Character of Gold

This past week has been a challenge for me.
I couldn't put my finger on what made it so, yet it was.
Even the smallest thing seemed monumental to me.

Things or should I say I am settled down quite a bit now and with the settling comes some perspective.
Occasionally or not so occasionally I allow too much to pile up on my plate.
That comes from not checking with Papa over each detail.
It doesn't take long for things to begin to unravel.
It doesn't take long at all....

My Scripture reading today was in Genesis Forty-One.
It got me to thinking about character, which actually relates to my tumultuous week.

Joseph was languishing in prison after being falsely accused and condemned.

No matter where Joseph found himself, he brought blessing.
Even in prison.

God had also gifted him with the ability to interpret dreams, which he did for the king's cup bearer and baker.
His interpretation was found to be true and when the cup bearer was released, as per the dream, he promised to remember Joseph.
He promptly.. forgot him.

Until the king, Pharaoh had two disturbing dreams.
This brings us to my reading this morning.

Pharaoh could find no one to explain his dream and that is when the cup bearer remembered Joseph.

Out of the prison Joseph comes, cleaned up and presentable and into the presence of the king.
When Pharaoh states that he has heard of Joseph's ability to interpret dreams, Joseph corrects him.

"It is not me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

He could have taken credit in hopes of becoming indispensable to the king, but he didn't.

After he explained the dream, which was the prediction of a coming famine, he also informed Pharaoh of what he should do to avoid its impact and the need for someone to head up the program.

At this point Pharaoh confers with his advisers and concludes that Joseph is the man for the job.  With that he takes his signet ring off and gives it to Joseph making him number two after himself in the kingdom.

This really hit me.
Sure Joseph's interpretation was impressive and his words rang true for Pharaoh, but was that all that it took for the king to virtually turn his kingdom over to this man?
This man who had come directly form prison?

Pharaoh could not have been that easily swayed, not and have such a vast kingdom that had been running well.  The king had to be a man who recognized character when he saw it.
And Joseph certainly was a man of character!

He did not succumb to temptation nor fear.
He was a man of faith.

Joseph trusted his God.
He knew The LORD was faithful to His Word and faithful to His people.
Joseph trusted that God had a plan for his life and that His will would be done.

At no point do we find Joseph rattled.
At no point does he take things into his own hands

Joseph's father and grandfather had been schemers and manipulators.
Not Joseph.
The sins of his fathers had not been carried on to him.
Why not?

The Twentieth chapter of Exodus, verse Five tells us that He

"visits the sins of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me."

Note who those generations are..
Those who hate Him.

But it doesn't end there...
the following verse says,

"but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments."

Joseph loved his God and kept His commandments.

Jesus instructed that we cannot love anyone above our love for Him.  That includes ourselves.

To love Him first and best means we trust Him and obey Him.

So moving from the story of Joseph to the story of Deborah I find a glaring difference.
I allowed the details (some of which were insurance related, yet again!) to rattle me.
Instead of remembering Who my God is and His faithfulness I tried to work it all out on my own.
Very frustrating to say the least.

I love something Job said found in the Twenty-Third chapter,

"But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

The character He desires to develop in His children is such that will be pure gold.
How I want to shine like that for Him!

There is a simple slogan,

"Let go and let God."

It works every time.

Roll that Drum!

Once more we have reached the Twelfth Day.
Suitable the day is a celebratory one.
A drum roll is in keeping with the entrance of an important person and our God is very important!

Can you imagine our True Love not stepping into the scenes after all the gifts have arrived?
There is a day coming when He will appear and how I look forward to it!

Isaiah Thirty-Five draws a beautiful picture with broad strokes of color and life bursting on the scene,

"The wilderness and the desert will be glad, and the Arabah (desert) will rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it will blossom profusely and rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy, the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.  They will see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.  Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.  Say to those with anxious heart, 'Take courage, fear not, behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you.' 

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and ears of the deaf will be unstopped.  Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy.  For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah.  And the scorched land will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, its resting place, grass becomes reeds and rushes.  And a highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness.  The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it.  No lion will be there, nor will any vicious beast go up on it; those will not be found there.  But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads.  They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."

The world, as it is, has its fill of those who are physically, emotionally and spiritually wounded.
The earth itself has its struggles.
Picture the desert, dry and barren with tumble weeds  rolling across its surface.  With the wind comes the dust in ones eyes, nose and mouth.  A place of lifelessness where jackals feel at home.
Here and there a few tufts of grass trying to offer nourishment to the creatures that try to survive there.


The world, as it is, has its fill of those who are physically, emotionally and spiritually wounded.
Just as the earth itself has its struggles, so do its inhabitants.


However, the day will come when life will break out in the desert to such an extend that the desert itself will rejoice!  flowers will burst forth with a shout of joy!  And life giving water will gush out of formerly dry places!

The handicapped will rise up with vitality and joy.  There will be quite a bit of leaping and shouting going on too!
All who are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb will find themselves walking safely on that Highway of Holiness never to encounter anything but that which is life-giving from then on!

Why?
Because the Glory of the LORD and His majesty have been revealed!

Can I hear a drum roll please?!

Much to Rejoice Over!

Yesterday got away from me and so I apologize to anyone who visited this site looking for comments regarding Day Eleven.  I knew there was something else I meant to do!  Though I don't know when I would have gotten to it!

Well, on Day Eleven the pipers joined the crowd and caused us to look at the act of rejoicing, especially that we are free from judgment!
Our meditation was on a few verses in the Second chapter of Philippians,

"Rejoice in the LORD always; again I will say, rejoice!  Let your fore bearing spirit be known to all men.  The LORD is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you."

As I thought about what these verse had to say to me I found more reason to rejoice.

Our God is near.
He is not afar off, but so very close; sticking closer than a brother!

We have the privilege of prayer and those prayers are directed to the King of Kings and LORD of Lords!!
Thus we can rest that He is able and willing to tend to our concerns.

His peace, which is beyond description or understanding is ours and is our protection!

The more that we take time to focus on things that fit the description found in verse eight of being true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and praise worthy, the more we will find to rejoice over!!

As we walk this walk will find that we are not alone.  Jesus, our Savior is with us, guiding and protecting.

What glorious truth!  What a joy!
Join me in rejoicing before Him!

Leaping for Joy

Ever get so excited that you feel like leaping for joy?
It should be a common occurrence for those of us who are in a relationship with the Living God.
Honestly.
However, it takes more than claiming Him as Savior.

Oh, certainly in the beginning of our walk with Him it is pretty easy to rejoice over Him and what He has done for us.
Yet, in time we get comfortable with this treasure and life settles down to a steady pace.
Many times it takes the trials of life to wake us up to our need to continue to pursue our Savior.
It comes with being human, I think.

Apart from the challenges of life there is another way to keep and increase that joy fresh.
Seek Him!
That means we are spending time in His Word relying upon His Spirit to speak to our hearts.
Then the truth that is revealed needs to be applied to our lives.
None of this is news to those of us who are called by His Name.
Still we need to be reminded.
I know I do and I also need to be reminded of His desire to make us a reflection of His Glory.

The process takes time and commitment.
Our LORD is committed, but are we?

If we take the time to truly meditate on His Word and what it reveals about Him we will find our hearts stirred to greater commitment!

King David made it a habit of doing just that, as we see over and over in the Psalms that he penned.  
All prayers to his God.

We meditated on some of his words on Day Ten, which are found in Psalm Eighteen.

"As for God, His way is blameless; the Word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him, For who is God, but the LORD?  And who is a rock, except our God, the God who girds me with strength, and makes my way blameless?  He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places.  He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand upholds me; and Your gentleness makes me great.  You do enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped."

These words proclaim our God as One whose way is blameless.
No fault will ever be found in the path He calls us to join Him on.

They also speak of His Word being tried.  That is a picture of gold being tested to be pure.
His Word is pure gold!

We find refuge and protection in Him.  No other is a rock in comparison to Him.
This Rock makes strength available to us, as well as confidence in walking the path He sets us on!

He is always calling us up higher and actually loves to set us there!

The battles are sure to come, but He equips us.  You see we are on the winning side!

David also reminds us that our God is tender in His love.  As He protects, He is shaping us into all He intends us to be!  And in Him we have sure footing!
In this world, no matter what comes, we can walk in joyful victory with Him!

Such Good News makes me want to leap!
How about you?

Shall We Dance?

The Word of God is such a blessing to my heart and I hope that you can say the same.
As the Spirit breathes into the words on the printed page they come to life!
Then we find refreshment as it draws us ever nearer to Our True Love.

When we take the time to truly reflect on what we are reading, our soul cannot help but be stirred by it.

Sometimes I am stirred to be still, as I am reminded of Who it is that has to do with me!
This reminds me of the Forty-Sixth chapter of the Psalms where it tells us in its Tenth verse,

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

At other times I  have such a sweet sense of peace and joy that causes me to savor His Presence knowing that He is with me at all moments.  Hebrews reminds us of that,

"For He Himself said, "I will never desert you nor will I forsake you."

Then there are the moments when I want to shout for all to hear!
And at such times, I want to join the Nine Dancing Ladies because you just need to express your joy!

Psalm One Hundred has that effect.

"Shout to the LORD, all the earth.  Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.  Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His Name.  For the LORD is good; His loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."

This chapter reminds us of Who He is and  how He cares for us.

We are His and just as a shepherd takes great care of his sheep, so does our Great Shepherd!
That care and love is for eternity!

Now don't you just want to join me and dance??!!

True Satisfaction!

Okay let's see if I can get it right this time!
Yesterday's comments were for day seven, which I am sure my readers figured out.
So today I will focus on Day Eight, which is the eight maids not swans!

Today I feel a great urgency to proclaim the passage from Isaiah Fifty-Five, which we had reflected on that eighth day.

"Ho!  Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.  Incline your ear and come to Me.  Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David."

So many need to hear the Good News that they can come empty handed to our True Love!

This morning our youngest, Tim found a friend dead from a drug overdose.
That precious soul needed to discover the offer, but struggled with the many lies that the enemy of his soul kept throwing at him and never could grasp that the offer was for him.
He didn't understand that he could find real satisfaction in the Living God.

I meet many like him as I volunteer at a local rehab.
Though I cannot proclaim the love of our dear Papa directly, I have found that unconditional love does the trick!  What could be more direct than love?!

His love is drawing a number of them to ask questions and seek Him for themselves.
What a joy to watch this happening!

One guy, who has been in and out of programs told me with shining eyes that he has realized that God is who has been missing from all his attempts at recovery.
He has admitted his thirst and come to the Living Water and has tasted and seen that the LORD is good!
He is finding Him very satisfying!

How grateful I am that Jesus drew me to Himself and now gives me the privilege of sharing Him with others!
That is true satisfaction!

I am also grateful that this mother's heart can rest in the fact that our son has drunk deeply of the Living Water and that God will use this very difficult experience for good in his life.
Many will learn of the One who satisfies our every longing!

Praise His Glorious Name!

Being Loved into His Image

This morning I was listening to a message given by Francis Frangipane, who I could listen to for the rest of my days.  Not only is his voice very soothing to my ear, but his words refresh my soul.
Papa had a particular message for me.

I have not felt like myself as of late; unmotivated and very tired.
It has left me feeling a bit disconnected from my LORD and wondering if I would ever get my energy back, both physically and spiritually.

Francis was addressing the LORD's purpose behind allowing trials and temptations into our lives.
He had us read Romans, Chapter Eight, verses Twenty-eight and Twenty-nine.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed tot he image of His Son, that He might be the first=born among many brethren."

He then made the application: The purpose of the trials and temptations is to conform us to His image.
He is about shaping us into His image!
At this point Papa seemed to whisper to my heart that this is what is going on with me, so I can rest in this confidence!
It gives me an entirely different attitude!
I do not have to fight it or question myself, but simply look to Him and res tin Him.
Such a gracious, loving God!

This makes me think of Day Seven's gifts of seven swans a-swimming and how they reflect His faithful, gracious love!

When I read our mediation from First John my heart rejoiced, as it does once again!

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are.  For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be.  We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

His love is the motivating factor in making us His children, His beloved children.
One day we will find out all that means, but we do know that we will be just like Him.

If we truly believe this and keep this truth before us, then we will seek to become more and more like Him now.
That means that we will trust Him and rest in Him even when we do not understand what and why right now.

We have a True Love who has loved us before we even took a breathe.
And that love is shaping us into His very image!