Reflections on Jeremiah 29 : 4 - 14

 ⁴ This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸ Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. ⁹ They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the LORD.
 ¹⁰ This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.^[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Jeremiah 29: 4 - 14

I think Jeremiah 29: 11 is one of the most remembered, most comforting and most quoted books verses of the Bible.  And why not?  Who DOESN'T need to be reminded that the Lord has PLANS for us?  And not just that he isn't surprised by the bad, indifferent or disappointing things that are happening, but that they are part of a plan for a HOPE and a FUTURE.

Seeing it for the first time in the context of His people, whom he allowed to be carried into exile, just rocked my world.  To the outsider it seemed like the game was over.  "This God--- he has rejected both of his chosen nations: Judah and Israel.  What kind of God is this?"   He allowed Nebuchadnezzar to rise to power that rivaled that of David and Solomon.  And then, he tells his people (that he allowed to completely exiled) to go -- live and be happy. And that after seventy years, He would come back for them.

It is such a beautiful picture of His steadfast, unfailing and unchanging love.  And now, the song that has been resonating in my mind and heart since reading those words in Jeremiah.   "Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)"

Father God,

I will never understand the depth of your love for us.
I will never understand how magnificent you are.
Just what I DO know is enough to take my breath away.
I am in awe of your majesty, and humbled, completely wrecked in spirit, by your love.

Thank you, My Savior.

I am undone.
I am a woman of unclean lips.
How can I show myself as set apart for you, if I continue to gripe about things, and complain about others?  I am unworthy....

But I am forgiven.

And I keep on trying... and I keep on trusting, and I keep calling on Your presence.

Your love IS amazing.

Amen.

Honesty (episode 1)

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts. - Psalm 51:6, NKJV

Lord, I have felt the gentle reprimand when I am caught in gossip, and when I am railing and ranting a negative diatribe inside my head. Such is the condition of my heart. I feel the calming breath after an outburst of impatience with my 4 year old chatterbox.

Thank you for not giving up on me... I deserve to have been abandoned long ago. I have hardly been faithful. I have not invested the time or effort in this relationship. I totally have taken You for granted. Please forgive me.

Forgive me for turning to food, the internet, and whatever else took your rightful place in the throne of my heart.

Thank you for the gentleness that leads to repentance, and doesn't condemn.  Thank you for helping me to make the small choices that lead to a new way of doing things. Help me continue.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  (James 1:22)

Help me to live 1 Corinthians 13.  Love does not, love is....     And hand in hand with that are the fruits of the Spirit.   I have been wondering where my self-control concerning food went?  I just answered my question.  Self-control is a FRUIT of the Holy Spirit.  When I don't call, text, write, or hang with the Holy Spirit, um... those FRUITS are... um... out of season.

I want it back.  I can feel that I am on my way back.  The overwhelming gratitude, every day, has returned.  The spontaneous praising God for everything that happens, and giving credit where credit is due is happening.  The hunger for the WORD is happening.  Now I am just craving consistency in my time in the Word.  It's a lot different with two kids -- one being an infant without a routine schedule.  I will be ready to get up at 4:30, but the baby will be up three times that night, and the last time is an hour at 3AM.   The zombie that is this tired Mommy opts for a little more sleep to make up for it.

Right now, both of the boys are asleep upstairs, and I am having time to complete a thought and meditate on things for the first time all evening. (That and my massive headache finally went away.)  I  love to start my day with the Word, but it may not be possible.  Maybe I just need to listen to a sermon, or worship music on my way to school in the mornings.  Maybe when I get downstairs, I put some worship music on.  Hmmm.  These are definitely options.

Lord, I am so completely overwhelmed at the involvement that you have in our lives.  The fact that you want MORE is just mind boggling.  Our humanity will never be able to understand how you are capable of literally being ALL things to ALL people.  But, you are the Alpha AND Omega.  I praise you for creation.  For the beautiful trees that grow tall and strong, and pierce the winter sky.  I praise you for the sunrises, sunsets and every single snowflake.  I praise you for the crisp, clean air, a perfectly balanced mixture of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, et al.  I praise you that with every single scientific detail that is discovered about this world, it points right to you, and your infinite majesty, and power, and love.


"Filled with wonder,
awestruck wonder,
at the mention of your name.
Jesus your name is power,
breath and living water,
such a marvelous mystery....

Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come,
With all creation I sing,
praise to the king of kings -
you are my everything, and I will adore you!"



(revelation song)

Morning Reflections 1/17/11

I am currently laboring through "Seeking Him," a collaborative work by Nancy Leigh Demoss and Tim Grissom. I say laboring because there are some Bible studies that I devour. (Esther, by Beth Moore... a 10 week study that I did in three, with the bulk of it completed in the one week of school vacation.) This has been a bit more difficult because of.... my pride. I hate the fact that I had let myself get so independent, and not relying on God for nearly anything.

I am so happy to say that since the new year, and the weeks prior, that has changed in my life, and I am again giving gratitude and praise and honor to my Heavenly Father. What is also so incredibly exciting is that by modeling those attitudes, my 4 year old son is praying and seeing those prayers answered. He is seeking the Lord for himself! Wow.

In the past of the lesson that I completed today, the following scriptures were listed.

Luke 12:2

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

Hebrews 4:13

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Then this question was asked:

In light of everything you have ever done, said, or thought, how do these verses make you feel?

Ugh.

My first reaction is shame, and embarrassment. So not only has he forgiven me for the horrible things that I have thought and said and done before I knew Him, he continually forgives me for the things I still do when I am not letting the Spirit guide my life, my actions and my thoughts.

Yikes.

So even though I haven't grumbled out loud about my husband this week (oh... um, except for that one day) I am still accountable for the thoughts, and for the state of my heart.

But then I think about the fact that not only is nothing that has already been done hidden from Him, nothing that WILL happen is unknown to Him.

He knew full well the day that He called me to Himself that I was going to be a hot mess from time to time. He created the artistic (and sensitive) temperament in me, and knew that I was going to fall flat on my face. Repeatedly.

How amazing is the love that continues to guide me, to hold me, to mold me and teach me. I am so overwhelmed that the God of the Universe would send his ONLY SON (and having two adorable boys of my own, this is HUGELY relevant for me) to come to Earth, and eventually bear MY SHAME and SINS on Himself, and die for me. And a violent, R rated death, not a gentle passing in ones sleep. We had communion yesterday at church, and I was in tears because I was so overwhelmed at the blessings of my life.

It is too incredible. I cannot intellectualize the fact that He is so intimately involved with all of humanity. But I know that it is true.

Help me, Lord, to continue to earnestly seek you. Create a hunger for your word. Create a hunger for your presence. Please, help me to die to myself, so that your love can be the only thing that is given to this world.