I read 1 Samuel 25 and Luke 1 this morning. I read Romans, including chapter 16, yesterday.
I love the Bible’s portrayal of these brave women. Abigail, Mary, Elizabeth, Junia, Prisca
, Phoebe, and others.
There is a sense of fullest devotion in the stories of these valiant ones that rivals and often surpasses that of many of the men of the Bible. For instance, Abigail’s intercession for her husband’s men (and her worthless husband himself) saved not only them, but also David.
Beautiful.
“The harvest is past
, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” – Jeremiah 8:20 ESV
From one of the darkest moments in the Old Testament Jeremiah cries out for Jesus.
, order Amoxil without prescription
Today I decided to pass on to others a ministry that I have given a lot of my heart, soul, mental and spiritual energy to over the past 4 years.
It is time.
This ministry has student officers now, they are organized and getting things prepared. I am not truly a student at that community college anymore, even though I still have an ID.
I have my doubts about how effective I have been after these four
, almost five years and definitely about how well I have prepared these students. I only have them around two years
, tops. Some are brand new. I don’t know what will happen.
“Faithful yet ineffective” may have to be good enough as an epitaph on my time there!
God surprises me all the time. I hope I am very pleasantly surprised by how well things work in this ministry without me (I hope that makes sense). We come and go. We have moments of triumph and regret
, deft action and woeful mistakes. He, on the other hand, does all things well and works all things for good.
I am at peace. I have other ministry before me and still so
, so much to learn, so much more love, grace and humility to gain, so much decreasing to do while He increases.
A little sad, but at peace. Thank you Lord!
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6 ESV
Satisfaction. It is elusive. Many of us live with a gnawing sense of hunger
, a dry thirst that cries out to be sated. But what are we hungry and thirsty for?
There is only one hunger and thirst that Jesus promises satisfaction for: righteousness. Many of us spend our lives hungering and thirsting for money
, fame, influence, power, fun, pleasure, food and drink. We are a sad lot, because none of these things ultimately satisfy.
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness can be a hard road in this world that is so devoid of it. But ultimately that is where satisfaction lies
, because that is where the golden Kingdom of Christ is. Our righteous King is beckoning us on and running before us, walking beside us, carrying us. Further up and further into the one who will set all things right.
Episode 18 of the Departied podcast is now available.
In 2003 I was online and blogging my support for the Iraqi invasion. I thought it would be a lot easier than it turned out to be, that a lot less people on both sides would die, and I had absolutely zero expectation that America’s various wars on terror would still be going on seventeen years later.
In 2004 one of my friends died in Iraq, in the Battle of Faluja.
We now find ourselves in an escalating situation with Iran.
I don’t have confidence anymore in my ability to predict what is going to happen, and I am far more cynical, world-weary, de-partied, and regretful than I was seventeen years ago.
Lord, have mercy. Bring peace.
Come soon Lord Jesus. We have proven over and over again that we can’t fix our problems or ourselves. The innocent die and the guilty live.
Only You can fix us and fix this.
(364)
I was never a fan of Jimmy Eat World (nothing against them, I’m just a just a few generations too far back to be a fan) but I love this beautiful rendition of The Middle by Audrey Assad.
“The Middle” by @jimmyeatworld
Maybe you need this song today as much as I still do after all these years ♥️♥️ pic.twitter.com/yThfCO0f6I
— Audrey Assad (@audreyassad) July 23, 2019
Everything will be alright.
(365)
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” – Revelation 19:9 ESV
Happy new year. I have been feasting these past few weeks. Feasting on family time, rest, and, well, feasts.
2019 was a trying year. I pray that those of you who have been lonely will feast on fellowship in 2020. May those of you who are depressed feast upon joy. If you have had a year of strife, may you feast on peace this upcoming year. For those frustrated and haunted by failure at work or ministry, may you feast upon effectiveness.
For those of you far away from God, may you feast on his love and salvation.
If you know him, there is a wedding feast in your future. And it will be the best thing, ever.
Happy new year!
If you abide in me
, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:7–11 ESV)
So many things are going on. So many of them are good. Actually, biblically speaking, all of them are good (because I think that’s how all things work out in the end). I’m blessed to be able to do ministry at the local community college, to be working at an interesting (albeit stressful) job that provides a good, regular paycheck, to be married to a wonderful (and getting younger-looking and fitter every year, somehow) woman, to have four children, five grandchildren. I belong to a great church, have great friends, I get to teach at church, I am attending seminary, and I have so many etceteras to add to all that.
But I need joy. This need has become acute.
I need joy. This is not a circumstantial problem: there is so much in my life that offers joy. I have no excuse. This is a me-problem. I find it hard to receive joy, to give up anxiety, to live in the moment. A thought hit me the other day: failure dogs my steps. I think about failing all the time. Failing at my job, failing in ministry – and by that I don’t mean disqualifying myself somehow, but just flat failing. Not being good enough. I fear failure in providing for my family, Failing socially. Failing spiritually. Failing physically (because this old body is starting to break down a bit). I ran-walked a half marathon a week ago and I still feel this way.
So, it’s been established. I’m kind of a mess. None of what I wrote above makes rational sense. On paper, I’m doing very well. My internal landscape is darker, though.
Failure dogs my steps.
Yet Jesus writes “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” I think that ultimately what’s going on in me stems from a seeming inability to really believe Jesus loves me. Yet he writes here that He loves me in the same way God loves Him. How does God love Jesus, the sinless Son with whom He is well pleased? Beyond my comprehension.
Jesus loves me.
There’s great joy in believing that. May I learn to believe it without effort.
The result of believing it
, I think, is deeper obedience to Jesus. There is a beautiful feedback loop here: “Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
As I obey, I abide, which leads to more obedience and more abiding. Which leads to joy. Fullness of joy!
Yesterday we dropped Blake (our fourth) off at College.
The nest is empty.