Half the misery in the world comes

from trying to look,

instead of trying to be,

what one is not.

 

~ George MacDonald

 

 

Is the back as tidy as the front,

the inside as clean as the out?

Is that which is seen true and real

or the opposite of what I feel?

Do I say one thing but do another?

Is my heart truly for my brother?

Do I love those sent my way

or judge them with the words I say?

Do my actions release His peace

while my words bring chaos and dis-ease?

Is my worship an expression of my love

or just lip-service glorifying no one?

Are my offerings freely given,

or do I begrudge them and am indifferent?

 

A man's heart is a confusing maze

filled with hatred one day.

Another, filled with praise.

Who can discern, can fully comprehend

his heart's own subtle nuances?

What a puzzling treasure to defend!

 

Takes greater hands than our own,

a greater love than what is known

to rise to the task

and keep our heart safe until the last.

 

Did not He who made the outside

make the inside too?

Does He not love and cherish

and know us through and through?

Can the Creator not keep the Created

safe and true?

 

If not, then we are utterly lost.

For the last 21 years, I have somehow gotten a birthday message from God around my birthday.  These messages have come in the form of poems, verses, songs, or words spoken to me by friends. Most have been encouraging; occasionally, there was one with a little correction in it.  I cherish these personal birthday messages from above and hope that they continue to come year after year.  This is 2015's message. 

How am I to serve THE ONE I love?

reverently, humbly -

having a willing mind and heart,

thoughts and emotions in check -

never longing for what is not given,

accepting just where I am and things just as they are -

faithfully trusting in Him who trusts me to trust Him,

listening for and obeying His voice,

knowing He makes all grace abound to me -

There is sufficiency for the deeds and needs of my life and others';

therefore, be generous.

Know Him; know His will.

Wait in silence, patiently and uncomplainingly, upon His word, His move.

DO NOT MOVE OUT IN THE FLESH!

His move may cause movement,

but I will not be shaken.

Everything rests, depends upon Him -

life and length of days for me and mine -

must love Him more,

must obey Him always,

must believe in His goodness unswervingly,

must hold fast, cling to Him who holds all in His hands.



 

Hope -

one of the good four-lettered words,

steadfast companion of faith and love,

protector of purpose.

 

No hope, no faith.

No hope, no love.

No hope, no purpose.

 

Hope remembers everything good,

everything God,

and remembering increases faith

which strengthens us to love,

and in love we find purpose.

Purpose gives us life.

No hope, no life.

 

Alive, I'm Christ's.

Dead, I'm Christ's.

Whether alive or dead, I'm His,

so how can I possibly lose?

 

Awesome choice -

life or more life?

Therein, I have hope and faith and love and purpose.

I live.

Christ in me,

THE HOPE of glory - in me.

Not my hope -

the hope of all glory, of God -

in me.

 

July 13, 2003

 

 



Behind all that changes

and all that can be changed

stands the unchangeable one,

my one and only joy,

the everlasting God,

I am.

 

Nothing

and no one else last -

no gift,

no blessing,

no friendship,

no love.

 

In only Him is there no abandonment,

no neglect.

He is never indifferent,

neither forgetful nor ignorant

of my pain or lack.

 

He knows all

and cares anyway.

His means,

sufficient for my need.

His love alone,

my place of rest,

my home.

 

 

All else fails.

Yes, all.



What If . . .

"Lord, arise."
"Come, Lord."
"I want to see You; I want to hear Your voice."
"Your voice is sweet; Your face, lovely."
"O Lord, You're beautiful.  Your face is all I seek."

How many times have I sung or somehow voiced the above thoughts? Honestly, I cannot even begin to guess the number of times I've expressed these sentiments. Hopefully, I was serious and not just mouthing the words while thinking about something or someone else.

However, today I do not want to concentrate on my words of love toward God but on His to me, to all of us.  Oh yes, He does say and has been saying these same words of love to us since the beginning of the world.  He has always been keen on relationship with us.  He created us for relationship with Him above all else.

Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, is an very intimate story of a man and a woman and of their love, courtship, and marriage.  On a symbolic level, their story reflects His-story, God's story of love for His people.

This story features a love dialogue between a simple Jewish maiden and her lover along with comments by friends.  Through this dialogue, these lovers describe in intimate details their feelings for each other and their longings to be together.  It's a truly beautiful story to read and to study. 

Sometimes, our thoughts and our prayers and our songs focus on what we want and what we perceive.  In the Song of Songs, God gives us an exquisite glimpse of His desires through the words of these lovers.  Surprisingly, God's words to us sound very similar to our own words to Him.

For instance, the lover says, "Arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away." (2:10)  Here the lover's desire is for his beloved to drop what she is doing and to go be with him, just with him. 

God also wants us to take time away from everything just to be with Him.  He loves spending time with us.  He longs for a date.

Lanny and I have been married almost 39 years, and we still have trouble scheduling "date night."  This world and its "stuff and responsibilities" will come between earthly lovers and between us and our Heavenly Lover unless we are vigilant and make the most of the time we have. 

Another thing I noticed was the lovers' little endearments, nicknames.  People in love call each other names, hopefully good ones.  Often these names are derived from what one sees in the other.  The lover in Song of Songs calls the one he loves beloved, darling, fair or beautiful one.  Both of them compare the other to things in nature, things that are strong or swift or fragrant or tasty.  

I believe that these words of endearment reflect how God views us.  I believe He sees us as His beloved, His darling, His beautiful one.  None of us like to give someone a compliment only to have it shrugged off with a "He's just saying that.  He doesn't really mean it."  God longs for us to believe Him, to embrace His sweet words to us, to forget what others say and concentrate on what He alone says.
He speaks and sings words of love over us continually.

Furthermore, these lovers longed to see each other's face and to hear each other's voice. (2:14) God longs to see our face and to hear our voice.  We are important to Him, precious to Him.  Nothing in our lives is trivial to Him.  Yes, He knows everything that's going on in our lives, but He still wants us to talk to Him about it.  Not only does He want us to share everything about our lives with Him, but He also calls us lovely and says that the sound of our voice is sweet.

God has it bad for us, really bad, bad enough to make a way for us to be together forever.  How awesome is that?

Our lives are a crucible filled with joys and trials which are really just divine opportunities to love God with everything we have and are.  Each moment of every day, He speaks and calls us to come away and be with Him, to share our life with Him.  He longs for us to listen to and believe His words of encouragement, hope, comfort, correction, and love.

Many times in scripture we see the word wait in a context where we are the ones doing the waiting.  God also waits on us. 

But the Lord still waits for you to come to Him

so He can show you His love and compassion. 

For He is faithful. 

Blessed are those who wait for Him.

Isaiah 30:18 

God is always thinking about us.  He longs to be gracious to us.  I don't know how He does it, and I don't know how He can put up with us, but He does.  There is no way that He can forget about us. 

I will not forget you! 

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. 

Isaiah 49: 15-16 

Oh, what a precious word!
May we not keep Him waiting.

You cannot weary my love.

For though you have forgotten me,

I have not forgotten you.

Whilst you have busied yourselves

with your daily occupations,

I have still been occupied with you.

When your mind has been captured

by the affairs of this life,

my thoughts have been of you.

My beloved,

you cannot weary my love.

 

From Come Away, My Beloved

By Frances Roberts

     

The Mystery of Bees

In the world of bees,

all is not as it seems.

Some are workers.

Others are queens.

 

But, if destiny is true

and if Nature had her way,

all the bees in the hive

would be queens fit to reign.

 

Nature loses out, though,

for the nurses in the hive

prepare a home too small

for anything but a worker inside.

 

And the worker's meager food,

along with a cell, cramped and small,

transform something created for royalty

into something serviceable to all.

 

We are like the bees,

destined to be queens,

but chance and nurture

often prevent our royalty.

 

But God has a plan

of redemption for every man,

and a hive full of queens

is a honeyless hive indeed.

 

inspired by George MacDonald