In The Desert

[God] found him out in the wilderness in an empty, windswept wasteland.  He threw His arms around him, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of His eye."
Deuteronomy 32:10 The Message

God always knows where His children are, where we rest, where we run.  God knows when we strive, when we struggle.  He hears us when we sing and when we shout.  On the mountain or in the valley, in the forest or in the desert, God knows where we are and what we need.  He is both Protector and Provider.

Holy Lord of all,
Let me feel Your loving arms around me; help me know Your Unfailing Love.  Amen. ~dho

New Clothes

Consider these words from Colossians, chapter 3 from The Message:

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.  Pursue the things over which Christ presides.  Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed in the things right in front of you.  Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ . . . See things from His perspective.

            Your old life is dead . . . your real life . . . is with Christ in God.  He is your life . . . [so] be content with obscurity, like Christ.

And that means killing off everything connected with [the old life] . . . a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. 

You’re done with that old life.  It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes . . . Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe.  Every item in your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with His label on it.  All the old fashions are now obsolete . . . From now on everyone is defined in Christ.

            So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you:  compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.  Be even tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. . .

            And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.  It’s your basic, all-purpose garment.  Never be without it. .  . let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other . . . Let the Word of Christ – The Message – have the run of the house.  Give it plenty of room in your lives . . . And sing, sing your hearts out to God!  Let every detail in your life – words, actions, whatever – be done in the name of Jesus, thanking God . . . every step of the way.        from Colossians 3 (The Message)

Adonai ~

You are Lord; You are Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Creator and Redeemer and Counselor.  You are above us and below us, to our left and to our right, before us and behind us. You surround us with abundant blessings, and we are humbled by such generous gifts.  You are in everything and everything comes from You.

 You see our hearts and our motivations, see all that we conceal from the world.  You know our selfish ambitions, our pretentious vanities, our deceitful words.  You hold our deepest fears, our greatest disappointments, our darkest thoughts.  Behind our masks, we struggle with loneliness.  Beside our idols, we long for more. Beneath our veiled hearts, we cry out loud.  And You?  In exchange for what we bring, You offer real forgiveness, real love, real life.  You are Grace and everything happens through You.

You choose us for real life, a life defined in Christ.  You reform our minds, renew our hearts, refresh our spirits.  Taking holy threads of faith and hope and love, You weave a robe of righteousness adorned with purity and holiness.  You wrap us in this exquisite tapestry, every detail shouts of Your majesty.  You are Perfect Love and everything ends up in You.    

We come before this altar with servant hearts.  Solitude surrounds us. Prayers rise to You, our Adonai ~ prayers of hope and possibility, prayers of thanksgiving and songs of praise.  You are in every detail!  Defined in Christ, our souls are made new, for one purpose, for Your Glory!  You are the Central Force that draws our hearts together, for one purpose, for Your Glory!   Let everything ~ everything ~ speak of Your Glory!  In the name of Jesus, the Beloved, Amen.    ~dho

Shalom

The Hebrew word shalom means "completeness, peace, ease" according to Strong's Dictionary.  In Psalm 29:11 we read:

The Lord will give strength to His people;

The Lord will bless His people with peace.

This peace is shalom; it is completeness that is found only in God.  In the midst of storms and difficulties, the tendency is to doubt and waiver, despair and wonder if God is really there, if God is near.  Throughout Scripture we are told that our strength is from God.  In Nehemiah 8:10 we read "the joy of the Lord is your strength."  In God we find the peace, the ease our spirits seek.  Madeleine L'Engle's words point out that peace is not freedom from pain but quiet endurance.  Made in God's image, He desires to reside in each of us.  His Presence is our peace.  Shalom. ~dho

Peace is not placidity:  peace is

The power to endure the megatron of pain

With joy, the silent thunder of release,

The ordering of Love.  Peace is the atom's start,

The primal image:

God within the heart.  ~Madeleine L'Engle

Infused by Grace

some words from William Wordsworth:

"And I have felt
A presence that distrubs me with a joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns."

These words from 1 Thessalonians 3, verses 11-13 in The Message, express the soul's knowing of the Presence of God, of His strength and grace infused through the lives of those who share Christ and into the lives of others:

May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus . . . pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, . . . May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God . . .

Praying that each of you recognizes the presence of the Light that infuses the soul! ~dho

Our Anchor

Spring is in full bloom, and the Easter season is complete!  Yesterday we celebrated our Risen Savior!  I read this Scripture today and it continues to speak to these last weeks of soul-preparation and soul-renewal.  These Living Words define our hope ~ our Hope, Jesus.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil is Jesus Christ, Redeemer of all!
Hebrews 6:19 NKJV

Our Anchor is secure in the very presence of God ~ this Holy of Holies now a place for us to seek God, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, behind the veil. ~dho

Grace ~ EASTER Sunday

Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.

And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence. 

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 

Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 

And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you . . ."

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. 

Luke 24:44-53 NKJV

As believers, we are to be witnesses for Jesus.  Just as He commissioned His followers Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you, we must go. And we must go in worship and in joy and in praise for the Promise of God is everlasting.  GRACE ~ the incalculable, immutable, incomprehensible Promise of God ~ is ours!

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Take the Promise of God into the world ~ in worship and in joy and in praise! ~dho

Silence ~ Lent 2010

Later, Joseph from Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus. (Joseph was a secret follower of Jesus, because he was afraid of some of the leaders.) Pilate gave his permission, so Joseph came and took Jesus' body away. Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus at night, went with Joseph. He brought about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes. These two men took Jesus' body and wrapped it with the spices in pieces of linen cloth, which is how they bury the dead. In the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb that had never been used before. The men laid Jesus in that tomb because it was nearby, and they were preparing to start their Sabbath day.

John 19:38-42 NCV

Buried in an empty, borrowed tomb, Jesus' body lay surrounded by darkness in the silence of earth. Separated from the Father by death, Jesus' body lay in the stillness. The Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and nothing more can be done but honor the Sabbath.

Scripture does not say anything about this Sabbath Day. We learn nothing more about Jesus on the day after His crucifixion. As His followers go about their worship this particular Sabbath, one can only imagine the many recollections and questions that filled their minds. There is silence in the Word of God on this day!

Our sacrifice of praise ~
In the silences of life, meditate on the assurance and the glory of God ~ because you know what tomorrow brings! ~dho

Confession ~ Good Friday

Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly the Man was the Son of God!"
Mark 15:38 NKJV

Today we must look to the cross of suffering that Jesus endured as a ransom for our sin.  Until that day, the Jewish people, the Chosen of God, worshiped Jehovah with blood sacrifices and burnt offerings.  At the time Jesus breathed His last breath and died, the High Priest sacrificed the unblemished lamb, preparing for the sin offering of Passover.  Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies to place the blood offering on the Mercy seat for forgiveness of sins. 

On this day, when Jesus died, the curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom.  The Scriptures do not say what happened to the High Priest or the blood of the slain Passover lamb. We are not told the thoughts of the High Priest who witnessed the torn curtain that represented a veil between sinful man and the Holy God.  Until this moment, the High Priest would have taken the blood sacrifice into the Holy of Holies as an offering for the forgiveness of sins for God's people, but now, the altar of the Lord was exposed.

These historic religious customs tell the God-story of Jesus, a Perfect Lamb slain for the forgivenss of sin.  The once veiled Holy of Holies, the Presence of God, is now revealed.  To all who seek a relationship with God, Grace is given through Jesus, the True High Priest.  What remains?  Our confession, "Truly the Man was the Son of God!"

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Who will you share the God-story of Jesus with today? ~dho

Betrayal ~ Maundy Thursday 2010

Maunday Thursday services celebrate the giving of the Lord's Supper to the Disciples of Jesus, but the evening of fellowship and teaching and prayer ends in betrayal.  As Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, leads the arresting soldiers to Him.  He identifies Jesus with a kiss ~ a kiss of betrayal.  Perhaps the ultimate betrayal always comes from someone close to our inner circle.

And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man.  Seize Him and lead Him away under guard."

And when he came, he went up to Him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed Him.  And they laid hands on him and seized Him.
Mark 14:43-46 ESV

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Let your tears celebrate the Bread and the Wine ~ like Oswald Chambers wrote many, many times, "Be the broken bread and poured out wine." ~dho

Plot ~ Lent 2010

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put [Jesus] to death, for they feared the people.
Luke 22:1-2 ESV

These religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus, the Son of God, yet they feared the people.  How like them we are ~ plotting to have our own way, to do our own thing and do it the way we want.  How like them we are ~ choosing a path that does not give God glory and worrying about what "people" will think.

As Passover drew near, a very special time for remembrance, they were not preparing for their own feast, rather they were scheming to take Jesus out of the picture.  How like them we are ~ instead of preparing our hearts to celebrate the Risen Savior, we busy ourselves with Spring's garden needs, a new wardrobe, trips to the beach, gifts for Easter baskets, and Summer's plans. Today, the world still schemes and plots to take Jesus out of Easter, and we are its accomplices.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
In the busy schedules, remember Who this celebration praises! Put "Good Friday" and "Easter Sunday" back into your Spring Break. ~dho