Author: astherainandsnow

“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.” “For who has despised the day of small things?” Psalm 104:24-25; Zechariah 4:10

Walking the beach yesterday morning, I prayed through several situations and thought through my day and upcoming week, hoofing it in mind and foot at an energetic clip. My sights were ahead and beyond where I actually was. I needed to turn around because of time, and then I saw the first one: a perfect coin-sized sand dollar before me on the smooth, surf-firmed surface. I picked it up, then another, then another. Each was distinct in shade and miniature size, resting on a shell, or half-buried in the sand, or drying white in the early sun. Within minutes, because I looked, I’d found dozens, God’s tiny treasures that my distracted thinking and speed would have caused me to overlook had I not adjusted my focus. O, Lord, how much do I miss?

“ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Matthew 6:26,28-29

When I regard the small, Lord, You remind me You are great. This is the day You have made, may I rejoice and be glad in it. May I look for and savor the small things, and savor You above all. (Psalm 118:24)

Joshua finishes well. In Chapter 24, he gathers the tribes and summons Israel’s leaders, then speaks God’s words: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, and they served other gods,’ and now you dwell in a new land. In between, I took Abraham, I led, I gave children and lands, I sent Moses and Aaron, I plagued Egypt, I brought you out, I parted the sea and made it swallow the Egyptians, I brought you into the land, I destroyed the inhabitants before you, I blessed you, I delivered you, I held back the Jordan, I gave you Canaan’s leaders, ‘I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.'” 

All this, God had done for them. And then, the culmination. “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

When reminded of the truth and history, when presented with all the evidence, how can anyone choose not to serve this God–Who delivers from captivity, works wonders, preserves us all the way we go, drives out our enemies, Who is holy and jealous for us?

Captivate my attention and my affection, Lord God. Incline my heart to You and You alone, to serve and obey.

“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.”                                                                                                                -Frances Havergal (1874)

“You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2

There is always a tension in making a request, raising money, or striking a deal, over the right amount. After an agreement is sealed, we can wonder, “Did I ask enough? Would they have given/done more? Could I have paid less?” With Jesus, it’s always better and more. A limited view of Him, usually blurred by human supposing and practicality, maybe by unworthiness and weak faith, limits yield and expectation in our asking. The key is to focus on the Giver.

When the young King Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule, God lavished on him riches, honor, and long life also. When the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon bearing extravagant gifts, she was overcome. “When she had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon.” (1 Kings 3; 10:4-5,13) She learned you can’t out-give a King.

When the lame-from-birth beggar in Acts 3 sees Peter and John, he asks for alms, and is stunned by their generous reply. “Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’  And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.” He never expected this!

Bountiful God, You supply generously according to your riches in Christ Jesus. Your thoughts and ways are higher than mine. When I have need, give me boldness to ask according to all You have and are, for I know You delight to answer. To You who are able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Philippians 4:19; James 1:5; Isaiah 55:8-9; Ephesians 3:20-21)

Jesus tells a parable of laborers in a vineyard, who’ve been hired for the day, and incrementally throughout the day, by the Master. “And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled  at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’” (Matthew 20:8-15)

How insidious is comparison! How unsettling and distorting is horizontal thinking! Even a repentant, restored Peter, after Jesus’s resurrection, falls prey to the tentacles of comparison, and Jesus’s puts a stop to it with, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22)

It is certain we will not understand all our Lord’s methods and reasons, but the more we seek Him and His character, how He works sovereignly in the lives of men, the greater our confidence will be in His purposes. Some He raises up, some He brings low. Some prosper, some suffer. Throughout the Scriptures He upends the supposing of men by exercising His authority over events and people, accomplishing every good plan. He does invite our questions, but sometimes answers them not by explaining His ways but by inviting our trust.

Lord, You own all–things, resources, time past, present and future– and have the right to do as You please. Cause me to delight in that, and in You.

When asked what he loved most about his many years of ministry, Billy Graham replied, “It has been my fellowship with Jesus. To sense His presence, to glean His wisdom, to have Him guide and direct me—that has been my greatest joy.” I think Joshua might have said the same.

In Joshua 23, the humble assistant to Moses and mighty warrior-leader of Israel announces,“I am now old and well advanced in years,” then stirs Israel’s leaders with his memorable final speech. He mentions not his courageous leadership, nor his close affiliation with the famous Moses; he takes no glory for achievements or victories. His spirit and his speech are vital because as he is cloaked in and captivated by the Lord his God, they are energized by the same. His life was lived in surrendered obedience, and he never retired; Joshua’s legacy to his nation was the LORD Himself. 

Joshua exalts God, reminding Israel of His great power and fidelity to His word. “For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day.  One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have been fulfilled for you.” He energizes their allegiance to Him alone, warning against turning from God’s law to the allure of the gods or people of their new land. “If you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.” He urges care in complete devotion, love, dependence, and obedience, and reminds them of the blessings that accompany an undivided heart. 

“Even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” May I continually “bear fruit, ever full of sap and green,” my life so bundled up in You that my work and words to my last breath point others to You, good and faithful King of kings. You are the only One worthy to be worshiped and obeyed. (Psalm 92:14; 71:18)

“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” Acts 1:1-2

Luke begins his second book by explaining that the first, the gospel of Luke, was written to record Jesus’s earthly ministry; this second book, Acts, would be about all He did after He was taken up to heaven after His resurrection. In other words, Acts would tell of Christ’s invisible acts by the Holy Spirit through His people, the Church.

When people claim the Bible is dated, or even obsolete, they know not the Living Word. “Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Jesus is alive and His word is living and active. (Matthew 22:29; Hebrews 7:25; 4:12) While God’s inspired Word is itself complete, His inspiration and the work and teaching of Jesus continues. 

Luke, after describing Jesus’s promise of the Holy Spirit and His glorious ascension, gives an immediate account of this ongoing ministry of the unseen Jesus. The betrayer, Judas, needed to be replaced among the 11 apostles by one who’d accompanied them with Jesus, and two were put forward. “And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosento take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Jesus’s promise to answer our asking, seeking and knocking, and of His Helper and Counselor the Holy Spirit, had come true. His word could be trusted, His work would go on. (Acts 1:24-26; Matthew 7:7-8; John 14:26)

Lord Jesus, every work You begin You will bring to completion–in me, in loved ones, in this nation and world. Keep writing Your story. Thank You for the privilege of being both a spectator and participant in Your glorious “all.”  (Philippians 1:6)

A loved one called, undone, because her dog was lost. “He went to chase deer and did not come back. It’s been so long. I’ve looked, called his name, he’s nowhere. I’m afraid of what’s happened.”

The lost wander, run free, get distracted by all manner of enticements, and can lose their bearings, forget where they came from, be too caught up in pleasure to remember the faithful, loving Master back home.

But ah, the owner! His heart anguishes for the wanderer’s return. He never stops yearning, his search is relentless, fueled by passionate love and hope for reunion. In a parent’s case, he may not know into which tangle the child followed the strange deer, where they are in body or mind, and he can long and grieve in agony. But God, the Rightful Owner and heavenly parent, always knows where His children are, however and wherever they wander. He is never frantic; His loving pursuit is persistent, measured, perfect. His eyes are never off His own, and His grace abounds no matter what He sees.

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. The younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, he began to be in need. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. The father said, ‘This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:4-6; 11-24

Father, teach me the the lessons of the lost, and teach me Your heart. Remind me of Your lavish grace and love to all who wander, and keep me from straying.

“Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee:
prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
            seal it for thy courts above.”                                                                                                        (Robert Robinson  -1758)

In Exodus 17, Moses was bombarded with cantankerous Israelites complaining of thirst, blaming him for their discomfort. The LORD (all capitals- his covenant God) told him, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” God, gracious God, supplied water.

Then Moses was challenged by the bellicose Amalekites, and he sent Joshua to fight. Moses stood on top of a hill with God’s staff, Aaron and Hur at his sides to support him and hold up his arms when they tired. “So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” Israel, by God’s grace, prevailed. “And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, ‘A hand upon the throne of the Lord!'” Jehovah Nissi, “The LORD my banner.” What a banner He is!

The Banner my Glory, my Standard.

The Banner our identity in battle and life.

The Banner under which I stand for refuge, regrouping, respite.

The Banner where God’s people rally together for mutual encouragement and fellowship.

The Banner with which I call others for shelter, deliverance, comfort.

The Banner that leads us forward.

Jehovah Nissi, Your banner over me is love. May I wave Your banner joyfully and high, with eager heart and steady hands. You are my soul’s glory, joy, and crown. (Song of Solomon 2:4; Psalm 20:5)

“My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is greater than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” Psalm 108:1-5

I am a whistler and a hummer—it’s in my genes—so were my father and grandfather. There are times when my brain tunes in mid-way through stanza two of a favorite hymn, or well into a memorable song. David’s Psalm 108, though, is, word-for-word, a song of intentional praise. Whether it is sung (or spoken) with emphasis on the “is/will”s of God, or the active verbs “sing/make melody/awake/give thanks/sing praises,” every statement is deliberate, every word counts. Six exclamation points in five verses punctuate not only great resolve, but enthusiastic passion and wholeheartedness in his praise.

How hearty is my music to God? Does it involve my heart and all my being? Does my song awaken the dawn? Does it continue throughout the day?

“Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.

Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.”                                                                                             Frances Havergal (1874)

May I ever exalt You, Lord, by thoughtfully and constantly voicing my thanks and praise.

In Joshua 22, after war had ceased and Israel was settled in the Promised land, it came time for two and a half tribes, whose land was east of the Jordan but who had joined the nation to take over the land west, to return home and settle themselves. Joshua bid them adieu with hearty blessing and reminders to be careful to follow, love, cling to, and serve the LORD. Then they did something that stirred the pot–they built an imposing altar by their side of the Jordan River.

The people of Israel immediately jumped to the conclusion that they had broken faith and “the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.” They sent a delegation of tribal chiefs, led by wise Phinehas the priest. “What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar in rebellion against the Lord? Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. If the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord‘s land where the Lord‘s tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God.” 

Phinehas, in telling them how their decision to build their own altar was perceived, asked them questions that allowed them to explain, and to offer restoration and protection if they had fallen into wrong thinking and rebellion. His reasonable, God-directed approach and argument elicited an equally reasonable and humble ‘defense’ from them: “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you. You have no portion in the Lord.’ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.’ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord!” Matter resolved. Phinehas declared, “The LORD is in our midst,” and the eastern tribes “called the altar Witness, ‘For,’ they said, ‘it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.’”

This account, tucked into Old Testament history, is greatly instructive for our generation of video-recordings, social media, and the easily-offended. Jumping to conclusions foments unreasonable judgment and out-of-control anger that can slide into destruction of property and reputation. Oh, to be a Phinehas!

Mighty One, God, You do know all! Every motive and action is understood by You. Guard me from jumping to wrong conclusions. Give calm reason, the ability to ask good questions, and the grace to offer peaceful resolution. “Teach me good judgment and knowledge. You are good, and You do good.” As Your agents, may Your people so be and do. (Psalm 119:66,68)