SATURDAY SHORT!

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

(isaiah 40:8)

The Scripture cannot be broken. (John 10:35)

Nothing can annul God's eternal truth. (Knowing God, p.79)

Ponder this truth the rest of the weekend.

CHOOSE: STILLNESS

This snapshot says it all.

My plan for today's quiet time. To sit before the Lord and allow Him to guide my thoughts.

In stillness. With an open Bible and an open heart. 

Speak (LORD) for your servant is listening. (1 Samuel 3:10)

If I can't be still and listen with my heart, how else will I know Him?

"vitali-TEA"

Righteous Father,......I know you, and..... I have made you known.... and will continue to make you known....(John 17:25-26, NIV)

John 17:25-26 are the words of Jesus but they also reflect the hearts of believers who want to thrive in their lives as God's children. Living a life of vitality in Him that others might get a glimpse of Him as we strive to "know Him and make Him known." A simple creed with a big message.

More than alive. Thriving. A life of vitality.

"Thrive," a Casting Crowns "big camp" praise song, was written "using the idea of Psalm One in showing them (students) what a believer looks like." 

"Like a tree panted by the water, we will never run dry."

He put you here to thrive, to dig in and to reach out and this record (song) is an effort to draw a picture of what a believer, a follower of Jesus, would look like if they dug into their roots and understood God and themselves more.”  (Mark Hall, lead vocalist/Casting Crowns)l

Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire,                            Just to know You and to make You known. 

Joy unspeakable... 

Faith unsinkable... 

Love unstoppable, ("Thrive")

A cuppa "vitali-TEA" is filled with; unspeakable joy, unsinkable faith, & unstoppable love.  Drink deeply if you desire to thrive in life.

"Cul-TEA-vation"

That I may know Him....(Philippians 3:10, KJV)

What does one cultivate? 

Today's chat, with H2H friend Jan C, reminded me of all the "false assumptions" that our culture cultivates in our lives via the media. Think ads. 

What measures our success and achievements? 

Is our significance found in our bank account? 

Our satisfaction in $$? 

Our security in our 401K?

If one needs a shift in his thinking, he must rid his mind and his heart of false gods of our culture. Counterfeit gods seem to be ruling our thought life. We're listening to the wrong gods.

Ask self....What am I cul-TEA-vating in my life cuppa?

The reality of knowing Him comes from consistent devotion to personal Bible study and prayer. To know the One true God, one needs to persist in cultivating His presence. (Streams, 5/29)

"curiosi-TEA"

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:17, NIV)

"Curiouser and curiouser !" remarked Alice, as she saw how small her feet looked through the "end" of the telescope. Saying "Good-By" to her feet, she begins a management plan to keep in touch with her feet. (Alice in Wonderland, chapter 2)

"Good-by, tea cup." Aren't you curious as to how I "shot" this photo?

To all but curmudgeons, curiosity in a child is endearing. A part of childhood and learning. A positive.

Not so much with old folks. With them, curiosity has the negative connotation of being nosey. But....if curiosity is the beginning of leading an adult to a personal management plan for finding the Lord, then that is a positive. Seeking Jesus, from a deep curiosity, to know Him better, that too is positive!
To that end, we should all seek to keep in touch with the Lord---to know Him in a deeper way. To be curiouser and curiouser about His life (and death) and what it means to each of us. That's curiosity at its finest.

In a "Rabbit Hole" as visited by Alice, nothing is quite what it seems. That sounds a bit like life in many ways. The only true constancy of truth that one has is in a growing relationship with the Lord.

So here's to "curiousi-TEA"----serve me a BIG cuppa that I might "seek and find out" more about Him as I study His word and embrace it in my life.

Hearing God with that Inner Voice

4/4/13 Reportedly, Albert Einstein said, “Any fool can know; the point is to understand.” (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/) In much the same way, reading the Bible is not a matter of accruing information, but of gaining understanding through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Paul prays and asks God for such guidance for believers at Ephesus…”give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:17b)

We get to know Him better from the spirit within us. Henri J.M. Nouwen calls it “that inner voice that shows you the way.” (Inner Voice of Love, p. 6)

But…..how can we know it’s His voice one might ask? You take it all back to God’s Word. 

Buddy Jones, Bible teacher at First Evan’s men’s group, says it well and succinctly, "Our understanding of and our relationship to Jesus is inextricably linked to our understanding of and our relationship to Scripture. “Understanding of” is head knowledge and "relationship to " has to do with submission.” If you get the Scriptures right, you get Jesus right! (my “loose” translation)

Don’t study the Bible for information alone. Study the Bible to know Him better and to hear His voice. The more we understand His Word, the more clearly we hear that inner voice. The more you know of Him, the more you hear from Him. 

Don’t lose touch with that inner voice.

Knowing God: think on that

 1/14/12 This past week, Ephesian 3:19 my choice verse for meditation this year had me considering "know the love of Christ" and "filled up to all the fulness of God"

Friend & prayer warrior, Wynellen prayed it for me though she went back to verse 17 which reminded me of "being rooted and grounded in love."

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (NIV)

To me knowing God begins in that love----to know that love fills me with all the fulness of God. These past weeks I have desired such prayers as I desperately needed to fully know His love. To know Him better. To experience the joy of knowing Him."There is no greater joy" and yet, I was struggling in the "joy" category. Circumstances, both physical and emotional. were weighing me down. To those closest to me, my life was NOT showing the great value of knowing Him.

I know this because as the pastor quoted Jim Elliot, I felt God tugging at my heart strings.

"Lord, make my way prosperous not that I achieve high station, but that my life be an exhibit to the value of knowing God.” (Jim Elliot, missionary)

That's my prayer. "Lord, may my life exhibit the incomparable value of knowing You!"

Church Signs

5/25/12 Pithy with a Punch Church Sign

Bismarck, AR (5/24/12)---my camera was out of reach

Didn’t matter----words were lodged in my mind! Lodge them in yours!

NO GOD

NO PEACE

KNOW GOD

KNOW PEACE

Texts for knowing God

2/16/12 “This is my Father’s World and to my listening ears all nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres…..of rocks and trees and skies and seas, His hands thy wonders wrought….”  (lyrics from memory, but Chris Rice’s piano rendition is playing on my iPod, as I type)

An often said adage, “two texts of knowing God are His word,” (Psalm 119:38) and His creation. (Romans 1:20) has been clearly revealed to me this week---becoming truth in my own life. Whether seeing Who God is, in His Word, or seeing and hearing God on my walks, I have come to know and love Him more.

But it was that tune remembered from years ago that flooded me with the truth that is proclaimed in nature. Nature is that open book to the beauty not only of creation but also of the Creator Himself.

That hymn was introduced to me sitting in a pew at First Christian Church (Disciples of Chris) on Madison Avenue in Clarksville, TN. Probably elementary age. Probably winded from the long walk to get there from So. Second Street.
Sitting next to me was another “text” of knowing God, my grandmother. Jesus was written all over Mama Davenport’s life. 

How grateful I am for that “text” in her life. May I become such a “text” to others.

Are you reading me?