GENTLE AND LOWLY

Gentle and Lowly.Think kind and humble. Merciful coupled with humility. (Matthew 11:29)

Anyone known people described by those adjectives? Sadly, I would not qualify for those descriptors.

Gentle and Lowly. The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers as Dane Ortland's book title says. Sinner. Sufferer. That's me.

Maybe that's why it's so hard for me, a sinner,  to think I receive that kind of love, forgiveness and comfort in my sufferings, over and over from the Lord....from His heart. 

"Perhaps it isn't sin so much as sufferings that cause some of us to question the perseverance of the heart of Christ. As pain piles up, as numbness takes over, as the months go by, at some point the conclusion seems obvious: we have been cast out." (Ortland, p.64-65) What's God's answer to that. "Come unto Me." (Matthew 11:28) He will never cast me out. Jesus never rejects His own.....those who come to Him. (John 6:37)

Ortland goes on to share more comforting words: "For those united to him,  the heart of Jesus is Not a rental; it is your new permanent residence. You are not a tenant, you are a child. His heart is not a ticking time bomb; his heart is the green pastures and still waters of endless reassurances of his presence and comfort... " (Ortland, p.66, emphasis mine)

He is worthy of our worship. May we "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." (Psalm 29:2) May I see the beauty and holiness of God today.

Gentle and Lowly, 2 words that succinctly sum up His holiness.

Son Buddy sums up the book in 2 words. "It's rich."

POSSESSIVE APOSTROPHES

Get out your hymnals......

Now that's a statement rarely heard in churches theses days. Usually words are on a screen or written out in the bulletin. Some churches no longer even have hymnals in their pews racks.  For those who know how to read music, I imagine that is a real loss especially if the hymn is unfamiliar to them.

.....and turn to page  517 Taylor said. In FEC hymnal it's listed by title, The Solid Rock.

In my old Cokesbury hymnal at home, it's listed by the first words, My Hope Is Built on p. 24.

Why did Taylor want us to turn to this old familiar hymn of assurance and faith? 

Taylor wanted us to focus on the apostrophe ' after Jesus' name. 

He wanted us to see the duality of the possession indicated by said apostrophe. The hope we have is in Jesus, who not only shed His blood for our salvation but He also imputed His righteousness to us.

Whose are we? We are His Beloved. Ownership of sorts. There is no "Sort of" ownership with Jesus. Believer, we are totally His possession forever. God see us through His Son's righteousness from now until eternity. Hallejujah!

Simply put................apostrophes are punctuation marks (not diacritical markings helpful in accents and appearing over letters) marks to indicate omission of letters/ numbers or to indicate possession.  Only when a word ends in "s" and is possessive does one place the apostrophe outside the "s." 

In the life of a believer that all important possessive apostrophe reminds us we are His. 

Our hope is built on nothing less than that---Jesus' blood and righteousness.

BOTH.....His blood and His righteousness!

GREEDFLATION

Greedflation. Another new word for me. For corporations it can be jacking up prices for impure gain. (New York Times 6/2022) Do they raise prices and then advertise a sale?

For hoarding consumers it can be emptying store shelves, while the getting is good, for their own gains.

Interestingly enough, today is "Prime Time"----Amazon's big, if not BIGGEST, shopping day. Hopefully a day to be frugal not just one of accumulation. Even the frugal might consider sharing their savings with others.

Greed. Certainly not a new concept. Think Me First. Self-centered  All about me.

In our culture it can start around age two. " He won't share" for a toddler means, means "he" has it and I want it. Though the scenario might change the concept is often present, in full measure, during the career years. 

This year golfers are all a "twitter" over the defection from the US tour of some of its members to join the Saudi Arabia LIV tour. Why? 

Three Guesses.....1) $    2) $$   3) $$$   Which has one ask. How much is enough?

Sadly, the answer often remains the same.....always a little more. 

What does God say about greed? It certainly does not define greed as contentment.

Be not eager for money, but eager to serve. (1 Timothy 6:10)

..do not forget to do good and share with others....(Hebrews 13:16)

I say the opposite of greed is selfless.

"Whoever is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble to his family...." Proverbs 15"27a) 

"Keep your life free from the love of money." (Hebrews 13:5)

Don't let "Greedflation" define you as a part of your conversations.

More later.................I would have put I'm going shopping but folks who know me, know I am NOT a shopper! Nothing wrong with shopping, it's just not in my wheelhouse.

SWEET FRIENDSHIP!

A sweet friendship is one that has the added element of fellowship! I t spans time and distance.........even across the pond, the BIG one.

It's what I share with Katya. A friend who gives wise counsel. (Proverbs 1:5) How grateful I am that she is in my life. Her life is a testimony of ministry to others especially during times of trauma. A friend who loves at all times....(Proverbs 17:17)

Her sweet smile radiates from a heart that loves Jesus!

Today might be World Chocolate Day as the sticky on my keyboard attests but there's nothing in the world any sweeter than a friendship with a sister in Christ! TRUE FELLOWSHIP.

WORD PLAY!

Word Play or Play on Words.

Wordsmiths love words. That's a given. Many are also given to playing with words. 

Bananagrams. Boggle. Crosswords, Scrabble. Whirly Word. Words with Friends. (Alphabetized for your convenience)

And oh yea, these days...WORDLE.

Pandemic/ COVID words could qualify for their own dictionary---social-distancing, super spreader and mask-up stand out to me.

Words I saw or heard this past week---Blursday. Flightmare. Staycation.  Stagflation, a period of sluggish economic growth with high inflation....need I say more.

Words so new that auto correct puts a line of red dots under them.

What about the latest craze..........cultural creations. These words come and go based on the "Hot Mess" circumstances in the world.

Trending Now? Too many to recount and most misunderstood by me. Sentient, however is a word used by a google tech man that caused him to lose his job. AI, artificial intelligence, is able to feel, hear, see, smell or taste.

Only God's Word allows me to perceive (sentient) truth as I, by His Spirit, can "taste and see" that the Lord is good: blessed is the man  who trusts in Him. (Psalm 34:8) 

Allow God's Words to play in your mind by the guidance of the Holy Spirit---they will become the joy and delight of your heart. (Jeremiah 15:16)

RX FOR DESPAIR & STRUGGLES

RX---I could post a pic of LOTS of drug and other pain relieving accoutrements but....that would put the focus on me. I don't want my pain, physical and emotional, to be my ID/significance or leverage. 

Instead Psalm 118:5 reminds me, Out of my distress, I called on the Lord: the Lord answered me and set me free. Simply put but truly a 12+ hour struggle for me. But God...was faithful even when I was not.

Jesus Calling Daybrightener 7/5

As Sarah Young puts it, "I can never be in control of my life's circumstances" but I can trust in His control. Seek to know God better. Christ is central. Stop clinging to the old ways. Continue to be on the look out for God's hand and be thankful.

Regardless of which RX verse gives you the most comfort and relief, take it daily with a cuppa Gra-TEA-tude to the One who gives life in abundance! (John 10:10)

CHRISTMAS IN JULY!

Christmas in July!

That's what it looks like at our house.

Just stick a flag in the Christmas poinsettia on the table, have food all over the counter along with a hodgepodge of seasonal napkins, custard stirring on the stovetop and voilà! One difference was the sound of the ice cream freezer whirring because that's where the custard went. 

Freedom was celebrated---Freedom as an American. 

Freedom as a Christian (John 8:36)

Happy 4th, Friends! Oops---day late......&.......you know the rest. 

"So me"--these days!

P.R.A.Y.

Many folks use ACTS as a reminder of great steps in our prayer life.

A doration

C onfessiom

T thanksgiving

S upplication

A reminder to worship and search your heart for sin and thanking the Lord for forgiveness before we start asking,

P raise

R epent

A sk 

Y ield

This P.R.A.Y. but I appreciate the reminder to yield to God's will for His answers as we ask/ petitions. 

A great way to align our will with His---so that His will be done!

This past Month my sweet friend from Ukraine shared Lectio 365, an on-line devotional, with me. Today's devotional offered this acronym, for pray.

P ause to be still

R ejoice with a psalm

A sk for God's help for self and others

Y ield to His will, come what may

Regardless of your style of praying, with or without an acronym reminder---how about a rhyming one--PRAY TODAY!

4 WORDS WITH BIG HOPE!!!!

I AM WITH YOU!

Pastor Jim's sermon in Haggai opened my eyes to the many times those words of the Lord were found in Scripture.

Four words of comfort. Words of hope. Words of encouragement.

 

Later scanning the "Sunday" paper, I had another "God with me" heads up. 

There was a fifth word giving "future" reference verb "will be." 

Often "I am with you" tell us where and when. Another adverb often used is the reassuring "always."

I AM WITH YOU! Four words to lessen fear, give needed strength, replace dismay with assurance and put a smile on my face....especially as I pray these words will comfort my Ukrainian friends! 

** I so appreciate the inclusion of scripture continuing in our Commercial Appeal. 

FAMILY TIES

There are many things that tie families together, some better than others. (Romans 12:10)

Hanging our heads out the rolled down windows to avoid cigarette smoke might not have been a good one but we "back-seaters" remembered it even long after our parents quit smoking.

Growing up in Hoptown we shared a "wolf" language taught by Daddy that was only understood by us.

Dalfaddy, Bulfuddy, Dolfotsy and Bolfobby were in the know. Silly. Yes! ....... But to this day it's a tie that binds.

Stories we heard over and over whether we were there when they happened or not. Several years after Daddy came home from the war, my older sibling who was 4 yrs old at the time, asked Daddy to go to church with Mommy and him. Daddy's reply was he couldn't because his shoes weren't polished. Well, that was an easy fix. Older brother, already dressed in his "Sunday go to Meetin' ", white pique suit with white Peter Pan collared shirt proceeded to the cabinet to get the black polish. The shoes were duly polished and his clothes probably had as much blackness as, if not more than, Daddy's size 11 shoes. Daddy went to church that Sunday and for the next 64 years until his stroke incapacitated him. Faith is certainly a tie that binds in a positive way. In 2010 he was honored as one of three oldest living members of Hopkinsville's First United Methodist Church. 

Inside jokes also bind well. "Cut the mustard" always gets snickers at our house....especially as we recall the time Reverend Grimstead said it! Crazy Ada's "Oh just forget about it" rings a bell every time we hear someone refer to it."

These days my youngest child and I have an ongoing "Fun" dispute.

Any one out there have disputes on punctuation marks? Is ampersand in your vocabulary of dispute?

At my house they have been gifted as reminders. Quite a gift! Fun reminder!

From paper weight to wall hanging, I smile every time I walk past an ampersand. 

It's "my" Molly's way of greeting me with a wink!