Inhaling His Whispers of Rich Grace

  And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine."  And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you." Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted."                                                                                                                      I Samuel 17:37,45 The battle line was drawn.  A giant approached it every day, twice a day for forty days.  And the other side, the Israelites, w...

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.  I Corinthians 13:12 Jesus words and the Christian life is paradoxical... ~ Give and you will have running over. ~ If someone wants you to go one mile, go two.  Go beyond for the sake of Jesus. ~ Share your own burdens and yet we're told to bear our own burdens. ~ The darkness has treasures all of its own and it's in the dark that real growth happens. ~ We are told to believe on Jesus by faith and yet we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. ... and more. These paradoxes are hard to understand fully and sometimes I find very hard to know how to live out. Some day we shall see clearly and I look forward to that day.  Some day we will see and know in the way that Jesus sees and knows now. Until then, I have learned His goodness is who He is and I trust Him.  The one thing we can do is to stay....

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.  Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?  I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.  The beasts of the field will glorify Me; the jackals and the ostriches because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.  The people whom I formed for Myself, will declare My praise.  Isaiah 43:18-21 Something new! Yes, hope where hope seems to be nowhere possible. Deserts. Wildernesses.  Oh friend, that's our Jesus! He delights in making those roadways and rivers. Why? So we will declare His praise. So we see Him. Let's be sure to stay with Him in the desert and wilderness and wait for the way He works. And then, give Him the praise and glory!!

  As I was reading God's Words I read this verse in Numbers 27:5 (NAS), And Moses brought their case before the Lord. It really impacted me. Moses knew where to go with his dilemma, his hard situation.  As a leader, he didn't know what to do but he knew where to go - to God. It wasn't the first time he didn't know what to do and it wasn't the first time I read those words.  But today, facing unknowns, and in numerous situations of not knowing what to do; fear continues to lurk on the fringes and pull me in to take matters in my own hands or push someone forward. God reminded me... 'No, come to Me.  Bring your case or cases to Me and listen.  Listen for My Voice.  Listen to My Truth, I will lead and direct.' Jesus is Truth and when we stay with Him we find our way.  He can untangle threads and knots in ways that surpass my understanding and in ways that only He can; and so I surrender to Him and lean in to Him. Maybe today, you too, are struggling with ...

 And the LORD said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited?  Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."  Numbers11:23  As the people of Israel set out from Mount Sinai, after experiencing the provision of God and yet forgetting them; they once more think of Egypt and all the food they had there.  I get that, after walking in the wilderness, eating manna day after day, it would get old being hot and eating the same thing and your mind would wander back to those days in Egypt when you could have all the food you wanted.  They are remembering the free fish, the cucumbers, the melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.  Tasty foods.  And the wandering of the days intensified the taste of what they once had. In their remembering the food, they forgot the slavery.  They forgot what they were rescued from.  They had cried out in desperation to be freed from the Egyptian slavery only now to want to go back for food. Moses was distr...

  And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.   John 8:32 Jesus is the Truth. And He can set you free!  Free from the lies we believe about ourselves, about Him, of how we've interpreted and framed the hard things we've experienced.  I know all about this and I'm sure you do too. Because the enemy that came to Eve those many years ago, comes to us, whispering, distorting truth, distorting our view of God, twisting His words; just like he did to Eve. Satan said, "Yeah, hath God said?" And the words he continued to say twisted what God actually said.  This enemy is still our enemy, prowling around to see who he can devour; stealing, killing the life and truth of God in our hearts. He is bent on destroying God and uses what happens to us to get us to run away from God; running from Life itself. When those hard moments happen, the rejection, the loss of a loved one, etc; Satan delights in whispering those lies and twisted truths of ... is Go...

  For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father. John 16:27   This verse is tucked in among the words Jesus was speaking to His disciples about His Father and Him returning to His Father.   Somehow, in our brokenness, we struggle to believe we are loveable.   If you listen closely, you don’t need to wait long until you hear the ache of wondering if someone wonders if they are loveable, enjoyed, wanted.  Even the disciples, the people who walked and lived in the presence of Jesus, wondered about His love.   Satan so wants us to believe we are separated from God.   That’s actually what he wanted from the very moment he spoke to Eve and got her to question God’s intent toward her was good and His provision enough.   That moment brought separation, death, but not from God loving us.   His love remains, but we must choose it.   We must choose to believe God i...