When a voice speaks that steals peace, kills joy & attempts to destroy Truth, it’s not His.

Have you ever experienced a moment where it feels like darkness encroaches? I did last night. I laid awake allowing my thoughts to wonder, causing my heart to wander far from what I know to be true. It wasn’t until 3am that I realized how my thoughts led me to resurrect junk that’s already dead, buried & redeemed for better things. I prayed out loud, calling on Jesus’s name to rescue me.

Jesus reminds us that the enemy’s aim is to steal, kill & destroy, but His purpose is to give a rich & satisfying life.

I read about King Saul’s pursuit of David today. Saul wrongly believed David was out to kill him so his thoughts became fixated on killing David.

They finally end up on opposite sides of a mountain & just when Saul’s men begin to close in, an urgent message arrives calling Saul & his men to defend Israel against the attacking Phillistines.

The passage closes with a sentence that reads like neon lights:

Ever since that time, the place…has been called the Rock of Escape.

What comes to mind when you read that?

If you’re like me, maybe you thought of Jesus, our bedrock of unshakable protection & safety?

The phrase literally means the Cliff of Division. It’s the place where the heart of the king was divided, should he stay & kill David or return to save his people?

Proverbs tells us that a house divided will surely fall.  When we let our thoughts wander without our Shepherd, it leaves us wide open for enemy attack.

Jesus is our good shepherd who calls us by name & we follow because we know His voice.

When a voice speaks, internal or external, that steals peace, kills joy & attempts to destroyTruth, it’s not His.

It’s not that we can’t revisit pain, but when we do so without our Shepherd, we quickly find ourselves in need of a Rock of Escape!

Father, You’ve created our minds to be complex & capable of more than we know! Sometimes, however, at least for me, it’s easy to let wonderings lead hearts into wandering far from You. Help us to hear Your voice & run from all others. Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You are with us! Remind us to call on Your Name when we’ve wandered far. Be to us as you were to David, our Rock of Escape.

#OneYearBible

May 18th One Year Bible Readings

1 SAMUEL 22:1-23:29

JOHN 10:1-21

PSALM 115:1-18

PROVERBS 15:18-19

Facing Impossibility?

Have you heard the phrase, “You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip?”

My mom used to say it when I was little. I didn’t know it at the time, but it essentially means that where potential doesn’t exist, none can be realized.

The idiom apparently dates all the way back to Cain & Abel when they presented sacrifices before God. Abel offered an animal from his flock, shedding blood to cover his sin, whereas Cain, offered fruit from the ground. Maybe a turnip? God rejected Cain’s sacrifice because there was there was no blood to atone for his sins.

That’s a huge sidebar, but not really.

What I’ve been pondering is this: 

WE can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, but God can!

We can’t spring forth water from solid rock, but God DID! (Ps 114:8)

We can’t make the sea looming before us hurry away, but God can AND did! (Ps 114:3)

We can’t see the way forward, but Jesus gave a man blind from birth the ability to see in the physical AND the spiritual! (Jn 9:38)

We can’t make people see their lack of sight, but Jesus did! (Jn 9:41)

I don’t know what kind of turnip you need squeezing this morning, but may this serve to remind you that there is no squeezing necessary.

Like Abel, offer your sacrifice of thanksgiving & praise even while you lack water, even when the sea looms large before you, even when you can’t see a way forward. We serve a God who has, is & will continue to be our Provider!

Father, thank You for the reminders of Your great faithfulness & of our tremendous need it. When we turn our gaze from things before us, & take a glance back, remembering how You’ve provided in the past, the needs of today become minimized on our screen of life!

Jesus, You are our Source of Peace & Hope when all seems lost. You are the lifter of our gaze, giving us spiritual eyes to see with an eternal perspective! 

May the hard things that loom large remind us that we indeed cannot squeeze blood from a turnip, but we serve a Messiah Who freely shed His!

You are the God of the impossible! You conquered death, so we need not cower in fear before the hard things we face. We face You this morning & let our mouths worship The One who turns the rock before us into a pool of Living Water!

#OneYearBible

May 17th One Year Bible Readings

1 SAMUEL 20:1-21:15

JOHN 9:1-41

PSALM 113:1-114:8

PROVERBS 15:15-17

Truth & Freedom | You Can’t Have One without the Other

Last night I told stories of my past with 2 of my sons, sharing how I graduated with a degree in psychology & counseling.

Fresh out of college, I spent a brief time working in a locked hospital unit with patients suffering from the effects of Schizophrenia & multiple personality disorders. I remember leaving each day desiring so much more on their behalf.

I think I wanted to help others find the healing I so desperately needed. I’d personally been through much counseling, recalling past trauma, processing hurt & seeking the why behind it.

I talked about factual truth of the events & how they affected my mind & emotions, but it was devoid of capital T Truth.

Just this morning I read an important reminder about the connection  between Truth & freedom…you cannot have one without the other.

Unless you couple factual truth with the Personhood of Truth, you will always be left wanting for more.

It wasn’t until the tidbits of my history were revealed through the counsel of the Holy Spirit, that I finally experienced lasting healing. I couldn’t experience full healing without the Healer!

We are comprised of soul, body & spirit. We can only receive full & complete healing, when we address the whole person. We can eat healthy & workout a ton, but unless we address our mind, will & emotions, allowing our spirit to be counseled by the Holy Spirit, the healing we feel will only be physical in nature.

There’s great need for counselors who counsel the whole person, leading people to freedom by intersecting factual truth with The Way, The Truth & The Life!

When we intimately KNOW Truth, allowing His Light to reveal the broken places, healing happens & we can freely offer  forgiveness to self & others! When we allow Him Lorship over the secret places, we can receive what He freely gives to all who follow Him-a holy healing that’s inexplicable & eternal.

Jesus, You came into the world to testify to Truth. You ARE Truth revealing truth! All who love truth recognize that what You say is true. Thank You for the many counselors that help the hurting find healing, & praise You, Holy Spirit, that You counsel us to the Personhood of Truth!, Whose very words heal.💞

#oneyearbible

May 16th One Year Bible Readings

1 SAMUEL 18:5-19:24

JOHN 8:31-59

PSALM 112:1-10

PROVERBS 15:12-14