"Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot percieve Him; when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. But he knows the way I take; when He has teastd me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of HIs mouth more than my necessary food. But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He preforms what is appointed for me, an many such things are with Him. " Job 23.8-15

I just read that for the first time today. I love it! It's beautiful and challenging and comforting all at once. We can't always see Him work but we see the work when it's done.

Babies and flowers. Both are hidden for a time. But when the time is accomplished, they burst forth in beauty and testify of our Creator.

How's Your Oil Level?

Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel of the LORD. And He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich garments...... If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command.... I will give you places to walk among those who stand here."

I don't really know anything about the pastor I listened to on Sunday morning. I've heard him preach but I've never seen him up close before. He preaches with straightforward, unashamed passion. Passion is like salt.... once you've had a taste, you want more. He preached on the parable of the 10 virgins. Some were wise, some were foolish. Some had oil, others did not. Oil is passion, the overflowing result of faith that is rock solid. The certainty that you are in fellowship with God, that you are covered with Lamb's blood.

If I believe that those verses above are true then I should be an oil well bigger than anything ever discovered in the Middle East. Change the names and pronouns..... Now I was clothed in filthy garments and stood before the Angel of the LORD... and He said, "Take away those filthy garments from HER. ' He said to ME, "See I have taken away YOUR iniquity......

How's your oil level?

The Glory of God

What is the glory of God? It is who God is. It is the essence of His nature, the weight of His importance, the radiance of His splendor, the demonstration of His power, the atmosphere of His presence. God's glory is the expression of His goodness and all His other intrinsic, eternal qualities.

Where is the glory of God? Just look around. Everything created by God reflects His glory in some way. We see it everywhere, from the smallest microscopic form of life to the vast Milky Way, from sunsets and stars to storms and seasons.

God's inherent glory is what He possesses because He is God. It is in His nature. We cannot add anything to His glory, just as it would be impossible for us to make the sun shine brighter. But we are commanded to recognize HIs glory, honor His glory, declare His glory, praise His glory, reflect His glory, and live for His glory.

-Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

His Voice

The mind of God is so unfathomable.

How obvious I know. But it's something I have to remind myself of. I can not know the ways or the reasons of God. They are high above me. They are of a nature that I am not. So I cannot comprehend them.

But they are perfect. Always perfect.
Perfect in their timing.
Perfect in their execution.
Perfect in their plan.

They are of God... YHWH... Adoni.... the Master Craftsman.

Sometimes I wait and wait and wait.... and wait. And I still see no flashes of light. No thunder claps. No big neon signs. And I forget that sometimes He is harder to hear than that. Sometimes He wants you to try to hear Him. To work at it, to be close enough to Him to hear in the silence.

Wait upon the LORD. Yes, wait for Him.

Where are you going?

Today we went to the viewing of an older lady from our church who had died. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were there. Lots of people who had known her came. Young people, middle aged, old people.

As I was walking back out to the car my shoes were making a clipping on the pavement. I realized that with every step I was getting closer to the car.

I thought about how our lives are like that. Every step we take... every new person we meet... every decision we make... every place we go... every word we say.... it's all one step closer to where we're going.

No one can stand still. Life moves on and we move with it.

I know where I'm going. I'm going to where my Lord has already prepared a place for me. I'm going Home.

But I'm not there yet. The path by which I will get there has already been decided but I have yet to find out about it. I still have places to go... people to meet... work to do. Will I make a difference in someone's life? Will someone be changed because they knew me? Will I do as Jesus commanded and tell all nations about the life that He freely offers? When it's my turn to lie in the coffin, will people come and say, "I found the truth because of her?"

My path is unclear but my destination is settled.

Where are you going?

Stand for Life

I've grown up with babies. All my life there's been babies around me. My little siblings, my little cousins and now children of my siblings and cousins.
Babies at church. Babysitting jobs. Babies are everywhere.
My parents have always taught me about the sanctity of life and the importance of protecting the unborn. I knew abortion was a horrible thing. I read a very mild description in my 10th grade Biology book and it made me sick for days whenever I thought of it.
I guess I'm kind of a visual person. I saw a video this past week done by a couple of students that went undercover to Planned Parenthood center and had a counseling session with a PP rep. The disgusting lies that they told those girls! There was no real life at stake but those same words have been repeated millions of times across our nation. Millions of girls and women have been led astray by the lies that the development inside them is not a baby, it's just a group of cells. That abortions are safer than births. Go to liveaction.org and click on the projects button. Watch the videos.
I was ashamed of my own ignorance of what really goes on during an abortion. The horror.... the pain... and all the lies. But now...
Life isn't sacred in America anymore. But to followers of the Creator of life, it must always be sacred. It must be defended. In the courtrooms... in the hospitals... in the church... on the street.
Anywhere and everywhere that we are, we must bring the truth. The truth that life is precious. That abortion is wrong. That there is forgiveness and love and a God Who can make them whole.
When you are confronted with the lies that our society would have us believe, choose to stand for for truth.
Choose to stand for LIFE.