Don’t Stop Meeting Together

I awakened in a hotel in Burbank, just north of LA this morning. There’s a funny thing happening in my heart. I cannot WAIT to see my sons today! I am excited to see Tommas’s handsome face in-person & to tag along on the many adventures I’m sure Oliver has in store.

I also have a betwixt missing of my church family at the same time. You might think, “You’re just gonna miss one Sunday”, but the past few months of hard would’ve felt impossible without the Body of Believers walking with us through it.

Paul exhorts Believers to, “not neglect meeting together as some have done, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”

He’s not referring to the church building, but rather the assembling together of Believers.

When we are in close community with others, we are there to support each other during the hard & rejoice during the good! Life becomes lonely & obedience becomes lackluster when we travel The Way alone. 

The path of backsliding might begin with a dusty Bible, but it becomes hard to make a u-turn when we travel it by ourselves.

I’ve written it before, but it bears repeating. Jesus is the Head & we comprise The Body of the church. When we don’t assemble together to worship, we miss essential parts!

One might have a word of encouragement, someone else might have a discerning ear & yet another may have eyes to see to speak warning...we all have a part, but none has all the parts. We need each other & to be frank, there’s power in numbers! 

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus proclaims that the powers of hell will not prevail against the church! He’s not talking about a building, but of a people who are called out of this world into relationship with Him as the Head & with each other in The Body!

Father, thank you when Jesus ascended into Heaven, that He left us the Holy Spirit to counsel, comfort & guide us. Each Believer is a walking Temple of the Spirit! When we meet together, we experience all the benefits of the Body! We are comforted, corrected, instructed, & perfected into your image. Let us not neglect meeting together, but find a local Body of Believers who’ll encourage one another as we wait for Your return!

#OneYearBible

November 11th One Year Bible Readings

EZEKIEL 23:1-49

HEBREWS 10:18-39

PSALM 109:1-31

PROVERBS 27:13

Being a Prude isn’t Such a Bad Thing

When I was little, I was called 2 names on 2 separate occasions that I had to look up in the dictionary. I had no idea what “homely” meant & I definitely didn’t know how to react when my classmates called me a “prude!”

If I could go back & whisper to 4th grade Kimmy, I’d tell her, “Being a prude isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, receive it as a compliment!”

Proverbs 27:12 sings praises of the prudent because they foresee danger & take necessary precautions. The simpleton, however, goes blindly forward & suffers the consequences of his ill-informed decisions.

The root word for “prudent” here means to be shrewd, circumspect & practically wise.

Don’t you just love when you look up a word & it forces you to look up another? The word “circumspect“ means to be watchful on all sides.

⭕️ Circum =  the same root used in circumference, which is the distance around a circle

🔎 Spect =  to look

If there were ever a time to be called a prude it is now! It is imperative that we consistently do a 360 to see what’s happening around us & then take it to the feet of the Father so we make prudent decisions. 

Y’all, one of Jesus’s names is Shepherd & it’s for good reason! We are called His sheep & if you look at the nature of sheep, you clearly see why we need a Shepherd!

🐑:

~have no sense of direction

~are defenseless

~need help when they fall down

~are not burden-bearing animals

~will follow other sheep when there is no shepherd

The most prudent thing we can do at this moment in history is draw near to our Shepherd. He loves to lead us, but won’t force us to follow.

There’s a LOT of fake “truth” & fake fact checking coming our way like lightening speed! It’s hard to stay abreast of all things, but all we need do is get out the way of the onslaught of garbage “news” & step into the wake of THEE Way, our Shepherd Who will always lead us safely to safety!

Thank You, Jesus, that you became our spotless, sacrificial lamb Whose blood covers our sins for eternity! You’re our Great Shepherd who never leads us astray. You’re our Direction, our Defender, our Salvation & the Rock on Whom we stand secure! Thank you for Your reminder today that being a prude isn’t such a bad thing 😉

#OneYearBible

November 10th One Year Bible Readings

EZEKIEL 21:1-22:31

HEBREWS 10:1-17

PSALM 108:1-13

PROVERBS 27:12

You Can’t Hurry Healing

I awakened with 2 thoughts this am:

1) You can’t hurry healing 

2) Forgiveness isn’t synonymous with trust

Healing, whether physical, emotional or relational, usually takes time. There are miraculous moments when we cry out like the Israelites, “...& He saved them...He sent out word & healed them snatching them from the door of death.” 

Then there are moments when it feels like God went missing. I want this type of healing desperately for a relational area of my life right now, but for some reason, it feels like God is delayed in hearing my prayer & healing feels like it’s taking an eternity.

Relational wounds are a funny thing. You can’t physically see the hurt, but we can feel it deep to the core of our being.

Years ago, I was walking through a season of reconciliation when our pastor said the second phrase above - “Forgiveness doesn’t equal trust.”

I sometimes think that we as Christians mistakenly use the two words synonymously. We know the much that we’ve been forgiven, so we cannot help but to forgive others.

The relational trust, however, is the gray part...how does that repair?

I don’t have many answers to these deep ponderings this morning, & it’s usually in those moments that I simply cling to God’s Word.

Over & over Psalm 107 describes the Israelites’ cry for help with the same phrase:

“Lord help!” they cried in their distress & He saved them from their trouble.”

When things seem impossible, when healing feels like it’s taking an eternity, we can cry out like they did, & trust that 

- the same God who led them to safety will lead us!

- the same God who broke down their prison gates will break down ours!

- the same God who sent His Word to heal them, will heal us!

Father, we come to You this morning & praise You that You can do the seemingly impossible! You turn deserts into pools of water, dry land into springs! You calm the storm to a whisper & still the waves.

Still the waves of our hearts as we wait like a child for your provision & healing. Help us to forgive like You forgive. Remind us that You are the only One who is fully trustworthy. May we walk patiently behind You as You lead us to a place of restored trust & relational healing.💕

#OneYearBible

November 9th One Year Bible Readings

EZEKIEL 20:1-49

HEBREWS 9:11-28

PSALM 107:1-43

PROVERBS 27:11