Claire's Prayer

It’s so very easy in our busy, hurried lives to slip into a state of ingratitude, one where we forget our countless blessings and comforts.  Almost a place of autopilot where we go through the motions every day and lose sight of the goodness and greatness of our God.  One where we miss the beauty, overlook the wonder of God’s creation, or take for granted the gifts of our children and family. 

I remember how, as a child my mother would sing a song to me, a timeless song, one written in 1897, I’m sure you know it!  “𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦!” Can you hear it echoing in your head?  I went on to sing it to my children and perhaps it will continue to resound through the ages.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀!  In 1 Sam 7:12 we see Samuel doing exactly this, “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒛𝒑𝒂𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑬𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔.” Samuel set up an Ebenezer stone, a place of remembrance, a place where God’s children could remember that He had parted the Red Sea, caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, stopped the sun in the sky, caused water to flow from a rock, provided for them night and day as they wandered through the wilderness, and the list goes on. 

So many blessings!  It was a stone to remind them that God had redeemed them, that they were victorious, that they served a God who is faithful, always responding to their cries for help, and a God who continuously provides.  But it was more than a stone that reminded them of their Creators goodness, it was a stone that pointed to the future, bearing witness that they served a God who would be their help forever.  An Ebenezer stone.

Samuel was right.  Time and time again the Great I Am, stepped in and saved His children, over and over He delivered them, even when they were disobedient and didn’t remember His greatness.  Through the years and the books of the Old Testament and through to the New, God helped them. 

And now, centuries after Samuel raised that Ebenezer Stone, here we stand and if we take the time to remember, to count our blessings we will realize that God still helps us, that He has delivered us, saved us, set us free, healed us, done miracles for us, and will continue to all the way into eternity.  Join me today and let’s remember, “𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆; 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅.”  (Isaiah 12:4)

Imagine for a moment, a fierce, raging battle and a soldier who, in the midst of the battle, sees a table set for him. Everything he needs is on that table, everything that will sustain him for the battle ahead. His Master stands waiting, anointing oil in hand, kindness in His smile. The soldier looks beyond the table and sees the enemy and the raging war. Instead of taking the time to be refueled, refreshed, renewed, equipped, and prepared all he can think about is the battle, how fierce it is, how much there is to do, how he needs to engage! And so, he bypasses the table and rushes into battle. His intentions are good -“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮!”

Before long he begins to tire, he hasn’t taken the time to eat, no time for the bread of life. His throat is raw and parched – no time for the overflowing cup, the living water, the eternal cup. The sun beats down mercilessly upon his head, no healing, restoring, anointing oil. His knees begin to buckle. No strength. He did not wait on the LORD who would have prepared him for the ferocity of this battle. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.

Isn’t this true of us? We look at all we must accomplish in a day and just throw ourselves into the fray. I am so guilty of this myself! You might even be doing ministry work – for the King and His Kingdom! But if you don’t stop at the table, let your Abba Father anoint your head, and fill your cup, you won’t get very far in the battle before you begin to falter.

“𝐿𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐹𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 – 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒. 𝒯𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓈, 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝓊𝓅𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓊𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓊𝒸𝒸𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒹𝒶𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓊𝓈, 𝓇𝑒𝒻𝓇𝑒𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓊𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓊𝓈. 𝒲𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝐿𝒪𝑅𝒟.”

I would say that I’m in foodie in every sense of the word! I love to eat, love different cuisines, and trying something new but I always go back to my favorites, Indian, Thai, or South African dishes. The very first forkful of that favorite dish is so very satisfying, the flavors, the aroma, the textures all mixing in perfect harmony. A perfect bite!

No wonder Psalm 34:8 says; “𝑶𝒉, 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅; 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒎!” Taste is such an important sense, and I’m sure David knew when he wrote this that if you had a tiny taste of the LORD’s goodness you would certainly want a bite. And once you had a bite you would want a spoonful. Of course, if you had a spoonful, you would want the whole bowl and then you would want the feast, that banqueting table set before you!

The interesting thing about tasting God’s goodness is that the more you taste, the more you want, and the more you want the more there is, totally contrary to that Chicken Tikka Masala! The more I eat of natural food the fuller I feel, and the more I eat the less there is.

Anyone can tell you that honey is sweet, so deliciously sweet, and can describe the crunch of a good slice of toast but you will never fully understand what they are talking about until you try it yourself. How do we taste and see that the LORD is good? By taking a bite out of the Word of God, by digging into a meal of the Holy Bible. Hebrews 6:5 talks about those who have, “𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.”

Today I pray that you would begin to dig into the Word of God, that you would take a taste and see for yourself how very good God is, how you can absolutely trust Him and take Him at His Word. I pray that as you taste you would then want the bowl, and the feast, and would always have a longing to be found in God’s Word. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲!

ℝ𝕖𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟. What a beautiful word.  A word that brings life in a dark place, hope for even the most hopeless.  When I speak the word out loud it brings so much joy to my heart.  The knowledge that the Father will go to any lengths to redeem His children is too wonderful to comprehend.  One of my favorite tales in the Old Testament is the beautiful love story pictured in the book of Ruth.  A fabulous story of redemption that is set like a diamond, in the wicked and distressing times of the Judges.

Ruth, a Moabite, who had just lost her husband took a vow to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to her homeland.  In Israel there were laws that provided for the widow and the orphan, unlike any other country.  There, in Bethlehem, Ruth meets Boaz, a distant relation of Naomi and a wonderful story of match making, redemption, and love begins. 

In Hebrew law, if a foreigner married an Israelite, you instantly became part of the family of God!  But if your husband died and you had no son you were now out in the cold, no longer a member of God’s family.  This was why a widow would marry a brother or a close relative of her husband.  He was her kinsman redeemer bringing her back into the family of God.  If you were approached by that widow and she asked you to marry her, it was a huge disgrace to say ‘No.’  So disgraceful in fact that you would lose your standing in the community, perhaps even your business and livelihood. 

But the man who said yes, that wonderful kinsman redeemer, would agree to marry the widow and agree to pay off all off the debts of his bride to be before he even knew what they were!  Oh, how that brings tears to my eyes.  𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.

𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂.  𝗛𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲.   𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲?  𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲!  Because of your redemption you are welcomed into the family with jubilation.  Home, safe, part of God’s family.  Boaz moved heaven and earth to marry Ruth, showering her with kindness, gifts, generosity, and love just as your Savior does for you.  Boaz was Ruth’s kinsman redeemer ensuring that she was part of the family of the Great I Am and as a result Ruth is recorded as being an ancestor of the greatest Redeemer of all.  𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.   𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿!

In 1956, Harry de Leyer, a riding instructor, attended an auction in Pennsylvania with the purpose of purchasing a horse for his more nervous riders. Driving in his old station wagon, Harry arrived too late, the sale was over. Not wanting to return empty-handed Harry looked at the horses heading to the slaughterhouse and made an offer on an old, manure and dirt covered, grey horse with kind eyes. On returning home when his daughter saw the horse on that snowy winter’s day, she named him Snowman.

After several years Harry sold the horse to his neighbor, but Snowman repeatedly jumped over the fence and came back to the family he knew and loved. Even when the neighbor built a higher fence and tied a tire to the horse, Snowman would still jump over the fence, tire, and all! And so, Harry, who had always wanted a show jumper began to train the Snowman. I’m sure you can imagine the faces and laughter of those at his first competition as Harry rode into the ring on this common grey horse, scarred by his early life! But this old grey horse had the last laugh and beat them all. During his five-year career Snowman won all the prominent jumping competitions in America, was named horse of the year and in 1992 inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.

Doesn’t this story fill your heart with joy, we all love a tale when the underdog wins the day! It reminded me of a verse in Psalms 40:2; “𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈.” Jesus took me, a sinner, covered in mud, dirt on my feet, the scars of a battered life evident on my skin and set me on the solid rock, He washed my dirty and weary feet and set a banqueting table before me!

God sees the potential in our tired and tear-stained eyes, rescues us from the slaughterhouse, knowing that He can take you from glory to glory! Our Abba Father sees us as someone who can be molded like potters’ clay into something useful, something beautiful, outstanding even. Truly He is the God of miracles.

Thankful for a Father who sees potential!

Life often seems to be a series of waiting. Waiting for prayers to be answered. Waiting for a doctor’s report. Waiting for a loan, a problem to be solved, a reply, a resolution. Paul and Silas have been on my mind, the earthquake that flung all the doors open in spectacular fashion setting them free! “𝑨𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒚𝒎𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒌𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇𝒇.” (Acts 16:26) What a victory! What a celebration! But the truth is Paul and Silas played that same waiting game.

Earlier in their story Paul and Silas were seized by the crowd, they were stripped and severely beaten. Surely, they cried out to God to save them, deliver them, spare them from this pain. But nothing happened, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁! Thrown into a dark, inner dungeon, their feet clamped in uncomfortable stocks, surely the pleading of their hearts was, ‘𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋!’ But again – 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁. Then something remarkable happened, Paul and Silas began to sing! They began to praise!

And as they did, “𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.” They were listening and watching Paul and Silas, and in the same way the world is watching you. They are listening to what you have to say, to how you handle this time of waiting. Will you grumble and complain like an Israelite in the desert or praise The Great I Am?

‘Around midnight’ – literally just before the clock struck twelve, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘄! Not only were Paul and Silas set free but all those within the sound of their voices. Does the LORD say, “Now!” right at the time of maximum impact? Does our Father, in all His wisdom, wait until those that are in chains are paying attention and listening, when the answer to those prayers will influence many and not just one?

And so, I find myself, with many of you, in that season of 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁, with an awakened desire to find joy in the in-between, to praise God in the waiting, to join hands with my Abba Father, praying that even in the 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁 my life would have maximum impact on those around me.

Praying you would find joy in the 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁.

The parable of the Seed and the Sower – one of my very favorite parables and a much loved one about which many messages have been preached.  If you haven’t read it yet, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the passage in Matthew 13:1-23.

In verse 3 we hear that, “𝑨 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅.” Jesus is that good farmer and, in this instance, you are that field, the one our Savior sews all that seed into.  Some of that seed fell on the path, some in rocky places, some among thorns, and some on good soil.  In each circumstance, but the last one, the seed was lost, either eaten, scorched, or choked.  Only that which fell on the good soil produced an abundant crop, way more than was sown!  My first thought when reading this was, ‘𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗, 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹?’

Of course, we need to know what good seed is, vs 19 tells us; “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕.”  That seed is the message of The Kingdom, and the knowledge of The Kingdom is in the Word of God.  In many ways we can be like each of the four places where the seed is sown, David Guzik puts it like this.

• Like the wayside, sometimes we allow the Word no room at all in our lives. 
• Like the stony places, we sometimes have flashes of enthusiasm in receiving the Word that quickly burns out.
• Like the soil among thorns, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are constantly threatening to choke out God’s Word and our faithfulness.
• Like the good ground, the Word bears fruit in our lives.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥.  𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 

I absolutely love to garden, every year I get the soil ready, I use my garden fork to soften the ground, breaking up the clods, I add fertilizer, I pull out every weed no matter how small!  It’s a lot of work.  Then I put in my flowers, my seeds, and wait expectantly. Before long, tiny plants will poke their sweet heads above the soil and before long I have a glorious array of blossoms that feed many butterflies and bees!  But when the winter comes, I pull up the flowers and don’t touch the soil.  In no time at all, all kinds of weeds are growing, the soil becomes hard as a rock.  Why?  Because that soil is getting no attention at all.  𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.

Will you take the time to consider the condition of your soil?  Will you attend to your soil regularly, reading the Word of God, allowing it to take root in your life?  Will you constantly turn your cares over to Jesus, thus ensuring that God’s Word is not choked out?  Will you do the work?  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘄𝗻.

Sometimes when I set aside time to pray, I don’t want to do it wrong, I want to do it right. I don’t want to be the one Solomon spoke about in Ecclesiastes 5:2; “𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅. 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒘.”

When I was in my teens, we were taught to pray the ‘ACTS’ way. Adoration – Confession – Thanksgiving – Supplication. Should I stick to this methodology? Is this the ‘right’ way? Before I know it 30 minutes has passed as I worry about getting it right!

I know that we are told to come ‘boldly’ into the presence of God. “𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅.” Hebrews 4:16. But what does ‘boldy’ look like? It’s certainly not brash or with a sense of entitlement!

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 is what my Strong’s Concordance tells me. With confidence and free from any kind of fear, the ability to pour out your heart before the King. Before a throne of grace, unmerited favor, and merciful kindness!

Spurgeon puts it way better than I ever could; “𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺?”

At the end of the day, I think I make things too complicated. Our Bridegroom is approachable. There is no perfect way or ‘right way’ to talk to our Father. He longs for us to come to Him in confidence, with honesty, and openness in our hearts.

Today I pray that you wouldn’t delay, that you would know the freedom you have to approach your Savior, He welcomes you into His presence with open arms! Pour out your heart to Him knowing that He listens with avid attention and responds to the cry of your heart.

For years, when my little girl was small (not so little, 24, but still my little girl!) we had a tradition at bedtime. She tells me she loves me, and I tell her I love her more. It can then go on to I love you more than more or even I love you more than more than more! At the end of it all we both know that we love each other!

Today as I sat with the LORD praying for my children, I thought about my son and how much I love him and the LORD said, “ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴍᴏʀᴇ! ɪɴ ꜰᴀᴄᴛ, ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴍᴏʀᴇ. ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ!” I let his love wash over me bringing me peace, knowing that the Savior, Redeemer, Protector, Jesus Christ loved my children more than more than more.

I sat in the glow of His love knowing that He loves me more than more than more. He loves me the most. No matter how much I think I love Him, He loves me more! Not matter how many times I think about Him during the day, He thinks about me more.

Romans 8:38-39 says; “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅.”

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. Not death, not the enemy, not principalities, because He loves you more. Nothing in your present-day situation or things that will come can separate you from His love, because He loves you more. His love covers a multitude of sins; it’s the kind of love that makes us children of God (1 Jn 3:1). It’s a love that will bring you joy when you abide in it (Jn 15), a love that lays down His life for you (Jn 15). A jealous love, a love as strong as death, a love that cannot be quenched (SOS 8:6-7). A love that prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies and anoints your head with oil (Ps23:5) Jesus’ love is steadfast, everlasting, a covenant of love (Deut 7:1).

𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁!

Many years ago, my daughter and I babysat the sweetest little toddler every Monday and Tuesday. We would take so much delight in him making all kinds of silly noises to make him giggle and sometimes he would copy what we were doing, in turn making us laugh. If we clicked our tongues, he would click his. If we pretended to cough, he would cough and if we clapped our hands, he would clap his. 𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲.

Eph 5:1a tells us; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏.” We need to watch and observe our Heavenly Father, how does He behave, what would His response be in this situation? The ‘therefore’ tells us that the verses before Ephesians 5 are speaking on the same subject. “𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑩𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (Eph 4:31-32)

We need to be kind and tenderhearted, quick to forgive, just like our Father. We need to walk in love, just like our Father. If we study the bible, we will find a God who is good, kind, patient, faithful, humble, loving, forgiving, joyful, peaceful, tenderhearted, oh, did I say patient?! Thank you, LORD, that you are patient with me. This one who is so slow to learn!

I could go on and on and fill this page with all the beautiful character traits that make up this incredible, Almighty God of ours. Traits that we are called to imitate. Just as that little toddler made us smile when he clapped his sweet hands so will the Father smile as we imitate him and move in kindness, or perhaps finally forgive. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻!