FaceTime with the Father

I’ve loved writing ever since I could write, & yet writing a message vs. speaking a message carry different weights. When I write, I have time to ponder long the words I choose & the tools I use. My hope is that it carries great purpose & creates a great effect. The receiver can refer back to it time & again to be reminded of my intention.

Spoken word, however, carries a different variable that doesn’t allow time to order words or think about their effect because it’s face to face. Whether virtual or in-person, face to face communication allows the receiver to read the speaker’s body language & to hear the inflection in their voice. It feels far more personal because you are within proximity of each other.

This is how I feel when I read God’s Word. Even though it is written, His very Presence hovers when we seek His face, whether through reading His Word or through prayers, pleas, praises and even pauses.

His Word is alive & active, jumping off the page into the deep recesses of our hearts! Every single time I open my One Year Bible, I have a giddy excitement inside because even though I’ve read these passages on this date before, it’s always fresh & applicable to the circumstances of today!

There are other times throughout the day when I might pray for discernment, praise for a victory, plea for help or simply pause to seek His face.

Y’all, I’m working on a series that I think will be called, “FaceTime with the Father”. I’ve chosen that title because what I’ve discovered over the years is that your face always reflects what you are facing. When we choose to turn our gaze from the circumstances before us to face Him, nothing may change around us, but everything changes with our perspective.

Our Father wrote the biggest love letter on the planet AND it’s ALWAYS relevant to whatever we face!

Father, we come to you this morning & praise You for Your written Word & your omnipresence! Even though we can’t physically SEE Your face, You make Yourself known when we SEEK Your face!

We cannot fathom the amazing day when we get to see You, like REALLY see You face to face. Until then, we’ll seek Your face by making time for worship,  prayers & Your Word a priority!

#OneYearBible

December 6th One Year Bible Readings

💡HOSEA 4:1-5:15

💡2 JOHN 1:1-13

💡PSALM 125:1-5

💡PROVERBS 29:9-11

The Pursuit of Worthless Things Distracts us from The Only One Worthy of Pursuit

Two of my sons ministered to me this week in ways they are unaware.

One posted a question on social media that actually caused me to pause, ponder & reply. He asked, “What do you need to remove from your life before 2022 begins?”

Many tangible things surfaced, but the primary thing that kept rising up was thinking about things I simply cannot fix.

My other son shared in conversation last night that he felt led to live a fasted lifestyle until the new year begins, removing various distractions & minor things that  can become idols if left unbridled.

And now this morning, I read 1 John 5 where he ends his chapter with an imperative spoken like a loving parent:

“Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

It seemed like a simple summary of what the Lord spoke to me through my sons.

When I wonder what might take God’s place in my heart, I immediately go to food choices or social media.  Sometimes, however, it’s the unbridled, intangible things that creep up onto the throne of my heart that’s only meant for my King.

Things like,

The need to be right

The need to be heard

The need to be seen

The need for rest

The need for provision

The need for healing

The need for protection

The desire for perfection...

I could go on & on & on...I’m sure you have things you could add to this too!

The bottom line is that anytime we seek to self-fulfill a need only our God can provide, it immediately becomes a little “g” god that tries to steal the seat of our affection for Him.

The need for the thing oftentimes trumps our pursuit of The One who can provide it!

Anything that steals our time, talent, attention & treasures from The One Who Saved Us, from The One Who Provides For Us, will always leave us wanting for more.

Oh Father, guard us from false idols. This world throws so many of them in our paths that sometimes it feels like we simply cannot avoid them! Help us to keep away from WORTHLESS things so that our gaze & affection may rest only on The One WORTHY of our praise, Father, Son & Holy Spirit!

#OneYearBible #Idols

December 5th One Year Bible Readings

💡HOSEA 1:1-3:5

💡1 JOHN 5:1-21

💡PSALM 124:1-8

💡PROVERBS 29:5-8

Fear & Love Cannot Reside Together

I had a gross visual this morning as I researched the definition of “cast”. I’d just read the verse, “Perfect love cast out fear” & wondered what the root words were for “love, cast & fear” when I suddenly remembered a story someone told me earlier in the week.

They shared how they were renovating a space that had been left in the worst of conditions by its former occupants. When the demo team turned on the light to begin their work, there was sudden movement everywhere...pests scattering to any hidden places they could find.

Then, when they pulled up the urine-soaked carpeting, it was like the unfolding of armageddon as 100s, (maybe 1000s?) of cockroaches skittered up the walls to find a new place to hide 🤮

I know that’s an awful visual to start the day, but it’s exactly what I needed to understand what happens when God’s love floods us.

When we allow:

👉🏽all of Him to PRESIDE over us, 

👉🏽all of Jesus to stand BESIDE us 

👉🏽& all of the Holy Spirit to fully RESIDE in us, 

fear scatters like those nasty cockroaches looking for a new place to hide!

The word “cast” means to toss out, with or without force, but ALWAYS with purpose.

Gods very nature IS love! The root for love means to prefer.  He prefers us always. He prefers for us to choose Him over the fears that we face or the pleasures that we chase, but He won’t make us. He loves us far too much to make us robots that are forced to love.

The word “fear” simply means to withdraw in panic.I don’t know about you, but when things feel uncertain, I can tend to withdraw from many aspects of life, but most importantly, from The One Who casts out the very thing that’s got me down👉🏽terror-tempting fear!

Oh Father, fear is simply evidence that we have yet to fully experience Your all-encompassing love. There is no fear in Your love. Perfect us in the resplendency of Your love & let the Light of Your Presence cause fear to scatter away looking for a new place to hide. Why should we fear when the evidence of Your goodness is always near?

#OneYearBible

December 4th One Year Bible Readings

💡DANIEL 11:36-12:13

💡1 JOHN 4:1-21

💡PSALM 123:1-4

💡PROVERBS 29:2-4