Heritage: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                 Heritage

                Bereft of city

                squandered heritage

                struck by own sin

                barren future

                eyes dim

                fatigue saps strength

                forgotten by God

                ever hungry

                seek return of

                child's status

                create once more

                a sincere heart.

Psalm 37:39: "The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their refuge in the time of trouble."

Reflection: Refuge: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

        1. Do you find your heart striving more for an earthly heritage or an eternal one?

        2. What comfort does knowing that God reigns from generation to generation bring?

        3. How does God's constant and abiding presence comfort you when experiencing your own lament?

Share: What comfort does it bring to know He sees each one of us as His child?

Refuge: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reading: Lamentations 5:16-20: "....Woe to us, for we have sinned! Because of this our heart is faint; Because of these things our eyes are dim; ... Thou, O Lord, dost rule forever; Thy throne is from generation to generation."

Refuge

Too often the Lord's truth becomes hidden or buried behind our fears and worries and confusion. Only He can guide us with the truth that we need to follow His purpose in all situations.

His path.

Lord, we ask You to show us the way to go. May we hold Your hand, as a toddler does, with love and trust and curiosity to see the ongoing road You choose.

Your thoughts,

Oath: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 21

“Not one of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” Joshua 21: 45

As the Lord had sworn the Levites received an inheritance of towns and pasturelands within the lots of all the tribes.

As the Lord had sworn all Israel received the lands that He had promised their ancestors.

As the Lord had sworn to their ancestors He gave them rest on every side.

In His time.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Jesus promised to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, to free the downtrodden, and recovery of sight to the blind.

Jesus promised to take up our burdens, and listen to our prayers, and send His Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised His Presence, His refuge, His strength, His forgiveness, His mercy and so so much more.

Jesus promised He will return.

In His time.

Forgive us, Lord, for the many times we allow our doubts to cloud Your promises. Help us to remain as faithful to You as You are to us. And to remember that in Your time all will be fulfilled.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 141: 8

“But my eyes are turned towards you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.”

Refuge:Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Refuge

Refuge

safety from avengers

wracked with grief

fury

place to plead

mercy

be heart heard

delivered

from evil

within and without

Refuge.

Reflection: Protection: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     Do you have habitual sins of error or intent?

2.     What circumstances tend to magnify them?

3.     Do you sweep them away as  ‘human’ frailty or take them to the Lord for forgiveness?

4.     What damage do you need to see healed in relationships?

Share: What does the Lord’s refuge look like for you?

Protection: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 20

“These were the cities designated for all the Israelites and for the aliens residing among them…until there was a trial before the congregation.” Joshua 20: 9

Long before they settled the land, Moses had appointed cities of refuge according to the Lord’s directions. Now the time had come to implement the protection that would be necessary to uphold justice for both Israelites and aliens in their midst.

Refuge—not pardon.

Sins of error—not sins of deliberate intent.

Real justice—not revenge.

Time for adrenaline, and fury, and searing emotional pain, to subside from a roaring firestorm into a focused trial. To examine all the circumstances and separate out the innocent from the guilty before more death occurred.

Time for mercy to be examined both for the accused and the bereaved.

Time before time existed, before the foundation of the world, the Lord prepared a refuge for us in Jesus to give hope instead of death in the face of all sins. As a costly gift from God.

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scouring we are healed.” Isaiah 53: 5

Thank you, Lord, for the protection You offer us in all circumstances. Thank you for Your gifts of justice, and mercy, and faithfulness, when we do not deserve it and can never earn it. Thank you for Your deliverance from ourselves, both the enemies within and without. Thank you for

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 140: 7, 12

“O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer, you have covered my head in the day of battle.”

“I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor.”

Reflection Storm: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     Have you ever been in a situation when suddenly in an instant you have become isolated either physically due to a storm, or emotionally due to a broken relationship?  What feelings began to overwhelm you?

2.     Did it create a crisis of faith for you or a deepening? What made the difference?

3.     How did you find the willpower or courage to take a step towards hope?

4.     In what ways has that experience given you faith in later upheavals?

Share: How do you find the Lord’s loving presence in the midst of chaos?

Storm:Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

As a city child I had not fully experienced the power of a northern storm until one summer visiting with my aunt on a secluded lake in Ontario. We had watched the sun set when dark clouds rolled across the sky and blackened out any view. It was as if someone had thrown black paint across the window. My aunt hurriedly ran to turn off any lights that were on and darkness immersed the room where I stood. Hesitantly I leaned towards the window wondering why I couldn’t see.

Suddenly lighting split the sky in a giant flash briefly capturing the outline of trees, like a photograph, then the darkness swallowed up everything again. I stood frozen with fear. It had seemed to strike the lake right in front of the window and as I heard the rumble of thunder I didn’t know where to run and hide before it flashed again.

My aunt quietly put her arms around me and together we watched. My shaking gradually subsided into wonder and astonishment. Although too young to have the words then to capture that first storm the ‘photo’ shot become a permanent memory complete with sound effects.

We spent all the next week cleaning up far-flung debris. The storm had shut down electricity. Fallen trees blocked the narrow dirt road leading to the cottage and my uncle couldn’t get through for a few days. I had no real concept then of its wide devastation. My aunt had turned a terrifying storm into a respect for its beauty and power.

We may have to face many storms alone without physical arms to hold us, but we will always have the Lord’s love to protect and sustain us. His invisible arms around us cannot be removed when we trust in Him and allow faith and hope to remind us of His comforting power.

Lord, please give us hearts to cling to you with trust, and do not let our fears bring confusion.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 91:1-3

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress,

My God in whom I trust!’

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper,

And from the deadly pestilence.”

Wanderers: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:38, “of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

Merrill F. Unger refers to the time between the testaments as The Four Hundred Silent Years counting from the prophet Malachi to the arrival of the prophet John the Baptist. Most Biblical records for this era come from Jewish historians.

A the end of one portion of historical Jewish history, sometimes referred to as the time of the Maccabees (see post Destitute), they cleansed the Temple and, “They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths, remembering how not long before…they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.” According to the records this self-banishment lasted almost thirty years.

Their faith took them into this harried lifestyle with no guarantee that they would be rescued or ever able to return home. They fled in order to remain true to God in worship. They gave up everything they knew and loved to follow faithfully God’s words of truth.

And that day may come again to God’s people.

Would we be as ready to stand up with this level of courage? We who some days get upset over changes to our schedules, perceived intrusions in our lives, and fragile egos at hints of disagreement?

Not apart from the Word and the Spirit to sustain us.

During those silent years the words and stories of Yahweh as told by His prophets carried on through generation-to-generation waiting and hoping for Messiah. And each Lenten season we remember the real deliverance fulfilled.  We often choose to give up something during this season, either a habit that has become a hold on us, or time so as to spend more fellowship in prayer.

Sometimes though that focus on making it through Lent without … becomes our primary concern. Or during any other season of life when we face loss and can only manage to make it through the days. Instead, perhaps we should choose to celebrate that Jesus has won the victory for us and that regardless of loss or gain, He supplies true hope every day. His courage every day. His faith every moment.

Lord, please write your words into our hearts, so that we can pass on Your stories to the next generation so that they will know Your hope.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 55:6-8

“And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

Behold I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness.

I would hasten to my place of refuge from the stormy wind and tempest.”

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Daniel 6:22, “My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”

What lion mouths are you facing right now? Bills? Medical results? Broken relationships? Fatigue? Confusion? Priorities?

Faith for Daniel meant an angel shutting the mouths of lions.

However he did not know that outcome beforehand. His situation came about due to envy and a desire for power by his opponents. When the decree was signed Daniel then went into his room to continue to pray giving thanks to God, “as he had been doing previously”, and that is where they arrested him.

He didn’t allow his outer circumstances to change his heart or his actions towards the Lord. He didn’t’ wait to know what the outcome would be before trusting. He didn’t go through numbing fear before turning back to God. He stayed the course

he already knew through his relationship.

We often wish we could say the same for ourselves, but even when we don’t deny our trust in God, often we see the lions before us and let them wear us to the bone before we call for God’s strength to sustain us.

We too can claim to be blameless before our accusers—not on our merit like Daniel—but on Jesus’ grace He has claimed for us. His word, “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest….and you shall find rest for your souls.”

Lord, please strengthen our souls to be in communion with You so that we will not be tossed and turned by our own false desires, or the desires of others, but grounded in a heart of integrity with You.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 7: 1-2

“O Lord my God, in Thee I have taken refuge;

Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

Lest he tear my soul like a lion,

Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.”

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     What gives you a sense of security? Of refuge?

2.     In whom or in what do you find it difficult to trust? Why?

3.     Has fear of circumstances paralyzed you in the past? What changed?

4.     What major step of faith strengthened you with a difficult decision? How will it impact your next challenge?

Share: How do you recognize nudges from the Lord?

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:27, “By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible.”

There are times in our lives when either opportunity or catastrophe invades our lives along with the challenge to change. And fear can paralyze our response. Unless.

Richard Foster in his book Prayer notes, “As we begin to follow these nudgings of the Spirit, we are changed from the inside out.” From the time Moses began to examine his choices and decisions under God, he took stronger and stronger steps of faith. From his first encounter where he genuinely tried to explain to God why he wasn’t equipped for this role of leadership until the time came to put God’s plan into effect, he became not only the leader God called him to be, but also a leader no longer afraid of Pharaoh.

 Foster also says that in response to God’s overture of love that we can respond by a covenant of holy obedience. “Without reservation we vow to follow the Father’s faintest whisper.” What was ahead of Moses now became more important than what was behind.

Lord, please give us the strength to move into each new day and persevere under Your power and guidance.  Please remove any fears that chain us from fully following You or hearing Your words speaking into our hearts. Help us to truly see.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 118:8-9

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:7, “By faith, Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.”

Often we have a tendency not to put imagination and faith in the same context. Yet Noah’s story has the makings of an epic fantasy or science fiction journey. In a time when rain was not a reality, a flood an unknown concept and perhaps even a boat unheard of, Noah was asked to stake everything on God’s request to build an ark. Did he struggle to find a way to ask God for a translation?  A reality check?

With our technology on super speed this era, it has not been considered odd to ask what is an ipad or an SEO or a webinar. Yet all these new means of communication have been built from previous science now constantly evolving and refining. Not only did Noah have no concepts to draw from, he also had the additional tension of worldwide catastrophe. Perhaps another indefinable concept.

Yet he trusted God’s word without question and set to follow His pattern in trust.

Too often I have pushed aside warnings or opportunities as impossible or too unlikely to be taken seriously. Either I outright ignore or water down the implications, instead of asking God for confirmation—first, and then wisdom next. And wonder why my day, my life, dissolves into chaos.

And we have centuries of scripture evidence to stand on—thousands of faith stories as reminders of God’s saving refuge in times of struggle and in times of new beginnings.

Lord, help us to distinguish Your voice above the jeers and naysayers. Give us courage to follow all Your directions and Your truth that we stay connected to You. That we may walk in obedience, safe in Your will. Help us to remember that nothing is impossible with You.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 46:1-3

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and

though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

Though its water roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.”

Leaving Egypt Behind

Scripture: Exodus 25:3, And this is the contribution which you are to raise from them:

Matched ministry. The tabernacle required specific contributions for construction. Moses had to follow a detailed plan, God’s blueprint. But all the people were included, invited to participate. They invested a personal stake, their own offerings in accord to request.

Not what each person felt like giving. Not out of duty or duress. Not as a bribe to be a worker. An act of worship. An act of obedience. An act of promise. God led-Israel followed. What an excitement to watch the tabernacle built!

Mission in reply to God’s leading. An invitation to participate in God’s work; God’s way. How often do I ask what God would like me to give? Whether time or talent or money.

Nourish in me Lord, a giving spirit, available always to contribute to Your work, at Your invitation.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 73:28

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord my refuge,

That I may tell of all Thy works.