “You are so concerned for that plant even though you did nothing to make it grow. It appeared one day, and the next day it died.
11 Then shouldn’t I show concern for the great city Nineveh, which has more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know right from wrong, and many animals, too?”
(NCV) Luke 15:28 The older son was angry and would not go in to the feast. So his father went out and begged him to come in. 29 But the older son said to his father, ‘I have served you like a slave for many years and have always obeyed your commands. But you never gave me even a young goat to have at a feast with my friends. 30 But your other son, who wasted all your money on prostitutes, comes home, and you kill the fat calf for him!’ 31 The father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.
Have you ever thought about the similarities of these two men and how their stories end? Both tales seemed to end abruptly, with less than an adequate resolution.
The first is the story of Jonah. You remember—Jonah was sent to Ninevah with a word of condemnation. The Ninevites were to be destroyed. But Jonah did not want to deliver the word. He did not care that these people would be destroyed—his issue was that if they received this word, he believed they would repent and be saved.
So Jonah ran—he ran down to Tarshis, down to Joppa, down to the hold of the ship, and finally down to the belly of the fish. Because, you see, that’s what sin does, it separates us from God, driving us ever downward, away from the light and into the darkness.
Jonah ultimately relented, went to Ninevah, preached God’s word, and, just as he feared, the Ninevites were saved. For the story was never about Jonah or even the big fish, but the love, mercy and redeeming power of God.
Jonah was so angry he just sat under a tree. It was a tree God provided for shade, but just as suddenly as it appeared, it died. Jonah mourned the loss of the tree, but refused to change his views of the Ninevites. And that is how the story ends, with Jonah consumed by anger.
The second story is about the prodigal son. Again we all know the story, but have we noticed that there are two prodigal sons, not one? Even as the youngest son was restored to his father, the older son became separated from both his father and brother because of his anger over what he clearly perceived as favoritism.
I will admit right now that I am a happily ever after person. I want the story to end where lessons are learned, relationships restored, and life is good. Yet in both of these Biblical accounts, there is no happy ever after, because both men were consumed by anger.
We cannot rewrite the ending to these Biblical accounts, but allow me to suggest our stories have not yet ended. May we be honest before our God, asking Him to shine the light of truth upon our lives, so that our thoughts will be aligned with His. That, for me, is my happy ever after.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What Would Jesus Do?
(NRSV) Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
When I read these words of Paul, I wonder what it will take for us, as Christ followers, to live in this manner. If actions really do speak louder than words, then shouldn’t the way we live every day model the way Jesus taught us?
I think of the bracelets that became popular in the ‘90’s—you know the ones—WWJD—and I want more than anything to live this kind of life. I desire to live with humility, seeing others through the eyes of Christ, for surely if I see people as Jesus sees them then love will reign supreme.
But then someone is unkind to me, not just once, but repeatedly. And I realize that bearing with one another in love is not just words on a page, but a lifestyle. Ultimately, I see that it is my responsibility to maintain an atmosphere of peace, and the poor behavior of another does not relieve me from my responsibilities as a disciple of Christ.
May we purpose to live in such a manner that all who meet us can identify us as Christ followers, not because of what we say, but because of what we do.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Choose You This Day
(NRSV) Joshua 24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. Psalm 48
Have you considered recently the magnitude of Who God is? For me, to meditate on the different aspects of His character is almost overwhelming, but ultimately satisfying. You see, when we learn about His character, then we are learning all we need to know about the Most High God.
I was listening to one of my sermons on YouTube and I said there are certain things God cannot do. A little girl spoke up and said “God can do anything!” I replied, yes, God can do anything, except go against His character because His character, revealed in His names, is Who He is.
We are doing a study at church on prayer, and Pastor Greg has made the distinction between community centered prayer and kingdom centered prayer. The first instance deals with me centered prayers: health, protection, what I think I need. But in kingdom praying, there is a distinct shift from what I think I need to what brings me into alignment with God’s redemptive purposes.
You see, our prayers will always lack the power to be effective until we align ourselves with God.
Most of us were taught to end our prayers with “in the name of Jesus.” But if we do not understand the meaning of that phrase, we may as well just say “thank you and good night.”
Why? Because that simple phrase, in Jesus’ name, means we are asking for something in agreement with Jesus. We are asking our Father to hear and answer our prayers because they align with His kingdom purpose.
So what does choosing who you will serve have to do with prayer? It’s all about aligning who we are with Who God is and we can only achieve such alignment through Bible study and prayer.
May we today, and every day, choose God and His kingdom purpose. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What time is it?
(NRSV)Ecc 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
In 1965 The Byrds released the song “Turn, Turn, Turn.” The tune was melodic, but even better were the lyrics which came straight from the Bible.
“To everything, turn , turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”
It occurs to me that I generally know what time it is. I am aware of the seasons, and the time of day, but there are some things I do not know.
I do know that we, in the United States, are experiencing summer, and living in Arkansas I expect the season to be sweltering. But I do not know, for certain, what each day will bring. I know what is on my calendar, what is planned, but what about the unplanned?
I have been remembering the old songs of the church, and today the one that comes immediately to mind is “Living by Faith,” by James Wells and R. E. Winsett.
1. I care not today what the morrow may bring,
If shadow or sunshine or rain,
The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything,
And all of my worries are vain.
Refrain:
Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
I’m safe from all harm,
in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.
What time is it? Regardless of what time it is, David said in Psalm 31:15 “my times are in your hands.” May we bow before the most high God today and every day, recognizing, as Job did in (NRSV) Job1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 