Archives for December 2010

I always think that Shabbat is a time where we can really interact with our Heavenly Father. After all, everything we do on that day points to Him. He is the reason we assemble ourselves. On this particular Shabbat, I had a million things going on. I had to complete several tasks before I even went to service. En route, I was thinking about all the other things I had to do once I got there. I was even thinking about the things that I had to do afterwards! Driving to the service, I purposed to be present when the worship team sang “Enter My Rest”; then, I knew, I could shake off the shackles, at least momentarily, and really enter His rest.

Then the Lord showed me that I do not have to be in any special place to enter His rest. I can be at home and enter in. I can be in my car and enter in. And guess what, I can have a mile-long to-do list before me and still enter in. Sure it will take discipline — where I do not allow the things that I need to do rule my life. My greatest task, which should become my greatest joy, is to make sure that Abba is the center of my life, that He is the plumbline by which I measure all things. Abba has shown me that we can still do what we need to do for family, friends, job, and ministry and still live in the rest of God. It will take discipline, but we can do it.

Abba, thank you that your rest is not a time zone; it is not a place. I do not have to drive to get there. But I can enter your rest at anytime because you have ordained that for my life. Amen.

Question: Can you enter His rest anywhere at anytime?

Application: Try taking a deep breath, breathing in the Ruach (Spirit) and just focusing in on the Father when you get overwhelmed. Let Him know that you are overwhelmed. He can handle the news.

My niece and her husband came over today to rake my leaves. If you have ever met my dog Boomer, you know that he feels slighted if he is not allowed to be outside when others are. I could hear him from inside, barking, whining, using whatever tactic he knew would soften my heart. Well, I let him out but did not chain him. Mind you that I should have been a little more vigilant because Boomer has run away twice on my watch, much to my husband’s and son’s chagrin.

As I was caught up in conversation and gathering stray leaves (You guessed it!), Boomer had an opportunity to disappear from my sight. So I called him, realizing that my husband would not be very pleased if I had to repeat Boomer’s disappearance story a third time! So I searched for him, calling Boomer’s name so as not to alarm him if he were in earshot. I called several times — this is not looking good, I thought. I walked a few more paces, growing more alarmed with each passing moment. Then he sheepishly appeared from the neighbor’s house. I grabbed him by the collar and proceeded to chain him.

“Look at you acting like God with that dog!” my niece said. “What?” I asked. “You know if you trust him like that he will run away,” she answered. “Is that bad?” I asked, wanting to hear her response. Well, to those of us who NEED to be on lockdown, we will think it’s bad. That’s just the nature of free will,” she finished.

I know that free will can be a blessing and a curse to us — but Abba gives it to us, no matter which choice he knows we will make. Thank you, Abba, that we are always within earshot of your voice! Call us! Yell for us! Beckon us to come if we stray! It does not matter if we return sheepishly with our tails between our legs — what matters is that we return. Even though at times we may need a chain, I know you would never chain us; you love us too much to lessen your divine nature within us.  Thank you for not just acting like God with us, but BEING God.

QUESTIONS: How has he been God in your life? Do you wish that God could put you on lockdown? Did you know that having the ability to make choices is a divine trait? Have you protected that trait nobly?

As I was coming home this morning from my workout, I noticed the the storm clouds rolling in. In the distance, the ashen grey sky was becoming more pervasive. The wind was totally undressing the trees and their leaves descended in a final arabesque. I looked at the sky and noticed that the dark clouds were not totally successful in their mission, because, in the center, the sun refused to surrender to the cloud cover. Its rays stretched through the clouds, making the center ones luminescent. It seemed as if my home, in the distance, was the center of the pyramid of rays.

Of course I thought of our walk with our Father. All too often we EXPECT a ray of hope in the midst of an impending storm of trouble in our lives . . . and we want that ray to fall upon the things that matter to us. Sometimes we will see just the storm clouds and never see the ray. . . that is not to say that it is not there; sometimes we will just not see it. I believe Abba wants us to know that as clearly as the sun was there behind the clouds, He is there. It will be by faith, more often than not, that we will see Him.

Abba, your word says, “When the son of man comes, will he find faithfulness in the earth?” Let it be our faith that you find, Abba, despite the rain clouds. Amen.