Morning Thoughts

Happy Tuesday! How is it at your house today? Last night, just before the storm began, I was trying to “batten down the hatches” on the patio and I glanced up to see the sky in all of its glory. What a marvelous Creator to not only fix us with all we need, but to make it so perfectly amazingly beautiful!  “Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord. May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭134:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ This 134th chapter brings us to the final Psalm of Ascent. Even though it’s short and sweet, we can not miss the powerful truth in these three verses. It is a passionate appeal to bless the Lord - a call to worship even when the sun has set and travelers are surely weary (at least I know I am when the sun has set). What we learn here is God is deserving of our devotion at every hour and in every season of our lives. Our present c...

Happy Thursday! When I was keeping Bo last night, he was not happy at bedtime. He couldn’t be consoled no matter what I tried. He was just in an awful way. When Tracy got home, she was able to calm him down and get him to eat a little and go to sleep. However, he didn’t sleep well at all last night. This morning, he had a new tooth! Sometimes, we have to go through some hard times to gain a little ground.  When Paul and Silas arrived at Philipi in northern Greece (Macedonia) they began to preach the good news and many came to believe in Jesus. A slave girl who was was demon possessed and able to predict the future, followed Paul and Silas all around shouting “These men are from God.” After a couple of days, it was driving Paul a little crazy and he commanded the demon to leave her and it did! Instantly, her owners hopes of wealth were gone. (Bless their hearts!) They got the crowd all riled up and had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in prison.  This was the famous night that...

Happy Friday to you! Has this been a good week for you? I woke up yesterday with full-blown laryngitis due to fall allergies (yes, it’s been a wonderful year for the ragweed crop). I’ve been fighting them for a couple of weeks, but by yesterday, I was just sick, so off to the local doctor. I now have a sack full of meds that will surely will put me back in the saddle if not quickly, in the next couple of days.  When Paul and Silas left Philipi, they didn’t need nearly so much to get them going again. When they arrived at Thessalonica, Paul immediately found the synagogue, and yes, started sharing the Good News of Jesus.  “As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas...

Happy Wednesday! In three weeks, I am going to be making a trip to trace the steps of the Apostle Paul as he took the Gospel to Greece. In preparation for my trip, I’m re-reading the letters to the Corinthians and I though maybe you’d embark on a little study with me. But an analysis of Corinthians really has to begin in Acts, where we follow Paul as he first visits Corinth.  It was on his second missionary journey. He and Silas had asked Timothy to come with them since Timothy’s Father was Greek. They started off walking north, around the edge of what is now Turkey. After Paul had a vision of a man pleading them to come to Macedonia and help them, they boarded a boat and sailed straightway to Neapolis.  A couple of things really struck me about these verses. The first one is that before they left, he had Timothy circumcised. At first glance that didn’t seem like a big deal, but...he and Peter have several on-record discussions about that kind of thing—whether or not you need ...

Some of my kids were over yesterday and at one point, I just sat back and marveled at how different they all are. They are each unique and gifted in their own ways, yet all from the same family.  Each of us in this family of God represents a part of the figure of Christ - a complex body formed of differing gifts, personalities, and preferences. No single member of the Church is of greater importance, but all of us are created to work together in the single pursuit of lifting up Jesus. We can be tempted to believe that our part is either too insignificant or too important. The enemy is the great deceiver and he will do his best to convince us in either direction. It is our duty to cling to the right perspective about our gift and the part we play in this family and delight in the God-given variety found among us.  “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran ...

It’s the weekend. Tomorrow, many of us will go to church and we will gather with fellow believers and to worship. God will be in our midst. However, that is not the primary place for God to dwell among us. We need to remember that the place God seeks to dwell above all others is within us, in the confines of our hearts, to ever be in communion, communication, and union with us.    “until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭132:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ In this 132 Psalm, a song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem, we see the Psalmist recalling the previous days of David's commitment to build a "home" for the Lord in Jerusalem. This verse might not feel like it makes much of a direct tie to our lives today, but the New Testament teaches us that God no longer dwells in the temple, but in the hearts of each of His followers.  “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in ...

Happy Friday to you! Yesterday, as I was pulling out of my son’s driveway, my little grandson was clinging to his mama, as he was sitting on her hip. He was safe and secure with his little head leaning on her shoulder. He was relaxed and content and wasn’t focused on anything other than what was happening right then. He wasn’t proud, or anxious or thinking what was beyond his control or his realm of understanding. He was just happy because of who was holding him. He was content because of the one he was with.  In the Psalm of the Ascent 131, we are told that when God is holding us, His holy presence,does that for us.  “Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord — now and always.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭131:1-3‬ ‭NLT...

Happy Thursday to you! Yesterday, I watched my youngest grandson and did we have some fun! Within 5 minutes after his parents had left, he’d managed to get himself completely soaked in the dog’s water dish—in the laundry room! I don’t know how the little rascal slipped by me so quickly, but alas, I’m not as quick as I once was. The worst part of keeping him was putting him to bed and waiting for him to go to sleep. Listening to him cry is torture. Waiting for the sound of sleep.  We wait quite a lot in life, don’t we? The red lights, in lines at the store, for a text message, for a table at the restaurant, for dad to get home, for a phone call, for Christmas. Sometimes our waiting is pretty serious. We wait to be freed from the ties of anxiety and depression. We wait and pray for the pregnancy test to come back positive. We wait for cancer to be eradicated and for a clean bill of health. We wait for the devastating grief of losing a loved one to turn into healing and peace. Night c...

Happy Tuesday. I hope your week started well—mine had lots of fun and laughing throughout the day with co-workers. We just enjoyed our time together. On Sunday, my daughter had told me about a co-worker she has that everyone fears. No one likes to see her coming around, in fact, she says they can just feel the atmosphere change when she walks in the room.  That is NOT what the Psalmist is referring to in the Psalm of Ascent (128) when he tells us to fear God. Fearing God is the proper response for viewing Him in an accurate light: that He is all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, and both fully just and fully loving. Yet, we should feel the atmosphere change when the presence of the holy One enters the room. He is righteous and unapproachable by anyone who is not covered with the precious blood of Jesus. Not a single word He speaks will return void. Every promise He declares will come to pass.  We can’t sneak anything by Him. He is not to be ignored or mocked or belittled. H...

Happy Wednesday. For the last several day, i have been running and running. Last night I was completely exhausted. Do you ever feel like you are a slave to your job or you have just over committed yourself? To the point you feel afflicted and worn down by them? I think that’s a small taste of what the Psalmist was trying to tell us in this the Ascent Psalm.  He passionately cries out,  “From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this: From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭129:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Interestingly enough, these verses are not only a journal entry, but a foreshadowing of the suffering Christ would experience while being tried and abused by the religious and political leaders in Jerusalem many years later for the redemption of mankind.  Persecution will come in many forms for a follower of God. We can be made fun of by even our own friends for our beliefs or lose a job for stan...

Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. I helped my daughter move my granddaughter to Austin, Texas into her dorm room to begin her freshman year of college. Mercy, did that bring back memories and a whole host of emotions—She’s a very bright girl who is on a generous academic scholarship to an elite private institution, but goodness that a long ways away and she should be 4 years old!  “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.” Psalm‬ ‭127:3-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ While I was in Austin I got to have dinner with one of my dearest friends (we first met 44 years ago and for years we were inseparable). We were talking about all sorts of things (for hours) but in particular, she gave me some great advice. “Pam, if God has it planned for you, it will happen. You and I h...

It’s the weekend! I’ve had one of those weeks where even though I haven’t been “alone” per se, I’ve really felt lonely. Have you ever had one of those? One of those times when you just felt sort of cut off from the world and were sure that no one really knew you were still on the planet and much less cared if you were? Sure you have. We’ve all thrown a pity party for ourselves and the guest list is always the same. And I’m willing to bet that you don’t have any more people show up to yours than I do!  But when we get off one slope and get on what can be a truly another wild adventure of this life with Jesus, our faith will inevitably become tested through fires and floods. Sometimes it’s really hard to believe, but it is for our deepest good, forging and molding our spiritual perseverance. “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.” James‬ ‭1:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ It i...

Happy Friday! How have things gone this week for you? I hope you haven’t had to deal with anything awful. My niece and her son were in Old Navy at the Legends in Kansas City this week and a policeman rushed in a had everyone quickly go to the back of the store. It seems a gunman was was loose who had shot his wife and was trying to kill more people so the police would shoot him—which they ultimately did. This is what can happen when people don’t have anywhere to turn. When they don’t know they can “look to the hills where their help comes from”. Haven’t you wondered “What do people do who don’t have the Lord? Where do they turn when life is awful and they are left standing all alone?” Those “What if” scenarios leading to disastrous outcomes if we are alone and played out in our imaginations. In the opening of Psalm 124 we’re asked “What if the Lord had not been on our side...” The writer then considers the result of great peril without God’s aid -- complete destruction by our enemies. ...

Happy Thursday. Yesterday I didn’t feel very well and I was channel surfing for something to keep my mind off my stomach. I found a show on Netflix called “The Family” that was supposedly a documentary about the perils of Christianity in government. It just made me even sicker to think how far we have fallen that we as a country have come to fear “one nation under God” and count our constitutional construction as a conspiracy. How very sad.  When we look at Psalm 123, we read a deep plea to God for mercy. While we don’t know what specific circumstance has inspired these words, all of us know what it means to look to God for mercy and depend upon His grace. We are called to live a life of submission, like a servant looking to his master. The world we live in wants nothing to do with submitting to God but rather is swollen with vain pride, scorning anyone who doesn’t follow in its path. It is always curious to me that Christians are portrayed as “narrow minded” yet when when we ch...

Happy Wednesday to you! Yesterday, I tried to listen to the newest podcast from my church since I missed last week’s sermon. Something isn’t working quite right because I keep getting the first ten minutes over and over. It makes me very sad that not only I missed church, but now I can’t hear what I missed!  Completely the opposite, in Psalms 122, David expressed a profound joy when he was invited to go to the house of the Lord to worship and pray in the presence of God.  “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭122:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Can you relate? Or do you have other thoughts? We are overloaded with schedules and distractions that just never end and somehow, it’s easy to allow church to become optional or become another checklist item on our to-do list. Gathering together with the body of Christ can become a chore like taking out the garbage or folding the laundry and when that happens, we have to stop, and and re-focus. The Bible holds a ...

Happy Tuesday to you! We have had a fairy wet summer, but even so, I’ve had to water my grass some. Believe it or not, I’m having the worst time with sprinklers and their timers. No matter how many times I reset them, they are determined to water 2 or 3 times a night! It’s like there is an evil minion trapped in those sprinklers just laughing at me.  Isn’t that how this life is though? All sorts of things trip us up and prevent a “smooth sailing” kind of life. When we read Psalms 121, we understand that the Psalmist decided to fully trust in God when He needed help.  “I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” Psalms‬ ‭121:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We know that as the pilgrims were making their way across the hills to Jerusalem , there were many diversions (and perversions) along the road. All sorts of shrines for idols, that tempted the traveler into spiritual and sexual messes.  As we journey toward our true ho...

Happy Tuesday to you! We have had a fairy wet summer, but even so, I’ve had to water my grass some. Believe it or not, I’m having the worst time with sprinklers and their timers. No matter how many times I reset them, they are determined to water 2 or 3 times a night! It’s like there is an evil minion trapped in those sprinklers just laughing at me.  Isn’t that how this life is though? All sorts of things trip us up and prevent a “smooth sailing” kind of life. When we read Psalms 121, we understand that the Psalmist decided to fully trust in God when He needed help.  “I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” Psalms‬ ‭121:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We know that as the pilgrims were making their way across the hills to Jerusalem , there were many diversions (and perversions) along the road. All sorts of shrines for idols, that tempted the traveler into spiritual and sexual messes.  As we journey toward our true ho...

It’s Monday! And what a glorious day that the Lord has made! This week in southwest Missouri, the kids (and teachers) start on a new journey—the new school year begins with all sorts of exciting and marvelous things to be encountered, learned and experienced.    The Psalms of the Assent (120-134) reminds us of the journey we all are on as we encounter and learn from this life.  Traditionally, we are told that the Psalms of the Assent were recited by Pilgrims as they made their assent toward Jerusalem and the Temple Mount for the three festivals. Some scholars believe they were sung by the Levite singers as they ascended the fifteen steps to minister at the Temple. One view says the Levites first sang the Songs at the dedication of Solomon's temple during the night of the fifteenth of Tishri 959 BC and another suggests that they were composed for a celebration after Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls in 445 BC. And, they may have been used for all or at least some of thos...

It’s the weekend! And I know many of you work through the weekends, but even so, there is something of renewal as one week ends and another begins. A chance to start the week off right and maybe change something that has been bugging you—something you know you should be better with but haven’t been able to get there. I was told just yesterday that people don’t change much. That may be true but I believe if you want to change, you can.  King David, in Psalms 51, gives us the steps it takes. This was written when he was in the middle of his affair with Bathsheba and he knew something had to give. He says: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm‬ ‭51:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬‬ He was praying for a change of his heart. For change to happen, first the heart must change. Next we have to change our minds. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast...

Happy Friday! I hope your week has gone well and you have had some time to enjoy friends and family and you were able to tell them how much they meant to you.  I’ve been reading about praise and worship while I’m plowing through the Psalms. One author suggested that praise is a foreign concept to Americans who would rather roast their political leaders than praise them. I suppose that may be true, but we have no issues or “hold-ups” praising our favorite athletes or movie stars or musicians. Praise is an expected outcome of a great performance. I think maybe where we get held up is remembering all the magnificent things God has done and the majesty of who He is.  “Hallelujah! Praise GOD from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops; Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his warriors, Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, you morning stars; Praise him, high heaven, praise him, heavenly rain clouds; Praise, oh let them praise the name of GOD — he spoke the word, an...

It’s Thursday and we certainly had storms last night and it looks like more today! Here in southwest Missouri, we went from beautiful, sunshiny Tuesday to cloudy and stormy Wednesday. Quite the contrast in days much like reading through Psalms 22 and Psalms 23. These Psalms (both written by David), are back to back, yet they are night and day (storm and sunshine) different.  Psalm 22 is about as dark as it can get. This is the song the Savior quoted while He was on the cross, in great agony and near death. He cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” ‭‭(Psalm‬ ‭22:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬) The rest of the Psalm continues on in sad, heart-wrenching lament, with some praises thrown in. And then in stark contrast, Psalm 23 is as beautiful and serene as they come, - a beautiful picture of God’s care for His child where “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Jesus refers to the church as His bride an...

Happy Wednesday! Yesterday was quite the rambunctious day at my house. It was full of kids in the sun and water trying to wring out every last bit of summer before school starts. It was funny listening to them give their  different opinions about school—everything from “the fun is over” to “I’m ready to see my friends. Some are super excited to start and others would be just as happy to never go. Lots of viewpoints, lots of emotions...like the authors of the Psalms.  Have you ever wondered about the book of Psalms? I’ve had this love/hate/confusion relationship with them. Why is it the one book of the Old Testament included with printings of the New Testament? Why is it the “special book?” Is it just because it’s longer? Have you ever had trouble just reading straight through it? I remember once when Oscar was reading through the Bible he said “I’m stuck in the Psalms!” We have probably all wondered why they are so repetitious—why are there so many Psalms that say the same thi...

Happy Tuesday to you! Today, my sister is bringing her grandson to my house to spend some time with some of my grandkids (cousins day). I’ve been spending quite a bit of time praying for my grandkids lately—one in the Navy, one heading off to college, a baby who is running a fever and feeling crummy, one starting the 8th grade, and a few more of them—all in various stages of maturity.  It’s like the body of Christ, in all stages of maturity. Before we are born again, we are full of unbelief. Once we become a believer, we are spiritual babies, needing the milk of the word, needing the basics because we are ignorant of the scripture and its principles. We are hungry and want to know all about God’s plan for us. We need spiritual “parents” to watch over us and nurture us.  When we become “children” we are ready for “chicken nuggets” —a little deeper teaching but not terribly complex. We are mostly selfish in our needs, but that is because spiritually, we’re still kids and the wo...

It’s Monday and time to start a new week. Yesterday, I heard a sermon about the maturity of the believer and how that effects the church. My favorite line was “Jesus did not die so we could go to church. Jesús died so that we could become the church.” And of course we all say “amen” to that, but tearing it apart, there is a lot of truth packed into those two short sentences—are we the church or do we simply “go” to church? The more I thought about it, the less comfortable I was— “going” isn’t too hard, but “being” is really tough. Being the hands and feet of Jesus requires a lot more of us: our time, our talents and our resources.  So what exactly has God called us to do? According to Paul, one of the functions of the church is to bring glory to God though all generations.  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, ...

It’s the weekend. I hope you have time to relax a bit and make time to join with fellow believers to worship our God and to study from the Word. I read last week that Bible knowledge among church-going Christians is at an all time low. The people of God are not reading The words He gave us over the course of 1,500 years that although have several. authors and personalities, have a common theme, are verifiable and prophetic. The word that He has protected for integrity and accuracy throughout time, and we just seem to take it for granted.  When God called Joshua to lead the people into the promised land, one thing He impressed on Joshua was to make sure the people cherished the Book of the Law (all of the Bible they had at that time). He told them to recite it, day and night and to obey it.  God also knew Joshua would have a lot of battles ahead of him to conquer the land and that Joshua would have to be the bold, assured and tough leader. So much so that God told him “Be stron...

Happy Friday to you. Braden called me from Hawaii his first day there and said “It’s 5:00 AM here and I’m waiting for everyone to wake up. I don’t report in for four more days so I need to call my boss and ask him what I’m supposed to do. Since I got on the van at the recruiting station a year and a half ago, there has been someone telling me what to do!”  That must have been how the children of Israel felt. They had been in Egyptian captivity for 400 years, then when Moses led them out, they still didn’t have to make decisions on their own and they knew exactly who God was. God fed them, clothed them, planned their daily itinerary, and fought their battles. No Hebrew questioned the existence of God because He was right there in a cloud, a pillar of fire.  Soon, however, God wouldn’t be so visible and such a “parent” to them. They were going to have to grow up. As soon as they ate fruit in the promised land, the manna stopped. Now, they must cultivate their own food, plan cit...

Happy Thursday to you. I hope your week is going well and you have been able to share the love of Jesus with someone.  As I’ve been reading through Job, it’s apparent that no one expresses pain and the unfairness of this world better than Job. But even so, there is the fact that Job did (and we can) by sheer obedience, lessen the struggle. In this strange book, we find a picture of faith during the worst of times, when God offered no comfort. The fact that Job continues to trust God mattered a great deal to him, (and it matters to us) but it really mattered to God. Job’s faith clearly impressed God. Over and over He refers to Job as “my servant Job” and will only hear Job’s prayer for his friends—not theirs.  “After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offe...