360 Vision

As Christians, we have the benefit of 360 vision, to bring us through each and everyday.  We have the past saints to look at for inspiration and understanding of how the Lord moves and weaves in an individual's life.  We have the living and active Word of God today - that moves and interacts with us.  Finally, we have the book of Revelation that gives us a glimpse of the reality of our future.  So today, I would like to interact with this 360 vision to help us to see how God invites us to walk with Him into a life that lacks nothing.

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

Revelation 9:16

Never again will they hunger;

never again will they thirst.

The sun will not beat down on them,’

nor any scorching heat.

17For the Lamb at the center of the throne

will be their shepherd;

‘he will lead them to springs of living water.‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

These are all familiar Scripture passages, but for this post, I appreciated reflecting on the connections between them.  We all love the imagery of Psalm 23: being led beside quiet waters, having our souls restored.  Yet we don't always find ourselves in those situations.  Sometimes we find ourselves faced with the valley of the shadow of death...Then we are confronted with James - "Consider it PURE JOY, whenever you face trials of many kinds..."

How? Why? 

This is where the 360 vision comes in handy (you can start from any spot) but for this post we will start at Revelation 9.   See the Lamb, seated on the throne and what does He promise to be for us - our Shepherd.  We are reminded in this very picture, that He, himself, the Lamb, walked through a very dark valley of death to get to His throne.  We see His promise to us is to Shepherd us and one day to wipe every tear from our eyes.  We get to step into life with Him, from this place of trust knowing that He sees, He knows, He understands and He offers to come along with us.

From this vantage point we can pan back to present day: consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds... It develops perseverance/ patience and you will NOT lack anything...

Pan over to Psalm 23 - the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...

Do you see the circle? Do you see the benefits we receive from our current position? 

The Message ends Psalm 23 with this:

Your beauty and love chase after me

    every day of my life.

I’m back home in the house of God

    for the rest of my life.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ - consider it pure joy - no matter what you are going through, because the Lord is your Shepherd.  He is walking beside you, leading you and guiding you with love and beauty.  Sometimes by streams of water and sometimes He is walking with us through a valley, a shadow, a place of trial and uncertainty.  The path may be unclear to you - but the end destination is clear and sure.  There will be a day when He will wipe every tear from your eyes.  

You are not alone and you were never asked to go through this life alone.  Lean on your Good Shepherd today - the Lamb of God who alone is worthy.

In Christ,

 

Photo courtesy Melanie Guest Photography

Finding Peace in Today

                                              

As I reflect back on the theme of my heart last year, I feel that the Lord was teaching me how to trust Him more deeply ~ in each and every situation ~ the good, the bad and the ugly.  And as I've paid attention to my heart these first few days of the New Year I've noticed a natural tendency towards stress and intensity.  This seems quite strange since I don't have "anything I have to do."  Obviously, my daily life has responsibility and in many ways I'm my own boss, but apparently I'm a tough taskmaster.  But as I went through Daily Prayer this morning, I was overwhelmed by God's invitation towards a different way of living in the midst of the real world.  Since I've learned to trust that His heart towards me is good, then what... how can that affect my daily life?  And I realized that the answer to that is that I have a different taskmaster: Christ.

Here are some of the verses from Daily Prayer that encouraged me that this exchange is worth it:

Psalm 127:1

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    those who build it labour in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,

    the guard keeps watch in vain.

In the past, I have seen the reality of me trying to build my own house and it truly was in vain (Draw Me a Map) but in the last 3 years, I've experienced the sweet reality of letting the Lord build my marriage and it is beautiful; watching how Christ has put us together to work together in a way that brings life, love and beauty to each other, to our family and to His kingdom.

Psalm 127:2

It is in vain that you rise up early

    and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

    for he gives sleep to his beloved.

I love sleep, especially refreshing sleep.  But this verse especially reminded me of His invitation to us to be called His Beloved.  Since I am His Beloved - it should and does make a difference in how my life is guided, directed and lived out.

Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,

    my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

    too great and too marvelous for me.

2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

    like a weaned child with its mother;

    my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

These verses captured the cry of my heart for this year.  A satisfied child leaning quietly, in satisfied trust against her mother.  The lessons learned from the past year, on how to trust that God's heart towards me is good, truly good is the groundwork that was laid to begin the act of resting. 

Ruth 2:14-15

Then she said, ‘May I continue to find favour in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.’

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.’ So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.

In the book of Ruth, Boaz is a foreshadowing picture of Christ and as I read this passage, I was overwhelmed by the picture of communion as a response to Ruth's cry for favor. "Take the bread and dip it in wine." She eats, until she is satisfied and then has some left over.  Every Sunday at my church, before we go up to communion we hear the words:

 Take and eat

this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on

him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving.

These words remind me that participation in communion is a reminder that Christ and His presence is daily needed and available for my sustenance and satisfaction.   Looking at this picture of Boaz coming to Ruth in the middle of her work day and giving her everything she needs and more is a beautiful picture of what Christ does for us ~ today.

These verses have overwhelmed me with joy to release the reigns of today to the right taskmaster.  The verses from Ruth show me that Christ can come in the middle of my day and satisfy.  His reality and His presence weaves into every moment: the building of my house, the work of my hands, my sleep, my relationships and my meals.

Thank you Christ for who you are today. 

________

If you are looking for a way to get into the word of God this year, Daily Prayer has been a beautiful way that I have been able to engage in the Word, in a life-giving way.  Because I love it so much, I have added their feed to the bottom of my website.  But no matter what - know that He loves you and that He will walk with you today.

In Christ,