Love Me, Lord (a Poem)

Love Me, LORD!

Ebb and Flow, the Rhythm of Life

Caresses the soul ill at ease.

Sustained by Foundations laid before my birth,

I reach for them

Seeking to connect with Strength

That reassures deeper than Conscious Thought.

Sustain me, LORD.

Give and Take, the Essence of Life

Quickens the mind seeking true Hope.

Enriched by Heights spread out before the dawn of time,

I reach for them

Seeking to connect with Grace

That thrills greater than all Imagination.

Enrich, me LORD.

Die, and be Reborn, the Fruit of Love

Sculpts the heart made for Thee.

Nurtured by Power

Known at the Creation to be loosed by His Resurrection,

I nestle into Thee

Fitted perfectly therein.

I seek Thee o’er time, knowing beyond all Knowing

All longing will be filled when fully enveloped in Thee.

Love me, LORD!

The J.O.Y. of Prayer

The J.O.Y. of Prayer

The last words of Nehemiah 8:10 tell us that “the Joy of the Lord” is our strength. Sometimes it is good to “go back to the basics,” the “A.B.C.’s” of important Life Principles.  When it comes to Prayer, the “A.B.C.’s” can be spelled “J.O.Y.” meaning “Jesus First, Others Second, and Yourself last.  The last of theses, ourselves, never seems to be a problem.  It is part and parcel of our fallen nature to be self-centered and, far too often, totally self-absorbed.  The real challenge, the call to Christian maturity, and the true Joy of life is found, however, when we choose to put the Lord first in all things, and this certainly includes our prayer life, and when we choose to put others before ourselves.

J.O.Y. – Jesus First

Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, that we should, in all things, seek God first –His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all other things we need in life would be given us.  James 1:17 declares that every good and every perfect gift comes to us from the Father of lights above with whom there is no shadow of turning, for He is utterly reliable, and it was He that Jesus taught us to honor and worship in what we now call “the Lord’s Prayer” when He said we were to pray to “Our Father who is in heaven – Holy is His name!”

O. – Others Second

When we read the instructions Paul gives regarding spiritual warfare in the passage beginning with Ephesians 6:10 that we are to engage in this warfare against demonic forces “fully armored.”  He provides a list of our armor from head to toe.  Too often people finish reading this list by concluding, in v. 17b, with “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.”  But that is definitely not the final component of our spiritual weaponry.  Paul continues in v. 18 with “praying always with all prayer and supplications in the Spirit, being watchful to the end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”  Paul then adds a request that the Ephesian believers also pray for him, placing himself last in this order of priorities. 

That is a beautiful example to and for us, for in so doing, as “warriors” who are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37), yes – “overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony” (Revelation 12:11).  Part of our testimony is woven into and warp and the woof of our prayer life as we learn to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  This lifestyle of praying truly is the J.O.Y. of the Lord which is our Strength!

Y. Yourself (Myself!) Last –

Yes, last, but not least!  As a child of God (Romans 8:14-17), we have the true delight of knowing (with confidence!) that our Father wants to meet our needs.  In the “Disciples’ Prayer” (It has come to be known as “the Lord’s Prayer.”), Jesus instructs us to ask God for our “daily bread” – our basic needs.  Beyond that, we have the testimony of the writer of Hebrews that the Father invites to boldly enter into His Presence – to His “Throne of grace” – that “we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (4:16).

We have the assurance of Paul that our God will supply “all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).  And then, beyond our ‘needs’ our Father is one who delights in providing us with an abundance of “more than enough!”  Hallelujah!  James informs us: “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shadow” (1:17). Lastly, Paul declares that our Father “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ . . . according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us” (Ephesians 1:3b, 7b-8a, emphasis added).  Hallelujah!

A Praise to God for answered prayers!  Thank you all who have been praying for Mary Jane.  She has truly 'turned the corner' in just the last few days.  First, her return to work on Monday has had two benefits. (1) Just getting back into the rhythm of life ~ rising early, working, coming home, resting, time with me for dinner and quiet time, prayer and Bible reading, and we can 'feel the release.'  (2) Her job is so physically demanding that she is now sleeping, peacefully and deeply, throughout the night. 

Add to that your words of love and encouragement and, most importantly of all, the power in the Spirit of your interceding for her, has resulted in (a) no more nightmares, (b) no more daytime visual 'flash backs," and (c) a true sense of the Presence of the Father and the grace of the sheltering wings of the Holy Spirit.  Once again, Mary Jane is totally free from fear and anxiety about the fire event, and I thank you, one and all, from the bottom of my heart!  God Bless.

Request for Prayer ~ In the aftermath of our house fire, although Mary Jane felt no fear during the event and sensed the tangible Presence of the Holy Spirit guiding her through it, step-by-step, this past weekend she began to experience some nightmares and day-time visual flashbacks wherein she could hear the roar of the flames which spread so rapidly that she said it was if they were almost "chasing her" out of the house.  This has left her a bit shaken, and she experienced the fear that was not there during the actual occurrence of the fire.  She was also thus deprived of some much needed sleep.  Now that she is back in the daily routine of work and experiencing the physical fatigue from the job, this seems to have mostly passed, and she is again sleeping through the night.  She expressed it to me as, "I am okay spiritually, but I'm not really feeling very good emotionally right now."  Therefore, I would be so very blessed and thankful if, when MJ comes to mind, you would, with me, lift her before the Father and ask for His sweet Comfort for her.  Thank you, so much, and God Bless!

House Fire Update

I have been posting a series on Facebook - "House Fire Sequel" - but recently, several people have shared with me that they were concerned for Mary Jane and me and wanted to know how we have been doing since the house fire on May 23, and they don't have a Facebook account.  Therefore, I am going to post this blog and be as concise as possible.  We are so very grateful and somewhat humbled by the outpouring of love and offers of assistance.  Thank you, each and every one, and God Bless!  Here goes ~
1. I am so very grateful and praising God above all things that Mary Jane escaped the house unscathed.  Everything else,  as precious as some of the memories are that are associated with personal possessions, in the final analysis, "stuff" can be replaced.  Mary Jane is the only irreplaceable one in my life!  Thank you, Father, for leading her by your Spirit and leading her out of our home ahead of the flames!
2. She was able to rescue both of our dogs, and they are now with us in our new rental house in Chesterfield ~ very close to our home.  This is a blessing, as it enables us to keep tabs on every step of the progress of the insurance claim and the ultimate renovation of our house. (Right now the rental house is home, because that's where my beloved is! :)
3. Our landlord has been wonderful.  His brother had just gone through a house fire (last Nov.), and he knew what we were going through and wanted to do whatever he could to help us.  He put up a 5 foot high farm fence in the back yard for our dogs.
4. One cat only survived, but after much TLC from our local veterinarian, she is also once again at home with us and is doing very well.
5. Our Insurance Company, American Family has thus far been absolutely wonderful in their handling of this claim and their treatment of us. The day after the fire our adjustor cut us a check to help us make the necessary purchases and cover the basic costs of necessary living expenses.
6. American Family subcontracts each step of the claim to another, nationally (or internationally) reputable company, and the representatives of these companies, likewise have dealt with Mary Jane and me a in courteous, professional , efficient manner in our every dealing with them.
7. The first - ALE (Affordable Living Expenses) had us booked into a room at the Comfort Inn within hours of the fire and expedited everything for us, faxing over the contract and guaranteeing payment, and we lived there until we moved into our rental on June 3.
8. We spent an exhausting week last week, meeting on the lawn in front of our home every day after we got off from work.  There a team of men from S.O.S. (a regional operative of the Enservio company) brought out every item of our personal contents, room by room, so that we could sort through and salvage anything we could.  They were assisted by a few people from ServePro, the lead contractor who will renovate the property.  Unfortunately, what could be salvaged was very, very, minimal, and for all intents and purposes, we will have to rebuild our entire wardrobe for all seasons, and, when the time is ready for us to move back in (6-7 months from now), we will have to refurnish the entire house.  Everything else is simply gone!  However, this was a very important time for Mary Jane!  She is quite kinesthetic, and by her being able to physically handle each item, she was able to grieve the loss, let go of the emotional attachment, recommit to retain, and to thank the Lord for, the memory(s) associated therewith.  This was a time of true, progressive healing for her.

** Most importantly** - Please continue to pray for Mary Jane.  With no warning, a "wave" of sorrow will overtake her, and she will begin to quietly weep and mourn.  I hold her, pray with her and over her and stay close, often silently - when I sense this is what she needs, and after a few hours, she will sigh and "come back" to an even keel.  Her job at UPS is physically difficult, as it is, and with the occasional times of emotional grieving, it is almost overwhelming. So, do, please remember to continue to lift her before the Lord.

In conclusion, we are in a hiatus now.  Next, ServePro will bring in a demolition team and "gut" the house to the bare studs and dry it "to the bone" before the renovation process can begin.  At this time, we are waiting for Enservio's spread sheet of the itemized inventory they took and set an appointment to meet with our adjustor to settle the Personal Contents portion of the claim.  After that, we will meet with him and the lead person for the general contractor to map out the renovation process which will be the final phase of the claim.  Pray with us, please, that the Lord will guide us and our adjustor to help us to secure and fair and equitable settlement and ultimate conclusion of this ordeal, and that the Lord would show favor to us in that our insurance company would not cancel our insurance for the home after all is said and done.

The Strategic Miracles of Jesus

 (Unless otherwise noted, scriptural quotes are from the NKJV.)

Strategy – it can be, very simply, a clever plan or method.  However, from its origin from the Greek strategos, it had a much fuller concept.  From Merriam Webster’s Deluxe Dictionary, Tenth Collegiate Edition, we have:  “the science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological and military forces of a nation, or a group of nations, to afford the maximum support to the adopted policies in peace or in war.”  Its secondary definition follows: “The science and art of military command exercised to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous conditions.”  Let us keep this as we explore the unique power of the strategy employed by Jesus in the performance of His miracles with regard to the impact they and their strategic implementation had on the minds of those to and among whom He ministered.

We can see, at one level, a clear distinction between the warfare that occurred in the Old Testament and that in which Jesus engaged and in which he empowered His disciples to participate.  In the Old Testament we read of great battles between men, e.g. David and Goliath, or between nations, e.g. Joshua leading the armies of the tribes of Israel against the Amalekites.  When Jesus comes on to the scene, He “ramps it up,” and He starts casting out demons, unclean spirits, even a “Legion” of them.  Now we are dealing with spiritual warfare as Paul declared in Ephesians 6:12 –

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  In addition, Jesus has given to His disciples (that includes us) this power, this authority, over demonic forces.  Note, from the very first time Jesus sent His disciples forth, we read that “He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases” (Matthew 10:1b).  Awesome, is it not?  Hallelujah!

But, wait.  Was there no dimension of spiritual warfare in the Old Testament?  Indeed there was!  We have only to look to the Ten Plagues God sent upon Egypt as one of many such examples in the Old Testament.

These Ten Plagues were, each and every one of them, strategically directed against one of the major demon deities of the Egyptian pantheon of their false gods. 

Over the next few installments of this teaching, which will constitute the first part of this series, we are going to examine these miracle plagues and then we will examine how Jesus strategically utilized them when He performed some rather unique miracles that stand with, in comparison, and against, in contrast, those Egyptian plagues and how Jesus took them “to the next level!”  Stay tuned ~

LEARNING FROM OUR PAIN

Conclusion

We learn to turn to the Lord! First, we turn to the great Shepherd. Remember, as 

children we are taught Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd.” He cares for me. He feeds; me brings me to freshwater, and He leads me in Paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake, and then, when we encounter a Valley of the Shadow of Death, He is ever with us. With His rod, He protects us, and with His shepherd’s staff, He rescues us. He prepares us to sit in the presence of our enemies at a table of feasting. He anoints our head with oil, and our cup overflows with the wine of his grace. He pursues us with his goodness and His mercy every day we live, and we will live every day in the House of the Lord!

Then, we learn to turn to the King. In Hebrews 4:16, God the Father invites us to enter into His Presence, into His Throne Room and to approach Him with boldness, with confidence, for, although He is the Almighty God, He is also Abba – our Daddy. He invites us to climb up into His lap and to be held in His great embrace, and He brings to us a sense of the true Peace of his Presence, and we know that it is truly well with our soul.

Finally, we learn to turn to our Best Friend – Jesus, the Son, the Glorious One. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus tells us that when we become weary in the labor of the ministry, we can come to Him. He will place a yoke upon our necks, if we would but permit him to do so, and he will, Himself, place Himself under the other side of the yoke. All that we need to do is to keep pace with Him and walk beside Him as He bears the load and carries the weight and gives us rest for our soul.

No matter what goes on in this world, no matter how bad it may ever seem to grow, we must always remember that in Matthew 5, Jesus told us that we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. This is not based on how we feel at any given moment. This is our identity. Our body is temple of the Holy Spirit whom we have from God (1 Cor. 6:19); we are a member of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12), and it is the living God who dwells within us (2 Cor. 6:16), and our Lord and King, Jesus, is knocking upon door of our heart (Revelation 3:20), and he is the anchor of our souls, and he is anchored within the veil, in the throne room of God (Hebrews 619). Therefore, with the tribune God living within us, where ever we go, we must shine forth the light of his love, and every person that we “rub up against” has been given a seasoning of the salt of the glorious God whom we serve.

Once again, and in conclusion:  When in pain, we learn turn to our Good Shepherd, we turn to The King, we turn to your Best Friend; we walk with him; we shine forth the light of God’s love, and we season our society with the salt of the Holy Spirit, and in so doing, we then we learn, yea, we know the true meaning of Living in Victory in Jesus!

May the LORD bless and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. ~ Numbers 6:24b-25