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Monday, October 20, 2008

Hope Endures

I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall still praise Him
For the help of His presence. . .
Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night,
A prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:5,7-8 NASB

The soul must remain willingly unguarded in its struggle with suffering, not for the lessons of despair, rather hope. It is Hope that reaches into the chaos and rescues us. Lindbergh's description of suffering is more about hope than despair. If hope prevails, God must have access to our suffering souls, and it is only in our willingness to remain vulnerable that He can offer lessons on mourning, understanding, patience and love. While not bound by time, His Grace is released in our praise, released by His presence, released through His unfailing love, released with our prayers. Hope in God endures. ~dho


Faithful Father ~
I come into the Holy of Holies! On my knees, my head
bowed in reverence, I ask for wisdom and understanding.
Sometimes my faith seems weak as circumstances crowd
around me and threaten to come between You and me.
Forgive me when the noise of the world drowns out Your
voice, when the chaos inside my heart closes the door to
Your beauty, when the ramblings of my thoughts interfere
with Your desires. In my weakness, I need You more than
ever. Let me love with a tender heart. Fill me with hope.

Come with me - wherever I must go. Remind me of Your
unforced ryhthms of grace. In Your loving arms I can always
find rest from the world. In the name of Jesus, Amen! ~dho

Friday, October 17, 2008

Promise Keeper

Nehemiah 9:1-15 The Message

They stood and confessed their sins. . .
read from The Book of the Law of the LORD their God
. . . confessed and worshiped the LORD * (NKJV)

Blessed be Your glorious name,
exalted about all blessing and praise!
You're the one, GOD, You alone;
You made the heavens,
the heavens of heavens, and all angels;
The earth and everything on it,
the seas and everything in them;
You keep them all alive;
heaven's angels worship you!

You're the one GOD, the God
who chose Abram . . . signed a covenant with him
. . . kept Your word because You are righteous.
You saw the anguish . . . heard their cries . . .
amazed Pharaoh . . . with wonders and miracle-signs.
. . . You split the sea before them . . . their pursurers . . . sank.

. . . by day You led them with a Pillar of Cloud,
and by night with a Pillar of Fire
To show them the way they were to travel . . .
You spoke to them . . . gave them instructions . . .
You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
You sent them water from the rock for their thirst.
You told them to enter and take the land
which You promised to give them.


In his devotional book The Power of His Presence, Ray Stedman describes this prayer in Nehemiah as a great model. God is more than Creator and Protector, He is compassion and provision, sustainer and redeemer. God knows our needs before we do, hears our pain's depth, provides for our hungering and thirsting souls. Stedman writes God sustains us momemt by moment.** Forever offering manifold mercies, God is the Promise Keeper. ~ dho

** Where To Begin, August 18, The Power of His Presence; Ray Stedman
http://www.raystedman.org




Friday, September 12, 2008

O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance
and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6 NKJV

Time after time, God has provided, and I know He continues to be with me. I don't have to look very far to know how richly blessed my life has been. Would I have choosen less tears or easier circumstances? My human heart wishes for simple and good, idealistic and benign paths, but a spiritual journey is challenging. The human mind questions God's answers and proposes contradictions. We are so finite that mystery escapes us, sometimes bewilders us. However, in between the "what if's" and inside the "why not's", His Grace flows so abundantly that I find my soul secure and in pleasant places - one with the Father. So, I will wait for His plan to be revealed, Word by Word, prayer by prayer, moment by moment, opportunity by opportunity, person by person, possibility by possiblity.

Father, my heart gives You the Glory for my good deeds. My offerings are simple compared to Yours - a prayer, a Scripture, a hope, a gesture - just tokens of kindness and love. You touch my soul with words written centuries ago. Oh, Lord, Your Grace pours over me like a gentle rain, refreshing and renewing. In the stillness of this moment, I accept the portion and cup You have assigned me. In my obedience, use me to reach beyond, around and through circumstances to be a witness to Your Grace. Amen. dho

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tapestries of Love

LORD, You have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do. LORD, even before I say a word, You already know it. You are all around me – in front and in back – and have put Your hand on me. Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand
. . . You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
. . . God, Your thoughts are precious to me. They are so many! If I could count them, they would be more than all the grains of sand. . . God, examine me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life.

Psalm 139:1-6 (NCV), 13-16 (NLT), 17-18, 23-24 (NCV)


Faithful Father,
What makes me think I can hide my doubts from You? How can I pretend to be strong when You know I am not? Why would You listen so intently to my prayers when You already know my needs? When am I ever alone?
You know all about me and love me still. I am never alone – You are all around me. You listen to the groans of my soul with mercy and tenderness. You are my strength; You make me bold, for I am nothing without You. LORD, even before I say a word, my heart’s desires, my anxious thoughts, my hurried spirit, my silent fears – all are known. You are too marvelous for me!
You create magnificent designs, each one unique. Your thoughts are like threads of gold and silver and cotton and silk, in colors of every shade, while our moments are like remnants of fibers with varied hues and textures and patterns. Your thoughts and our moments are woven and spun into holy tapestries of love. With majesty and grace, You weave them together for glory-purposes that exceed my abilities to know or understand. God, examine me . . . lead me ~ in all things, at all times! Amen.
~dho

Friday, August 01, 2008

Glory

Bravo, GOD, bravo!
. . . angels shout, "Encore!"
In awe before the glory, in awe before God's visible power.
. . . GOD's thunder sets the oak tres dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees - we call out, "Glory!"
Psalm 29:1, 9 The Message

God's Splendor and Power reveal His character ~ Steadfast Love and Faithfulness. And my response? It should be to fall to [my] knees and call out, "Glory!". The problem often lies in not noticing God's mystery and majesty; the problem lies within me.

Holy Father,
Glimpses of Your glory escape me because I hurry past or rush between or skip ahead. Your best moments are hidden in my eagerness, my enthusiasm, my certainty. Forgive the careless and egocentric attitudes that clog my days and blind my heart to the unmeasured blessings.

In the silence of the early morning, let me linger in Your presence, a fragrance fresh and sweet. In the darkness of the late night, let me sit with You, with wisdom strong and true. In the solitude of an afternoon walk or in the stillness as children lie sleeping, I desire to rest with You, a shelter safe and warm. Tell me where to go and what to choose. Help me know how and when and if. Oh, Father, as I wait, give me patience to be still long enough to listen, quiet long enough to hear Your whispers of love. Amen. ~dho

Friday, July 18, 2008

Thirsty!

John 4:28 "the woman put down her water
jar and hurried back to tell the people".


"She put down her water jar. This very well may be
the heart of this beautiful story. Her water jar is her
own agenda. . . She walked away from that well with
Living Water because she was able to let go of her
own agenda . . . and go forth with God's agenda."
from Macrina Wiederkehr, A Tree Full of Angels

Holy Father,
Help me put down my water jar - my
agenda, my expectations, my plans, my
desires. These get in the way of your Mighty
Ways, your Divine Intentions for my life. In
my own humanity, I fail to come to the altar
without some remnant of thought or partial
desire in my heart. In the deepest part of my
soul, I long to worship You with pure intent.
I thirst for Living Water.
Fill my cup . . . I lift it up . . .
Quench this thirsting in my soul . . . Fill it up and make
me whole.
Find me on my knees, my soul in
the circle of grace, listening for Your Agenda.
Amen. ~
dho

Community

Henri J. M. Nouwen, Can You Drink the Cup? (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria, 1996), 57.

"Nothing is sweet or easy about community. Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows but make them visible to each other in a gesture of hope. In community we say: “Life is full of gains and losses, joys and sorrows, ups and downs – but we do not have to live it alone. We want to drink our cup together and thus celebrate the truth that the wounds of our individual lives, which seem intolerable when lived alone, become sources of healing when we live them as part of a fellowship of mutual care.”

Paul writes: And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it.
Philemon 1:6 The Message

We are called into community through Christ. He asks us to reach beyond our boundaries of our commonality and touch others in His name. While our differences sometimes distinguish us from one another, we are one in Him. Oswald Chambers writes about becoming broken bread and poured out wine. Only through Grace can acts of goodness become broken bread and poured out wine. Circumstance does not create community, rather it reveals its strength, its motivations, its endurance, its depth, its hope. Christ calls believers into community ~ and our response reveals our true faith. I wonder, do people recognize Christ in my acts of goodness? ~dho

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

It is no light task to teach all people in truth, and to foster unity, forgiveness, sincerity, and uprightness in all things. ~ The Rule of Carthage, Irish, 7th century


Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 (NASB/ESV)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Deep and Wide

To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not disappointed.
Psalm 22:5 NASB
There is a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea. . .
For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind. . .
If our love were but more simple, we should rest upon God's Word;
and our lives would be illumined by the presence of our Lord.
by Fredrick W. Faber, 1854
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 ESV

Friday, July 11, 2008

Prayer for a new story ~


When I told you my story, You listened to me;
train me in Your deep wisdom.
Help me understand these things inside and out
so I can ponder Your miracle-wonders.
I am sad and tired;
build me up again by Your Word.
Barricade the road that goes Nowhere;
grace me with Your clear revelation.
I choose the true road to Somewhere,
I post Your road signs at every curve and corner.
I grasp and cling to whatever You tell me;
Lord, don't let me make a mess of things.
I'll run the course You lay out for me
if You'll just show me how.
Psalm 119: 26-32 ( The Message, TLB, NCV, the Amplified Bible)

Maker of my soul,
Hear my story - my uncertainties and struggles and disappointments. I attempted to understand the wonder of Your Grace, but it exceeded my comprehension. I journeyed down many roads in search of personal satisfaction, but continued to miss the signs. I tried to write my own story but grew weary in my efforts.
Speak to me! I long to hear Your voice. Grace me. Lead me. Show me.
Redeemer, renew me. Let my soul find rest in the Grace that exceeds understanding. Give me a map out of the wilderness. Lead me on the righteous road to contentment. Author of all, write my story! Show me how to share this new story of faith and obedience and blessing! With praises for Everlasting Goodness, Amen.
~dho

Monday, June 30, 2008

Obedience to the Command of Jesus

In his book A Life of Obedience, Andrew Murray writes about obedience to the command of Jesus (the Great Commision) and the disciples' response:

Before, during His life on earth, they had more than once expressed their doubt about the possibility of fulfilling His commands.

But here, as quietly and simply as He speaks these divine words, they accept them . . . they go to the appointed place to wait to be equipped by their Lord with heavenly power for heaven's work of making all the nations His disciples.

. . . Within a generation, simple men, whose names we do not even know, had preached the Gospel in Antioch and Rome and the regions beyond. The command was passed on and absorbed into the heart and life, as meant for all ages and for every disciple.

Still today, we disciples of Jesus continue to share the Gospel. At the appointed place and equipped by God ~ Generation after generation stands in awe of Your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts. . . GOD is good to one and all; everything He does is suffused with grace. (Psalm 145:4,9 ~ The Message) ~ dho