Ongoing: 1 Peter: Prayers and Poetry

                Ongoing 

                Gift of joy undergirds

                Grief that lingers

                When we remember our

                Written inheritance

                Paid by His love

                Promised into eternity

                Constantly guarding us

                Compassion ongoing

                Remember by faith

                Restored by His power.

Psalm 89:2: "For I have said, 'Lovingkindness will be built up forever; In the heavens Thou wilt establish Thy faithfulness.'"

                

Reflection: Inheritance: 1st Peter: Prayers and Poetry

 Reflection Questions

        1. Never Perish. How often have you experienced complete loss  in your heart and soul? What mercy brought you back?

        2. Never Be Defiled. How often have you been rejected or ridiculed? What kindness gave  you strength?

        3. Never Diminish. How often have you felt or become invisible to yourself and others? What love embraced you?

Share: How has the restored gift of joy in grief opened the door to healing that you can now recognize others in distress and share hope?

Inheritance: 1st Peter: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: 1st Peter 1:4-6: "We are reborn with a perfect inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. It is promised and preserved forever in the heavenly realm for you. 'Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us until our full salvation is ready in the last time.' May the thought of this cause you to jump for joy, even though lately you've had to put up with the grief of many trials."

Inheritance

Preserved. For Ever. Not the normal worldly definition we are most accustomed to. It is sometimes difficult to grasp the gifts of heavenly realm in our daily earthly living.

How is it possible when we know we still stumble (or choose) into sin? We continue to falter in baby steps yet our Lord sees us as whole. He will guide us until we reach this gift.

Sometimes it is hard to embrace the joy also when so much grief and pain surround us.

But His joy is given in calm and stillness and the knowledge of being wrapped in His grace.

Thank you, Lord, for guarding our hearts and souls in all trials.

Your thoughts,

Reflection: Inheritance: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1. What have you inherited that has become a strong foundation for you?

2. Have you inherited anything that qualifies as a fleeting pleasure?

3. How has either affected your spiritual inheritance with God?

4. Had you been in Moses’ place of decision, which aspect of Pharaoh’s inheritance would have been the most difficult for you to walk away from?

Share: What part of God’s inheritance as His child do you cherish the most?

Inheritance: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:25, “Choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”

Inheritance

In John 17, Jesus prays for His followers not to be taken out of the world, but to be kept from the evil one—to be sanctified in truth as a witness to the world. Moses’ advanced education and opportunities given by his upbringing gave him the gifts and qualities he needed to lead a nation, to write the Torah, to lead his people in worship of a personal God. Was there even a possibility he could have been the next Pharaoh?

Two inheritances with possibilities ahead of which he knew neither. Yet, he knew enough to know that earthy power comes and goes. A once mighty ruler could quickly become buried under sands of time. And he chose the story of his people over the temporary. Trusting that following God’s promises would be far better than playing by the world’s rules. And have lasting eternal value.

Perhaps to stay in Pharaoh’s household meant a participation with sin even if not committing it. Can silence or compromise become acquiescence? How can we know when to stay in a situation or when to break all ties?

Lord, we need Your wisdom to not become blinded by wrong opportunities to do right things. Help us to stand in the heritage of Your word, Your will, and Your ways.

Your thoughts,

Inheritance: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

                       Inheritance

                        Such a mixed bag

                        inheritance

                        dysfunctional or “normal”

                        family history.

                        Genetics a breeze

                        or a life sentence.

                        Some stone cold broke

                        with love overflowing. Or

                        Golden riches with

                        Scrooge tightened fists.

                       

                        Timeless God calls

                        each to receive His

                        inheritance

                        none excluded

                        earthly suffering and joy

                        mixed by permanent

                        bond of love move into

                        eternity’s wholeness.

                       

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Reflection: Heirs: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     What are some things you inherited from your family regardless of financial means?

2.     Has a negative bestowal been a burden or a blessing or both?

3.     We love to claim God’s promises to us, but they also often include suffering. How have you experienced this?

4.     When can blessings become burdens?

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Share: One burden that became a blessing.

Settle: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Settle

Distributed by lot

before the Lord

received at tent of meeting

accepted inheritance

by His hand

still needed to

settle in

rebuild ruins

diligence needed

to fulfill opportunity

faith unto completion.

Reflection Territory: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     What does your inheritance look like in family, friends, gifts, and place?

2.     Are you grateful or resistant or uncertain?

3.     Are there areas that need to be rebuilt or begin planting?

4.     How does each affect your faith walk with purpose?

Share: What has kept you from being settled in God’s inheritance?  What have you embraced with joy?

Territory: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 19

“…distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord, at the entrance of the house of meeting.” Joshua 19:51

Before the Lord, at His tent of meeting, the lots were drawn. Some were tribe general and some were tribe specific. Judah had a higher portion but as the share was too big for them, the tribe of Simeon “obtained an inheritance within their inheritance.”

And by the Lord’s command Joshua was given a town, which he chose, in the hill country of Ephraim, and then he rebuilt and settled there.

The tribe of Danites lost their territory and so fought against Leshom to take possession there. And there they settled in. None of these lots were wrapped up in a completed package. Each required a choice to settle the land. Their inheritance needed to become a lived in experience.

We also have received from the Lord an inheritance, actually a double heritage, to be lived within another’s inheritance. We receive our physical inheritance into a life of cultural heritage and family, and we receive our gift of spiritual heritage by Jesus’ cross of sacrifice. Each individual’s gifts and talents and boundaries unique and yet a portion of His whole. If we accept them.

With choices for each distribution how much we are to settle in and build, or resist and rebel.

Jesus is present. His door of meeting is always open. Are we living in the lot He has given or seeking a different portion? Does our faith continue to grow and expand with new opportunities?

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 139: 10, 16

“Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”

“Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.”

Accept: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Accept

                        Promise made

                        gift given

                        still needs acceptance

                        willingness to act

                        with faith in

                        fulfillment.

                        Still requires steps

                        with courage to

                        commit.

                        Heart and soul

                        mind and body

                        to beginning

                        new work

new life

                        hope.

Slack: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 18

“How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?” Joshua 18: 3

The land was subdued. Israel gathered together at the tent of meeting. But seven tribes had still not divided their inheritance.

Overwhelmed? Insecure? No clear job description? Extreme courtesy towards each other?

Joshua first chastised them and then gave them concrete tasks to follow, “… go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritance.” When they returned with all the details written down in a book he cast lots for them. Boundary-by-boundary all around each one.

How often I wonder do we, do I, freeze at the possibility of a new inheritance in the Lord. Perhaps we stepped out in a blind act of faith and suddenly have a whole new recognition of God’s character, but we don’t know how to respond. Or a new responsibility has been given to us and we have no idea where to start, or how to pursue a whole new beginning. What if we can’t fulfill the call? So we become slack.

Sometimes we need to trust the words given to us in scripture and in prayer. Write them down. Look at the land and the boundaries and choose a particular lot—a concrete goal to live into. Listen carefully to the desires God places in our hearts and follow those nudges with commitment. The ones He has already given.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 138: 3, 8

“On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

Daughters: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Daughters

Daughters came

forth to claim

inheritance

promise given

decision upheld

no partiality

by His grace

Reflection Command: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     Have you ever wanted a position or an assignment so badly that you were willing to work in adverse circumstances for the opportunity? Or were forced to?

2.     What gave you the strength or courage to stay the course?

3.     How did the cost affect you personally, spiritually, relationally, or financially?

4.     Did you choose this by prayer or by your own desires? How did that make a difference?

Share: In what ongoing “low estate” has God continued to bring you strength?

Command: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 16

“They did not, however, drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; so the Canaanites have lived within Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor.” Joshua 16: 10

The Canaanites clung to their land and refused to be evicted regardless of the consequences. They stood firm. Maybe in the hopes that Israel would fail, or that their opportunity would open to revolt at a later time. Or because to them this was the land they worked and were bonded to stay. They had history here.

The sons of Ephraim were granted an inheritance within the lots of their brother tribe Manasseh. Not singled out alongside Manasseh—but within. Generations earlier Jacob, as patriarch, had given the younger son Ephraim the blessing normally for the older. But here in this era Manasseh as a tribe had a far greater portion.

And it was the tribe of Ephraim that had to co-exist with the Canaanites.

Within another’s inheritance—with an enemy—without recourse—yet.

Same situation for both tribes, even though one considered the victor.

What circumstances have we found ourselves in that are a culmination of hard work, desire, and outreach, only to find: barriers within, critical or even hostile coworkers, and indifference? And there is no transfer out in sight.

Both tribes faced a daily decision as to how they would co-exist in a long-term relationship that in some ways neither had expected nor chosen. But each individual did have a heart choice to allow bitterness or relationship grow.

Lord, please give us wisdom and courage to live wholly for You in all areas of our life regardless of unexpected consequences of our own actions or those of others. Our inheritance rests in You and that cannot be taken away regardless of where we live or, where we work, or the people that come into our lives. May You remain at the center and may we be willing to follow Your will.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 136:23-24

“It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Covering: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Covering

A specific allotment

a particular inheritance

whether of land or

worship’s blessings.

From new born cries to

faltering old age

a particular command

a specific task to complete.

Walk in obedience

with His strength

covering every day

Creator’s gift.

Reflection: Inheritance: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     Do you think the whole tribe of Levi saw God’s inheritance as a blessing? Why?

2.     What would be the privileges? What would be the sacrifices?

3.     How does that compare with believers today, not only ordained clergy?

4.     Read Revelation 8:3-5. In what ways do the people mirror the Levites?

Share: What inheritance from the Lord do you joy in?

Inheritance: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 13

“To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to them.” Joshua 13: 14

Chosen to give the offerings by fire. Chosen to be in the center of worship.

Devoted to the service of the sanctuary. Designated guardians of the tabernacle. Their tents had surrounded the tabernacle while they traveled—as a protective bridge. Among their designated cities were also cities of refuge. And then later they were ministers in the temple at Jerusalem.

One commentator says, “the Levites were scattered among the tribes to keep alive among them the knowledge and service of God.”

In their office as priests they offered up the sin sacrifices daily. They represented the people before God and they also offered up sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. They gave religious instruction and warned against the perils of idolatry and unbelief. They gave God His glory.

Peter tells all believers, “And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. …. A people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” 1 Peter 2: 5 & 9 NAS

In our allotted places we too are scattered among the people around us to serve God willingly with prayer, and praise, and witness.

Lord, only in Your strength can we fully become Your servants and live out the inheritance You have given. Help us to lean wholly upon You in daily worship and calling wherever You send us to keep alive Your words of refuge and redemption.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 133: 1-2

“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard of Aaron, running down the collar of his robes.”

Inheritance: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Inheritance

To see beyond

blackened terrain

bone statue trees

bearing new seeds

buried deep within.

To see heart

brings hope’s vision.

Riches: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Ephesians 1:18, “so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.”

When devastation of any kind hits we tend to shut down. Acute stress response according to medical experts can be reactions such as fight, flee, fix, freeze, or faint. And stress can happen on a daily level within relationships. All of these reactions touch our emotional core and usually the next step in a pro-active choice is to fix it or repair or make a plan to re-build. Not emotional—logical.

We look with our eyes at the damage both short term and long term and initiate plans with determination and will power. And often skip over the heart because the immediate pain may be too difficult to face.

Yet that is exactly where the Lord wants us to begin—with the eyes of our heart. To first recognize that His love and mercy never end and are just as present today as yesterday and will be there again tomorrow.

Then to first choose love and mercy in healing before building new foundations that could still harbor anger and bitterness and hardheartedness within the core.

Nehemiah is well known for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and confronting severe opposition from enemies, including those within his own countrymen. Yet before he even began the vision he spent long months in prayer seeking God’s word first. Seeking God Himself. Trying to see through his own heart so as to match with the Lord’s version of inheritance.

A few months ago I heard a speaker give a church family of faith the same version of reactions to stress as the medical field did, but he added the most important other option: FAITH.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 94:14

“For the Lord will not abandon His people,

Nor will He forsake His inheritance.”