Moments of Quiet Truth

"B y sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin , he condemned sin in the flesh," Rom. 8:3 By sending his own Son . . .      Linger long on this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      I read on a church sign that, when Christ came, the inconceivable God was conceived in a virgin's womb. The dictionary states that 'to conceive' can mean 'to form,' 'to form an idea or opinion,' or 'to express verbally.' The eternal spirit God was formed in a virgin's womb. "and the Word became flesh ." Jn. 1:14   "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard , which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life." (1 Jn. 1:1)       The verbal words of God were spoken by the Word "who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being o...

T he Holy Spirit - who is He and what does He do? Wow. These ares no mere theoretical, abstract questions. An understanding of their answers frees us to live lives that please God. Period. "Apart from me you can do nothing," Jesus said. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Lord. In seeking to develop a Bible study for ladies in Poland, I have turned to Romans 8. Not accidentally, this is the one chapter in the Bible that has more references to the Holy Spirit than any other chapter - it has the highest concentration of references to Him. I have begun to study out who He is and what He does. I hope to post my findings as I go. Meditate on these two thoughts: "Apart from me you can do nothing." and "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."  I would love to read your thoughts on these truths and what God has taught you from them.   

   W hat do you do when you've fallen flat on your face, after tripping over the same speed bump that you've run over so many times before, when you've fallen again to the lie that God is not enough to satisfy? How do you respond when God reminds you that you are a jar of clay? That you don't need people as much as you. need. Him.      You thank Him. You thank Him for showing you the reality of what is really under the trash can of your heart. You thank Him for His grace that again forgives, forgets, does not deal with you as you deserve, picks you up, and helps you try again - immediately . You praise Him that you don't need to re-earn His favor once you've fallen - it's right there - not a second late, in fact, it never left. The fellowship was broken, but not the relationship. "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven , whose sin is covered . Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity , and in whose spirit there is no...

     T hat moment when God pulls back the curtain of uncertainty and shows you truth. . . . .when God answers questions that have long run the track of your mind, questions that have caused heart angst and heaviness. . . . that moment when God shows you just the next step, after waiting long for it  . . . . that moment happened tonight. He pointed me in the direction I should go and told me to walk therein. He put some puzzle pieces in place and gave me peace about them, peace that is possible in the face of an uncertain tomorrow. He closed my heart to certain possibilities, showed me ones I still need to surrender to Him, and opened my heart to others - to waiting..      I think that waiting is the biggest puzzle piece He showed me tonight. It doesn't make sense that waiting can be something so definite and concrete, but it is. It's the next step, the next rock to leap to in the stream, the next pavement stone to tread on the path that l...

"B ut he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:9-10)      "I am content with weaknesses, insults, . . . ." Oh, what a grace that is strong, that never speaks a harsh or cutting word! It never fails, because God does not fail. God never verbally abuses His children or kicks them when they're down. He infuses them with strength and the ability to endure. He does not ask us to ignore or deny our pain - He asks us to tell Him about it. He never condemns us for it - He listens, He cradles, and He loves. "But we hold this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power is of God and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7a.      I am r...

  "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." Ps. 30:5      W hen life is confusing and hard, where can I turn? When the questions don't have answers, how do I move forward, confident of His leading? Can I? When I give up fighting hard things, how do I pick the shield and sword back up and begin to fight anew? Where do I look for my battle tactics? When life seems darkest, when my limitations, weaknesses, and failures confront me, when all of life screams at me, but God seems silent, where do I find hope? When I'm in the dark before the sunrise, where do I find light - In my need of Him, in His promises, in His peace, in His people.        It takes the times of weeping in the dark before the joy of the dawn for me to see my need of Him. This is the season of life He has given me right now. He is continuing His humbling work of grace and growing my understanding for my need of dependence on Him. I may no...

     H ow do you live, when you don't know what's next? How do you go forward when so much is uncertain? How do you live when the things you desire so strongly have been placed in front of you, you've tasted them, and they've been pulled away? How do you pursue things that might fail, backfire, or be completely turned around, that might never happen?      Submission. Submission to a God who knows what He's doing and who loves you soooooo much.      Trust - trust that life isn't greener on the other side of the fence, that He is not nor will not withhold ANYTHING good, best, incredibly, tailor-made perfect from you. Trust that you lack NO GOOD THING, that your Heavenly Father knows what you will and do have need of before you and that He knows how he will meet those needs while you're seeking His kingdom.      Truth - hard, ragged, sandpaper-rough truth. What does God want me to be doing right now? Truth that H...

A heart once broken by sin, set free by grace. Lord, fill with Your love this now empty place. Contrite and humbled, Lord help me see Your love, sufficient, poured into me. You gave sight to these once proud, blind eyes, Shone in Your light, made me more wise, Showed me my sin, loved me with grace. You have forgiv'n. I give you praise.

     N oise - w hen life fills with it - when you fill your life with it, what is it really, other than the desperate efforts to fill a void? There a  hole inside - a deep inescapable hole at my core - a hole that can only be filled with the now of the goodness of God. There is a craving for peace and rock-solid security that can only be filled in stillness.   "He drew me up out of the pit of [noise] and out of the [slippery places], and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure." Ps. 40:2      I am so prone to thrash about and desire circumstances that suit me. I am so often short-sighted and pursue life through the tunnel-vision that is my own understanding. I miss the " new song" (Ps. 40:3). I blindly walk past "the song of praise to my God." Ps. 40:3. I ignore His goodness, His trustworthiness - the God who has been "my help in ages past, my hope for years to come." I meditate on imagined conversations instead of living in ...

     H ow do you respond when you fail? What do you think about God? How do you view others? Do you blame them or seek to look at them through the eyes of grace? One song that has been going through my head these past few days focuses on the goodness and mercies of God - something I'm better realizing how constantly am in need of - is "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy," by Frederick Faber: " There's a wideness in God's mercy, Like the wideness of the sea. There's a kindness in His justice, Which is more than liberty. There's a welcome for the sinner, And more graces for [us all]. There is mercy with the Savior; There is healing, there is healing in His blood. But we make His love too narrow, By false limits of our own. And we magnify His strictness With a zeal He will not own. For the love of God is broader  Than the measure of one's mind, And the heart of the Eternal  Is most wonderfully kind. If our love were but...

     W hen you don't feel like writing because of the imperfections and fallings, the roots you've tripped over recently as you've chosen sin and self over love, in that time - write grace. Write grace that is bigger and wider and kinder and sweeter than any recluse or enemy of God ever deserved.       When you feel small, when you're hurting heart-hurts and soul-pains - write grace. When you don't want to be out in front for fear that people will see the wreck that you are - write grace and trust and following in obedience the road He lays before you right now. Wait. for. Him.      When others have hurt you by their sin and weakness and you have hurt them right back - write grace. Run to your Abba and let the cleansing blood rush over your nakedness, need, and lack. When you're worn down and wasted out and the earthen pot that is your life lies dust-filled and dry, run to your Abba and let Him fill you with the ocea...

" I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. . . .       H ow precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you." Ps. 139:14, 17-18      I am learning what it means to go to the Scripture and have it renew my mind. The security His truth brings is so stabilizing.  "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;" Ps. 63:1a "Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!"  Ps. 107:8,15,21,31 "For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Ps. 108:4 "O, the deep, deep love of Jesus,  Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!  Rolling as a mighty ocean,  In it's fullness over me!  Underneath me, all around me,  Is the current of Thy love! ...

A bba, Inside a tempest rages. The winds of confusion are blowing strong; The waves of man's opinions are crashing over the boat. Give me peace. I can't see the shore. A bba, I want to please You. I want to serve You. Show me which way to turn. What should I think? What should I pursue? Give me peace. I can't see the shore. A bba, My skiff is tiny and the sea is vast. The currents pull from all sides. I am content to go on alone And ride the waves until this storm is over, Only let me go with You. Give me grace. Give me peace, When I can't see the shore. A bba, You are my Hiding Place. You are my Peace, my Rock, my Anchor; You are the Eye of the storm, And the storm is in Your hand. You are the Answer to my cries for mercy. You are my Contentment and my Strength. Let me follow You to shore. " Peace, peace, be still. . . .. . .. "

S hakespeare wrote that ". . .Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. . ." {Sonnet 116) We live because there is that kind of love - there must be. There is a driving need, a passion, at the core of our being for that kind of love - a love that does not change and does not fail. A love that looks us square in the face, knows all about us, and is unswervingly constant to us. We strive for, search for, seek for a love that is as broad and deep as the sea and as limitless as the sky. Our very lives depend on its existence. Wh...

In the quiet, and pieces of orange In the small moments of quiet, A beauty glimmers in the stillness - Pieces of orange on the sidewalk. Fallen leaves, gently blown by the breeze, Skittering across the pathway And proclaiming, quietly, the beauty of a Creator Who asked them to die. They did not chose to have their comfort severed from them; They did not chose the distance from which they fell, But they fell without complaint, without refusal. They simply fell. They simply died. Why do I not simply fall, Simply trust the Hands That perfectly and wonderfully made me? Why do I not fall back into the Hands that love me As no other Being can love? What lies do I believe when I fight those nail-pierced Hands, When I push them away? "You will always live consistently with what you truly believe." James teaches us. You find yourself at odds with this One who only gives good and perfect gifts When you confront Him in pride, When you fight. You mar Hi...

" O L ORD, 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.  But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.  O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore ."                                                                                                              ...

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8      It is so hard to be honest with myself. I love thinking well of myself and can be quick to judge others' insight into how my actions need correction and/or thoughtful consideration. I don't like admitting when I'm wrong and I'm quick to point out the speck in my brother's eye and ignore the plank in my own. When the Lord serves us His love in the platter of humility, it can be hard to digest. But only in honest confession can I be forgiven and heal from my pride wounds.        I was meditating/re-memorizing 1 John 1 and the first part of chapter 2 this morning. The Lord used His words to apply His truths to a situation that I'm experiencing right now. "If we say we that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness [i. e. pride], we lie and do not practice the truth." (1:6), "If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His wor...

     Stillness - a place where conflict and comfort meet. A place where the soul can wrestle and ask the honest 'why's?' The question isn't "Why do I struggle and wrestle?" but, "Why don't I allow time for the stillness in which to do so?"      I struggle with honesty: Honesty with myself and honesty with my Creator. I bury the questions the beg to break through the surface of my soul and cry out for an answer. I don't want to deal with them. I don't want to face the dragons that are found on the battlefield that is my mind.      I struggle with inadequacy. Something must be wrong or broken with me if God is pleased to take treasured things away. I must not be worthy of the happiness that I imagine is good and right. Why is it that, so often, my comprehension of what is good and right is in conflict with my reality and a God whose goodness I don't always understand? How do I respond to this painful, loving discipline of...