1 Kings 13 on June 12, 2014

Today, is an essential day in my life. Yes, 50-plus years ago :-) I was born in North Carolina (in a hospital about 200 yards from sea level.) I decided to take a vacation day today. Taking a vacation day as a pastor is a funny idea. But anyway, it's been sweet so far. Many greetings from all kinds of different devices have come my way. I even got a few old-fashioned cards in the mail this week. And to those who sing to me year-after-year on my voice mail, I am forever indebted to. 

A beautiful gift was a phone call that I was on for 50 minutes this morning. A precious 23-year-old that was recently part of our church family as a university student and who during those years became very dear to my wife and me, called from Texas. Her name is Jillian. She had some questions during her personal Bible study time. I told her, "I know 'some' answers."

So, together on the phone, we studied deeply a passage and sought the Lord to make clear to us the meaning of 1 Kings, chapter 13. The Lord really helped us. I have never fully studied this passage, so I was only familiar with the story. But now after engaging in the Holy Word of God, I feel as if her call was a surprise birthday gift from God. He had someone hungry for His counsel to call me on my birthday. We concluded after 50 minutes in the Word that to obey God carefully and prayerfully and always fully is of paramount importance in our lives.

I invite you to read and pray over 1 Kings 13. As we say back home, "It's a doozy." May the Lord make known to all of us the marvelous mysteries of His "Love Story" written to us -- "The Holy Bible".  

Grateful (Okay, I'm 53 today. Hard to believe I'm 30 years older than Jillian, but that's my true age.)

Where is God?

We have hardly thought through the immense implications of the mystery of the incarnation. Where is God? God is where we are weak, vulnerable, small and dependent. God is where the poor are, the hungry, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the elderly, the powerless. How can we come to know God when our focus is elsewhere, on success, influence, and power?
-- Henri Nouwen

ALL JOY TO YOUR WORLD! ALL PEACE TO YOUR SOUL!
Grateful

Hungry For The Beauty of His Holiness

Indeed, the Beauty of God's Holiness is what I am hungry for, so I am feeding on these verses from The Holy Scriptures today:

Give to the Lord the glory His name deserves. Bring an offering, and come to Him. Worship the Lord in His holy splendor.
-- 1 Chronicles 16:29 (GWT)

Give to the Lord the glory His name deserves. Worship the Lord in His holy splendor.
-- Psalm 29:2 (GWT)

Worship the Lord in His holy splendor. Tremble in His presence, all the earth!
-- Psalm 96:9 (GWT)

Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
-- 1 Chronicles 16:29 (NKJV)

Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
-- Psalm 29:2 (NKJV)

Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
-- Psalm 96:9 (NKJV)

Click here: Helen Baylor- Hunger For Holiness - YouTube

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

Absence That Creates Presence

It is good to visit people who are sick, dying, shut in, handicapped, or lonely. But it is also important not to feel guilty when our visits have to be short or can only happen occasionally. Often we are so apologetic about our limitations that our apologies prevent us from really being with the other when we are there. A short time fully present to a sick person is much better than a long time with many explanations of why we are too busy to come more often.

If we are able to be fully present to our friends when we are with them, our absence too will bear many fruits. Our friends will say: "He visited me" or "She visited me," and discover in our absence the lasting grace of our presence.
-- Henri Nouwen

³⁴“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. ³⁶I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
³⁷“Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
⁴⁰“The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.’
⁴¹“Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴²I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me into your homes. I needed clothes, and you didn’t give me anything to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t take care of me.’
⁴⁴“They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or in need of clothes or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’
⁴⁵“He will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you failed to do for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do for me.’
⁴⁶“These people will go away into eternal punishment, but those with God’s approval will go into eternal life.”
-- Matthew 25:34-46 (GWT)

Seeking God's Approval.
Grateful

But He Intentionally Ignores...

In my reading and reflecting from the Old Testament Proverbs, the contrast in this verse stopped me in my tracks:

The Lord will not allow a righteous person to starve, but He intentionally ignores the desires of a wicked person.
-- Proverbs 10:3 (God's Word Translation)

If my thoughts had been sinful, He would have refused to hear me.
-- Psalm 66:18 (CEV)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.
-- Words of Jesus in Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

Click here: YouTube - Hungry w/lyrics by Kathryn Scott

Holiness Unto the LORD!
Grateful

"At One" or Aloof?

Lord, give me a desire to be always "at one" with You, and never aloof from You. Let me be aligned with Your blessed words recorded in Matthew 5:6, yes "hungry and thirsty" for a right relationship with You at all times. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

For His Name's Sake

In the shepherd's fields and folds surrounding Bethlehem, one learns that the undeniable character of the shepherd is known by the overall condition of his individual sheep. If the flock is well-fed and content then the shepherd is known as a good shepherd. If the flock is hungry and harrassed the shepherd is known as a bad shepherd.

The shepherd-boy who would be king, yes the Psalmist, David, wrote these words to define the character of his Lord, yes his Shepherd: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Today when we pray, let us ask our Shepherd to please continue to prove Himself "Good" not only for the good of His sheep, but most of all for the good of His own name, yes for His name's sake.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful