A Dance continued...

10/8/11 ... in Timothy Keller's book, The Reason for God; Belief in an Age of Skepticism, as The "Dance of Love." "God really has love as His essence." (Keller p. 216) G. K. Chesterton wrote 'for the Christian it (love) is the purpose of God.' (Keller p. 216) A dance of love is a dance of relationship. If in the pursuit of life, one is drawn to money, power or success/accomplishment over human relationships, that person is "sitting out" the dance of love. Those self-centered pursuits are not about relationships. "Self-centeredness destroys the fabric of what God has made." (Keller p. 217)

In the dance of love, take your place with the Lord. But God....doesn't want one to stay there as a way of shutting others out. The dance of love has an "other orientation." For believers, it's a committed relationship with both Him and each other. Choose to dance the dance of Love. See life as a big dance party, if you will. As the Lee Womack song says, "Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance. I hope you dance. I hope you dance."

But you can't go it alone. The Dance of Love is all about relationships. Him first. Others next....and the dance continues.

DANCE OF GOD

10/6/11 "Dance of God," the final chapter in Timothy Keller's book, The REASON for GOD: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, caught my eye for a very obvious reason----Dance. Having begun my "dance with the Lord" in new ways with my '09 cancer diagnosis, I was drawn to read what a scholar had to say about what has been "my" way of experiencing trust and intimacy with the Almighty God as He leads me in "our" dance---the one chosen just for me.

Keller sums up God's dance in several steps. Step one included understanding God's own personal dance, "The Divine Dance" as he explains the doctrine of the Trinity. Starting with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit glorifying one another, he stresses that such a "divine dance creates a dynamic, pulsating dance of joy and love." Perichoresis is the Greek word for this (think choreography) "meaning literally to dance or flow around." (Keller, p. 215)

Whereas self-centeredness is static and demands that others orbit around us, the inner life of the triune God is utterly different as it is characterized by self-giving love. (Keller, p. 214) The first few pages had so much food for THOT, I'm still digesting it.

But God....has me realizing that the "dance" starts and ends with God and when I join Him in the dance, He can teach me to delight and serve others and center on their desires and interests. I know that I'll have to stay in the "closed" dance position with Him in order for Him to have complete access to my ear so that He can continue to teach me these truths.

FORGING FRIENDSHIPS

10/5/11 Pastor Cole spoke Sunday on forging friendships of the soul based on the picture given in scripture of the lives of David and Jonathan. A soul sister (or brother) is essential because we all need that kind of friend.

Such a friendship is:

1. Reciprocal/mutual---someone who believes in you as you believe in her/him

2. Strengthening---keeping his/her focus on God’s purpose & vice versa

3. Authentic---being real and vulnerable because it’s a trust relationship where both are fully present to God

To me there is never any posturing or competition. It’s about acceptance. Loving and enjoying each other for who we and where we are in our spiritual growth. When our friend goes into firey situations, we’re there. Going through the fire together strengthens that bond. A “forged” bond that time and distance cannot break.

Years ago my neighbor, Cheryl McClure, gave me a cross-stitched sampler made by her mother. It read “Our best friends are those with whom we become our best selves.” How true. What a godly expectation that is.

I Samuel 20:23b ….Behold the Lord is between you and me forever.

If you have forged such a friendship, no one or no situation can come between you and her/him. Enjoy the blessing.

Usefulness

10/4/11 "Am I being useful, Miss Amburgey?" is a question five-year old Charlie asked several times of the librarian at little school in a favorite kid's book, Did You Carry the Flag today, Charley? How does one know if they are being useful or have purpose? What might be in one's life that is keeping them from being of use to others?

Beyond that, how does one know when they need to relinquish "stuff" in their lives. "Stuff" that has lost its usefulness. Think possessions. Is it hard to let go of possessions that really aren't of good use anymore. Is the time and money required to purchase and maintain our accumulated "stuff" keeping us from a grander purpose? What about the frantic searches (at least at my house) that ensue when we can't quite put our finger on the lost or temporarily misplaced object located somewhere in the myriad of clutter of useless "stuff."

Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them. (Peace Pilgrim, chap. 5) All of this takes time and money that possibly could be put to better use.

What about one's habits/routines? Is it necessary to pick up the free RSVP magazine at the grocery just to look at the pictures? Does one really need to read 3 newspapers a day, spend hours on-line or have the cell phone on 24/7? Not all things are bad but maybe one needs to rethink where time, as well as money, is spent.

All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. (useful in God's realm, Dotsy) All things are lawful, but not all things edify. (useful in building up others or self, Dotsy) 24 Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. (I Corinthians 10:23-24)

Some possessions and activities keep us from our real purpose---without enough hours left in the day to be useful to the Lord and family, much less to others. Maybe these random thoughts of mine can be useful in helping others evaluate daily choices.

PIP

10/3/11 PIP is my acronym for "Put Into Practice." Usually for me that means living out a meaningful verse of Scripture. Today was a "Day of Praise" for the radio station K-Love. They asked listeners to join them in praising God for who He is & thanking Him for what He's done. Praise and thanks. That seemed like a good thing to PIP. (By the way my acronyms are in no way connected to net lingo for chatting or texting---just my way of remembering, established long before one could even text on a phone.)

Today's MM (Monday Meditation) is a glimpse as I PIP this challenge. Meditating on scripture often serves as a springboard for prayer and praise. Psalm 67 was my international praise guide. Psalm 150 was my benediction.

1May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us
2that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
6The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.
7God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! (ESV)

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. (Psalm 150:6)

As the Puritan's "Evening Praise" states, "My cup runs over. Suffer me not to be insensible (without feeling) to these daily mercies.Thy hand bestows blessings: Thy power averts evil. I bring my tribute of thanks for spiritual graces, the warmth of faith, the cheering presence of Thy Spirit...." (The Valley of Vision, p. 121)

PRUNING

10/2/11 This weekend's cool temps coupled with a willing hubby allowed time to "tidy-up" in our yard. Notice I said yard, not lawn. We're yard kind of people so we don't have a landscape design as such. But even to this inexperienced eye, I knew we needed some pruning. If for nothing else than to bring in light to the middle of the bush. This would encourage new growth. But to get that light we had to remove dead, broken or diseased branches. Suckers, those odd branches that had started growing from the base of your tree, and even the spindly branches needed to be removed and discarded---in order for us to return it to the shape it was meant to be.

Believers are a lot like that. Believers have a spiritual shape. S.H.A.P.E. = Spiritual Gifts; Heart; Abilities; Personality; Experience. (C. Keeth) It's our God-given makeup. People have gifts to offer others, a heart that houses their passions, abilities that aid them in using their passion to minister to others, the perfect personality for their calling and the experiences that affirm this. But to maintain that "shape" one needs to rid themselves of the "useless" and to walk in the light of God's Word. Live with His perspective. Allow Him to light your path. Discard your junk. Leave it on the curb.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

As I stated in a 3/13/11 blog, Pruning helps to bring balance and it guides the shaping of the plant (or person) to be all it (or she) was intended to be by the one (or One) who planted it. Pruning both in the garden and in our spiritual lives is necessary for healthy growth. We have to get rid of the superfluous and useless parts that compete with the healthy growth---

Prune the part that doesn't let in the needful light!

SHATTERED and GATHERED

9/30/11 Life can happen in "shattering" ways. Blots on our life's pages.
Interruptions abounding. Often we are caught unaware.

Revelation 1:17 speaks of the Lord as the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. I like the way the prophet wrote of that concept in Isaiah 52:12. For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. As our Alpha, he goes before us----our paths and stage are set by Him as we follow Him. As our Omega He is there in eternity. Amy Carmichael's devotional book, Edges of His Ways, opened my eyes to this glorious truth. Rotherham phrased it thus, "For your Van-guard is the Lord." "He who begins, finishes." (Edges, 9/29) God's there first and He's there as our rear guard. He is first and last and every where in between.

So what's the glorious truth? For me, it was not just the guidance we receive from the One who goes ahead, nor the protection we receive from the One who defends and brings up the rear. It was the job description of the rear guard that had me gratefully seeing Him as Gatherer. The rear guard follows after "to gather us up if we flag and are weary." (Edges 9/30) He gathers up----that's my favorite thought. My rearguard gathers up my mistakes, my bumbling intentions, all the detritus that I have left on my life's path and He takes care of them. He is first and He is last, and we are gathered up in-between, as in great arms of eternal lovingkindness. (Edges, 9/29) So, as we travel on into another month we need not fear: Eternal love is our Vanguard, the glory of Eternal Love is our Rearguard. (Edges, 9/30) His everlasting arms will gather us up.

FORTRESS OF FAITH

9/28/11 A fortress of faith sounds even sturdier than a wall of faith. It was today's Commercial Appeal newspaper’s lead in to Rabbi Grossman’s Rosh Hashanah message, but it reinforced my latest THOTS (Trusting Him On This Subject): walls/fortresses of faith are “besieged by hostile forces.” The Rabbi was recalling as an 11 year old finding his mother crumpled in the floor and crying because “her mother, eight sisters and one brother had perished in the Nazi gas chambers.” (CA guest column, 9/28/11) In later years, he read on the walls of such a gas chamber, Psalm 44: 17, "All this came upon us, yet we have not forgotten you." He ended with prayerful words, “May He who makes peace in His high places, make peace for us and all of Israel.”

I concluded that there can always be love, peace and respect for mankind in my wall of faith.

THOT: The mortar that holds my wall together must be grace. His grace extended to me. That grace extended by me to others. L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu or “Happy New Year” to my dear Jewish friends who will probably serve apples today, in one form or another.

DOORWAYS

9/27/11 "Keep evil at bay TODAY," was a thought bantered around at H2H last week. Sounds easy enough but when it comes to making right choices in a fallen world, not always so easy---especially those kudzu thoughts. They start with just a simple crack in the doorway to your mind. Soon they take over. So what's one to do?

Erect a wall of faith. Brick by brick. Cemented with God's word. Similar to Isaiah 28:13 when Isaiah built his hearer's knowledge of God's truth "precept upon precept, line upon line" in order that they might not have to fall backwards, be broken or snared. Which is sadly what happened when they didn't build on simple truths. Their wall of faith crumbled. Where was the cornerstone of their faith? (Isaiah 28:16) Eventually the cornerstone of their faith was rejected. (Psalm 118:22) Theirs was not a stable edifice. They opened the door to deceit and closed their ears to righteousness.

An open doorway to an unrighteous mind can start with just a toehold of complaint, bitterness, resentment or anger.

Simple two point answer of what one is to do: build a wall of faith through the study of God's word; don't open the doorway to your mind to impure thoughts. Stop them at the threshold. If it opens slam the door loud and clear with the truth of Scripture.

"ALL THINGS CONSIDERED"

9/26/11 "ATC" with the voice of Robert Siegel often catches my ear if I’m in the car late afternoon. Yesterday’s interview with Rachel Held Evans really caught my attention. Mrs. Evans, an evangelical Christian, has spent a year trying to live out biblical instructions for women. My favorite part was when she told of the Jewish orthodox woman whose hubby “sang” Proverbs 31 to her on the Sabbath as a way, not to push her to do all written therin, but to celebrate all that she had done for her family during the week. That interview had me considering relevant biblical instructions for my own life. Hiding God’s word in my heart was my first consideration.

For today’s Meditating Monday this radio broadcast had me choose “considering” verses that one might deem relevant for his/her own meditation. There are lots. I’m choosing 4 verses that caught my attention. Choose the one that “speaks” to you and then consider it and all things about the verse over the next few days.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:2-5)

Don’t consider yourself wise. Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:7)

Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, (II Corinthians 3:5)

.....and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, (Hebrews 10:24)