FRIDAY FOCUS!

This week my prayer focus has been for many who are battling medical maladies, especially cancer, individually or alongside their spouse and unexpected difficulties.

May the Lord continue to be their counsel and refuge as I shared with several of them. 

Psalm 16:8 emphasizes one's intentional focus on God as a source of His Presence granting protection.

To focus on a particular verse I use Bible Gateway with the verse citation.

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2016%3A8&version=ESV

At that point, I have access to read the full chapter for context or select the verse in all English translation. For me, that adds depth to my focus.

Over 50 versions are listed. If I don't understand the abbreviation, I can click on it and the source is shown.

Today's jottings showed me positional differences as well as outcomes which have become today's "Friday Focus"! 

I am the one doing the setting---continually (AMP & NASB), 

always keeping eyes on the LORD (NIV)--sounds like focus.

The word for LORD in all caps, Jehovah (ASV, YLT), ADONAI (CJB, TLV) & Yahweh (NOG)

Why keep the LORD set before me at my right hand? 

So I am not shaken. (ESV, NASB +) I am not moved. (18 versions) I will not slide. (GNV) I will not be defeated. (ERV) I will not be upset. I will not stumble or fall.  (TLB) I will not be hurt. (ICB)

I will be protected from fear. (CEV) I will stand firm. (ISV) I will always be secure. (NIRV)

FOCUS! FOCUS!! FOCUS!!!

BUT GOD.....1

Blue skies. Green trees. Milder temps.

All magnified by a phrase from God's word on a car in the parking lot.

Walking slowly holding hubby's arm and  praying for friends who last week were labeled wives and this week are leaning into the LORD even more as widows who will be attending the funeral of their late husbands this week.

Though all around them circumstances have changed, both have clearly understood the importance of "but God" who in His love and mercy has provided many prayerful saints as their prayer warriors and helpers.

O Lord continue to be their "refuge and the strength of their heart and portion forever."

MY SHEPHERD ---OFFERS A SECURE DWELLING PLACE!

"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord" (Psalm 23:6b)

That's SECURITY!

Dwelling in the house of the Lord is more than a secure place!

Abiding is the word that comes to my mind.....an all encompassing word that signifies the security that comes from dwelling with Him, my Shepherd, in a deep, ongoing relationship. That's not to diminish a physical presence at a church but to always include my/your mind and heart seeking His Presence and trusting Him in all of life! 

Result = True Security!

For me, that relationship is enhanced by starting each day (dwelling) with Him---and an open Bible on my lap with a cuppa securi-TEA alongside.

A security definition from the Psalms---

I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:8)

HOPE GALORE FOR 2024

Hope Needed. Hope Found. In God's Word.

I am with you always. (Matthew 28:20)

Hope Notes. Underlines in the entry & the marginalia of my New Morning Mercies devotional book. 

Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus!

"perspicui-TEA"

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105, NIV)

Until a recent Allen Bible Church sermon, (5/11), I had used the word perspicui-TEA incorrectly. I even documented its use in my Bible years ago as I heard it from a former pastor. Obviously, I heard it incorrectly since clarity of truth is the hallmark of perspicuity in scripture. God's truth has no opacity when spiritually discerned by the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit gives clarity and understanding of scripture.

Clearly, God's word is infallible, even when I don't fully understand it. (2 Timothy 3:16) Living out (obedience) what I do know and do understand, allows me to continue to grow in knowledge of Him. I want my faith to be perspicuous in my life.

It is God's word that gives lucidity to my life of faith. 

It's why I use God's word as a filter to my thoughts and interpretations of scripture. 

A cuppa perspicui-TEA---
May I sit under God's Word and its veracity, imparted by the Spirit of  Truth.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” (C.S. Lewis)

Lucidi-TEA is key in studying God's Word. Therefore my "Tea with Thee" times start with a request for a cuppa  perspicui-TEA of spiritual wisdom to be served by my spiritual teacher. 

"securi-TEA": a Re-brew

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9, NIV)

Having a cuppa T2 provided by our New York guest house "host" gave me a warm, secure start to what was to become a fun day with our Lucy. "All's right with the world".....at least our little corner of it.

But, both a phone call from our daughter and an early morning email from sister-in-law, Susan, questioned our security. It seems that yesterday while we were treating Lucy to strawberry pancakes at Tom's Restaurant in Brooklyn, there were 2 "explosions" in Harlem. Folks 1100 miles away heard of the shock waves before we did.

How fleeting security is. How fleeting life is. (Psalm 39:4)

Security in our culture often refers to at least a "semblance" of protection for us and our assets. I say, "semblance," because reality can be so different from the outward appearance.---it's still only perceived security. Our only real security doesn't come with wires, alarms or even fat bank accounts. Our security rests only in Him.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)

That's the "focus" needed to walk the pathway of real securi-TEA!

Sweet TEAs of life

6/8/13 Tea words have been whirring in my head as I've tried to squeeze in a few simplici-TEA thoughts while on my "Great Escape" weekend. Some teas just aren't sweet. Anxiety being one of the first that comes to my mind. I certainly don't need to brew up any of that. If it does start brewing in my mind I become crotche-TEA---and the irritabili-TEA that flows forth is bitter and that's hard to swallow especially for those closest to me.

My morning quiet time, on the terrace of the Alluvian, with the hotel's Gideon Bible open to Psalm 16 had me meditating on verse 8---a great antidote for anxie-TEA.  Ringing of the nearby Episcopal church bells turned my thoughts away from negativi-TEAs to one of the sweet teas in my life.

Securi-TEA.

I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:8)

That's real security......and that's sweet!!!

intentionali-TEA---інтенціональність

3/26/13 The stage is set. A steaming "cuppa" of a full-bodied assam, brewed from loose tea, in my Aubry/Susan teacup, "Positively Easter" CD playing (gift from thoughtful son-in-law, Corey) and an open Bible.

A "cuppa," Corey's CD & My special teacup & open Bible on my lap"set" with specific intention---hearing from God.

Why this setting? My time with the Lord today is purposeful so I have consciously (intentionally) "set" the stage to prepare my heart to hear His answer to my question. 

The question isn't really mine. The question comes from one of my lovely Ukrainian ladies. "How do I hear God's voice? How do I "hear" Him like you do?

That question can be difficult to answer in any setting. But.....when the answer will be translated in part to both Russian and Ukrainian. I need conciseness. I need clarity. I need God's answer.

I probably need a whole tea pot of intentionali-TEA to keep me focused.

I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)

intentionaliTEA (умисний чай)---I hope it works for me today! 

TEMPER THE HEAT

5/10/12 Each morning Mother always made her tea for the day. Right in the glass pitcher. She taught me  to make perfect tea by adding the sugar while the water was hot. (We never called it "sweet tea," it just always was.) To keep the glass from breaking, she always put a table knife in the pitcher and would pour the water so that it hit the knife first. I guess that somehow dispelled the heat.

I was reminded of this today as I read a “keep your spoon in the cup” incident described by the author in Surprised by Oxford, as her former professor was encouraging her, a “new” believer.

Keeping the spoon in the cup keeps the china from cracking under the heat, she explained…..The metal of the spoon becomes a conductor, protecting the delicate china from extreme in temperature.

You need to keep the spoon in the cup, Caro….especially when things get hot. God lifts us up, but He also grounds us. Fear will get into the cracks; fear ultimately is what breaks us apart. (Weber, 289)

I mulled my mother’s teaching with Weber’s analogy and some needed “fear” related verses. Mulling, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 16:8, Psalm 27:1-3, Isaiah 41:10, John 14:27, II Timothy 1:7 & Hebrews 13:6, as I drank my English tea in my Hadley stoneware mug from KY. What a combo!

Dispelled. Dispersed. Diffused. All good action words for tempering heat. Heat that comes from struggles and fear. Fear that will crack us wide open if we don’t allow the truth from God’s word to infuse us and thus diffuse the heat that can break us.

Pithy Prayer Points to Ponder

8/2/11 Points have to be pithy because computer, along with our phone, has been off "all most" all day. If the "bundle" does get reactivated, it's brief. Ongoing problem. Isolates me when I think I really need to be connected. I did spend part of my disconnected day reading the last few chapters of Paul Miller's, A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracted World.

Hm-m-m-m there's a point to ponder. Is my computer and the internet too often a distraction?

• There is nothing secret about communion with God---IF we live broken of our pride and self will and cry out for grace there will be communion with Him. (p. 147)
  
• It's okay to have a busy life. It's crazy to have a busy soul. (p. 251)
  
• Self-fulfillment apart from God can become an obsession of self as we become touch and supersensitive to self, but insensitive to others. (p. 252)
  
• I don't have control over my heart and life or the hearts and lives of those around me. But God......does! (emphasis mine) (p.257)
  
• Remember Life is both holding hands and scrubbing floors. It is both being and doing. Prayer journals are on the "scrubbing floors" side of life. Praying like a child is on the "holding hands" side of life. We need both. (p. 224)

I have been praying that I would be connected long enough to finish this entry. Pithy punch---in prayer, set the Lord always before you. (Psalm 16:8)----not the computer.