Author: astherainandsnow

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Psalm 90:12; Ephesians 5:15-16

God who created time, and set earth spinning on its axis  and the heavenly lights in place so we could mark time, reminds us through world events that our times are in His hands.  He who is unruffled by what ruffles us, whose gentle eyes see our fretting and says, “Fear not,” is the One who moves the pendulum from birth to death, embracing to distancing, war of disease and emotion and pressure to perfect peace. (Genesis 1:14-19; Psalm 31:15; Matthew 14:27)

This trustworthy God enlists us to participate in His kingdom work by carrying Him to those around us. His spiritual riches supply for every season, every matter, every changing hour under heaven. He reigns over the present, He knows and rules the future, His plans are never thwarted. Will we trust Him and sing? (Job 42:2; Isaiah 14:27; Romans 11:33; Philippians 4:19)

“God of grace and God of glory,
on your people pour your power;
crown your ancient church’s story,
bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.

Lo! the hosts of evil round us
scorn the Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.

Cure your children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.

Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving you whom we adore,
serving you whom we adore.”  ~Harry Emerson Fosdick (1930)

Father, grant me wisdom and courage to focus on today, knowing that tomorrow is Yours and I can trust Your will to be done. Help me live this hour for the sake of Your kingdom and honor, and this day in light of Your forever. (Matthew 6:34; James 4:13-15)

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I made confession, saying, ‘O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments. We have not listened. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed [his] voice by walking in his laws. All this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. The Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Open your eyes and see our desolations. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your people are called by your name.’” 2 Chronicles 7:14; Daniel 9:3-10,13-14,17-19

In the scriptures, a repeated, yet unnatural and difficult, call during a time of ‘desolation’ is that to humble ourselves, to seek God and repent. We pray instinctively for peace, protection, healing– in other words, for things to get better, easier, safer. But it is not our bent to take time to acknowledge our rebellion and wickedness, our disordered affections and idolatry, our real filth before holy God. As people called by His name and cleansed by Jesus’s blood, we own a secure position of righteousness and can boldly approach His throne of grace. Yet, we are sinners who have too long trifled with the dark disease in our hearts, and justified the calloused habits to which we choose to be blind, but that are an affront to God. (Hebrews 4:16)

Called by His name! What a privilege, what an identity! But do we sling that name around with cheap grace and haughty self-promotion while hiding disdain and bitterness within? Are we braggarts who puff out our chests with ‘enlightened’ thinking and superior living while putting others down? Where are we displeased with God’s ways and timing and order, and so fashion and worship our own gods instead? Where have we misspent our freedom in Christ to serve self and ease instead of our Redeemer and others? (Exodus 32:1; Isaiah 43:1,4,7; Romans 6:1-4; 14:7-8,20-21; 1 Corinthians 8:1,9; Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16)

Oh God, let Your people not waste this unusual time in our world! Burn bright, expose us so we humble ourselves before You, pray, seek Your face, and repent from our wickedness. Have Your full way with us that, in Your perfect time, refreshing, healing, and revival will come, all to Your magnificent, glorious praise. (Acts 3:19-20)

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Genesis 1:26; Romans 13:1

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem.'” Ezra 1:1-3

Jesus, the Lamb who conquers, is Faithful and True. He is the Word of God, who in righteousness and holy wrath judges, makes war, and rules with a rod of iron. He alone bears the name King of kings and Lord of lords. He it is who appoints every earthly ruler, and orders all that transpires in history. He raises up earthly authorities, and uses them for His divine, eternal purposes. (Revelation 17:14; 19:11,13,15-16)

This God named the Persian Cyrus more than a century before he was born, much less in power over an empire not yet established, to implement His plans: 

“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
    whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed:
‘I will go before you…
I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
    I name you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    I equip you, though you do not know me,
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.'” Isaiah 44:1-7

Why would we ever doubt this King? Why would we question His good purposes, His benevolent sovereignty in all that comes to pass? He rules over all things for His holy sake, the eternal blessing of His children, and His glorious renown.

Hallowed and only Sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords, may all my days be spent in service and homage to You. Engage my faculties, senses, emotions, and vigor to honor You in the charges You assign, to exercise dominion over all You appoint, in a fashion that glorifies Your royalty and worth. (1 Timothy 6:16)

““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” Colossians 1:23

Plunging the paddle into the green water, I stand upright, balanced, gliding along in air while solidly upheld by water. Toward the horizon floats the moon, a chalky orb suspended in the blue morning sky, pulled along its invisible arc by gravity’s unseen power. I consider how we can feel, and in many instances be, suspended, yet are never actually beyond the gravitational pull that grounds us to home.

When life is in limbo, when decisions and emotions are hard to ground, and plans bob afloat in a swirl of news and cancellations and information, opinions and warnings and what-ifs, we may feel we are suspended above certainty, adrift. Arrangements change, fortunes swing; no one shows up, everyone wonders, many fret in confusion or grow anxious in isolation.

But we have a steadfast anchor for the soul, a firm foundation, a sure hope, and that is Jesus. His unfailing love keeps us attached, His holy and good purposes are the gravity that keep us on course through life’s fluctuations. Tides rise and fall, celestial light waxes and wanes, but the sea’s rhythm is constant and the moon is still round. (Hebrews 6:18-20)

“How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed;
for I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”  ~George Keith (1787)

Secure in Jesus, when we are suspended in uncertainty in the here and now, we can be certain we are grounded in the unseen. Look in faith to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith! There is resolution and joy fixed in heaven, to be unfolded in God’s perfect time and way. (Hebrews 12:2)

“Be still, my soul: your God will undertake
to guide the future as he has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.”  ~Kathrina von Schlegel (1865)

Has a pendulum unsettled to swing in your heart? Where are we shifting off balance, allowing confidence or peace to waver, instead of standing strong? Though there is new news (and that disturbing) each day, there is unchanging good news to grasp, and cling to when we feel suspended between what seems unreal and mysterious, and what is tangible and known.

Oh Lord, may I both trust in You, and trust You, no matter what comes. May I stand this day with hope and joy, grounded in Your immovable truth.

“The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.” Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees were driven by doubt and argument. They were so easily distracted by the trappings of religion, blinded by their legalism to the love and true message Jesus carried. Had their eyes been opened, they would have seen the power behind the healings, the promise of true healing and soul restoration and life everlasting. They would have understood the spiritual nourishment and fruitful ministry illustrated in the multiplied loaves and fishes. But the signs and miracles Jesus had already performed they dismissed in a wrangle of rules broken and traditions not upheld. They did not really want to believe.

This leaves us to ponder, how about me? How often do I give in to shallow trusting for easy fixes, to worldly thinking about heavenly realities, to quick soundbites of trite religious pledges, and miss the deep lessons God intends? What triggers, personal rights, and self-interest, set off my arguing against His patterns and ordered ways? Where has my pride opened the door for manipulation and deceit?

Where does Jesus sigh deeply in His spirit over my meanderings of demands and belief? Have I distanced Him ‘to the other side’ by my constant challenge to His designs on my life, His demands on my heart, or His clearly communicated truth? Are there areas where I insist on my way, my time table, my plans, to the impairment of listening and learning from the Almighty? Have I so stubbornly determined to see things my way that I’m blinded to His?

Lord, help me see that whenever I make demands of You, or argue with Your unfolding of things, I am on shaky spiritual ground, in danger of an avalanche of disappointment, destruction, and loss. Instead of signs and trinkets, feel-good favors and special messages, may I seek You, my Savior. May I set aside self to surrender to You, who alone are worthy of my affection and praise.

“The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’ And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest…  but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” Luke 23:55-24:9,11-12

Again and again, Jesus had told His followers that He would be killed, and on the third day rise again. But as we humans tend to do, they heard only what they heard, and had no great expectations for what He was really saying to them. They wanted a present king, a deliverer from Roman rule, so when Jesus died, they buried their hopes for His triumph along with His body. (Matthew 17:22-23; 21:7-11; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22) 

The women remembered what He had said only after the angel at the grave reminded them. It sank in- He had risen! Yet each one had to adjust expectations as the news spread: some needed physical proof; some, blind to Jesus even as He walked and talked with them, recognized Him only when He opened the scriptures and broke the bread, triggering a familiar memory; one needed to touch His hands and side. (Luke 24:13-45; John 20:27)

Where do I box Jesus in to my self-made limits and definitions for Him? When He teaches one thing, do I believe another? How do I twist His promises to fit my preferences? Where am I limiting His power, His grace to me, the reaches of His forgiveness, and mercy, and love?

Do I limit my expectations of what He can do in any given situation? Does weak faith diminish my hope for all He is able to do in the life of loved ones, a hard or broken heart, a foreboding future? Does limited vision inhibit confidence in invisible, supernatural purposes coming to pass? Do I assess God’s ability and adequacy by finite human measure?

To have great expectations I must regard my God as the great God He is, great beyond the heavens, limitless in love, mercy, and power over the enemy, greater than my sin. (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 103:8,11-12; Romans 5:20; 1 John 4:4)

Father, increase my understanding of Your uncontainable greatness, and therefore my expectations of Your ways. Magnify Yourself before and through me.

“[Jesus] left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)  Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?‘  Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.’” John 4:3-11,13-15

Jesus always made the most of His time. He made use of His thirst to place Himself at the well. He made use of His encounter with the Samaritan woman to exhibit unprejudiced love to an otherwise ‘outcast.’ He made use of conversation to offer living water and change her life. Forever. An ordinary day turned extraordinary when every minute was used and opportunity taken.

We live in unusual times, when emotions are feverish and opinions acerbic. Fear of the unknown is tangible, encounters rife with tension between kindness and caution. Making the most of such times can effect a world of difference for thirsty, fretting individuals at the world’s well.

Do we avoid or deliberately pass through Samarias– places and conversations that may be awkward or uncomfortable? How willing are we to risk others’ condemnation? Will we look for ways that our own needs can tune us into the greater, deeper needs of others? Do we ask God to help us turn ordinary chatter into relevant conversation, and do what we can to bring significance to the seemingly insignificant? With many thirsty for hope and meaning, to whom will we reach out with living water and true life?

My Lord, impel me daily to do Your will, and accomplish Your intended work wherever I am. Help me make the most of every opportunity, to redeem the moments You give, for the eternal good of others and the glory You deserve. (John 4:34; Ephesians 5:16-17; Colossians 4:5-6)

“Behold, Behemoth,
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats grass like an ox.
His strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron. 

“He is the first of the works of God.

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
    or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in his nose
    or pierce his jaw with a hook?

“No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
    Who then is he who can stand before me?
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
    Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

“Who can strip off his outer garment?
    Who would come near him with a bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face?
    Around his teeth is terror.
His back is made of rows of shields,
    shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
    that no air can come between them.
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
His sneezings flash forth light,
    and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
    sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
    as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
In his neck abides strength,
    and terror dances before him.
The folds of his flesh stick together,
    firmly cast on him and immovable.

“He counts iron as straw,
    and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee;
    for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble;
    he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds.
He makes the deep boil like a pot;
    he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
    one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth there is not his like,
    a creature without fear.
He is king over all the sons of pride.” Job 40:15-19; 41:1-2,10-11,13-20,22-23,27-34

God exquisitely fashioned, and owns, and reigns over, the behemoth and leviathan and every living thing. Every creature, every detail of muscle and shape, movement and function, expression and skin and breath, is created, known, and ordered by the Possessor and Ruler of all.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17

We cannot breathe, that He has not given us breath. We cannot move, except that in Him we live and move and have our being. We cannot give, that He has not given first. This is our God– supreme in authority, perfect in knowledge, transcendent in love, worthy to be worshiped. He is trustworthy of our surrender, confidence, and faith. (Acts 17:28)

Gracious, most high God, You are great and good. May Your peace that rules me exhibit Your unfailing sovereignty to everyone I encounter.

“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” Exodus 17:8-13

“Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?’ And Moses said, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.’ [Jethro] said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God… and you shall make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And let them judge the people. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure.’ So Moses listened and did all that he had said.” Exodus 18:13-24

Some are made to lead nations, some to lead armies. Some are mentors, some teach skills. Some serve with encouragement and mercy, some come alongside with strategy and advice. We are not made to battle in the Christian life alone.

When God calls us to specific roles, He expects us to step up. To lead by strategy or example, with boldness. To fight on the front lines, defending justice, truth, or individuals, with courage. To support in the background with prayer, practical helps, or insight, with ready zeal. And if to delegate, to enlist, implement advice, or obey orders, with willing humility. (Romans 12:3-8)

Where has God appointed me to serve, and how eagerly do I take on His assignments? Will I gratefully fulfill my function not above, or below, but alongside His team?

Father, fit me, fill me, to serve Your purposes. May I willingly and honorably do my part.

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’” Luke 18:9-14

Picture two men, bodies facing the wall of the temple. The tidy Pharisee shifts his eyes askance to stare at the tax collector, derision steaming in his heart. As he intones his prescribed chant of superior puffery, he can’t keep his eyes off the others, the scum around him. Bloating with self-righteousness, gloating in his own esteem, he reminds God of all the good he has done, presenting his neatly-checked-off list– as if omniscient God does not already know. Nearby, a tax collector, convicted to the core as he bows before the invisible holy face of God, cries in desperation for mercy.

And whom did God justify? Whom does He always exalt? The humble. He who humbled Himself to death on a cross is He who receives and rewards those who do the same. He went before us to make the way of salvation that we could confess and extol His glorious name. (Philippians 2:3-11)

Do our eyes get stuck and muddied on what others have done, or done to us, and so we come to God with scales of comparison? Or do we focus on amassing our twinkly piles of good deeds to outweigh our slip-ups, and present to our Sovereign, who is actually not impressed? Would we instead bow humbly, and lift our eyes in trust to the Judge who sees not our sin because of His mercy that covers every penitent sinner? In faith to the One whose scales are perfect and blindfold is the perfect blood of Christ? Because of the finished work of Jesus, God the Righteous sees believers as covered, clean, clothed in His righteousness. He who owns the scales has taken on the weight of our sin and its penalty, borne our burden to the cross, and risen victoriously. (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

“My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to His Cross, and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”  ~ Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888)

Good Father, teach me all Your cross means for my sins, including the sin of comparing myself to others. Toward You, make me humble and repentant, emptied of self-righteousness and filled with faith in Your completed work on my behalf. Toward others, may I be generous with love, grace, and forgiveness, as You have been with me.