The Lenten Journey

Day 9:  Live Like You Believe ME

A Question Reverberated through my head last night.  “Do I really believe that the blood of Jesus does what I sing and read it does?  All during the night I would wake up with a different song going through my mind:

There is Power, Power, wonder working Power, in the Blood of the Lamb!

What Can Wash Away my Sin, NOTHING but the Blood of Jesus!

With his blood he has saved me; With his power he has raised me; To God be the glory for the things he has done.

By faith for my cleansing, I see thy blood flow—Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

I look up scriptures in The Message translation of the Bible on the blood of Jesus:

John 6:53 – But Jesus didn't give an inch. "Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you.

Ephesians 2:13 - Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

 Hebrew 10:19 -21 - So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The "curtain" into God's presence is his body.

Hebrew 13:12 - He was crucified outside the city gates—that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God's altar to cleanse his people.

I Peter 1:2 - God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice (blood) of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

I John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.

I remember there was a controversy a few years back with references to Jesus’ blood being taken out of certain hymnals.  Today God is asking me to meditate on what He says the blood of His Son accomplishes in my life and to live like I believe it.  Again God is revealing a heart attitude in me that wants to believe there is something that I do that causes me to merit being His child, being part of His family.  Can it be that in the competitiveness of my culture, I am being robbed because it is so hard to give all the credit to where credit is due – to Jesus Christ for shedding His precious blood for me?  What attitude and actions will I exhibit today that reveal  I truly accept Jesus’ sacrifice for me – a blood sacrifice?

The Lenten Journey

Day 8:       How about

        “Your Life?”         

I woke up this morning and this is what was going off in my head full force:

Take My Life and Let It Be | Frances R. Havergal

1. Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.                                       Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in endless praise.
2. Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love.
   Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3. Take my voice and let me sing, Always, only for my King.
   Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold.
   Take my intellect and use Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will and make it Thine, It shall be no longer mine.
   Take my heart, it is Thine own, It shall be Thy royal throne.
6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure store.
   Take myself and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee.

Somehow I thought  (hmm, why do I think I’m going to figure this out?) this might be Day 40 Request!   Our Bible Study group is studying 24 Hours That Changed The World  for Lent and we were challenged to get up each morning and recite the Covenant Prayer of John Wesley:

 Covenant Prayer

From John Wesley's Covenant Service , 1780

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

Let it be ratified in heaven.  Amen

II don’t think I need to add anything else today.  I have lots to meditate on and lots of decisions to make.  Like:  Am I ready for a “Radical Life Change” – Romans 2?  I need prayer and I am comforted that the Bible tells me Jesus is in heaven interceding for me.

Amen and Amen

I am reminded of the Dead Sea.  Maybe what God has in mind is to boot me out of any resemblance to "Dead Sea Living"

The Season of Lent

Day 7:      Extend a Little Grace

I wrote a beautiful article and was ready to publish it and my computer ate it.  It disappeared – Could it be because my last line was about the “sneaky snake’s” voice going off in my head telling me to forget this Lenten Adventure.  Ohhh, my antennae are up because it is taking discipline to stay focused on this Gift.  There are habits in my life that I feed, and hold and play with and refuse to boot them out.  I say I have but you let me get bumped the wrong way and “low and behold,” they reappear.  One is extending Judgment instead of Grace.  Walking down the beach yesterday, eyes taking in the bigness of God’s creation, I pondered what I want most but it seems to elude me.  Grace!  Grace when I make a mistake;  Grace when I don’t engage the brain before opening the mouth;  Grace when I get wrapped up in me;  GRACE !  I want GRACE.  What is Grace?  God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense – Getting something I don’t deserve.  I extend Grace to people I may want to impress –the ones I only have to be around for a little bit.  But, day in and day out, I find it hard to extend Grace to those I love the most.  There are old hurts, wounds, words, looks that can blind me to extending Grace.  I knew before I went to bed last night that this was what my ABBA was going to ask me to give to others in His Name today.  I struggled during the night and was awakened way before I wanted to be to get on my knees and ask Him to help me.  I have paraphrased Romans and Chapter 2 roars into my head:  Every time I criticize someone, I condemn myself.  Pointing my finger at others doesn’t divert God from all my misdoings.  God’s Goal is to take me by the hand and lead me into a RADICAL LIFE CHANGE!  Merely hearing God’s word is a waste of time if you don’t do what He commands.  It’s God’s vote that counts not mine.  Doing, not hearing, is what makes a difference with God!  It’s the mark of God on my heart that matters.  Make sure while I’m trying to teach others that I’m living what I’m teaching not just giving legalistic answers.  As I think about extending Grace today – In His Name and as a Gift to Him – for others,  I am reminded of an old Amy Grant song:

What About the Love?I went to see my sister. She was staying with a friend Who had turned into a preacher To save the world from sin. He said, "First deny your body, And then learn to submit. Pray to be made worthy, And tithe your ten percent." I said, "Is this all there is, Just the letter of the law?" Something's wrong.

I went to see my brother On the 32nd floor Of a building down on Wall Street; You could hear the future's roar. He said, "Here we make decisions, And we trade commodities; If you tell me where there's famine, I can make you guarantees." I said, "Is this all there is, Power to the strong?" Something's wrong.

Something's wrong in heaven tonight. You can almost hear them cry. Angels to the left and the right,
Saying, "What about the love? What about the love? What about the love?"

I went to see my neighbor. He'd been taken to a home For the weak and the discarded Who have no place to go. He said, "Here I lack for nothing; I am fed and I am clothed. But at times I miss the freedom I used to know." I said, "Is this all there is, When your usefulness is gone?"Something's wrong.

I looked into the mirror, Proud as I could be,  And I saw my pointing finger Pointing back at me,
Saying, "Who named you accuser? Who gave you the scales?" I hung my head in sorrow;  I could almost feel the nails. I said, "This is how it is To be crucified and judged Without love."  Written by Kye Fleming, and Janis Ian: Sung by Amy Grant

God, help me be a Grace Filled Woman today – because I asked you to tell me what you want each day of Lent – and for today You said "Give Em Grace Baby Doll."

The Season of Lent

Day 6:   Enjoy Me – Your God

Ponder:  Enjoy God, what does that mean to me?  More importantly,  What Does That Mean to GOD?   I was surprised by the Thought ENJOY ME!  My mind started its rambling  -  God, don’t I enjoy You?  I read Your Word, I Pray, I stay on the lookout for how I can impact people by being available to be Your Ambassador.  What does Enjoy mean?  Uh Oh, I couldn’t find “enjoy” in my Biblical Dictionary.  OK, is it in the Bible?  Yes, there are 15 references but none about Enjoying God.    Well, where did the people who wrote the    Westminster Shorter Catechism No. 1get this thought? 

“Q. 1. What is the chief end of man(kind)?
A. Man(kind)’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

I look in the Greek Dictionary = Zero.  I look in the Hebrew Dictionary:  Voila: English Thesaurus: Enjoy – Receive pleasure or satisfaction from.  Have the use or benefit of!  I get excited and enter “Enjoy God” = Zero!  OK, last resort:  God, what does it mean to Enjoy you – TODAY?  Oh my, the 23^rd Psalm pops in my head.  The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness - for His name’s sake.  Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.  Your rod and staff comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil.  My cup runs over.  Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the home of the Lord forever.    I picture my Shepherd.  I picture what a well loved sheep experiences.  "Trust Me,"  God says, "it’s about Me not You."  A shepherd is in control of His sheep’s well being.  The sheep just has to follow the shepherd.  The shepherd doesn’t ask the sheep if it approves or is in agreement.  Oh wow, enjoy means to focus differently today.  I focus on my Good Shepherd.  Oh, that is why Jesus said: I am the GOOD Shepherd.  There are bad shepherds, but my Shepherd is the Good Shepherd so I can ENJOY HIM.

The Season of Lent

Day 5:       A Hearing Ear

Ohhh, this is being harder than I realized.  As I focus on my Heart, Solitude, a Gentle and Quiet Spirit and My Mouth, I am shown that all of this goes into a great big pot called my Spirit and it is bumping against lots of interior thoughts, ideas, desires, dreams, etc.  It is revealing so much of my thought life is about ME.   I am faced again with giving God what He wants each day as a Lenten Gift.  He is revealing my desires to have things my way, do it my way, stand and at the top of my lungs sing “I DID IT MY WAY.”  What does a hearing ear have to do with all of this?  I can’t have a Contrite Heart, experience Solitude, live with a Gentle and Quiet Spirit and have My Mouth controlled without my EARS being tuned to His Voice.  I never realized that my voice inside my head and heart was so loud.  He is revealing that it is easier to put on a façade than to have change come from the Inside to the Outside.  Uh Oh, I stopped to look up “hearing ear” in the Bible:  103 Times it is used!  

Proverbs 15:31 – The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

I Corinthians 2:9 – But it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neigher have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Open my ears that I may hear, Voices of truth thou sendest clear;  And while the wave notes fall on my ear,  Everything false will disappear.  Silently now I wait for thee, Ready, my God, Thy will to see; Open my eyes, illumine me.  Spirit divine.

 (Open My Eyes – Clara H Scott 1841-1897)

The Season of Lent

Day 4:    My Mouth             

Why would God ask me to give Him my mouth today!  Hmm, could it be because of all the dental work as I have a Million Dollar Mouth?  Could it be because I think what comes out of my mouth is more valuable than what comes out of the mouths of people around me?  I guess I had better look up “MOUTH” in my Bible and see what God says.  I am astonished because Mouth is used 415 time in the King James version of the Bible!  It is used 68 times in Psalms.    This is BIG.   Checking out why  God wants me to give Him my mouth today,   I am told what God’s mouth does, what evil people’s mouths do but most importantly, what my mouth can do:  discourage, encourage, bless, curse, cause people to trust in the Lord, praise, sing. . .  However, there is a promise that if I open wide my mouth, God will fill it - Psalm 81:10.  OK, God has my attention!  Going through all the references in Psalms, I see why the talk shows are so popular.  People believe that their lips manage the world - Psalm 12:4.   I am told that I need to purpose with my mouth not to transgress - Psalm 17:3  Oooo How am I going to do that?  Psalm 141:3 tells me I can ask the Lord to set a watch over my mouth to keep my lips controlled.    My prayer today will be:

Psalm 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

  Take Joy My King In What You Hear, May It Be a Sweet Sweet Sound in Your Ear.

The Season of Lent

Day 3:             A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

 I Peter 3:3-4 (The Message) What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.  Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in.

Or in my words from King James:  It is the hidden person in my heart, which can't be messed with by the world and what goes on in it.  I am to  put on a meek and quiet spirit, which is very valuable to God!

I must focus today on having a meek inner disposition.  What does that look like?  Meekness in describing Jesus meant that His disposition was His power controlled by God.  Oh my, whether I want to admit it or not, I have power.  My actions can affect each situation I find myself in today.  I have Power to impact my husband, my children, my friends by how I allow God to flow through me today with His mighty power.   Ponder. . .Ponder. . .  How will my life be valuable to God today IF I choose to allow Him to be powerful in me in a way that others see a humble spirit?

Now, on to “Quiet”.   Gentleness [N] Sensitivity of disposition and kindness of behavior, founded on strength and prompted by love. .

I realize that both of these words are in the context of “power and strength.”  Upon further searching,  it is talking about the kind of wife I am to be.  At this period of my life, God is not allowing me to get away from the focus of the kind of wife He wants me to be.  OK, there is a picture emerging here:  Quiet, Power, Wife!

In our crazy world where saying you are a "Wife" doesn't produce any hoopla or applause, I think God wants me to think differently from the world.  I'm off to have a gentle and quiet spirit as I navigate my day.  And that doesn't mean sitting quietly and doing nothing.  It means "Turn on the Power" the right way.

Confession:  Before I even got this published I have already blown it once!  That's ok cause I'm headed in the right direction.

Walking in Jerusalem where Jesus walked!  Focus: follow where He leads!