A Word Fitly Spoken...

She was the quiet one. Maybe a bit shy, but she was the quiet one.

I say "maybe" because she did sit in or near the front row... so shyness may not have been the issue. She always had a brightness in her gaze... like she was smiling with her eyes.

She is the second child of three; an elder sister and an younger brother. Her sister was the confident one, and her brother more the clown... neither one a nuisance for they were all wonderfully behaved.

She was in my third/fourth grade class. She was always willing to read Scripture. 

I would put scripture addresses on the board for the children to sign up for reading assignments and she was always there to sign up. She had good answers to my my questions. (simply Jesus or God rarely sufficed for any of my questioning). 

I say all of this because there are those students one has that are near and dear to our hearts. I know that a number of you that communicate with us fall into that category. 

I had not heard from this student for some time since our paths have gone different ways. 

Well I got a friendship request on Facebook and I was thrill to  take her on as my friend.

I had a job interview yesterday.... 

Earlier in the week, Tuesday or Wednesday, while I was reading the job description, reviewing my CV (resume'), looking over the organisations website,  and anticipating the interviewers questions...  I had a chat window pop up on my Facebook page. 

It was she. So I chatted and caught up a bit... found out she is driving... (Now I know that I am old) and very involved in her church fellowship and walking with the Lord. 

I told her of my job interview and the response was short and simple

 "Joshua 1:9"      was all she typed...

I'll print it out for you so you don't have to look it up.....

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Now I would be remiss if I did not say that I have received encouragement from quite a number of you and it has been very encouraging. 

I know that a number of people prayed for me yesterday and I felt the prayers...

But I must confess that while I sat in my car praying and waiting for my time to go in for interview... all I could see was that shining face and the verse she passed on to me.  So I read the chapter... and prayed and walked in to the interview confident... Not in my abilities, but that the Lord has the right man for this job. 

The Interviewers are all believers, so it was a relaxed atmosphere and I did not fear their faces.

Now I take no credit for this young lady's upbringing in the Word. Her parents have been wonderful teachers of the Word and models of Christian servanthood... but still... What a JOY to be encouraged by one you have poured yourself into.

.

My teeth are exploding to say and my fingers itching to to type out the young lady's name... but I'm not sure she would be thrilled with that... after all... she was the quiet one...

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.    Proverbs 25:11

Sat Nav

So I purchased a Sat Nav (Satellite Navigation Device).  Everyone says you have to own one here.

I figured I could do without one... Until I started driving any distance. This is a country that is like my hometown of Riverside. There is no planning of infrastructure. You just pave all of the cart tracks and call it good.

So I bought a Sat Nav. At first it was exciting. A soft Irish voice telling me to "enter the roundabout third exit, then enter the roundabout". Once I got the hang of it, it made navigating the motorways, carriageways, and city streets a breeze. It even tells me the speed limit of the road I am driving on, my present speed, and dings at me if I am over the the speed limit. 

This really is great because it is not like the wide roads of California; you have to be so aware of everything around you. The roads are narrow and people park everywhere which means you are driving on the wrong side of the road half the time; weaving in and out of your lane allowing oncoming traffic passed you, etc. So you pay attention to the road and traffic conditions; and the Sat Nav tells you where to turn... Pretty cool huh?

Well the novelty wears off. You can get tired of the voice, irritated with the dinging, and when you are in familiar territory; you find your self mimicking in a sardonic tone the instructions even before they come. Not only that but you come to realize that that you rely on the Sat Nav and feel that you may not be able to get to any location you have been to without it. I don't know about you but that gets to me because I want to know how to get places on my own.

And not only that but you have to take the time to set up your Sat Nav every time you go. you have to snap it into its holder, plug in the antennae, turn it on, program where you are going. (This means you have to know the address or post code). 

Sometimes I just leave my Sat Nav in the glove box. 

  I was reading in my devotional bible reading this morning Deuteronomy 6:1-9:27. Moses is preparing the Israelites for entry into the promised land. He is telling them what to expect ahead. That the Lord will go before them, that God will give them victory over the inhabitants. That He will fight their battles. He also Made it very clear to them that the Lord was removing these other peoples not because the Israelites were better, or larger, or more righteous, but because of the hatred they had towards Him and their love for idols made with their own hands.

Moses tells them in Deut 7:6-8 

6 "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. 

7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping His oath that He swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

Moses also goes on to remind them of their folly, why they had to run laps around the wilderness, the sins of their fathers, and the law of the LORD. He spoke these things as a reminder and instructed them to tell their children and to have the Word of the LORD upon their person, on their hands and forehead. The reason was so that they would not forget The Lord their God when he, Moses, was not with them. 

I am sure that they must have gotten tired of hearing the law over and over. As a matter of fact we find that after they find themselves in the promised land, God miraculously conquers their enemies, and they get to settle in their land, that they stop telling their children... and two generations later their is a whole generation that did not know all that the LORD had done for them.

AND SO IT GOES FOR ME... There are times when I figure that I don't have to read the Word. I know where I'm going. I know what it says, or would say to me... I get tired of being reminded that I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God... I get annoyed with the number of verses I have to read today, I get anxious to get on with the other things of my day, I don't want to take the time to sit quietly before the LORD, Pray, Read, Wait.

Sometimes I leave my Bible on the table.

When I leave my Sat Nav in the glove box I notice that I go over the speed limit more often, I am less confident where I am and where to turn. I find that I am paying less attention to everything else on the road, side streets, pedestrians, and other potential hazards, because I am looking for all of the signs and road markers (which are small, hidden or non-existent here).

When I leave my Bible on the table... I am relying on my own strength to get me through the day. I rely on my own wisdom, I have less confidence in who I am. I trudge on blindly through the day and don't notice the things the Lord wants me to notice... The lost person to pray for, a chance to bless someone by helping them with a door or trolley, opportunities placed before me to be His hands and feet. I am self absorbed and even irritated by those same folks and situations.

I don't know about you... but I do better with my Sat Navs on... 

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through your precepts i get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Your Word is  a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" Psalm 119:103-105

How Could I Not

This was sent to me by a dear friend... how could I not put this on the blog?

I am not sure of it's origin... and I hope whoever MOMMY is she is OK with me posting it.

it was a blessing to me, I'm sure it is a blessing to the Lord, hope it is a blessing to You.

"O Lord God, Thou Knowest"

 This morning as I read through my devotion it hit me that this was the response I needed in response to this passed weeks events....

  This week has been a week of prayer requests for things that make us as mortal human beings ask... Lord why are you allowing these things to happen? Do you care? What is your plan in all this? and maybe even... Are you able to change these things?

  A dear friend is preparing to to go home to be with the Lord after years of battling cancer. She has been 

an inspiration to many... my wife's question was "Why do the good ones have to go?"

  Another dear one whose eldest son is battling a blood disorder. 19 years old and he has "No Life" he cannot run around with his pals, he is struggling with his job because of bleeding... He's frustrated to the max.

  A missionary couple who have an outreach ministering and caring for children, have adopted children in Mexico and come to find out their lawyer handled their adoption illegally. They have taken the children and they have to deal with the legal battles there in Mexico.

  A Thirty something young mother with inoperable brain cancer. She doesn't know the Lord... yet...

I could go on and on with the fires in Australia, the economic situation here in Scotland, the US and around the world... you get the picture... We have these events we cannot explain. We question why... We question How... We are asked the question can these situations turn around?

But it's not just these questions... what about those Dry bones in Ezekiel? What about that big fish? What about the miracles and happenings that God says will happen?  Do you think they can, have, and will take place? How big is our concept of God? What limits have we put on Him?

If our concept of God is locked within the confines of human understanding then we have a severely limited concept of our Lord, Savior and Creator.

an excerpt from my Tozer Devo... "Coleridge gave it as his considered belief that the profoundest sentence ever uttered by human lips was the spontaneous cry of the prophet Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones when asked by the Lord whether those dry bone could live: " And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest." Had Ezekiel answered yes or no he would have closed off his heart to the mighty mystery which confronted him and would have missed the luxury of wonder in the presence of the Majesty on high. For never forget that it is a privilege to wonder. to stand in delighted silence before the Supreme Mystery and Whisper "O Lord God, Thou knowest."

I know it is difficult when you have the personal urgent right in your face. He knows that as well that is why He tells us in 1 Peter to cast all of our anxieties upon Him for He cares for us... but there is a verse prior to that....

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV)

Lord Jesus as we gaze into your face, as we consider your awesomeness, as we consider your beauty and your majesty... we are humbled. Lord You are sovereign and You know all things.

Help us... help me, to more fully delight in Your mystery and and not box you into my image and put my restraints on the wonder of who you are and what you are capable of.... and I will cry out with Ezekiel "O Lord God, thou knowest."

Blessings.....