There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord. Leviticus 23:3 Come visit me on Sabbath; The bed will not be made. My coffee cup will sit half-full; The table won’t be laid. Sabbath is our freedom day, The one we do no… Read More
For those from one of my favorite nations who allowed me to learn from them this week. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20 Why wouldn’t the majority of house church leaders throughout persecuted nations of the world be women? Nations that see the world through the lenses of honor and shame? Women are leading house churches… Read More
And Solomon assigned 70,000 men to bear burdens… 2 Chronicles 2:2 There are projects in God’s kingdom that cannot be completed without burden bearers. The stones hewn from the mountain would not carry themselves. They could not assemble themselves into towering walls forming Solomon’s glorious temple. They needed strong arms to carry them. To think burden-bearing may be one’s assignment! We talk much about laying burdens down. But some burdens are purposed for God's glory.… Read More
for Sarah, and all whose bag is too heavy to carry. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the… Read More
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Psalm 32:9 I met a remarkable horse I called Lovey recently. She was clearly trained to draw near and stay near when called. She looked me in the… Read More
...after you have done everything…stand. Stand firm then… Ephesians 6:13-14 Standing is a kind of waiting, and waiting doesn’t feel very victorious in the middle of a fierce battle. It certainly doesn’t feel like a weapon. Armor does. Belts and breastplates and shields do. Helmets and swords sure do. Recently I visited castles and towers famous for battle, filled with armor and weapons. The imagery is strong in my mind. But waiting? What kind of… Read More
Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Song of Songs 4:16 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death… Read More
By your patience possess your souls. Luke 21:19 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:4 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7 Impatience is an indicator. It reflects my soul like a mirror reflects a face. What does my indicator show me today? I have been given my answer in prayer. I can’t see it yet, but I… Read More
Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— Numbers 21:17 We have spent two weeks in the place of springs, the valley of weeping and affliction that bears that beautiful invitation to spring-making and spring-naming. Today, we shall sing, for there is another secret to springs in the valley: they become wells. In Numbers 21 we find the Israelites on the way to the Red Sea, going around the land of Edom.… Read More
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the highways of Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs. Psalm 84:5-6 In our last devotional together we examined the cost of spring-making. Psalm 84 prepares the pilgrim for two realities on the Way: the reality of weeping, and the reality of refreshing. [bctt tweet="Jesus paid the cost of spring-making, and because of that,… Read More