Pieces of the Puzzle

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. ~2Tim 3:16-17(CEB)

One of many things that fascinate me about the Bible is how it can speak to me as an individual. This is what sets scripture apart from all other writing. It speaks to every person from every background and every generation. In order to accomplish this it was written in symbolic language.

“A symbol is a representation of a greater reality. The symbol is not the reality but points to it. In order to grasp the truth of a symbol one must not look “at” it but through it to the greater reality that awaits discovery but the one who has eyes to see and ears to hear (Matt 11:15).” ~ Rueben P. Job

Jesus spoke in parables so that his teaching would have universal and singular appeal, and for that reason he taught through parables (Mark 4:33-34). If I carefully search each Bible story it will reveal hidden truth that suits my life’s situation. If I do not take the time to search the scriptures deeply, the symbols will remain nontransparent.

It is important that I take time every day to read scriptures as if it was it was a letter written just for me – as if the writer was thinking only of me when writing. Through analogies, metaphors, parables, I can enter into a personal dialog with God. There are questions that I can ask to help me understand what insights God is trying to speak to me: (1) What is this scripture saying to me about God? (2) What is this scripture telling me about myself? (3) What is the scripture saying to me about how God calls me to be in service to Him?

Heavenly Father, I stand amazed at how You speak to me today through something written over 2,000 years ago. Train me in the way that I need so I may be equipped for Your good work. Amen.

Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive. ~Matt 21:22 (NRSV)

Not just in the Psalms can prayers be found but throughout the Bible. They are beautiful and I love when I come across them in my Bible reading. Here is a prayer that I want to share with you. Paul has written this prayer to the Ephesians but we can claim this prayer for ourselves today.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ~Eph3:14-21 (NRSV)

Heavenly Father, I embrace this prayer as my own today. Grant strength and power through you Holy Spirit. Allow Christ to dwell in my heart so that I may know that love that surpasses all knowledge. I pray for You to work in me to accomplish abundantly more than I can ever imagine for Your glory and honor. Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.~ Phil 4:4-7 (NRSV)

“Rejoice in the Lord always” doesn’t end with,”unless you are doing something really important”. No, it’s a command, “Rejoice always”. When I am consumed by my problems – my family, my job, my life, I am actually conveying the belief that my circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, I am saying that I have the right to disobey God’s command because of the magnitude of my responsibilities. My focus on my problems puts my problems first. This is a form of idolatry- taking my focus away from God.

Following the command to rejoice always is the command to not worry. Worry implies that I do not trust God with my circumstances. Is not the God who flung the stars into space not big enough to handle my problems? Is not the God who moves continents not strong enough to fix my situation? Is not the God who sent His only Son into the world to die on a cross for my sins not loving enough to hear my prayers?

Being stressed says that what I am involved in, merits my impatience, lack of grace toward others or my tight grip on control. Worry and stress say that I have forgotten that it is really not about me. God has a big picture and I am a part of it. The picture isn’t about me. The picture is God’s.

The chorus from a song has been running through my mind today, ” There are things about tomorrow That I don’t seem to understand But I know who holds tomorrow And I know who holds my hand.” So what do I gain from putting God first and trusting Him to take care of my tomorrows? Verse seven says that the peace that passes all understanding will guard my heart and mind.

No matter how hard I try to control the situation, I don’t know what tomorrow looks like. I do know, because the Bible tells me, that I am to always rejoice, to give thanks in every situation and to not worry. I also know that the One who began a good work in me will bring it to completion (Phil 1:6).

Heavenly Father, may I live this day trusting that you hold all my tomorrows. When feelings of anxiety creep back in, may that be my signal that I have lost my focus reminding me to look back to you. Amen.

Pay attention, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such- and- such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit.” You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes.~James 4:13-14 (CEB)

What if tomorrow is too late? What things am I putting off to tomorrow that should be done today? It is easy to go about thinking this is just another ordinary day. What would I do differently if I knew tomorrow wouldn’t come?

On an average day, I am caught up in myself. On an average day, I don’t consider God very much. On an average day, I truly forget that I am just a vapor. “The LORD does indeed know human thoughts, knows that they are nothing but a puff of air.” Psalm 94:11

If I knew that I would not be here tomorrow would I give more? Love more? Would I be braver to say the things that must be said? What should I do differently today in case tomorrow never came?

Lord, may I not live this day as if I will live forever. Amen.

I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. ~Jer. 3:15 (NRSV)

We were not meant to walk this road of life alone. Jesus lived his life in community. From his childhood to his calling and traveling with disciples Jesus lived in community. A community of faith nurtured him, supported him and informed him (who do the crowds say I am?) We too are meant to live in a community. How else are we to find the strength to live a faithful life without the gifts offered in a faithful community of Jesus? Jesus was known for valuing solitude since he retired to rest and pray, but living in community also marked his life.

It is easy for me to forget the importance of Christian community. Susanne G. Farnham in her book Listening Hearts, states the importance of community, “Although God calls each of us personally, as individuals we see only partially. Individual perception, reasoning, and understanding are always limited. Even a person who feels absolutely certain that a specific revelation is from God may be mistaken as to how it is to be applied. Because God often reveals part of the picture to one person and another part to another person, it is prudent to consult one another to discern God’s counsel, guidance, and direction, even if there is no apparent reason to do so. While circumstances sometimes require us to ask without consulting others, the danger of arrogance and error in proceeding on our own can be great.”

Heavenly Father I thank You for surrounding me with people that help me discern Your will in my life. Without others perspective into my life I would not always understand the picture you have painted for me. I thank You for the counsel, guidance and direction that You have spoken into my life through others. Amen.

Your faithful love is priceless, God! Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings. ~Psalms 36:7

Jesus is called Emmanuel which means “God-with-us” (Matthew 1:22-23). Jesus came into the world to be with us and to guide us with his example for living. During his time on earth, Jesus was in no way influenced by human blame or praise but was completely dependent on God’s will. Jesus was able to have deep compassion because his life was guided not by human respect but only by the love of his heavenly Father. In reading my Bible, Jesus is with me guiding me through the examples shown to me in the Bible. Allowing myself to be guided by God’s will frees me to love others.

When it is no longer about “me”, about my trying to get human respect, I am free to love. Allowing myself to be guided by God’s will frees me to love as He wants me to love. When I find my security through Jesus, the love, peace, joy and hope that He pours into me overflows to others (Romans 13:13). We are to be rooted in Jesus. With our roots firmly planted in his truth and established in faith, we won’t be enslaved by foolish deception (Colossians 2:7). Loving God with all my heart and all my strength and loving my neighbor is the most important thing that I can offer to Him (Mark 12:33).

Heavenly Father, I struggle daily with “self”. I want to love those around me with the love Christ has shown me. May I honor you this day through showing Christ’s love to others. Amen.

A joyful heart helps healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. ~Proverbs 17:22 (CEB)

I once was lost. Even though I had grown up in a Christian home, brought up in church and believed in God with my whole heart I still found myself lost one day. Life’s circumstances can do that sometimes. Whether it is bad choices or not paying attention we can find ourselves in a place we don’t want to be. After a 5 year journey, I have just begun to realize it has not been so much my obedience to do His will that God had in His plans when He came after me. He wanted to heal my broken heart along the way. Who knew?

Today I am a mosaic pieced back together by the Master Creator. So often we think when something has been shattered that there is no value left. When I allowed God to mend what I had deemed beyond repair, I found that there could still be beauty. It is a different kind of beauty. I am not what I once was, but with the Light shining through me, I am more beautiful than even before my heart was shattered. Not only am I whole again but I find that I still have value in God’s eyes.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for seeking me, for relentlessly pursuing me. I thank you for going into the depths to pull me out. You not only sought me out, You healed me. May I always remember to be thankful. Amen.

Send your light and truth—those will guide me! Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling place. ~Psalm 43:3 (CEB)

Now that I have discovered the navigation app on my phone I have gotten to where I will use the application even for some trips that I feel rather confident about. It has been fun to see if there are better ways to get where I need to go or to see if the route I have been choosing has been the best way all along. A few days ago I had it on while driving through slightly familiar parts when I realized that my phone was warning me of upcoming trouble. On I-24 just outside of Clarkesville, there were major traffic problems and my phone was adjusting my travel time by 15-20 min to allow for the blockage. Now that I knew there was a situation I had to make a decision whether to continue on my regular route that would take me through the situation stop, somewhere and wait out the traffic or use my phone and find an additional route to avoid the situation all together.

From where I was I could not see any problems. My driving was not being hindered at all at the moment. Should I rely on what the phone was telling me or just take my chances? Whether to trust my phone or not that was the question. After a short discussion with myself, I decided to find an alternate route. My phone was quick to show me that I could drive on a highway that was parallel to the interstate for eleven miles and get onto the interstate at a different point. Following this suggestion didn’t save me much time but it would save me the aggravation and stress of sitting in traffic.

Relying on the Holy Spirit more in my life makes my travels easier as well. The Holy Spirit can see ahead to things beyond my sight. If I follow the Holy Spirit’s leading it can steer me clear of roadblocks and dangers, sidestepping much aggravation and stress. The more I trust the Holy Spirit for what I can’t see the more confident my travels through life will be. I still have to travel this life. That is not an option but I can seek God even before things become bigger than me. God will help me to be more than I am handling each situation as it comes. Fear and anxiety may always camp near my back door, but the Holy Spirit helps me to keep them at bay. I keep finding myself overwhelmed and balking at change but the Holy Spirit empowers me and gives me strength to live each day.

Heavenly Father I thank you for Your Holy Spirit that lives in me. I thank you that I can count of Your guidance in my daily life.  May it always draw my closer to You. Amen

But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Jesus replied, A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took two full days worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs. ~Luke 10:32-35 (CEB)

While visiting my parents for the Memorial weekend, my dad shared with me a perspective from the parable Jesus told to help us understand the question, “who is our neighbor?” Usually, when we hear a lesson or sermon about this scripture we hear thoughts on the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan. My dad shared with me some ideas from the perspective of the man who was injured.

Jesus probably intended the hearers to think of the injured man as a fellow Jew since the traveler was coming from Jerusalem. What could the man have been thinking laying there injured and vulnerable? When I have heard the story before, I imagined in my mind’s eye that the man is lying there unconscious and oblivious to the Priest and Levite passing him by. But what if he wasn’t? Can you imagine how he felt when his fellow Jews passed him by? I have heard theories of why these men may have passed by this man lying there… they didn’t want to break any laws that would make them unclean and then not be able to participate in the temple duties, they didn’t want to fall for a setup that then put themselves in danger. How frightening might it be to see your chance of help walk on by?

Then here comes the Samaritan. Is he going to finish off the job the robbers started? This is the last place he expected a helping hand. After the Samaritan has not only saved him and cleaned his injuries he brings him to an inn.  What costs is the injured man going to incur while he lays there helpless? But then further surprise of surprises the Samaritan pays his bill. When you pray for help, you never know who God might send.

Heavenly Father, sometimes You send me help from the last place I expect help to come. May I always be open to Your care no matter from where that help comes. Amen.