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Hebrews 11:10, “For he looked forward to the city that has
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
A fresh calendar, a new slate is often how we anticipate a
new year or month, week or sometimes even a free day, and yet there also lingers
the undone from yesterday and conflicting emotions.
Are we running ahead with anticipation or running away? Standing on tiptoe to seek God’s
vision, or burying our heads under staggering concerns.
Abraham dwelt in a tent and dreamed of God’s city. Some
might think it only as a myth, a fairy tale, or an exaggerated sense of
imagination, yet he knew the architect personally and already had been the
recipient of God’s grace. So the disconnect between daily life on desert plains,
sandstorms, and unfamiliar routes and his long-term destination were not
incompatible, not an emotional escape.
Every day he stood on that farseeing hope for guidance,
choices and purpose. Was it easier then to see his horizon without the time
clock frenzy that interrupts our ability to pause and dream and wonder with
awe?
Lord, please set each of us firmly on the path You choose
for us to journey and give us hearts to live into Your vision. No matter how
difficult a day may become, keep our faith fixed on Your foundations as we
build our lives with Your words.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 9:9-10
“The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble,
And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee;
For Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee.”
“From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.”
John 1: 16
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels
nor rulers, not things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, not
depth, not anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
“…What has come into being in him was life, and the life was
the light of all people.” John 1:4
“Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing shall
come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.” Psalm 126: 6
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to
you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” I John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not
overcome it.” John 1: 5
Nomad
Was it hard to
awake
every morning to
an
unfamiliar
atmosphere
whether wind or
bird or scent?
Groggily leave
life-long
territory,
childhood memories,
well-worn paths
walked
even in sleep.
Focus now on
present terrain
geographic
manual
newly minted.
Wonder at nomad
lifestyle.
Reflection Questions
1. We all need some degree of structure in
our lives in order to accomplish anything but we each have a comfort zone on
that scale. Where is yours?
2. How do you cope when pushed out of it? Do
you see it as a word from the Lord or as an intrusion? Or both?
3. Do you see all of your life as under
God’s authority to command or only certain parts?
4. Read John 12: 49-50.
Share: Which is harder for you to experience each morning, a day
of routine or a day of interruptions? Literally or spiritually?
Hebrews 11:9, “By faith he stayed for a time in the land he
had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and
Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.”
Nomads who didn’t follow mercantile routes or grazing lands,
weather patterns or time-set agendas, but waited for a word—the word—from God
alone when to stay and when to go.
Were they anxious for the signal to move when as outsiders
they were regarded with such distrust they would post a sentry each night? Or
so settled in comfort and plenty they dreaded the call to go. Perhaps even
pleaded a little—we still have some tent repairs, a child is teething, the
lambs and calves are too wobbly to travel a distance.
Or, a house divided. Some up early to eagerly explore the
new geography and meet the neighbors. Others huddled near familiar daily
routines grasping at permanence in fluctuating days.
All waiting—all trusting in a word spoken—looking to be
shaped by kairos time instead of daily uncertainty. Learning to live by
spiritual roots instead of geographic. Knowing that the when and the where and
the why and for how long belonged to the Lord.
Lord, please guide us into a new way of living each day.
Ground us into Your word and Your Spirit so that our foundation is Your will,
Your Purpose, and in Your timing. Help us to be willing to change our agendas
at the sound of Your voice.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 16: 5-6
“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; Thou
dost support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed my heritage is beautiful to me.”
Leave
Leave behind all that
is familiar. Go to a new
land. Brings both sorrow
and anticipation. Grief
and adventure. Most difficult
letting go well-worn habits,
comfort routines. Taking one
last look before new inheritance.
Now go.
Reflection Questions
1. Regardless of whether you love to move
from place to place or resist ever leaving, what does your heart ache for the most
when a change is required? What does it anticipate the most?
2. What ‘move’ do you sense God is nudging
you to consider in your life right now: emotionally or physically or
spiritually?
3. Is it drawing you closer to the Lord in
trust or putting up a wedge in your relationship? Why?
Share: How has God blessed a step of faith for you this week?
Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to
set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out,
not knowing where he was going.”
I live in a city where the statistics say that 50% of the
population leaves after two years. Daily driving around parked moving vans is a
given. If a person stays four, then he is considered a real resident. I came
for a year and am now into my seventh, but feel like a visitor. There are many
days that I still don’t have a clue where I’m going—literally. I have become
somewhat of an expert on wrong turns though and what streets to avoid.
New journeys often start with excitement and anticipation,
just like beginning faith steps. But then the map is backwards, a road doesn’t
exist, the cart’s wheels fall off and suddenly it’s all overwhelming. That
faith walk is as uncertain as the changing weather patterns. Instead of
answering a nudge to become kinder, we find ourselves crabbier than ever. We
start looking back to what was instead of ahead to new possibilities.
Spiritually and emotionally some days are a challenge to
face, either because we have no idea what to expect, or we know exactly what
the day will bring and do not want to participate at all. Like a stubborn toddler
the word ‘no’ rushes up within, even if we keep silent.
At least that’s what I often contemplate when I forget whose
hand is holding onto me and who knows every step on the route He has prepared,
no matter how many hours, months or years the process will take. The final
destination is His chosen place. What I do need to do is walk a little closer.
Lord, I pray to obey with faith and go forward as you lead
that today I may live in Your inheritance, in accord with Your purposes, and
trust whatever steps You choose for me to take.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 131:2
“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child
with its mother;
my soul is like a weaned child that is with me.”
Begin
According to given blueprint
Noah built the ark. An
unimaginable feat requiring
sacrifice, ridicule, perseverance.
After forty days of rain that
no one had ever seen or spoken of;
a catastrophe requiring endurance
yet resting on fellowship
with God.
Again a call. Blasting away
previous steps of obedience
into minor decisions. Requiring now
a faith never tested, a
walk without specific details.
Leave safety of known work
familiar surroundings. Begin!
Reflection Questions
1. When you take on a project or
responsibility, do you work better within a prescribed outline, or a creative
freefall, or somewhere in between?
2. What happens when you are required work outside
your style?
3. How do you cope emotionally and
spiritually?
4. To whom do you feel you are accountable
for the end result? Does that ever determine your courage? Why or why not?
Share: What is the riskiest step of faith you have taken?
Genesis 8:15-15, “Then God said to Noah, ‘Go out of the
ark…so that they may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply.’ So Noah
went out with….”
As we read and share the story of Noah, we often stop there
in complete amazement. And yet there is more. We often stop short of Your
purposes, Lord. Or I do. I sometimes reach a point, an experience that is so
amazing that I stop and stay.
Yet, You do not always call us to one plan, or one purpose
only. Sometimes there is another stepping-stone to take. Perhaps not for
ourselves, but maybe for another, that together we might be fruitful and
multiply. Despite the long years of building the ark, Noah’s work did not end
there; perhaps it only began there.
And if our destination is eternity, then we really do not
have an end, a stopping point. We are to be ready to follow, to take new
adventures, to accept new responsibilities each day.
Please help us to recognize and complete the task You
assign, and then be willing and prepared to be moved onward to the next. May it
be more important to stay the course with You than to linger with satisfaction
short of Your intent.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 111:7-8
“The work of His hands are truth and justice; all His
precepts are sure.
They are upheld forever and ever; they are performed in
truth and uprightness.”
Impossible
Some mornings it
is
difficult to
face known tasks,
even the commonplace
raise
doubts of
competence.
How then to wake
each
day to new
assignments,
strange
blueprints with
odd vocabulary,
unseen diagrams.
Unable to explain
to scoffers.
Even own family
gives support while
worry lines
crinkle their eyes.
Fewer now the blind
call to
build impossible
creations.
Yet still
possibilities nudge
when we truly
listen.
Fresh words,
unseen—unimagined.
Unique
opportunities to obey.
Reflection Questions
1. Sometimes the thought of building an ark
might seem easier than forgiving another, or setting boundaries in our lives.
It is often easier to do a task than to change our hearts. Has the Lord asked
you to do something seemingly impossible?
2. Did you find it a hopeful challenge, or a
frightening obstacle, or somewhere in between?
3. Do you find it easier to respond when a
task is private or public? Why?
Share: How did the Lord enable you to step out in faith?
Genesis 7:5, “And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.”
There’s a quote from Lewis Carroll’s Queen, in Alice in
Wonderland, where she states, “Why
sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
I often think this idea must apply even more so to Noah as he built that ark.
Scripture tells us he built it in faith, in trust, and in
confidence because he believed God. But I can’t help but wonder if his first
reaction was confusion over what God said, doubt over his personal ability, and
awkwardness as he tried to ask God to explain words and concepts totally
foreign to his world.
It almost reads like an ancient fantasy or science fiction
novel, a work of imagination. How do you build something you’ve never heard of
before? How do you grasp the impossible?
Yet Noah did—all of it—in faith—for years and years.
Each morning, before breakfast, he prepared for a day of
surprise and challenge. Did he rise quickly with excitement to the day’s new
demands, or quietly savor a few moments of awe in expectation? Did he ever
balk, just a little, when his muscles ached, or his family complained, or the
people around him ridiculed?
Lord, only by Your Spirit can we be faithful in confusion,
persevere through doubt and take steps of faith despite our weaknesses. Please
teach us to trust in Your commands no matter how hard or complicated they may
be. Help us to meet each day with anticipation—listening for Your nudges—ready to
walk in Your will.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 50:23
“‘He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his
way aright
I shall show the salvation of God.’”
Clatter
There is a
proverb somewhere
that says even a
fool appears
wise if he does
not speak.
Yet silence has
hidden
away in our
world of
continuous
sound: communication
we say. Advanced
technology
at the push of a
key;
send, delete,
fax, text,
instant access
requiring
instant
response. React.
No time to hear
what is being
actually said,
no time—to
recognize fools.
Reflection Questions
1. How much do you think external noise
interferes with our soul thinking?
2. What noise is easy for you to ignore? Why
3. When do conversations around you make it
impossible to focus?
4. Do you think you need more silence in
your life? Why or why not?
Share: Do you seek out silence or does it make you uncomfortable?
Job 13:5, “If you would only keep silent, that would be your
wisdom!”
I heard a story once that Susanna Wesley, mother of nineteen
children, would pull her apron over her head when she wanted to pray. And her children knew not to disturb
her in her quiet place.
Most of us have more opportunities to find corners or
methods of solitude for reflection and prayers, yet for me sometimes the quiet
instigates the clamor. I talk my prayers instead of keeping silent. When
another is sharing a problem I want to jump in with a solution, instead of
listening with support and comfort.
One friend could not bear a silent house so would keep a tv
or radio on, set at barely a murmur, because she didn’t want to be distracted
from her projects, but complete silence made it impossible for her to be think
clearly.
Or how often do we turn up volume to tune out other noises
that interfere with our own personal noise? We seem to need to fill quiet
pauses with conversation, to cover over silence with any words—regardless how
empty they might be.
“Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence...”
Lord, please quiet our tumult and our tension, and teach us
to be still. Quiet enough to hear Your answers to the prayers we clamor at You.
At peace enough to be willing to wait for wisdom instead of fretting into
foolishness. Teach us to be wise.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 62: 1-2
“My soul waits in
silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.”
Truth?
Pilate’s
question
‘What is truth’
continues
through
the decades;
man’s
challenge to
define
individual
steps,
choose a
personal
path directed by
own compass.
Working by
external
gratification
missing true
relationship.
Your
heartbeat of
love;
waits patiently,
promised way
now and eternal
only answer.
Reflection Questions
1. Why do we sometimes have difficulty
accepting God’s word at face value?
2. What personal barriers do we try to put
up to protect ourselves in case we’re wrong?
3. Have you missed out on opportunities
because you couldn’t trust yourself with what you heard God say?
4. Did it change you response the next time?
Share: What
signposts have helped you recognize the Lord’s truth in foggy circumstances?
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Lord, we are always looking for direction. And too often
always bewildered in our purpose. We ask for affirmation, confirmation, and
certification. You gently remind, “It is Me.” And we reply, “but how?”
You give us Yourself and instead we look for concrete steps
to follow. You offer a relationship and we look for a plan. Or a program or a specific
task to measure and to accomplish.
Why? Because if our human relationships are so difficult
then we expect one with You will be beyond our ability? Which is true on our
part and yet not on Yours.
I don’t understand why we who look so longingly at love reject
Your way. Or try to manufacture our own version. Instead we hesitate, question
or mock. Such a gift must have strings attached. It’s too personal. Don’t we
have to become special first?
Help me Lord to lower my false defenses and trust in Your
love for each one of us individually and wholly. That we might abide in true
relationships heart first. Trusting Your words completely.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 119:160
“The sum of Thy word is truth,
And every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting.”
Scepter
Bits
of power merge
together
like scattered
metal
magnetized into
a
cohesive plan
building
strength
attracting
like interests
forms
into shape; creates
illusion
of control.
Buys
more people,
rulers
establish systems
grow
prominence, believe
own
scepter strength
forget
veil source
of
all existence who
silently
watching
holds
the throne.
Reflection Questions
1. Have you ever had a position of authority
that went to your head? What were the consequences to others? To yourself?
2. How open are you to advice and
accountability? Why? Or Why not?
3. How can we learn to distinguish between
an obstacle we need to overcome and a closed door we need to obey?
4. Have you prayer support as you follow the
dreams God has given you.
Share: Has the Lord given you insight to recognize a false path?
How?
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