“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name.  Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”  (Isaiah 40:26)

I can’t begin to imagine the number of all the stars. Just in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, there are estimated to be over two hundred billion stars and astronomers estimate over one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe.  Those numbers are beyond comprehension.  We’re talking billions of galaxies with billions of stars in each galaxy.

And God calls them each by name!  Incredible!  Equally incredible, God calls me and every person who ever lived or will yet live upon this earth, by name as well.

Lord, You call me by name.  You bring me out of my darkness.  You fill me with Your pure, radiant, life-giving light.  You call me out by name and bid me shine for Your glory.  You sustain me.  Because of Your great power and mighty strength I am not missing!  You hold me in place.

It is Your power, not mine, that brings me out, Your power that sustains me in the place You chose for me, and it is Your light that shines out into the darkness. Because of Your faithfulness and infinite might, You call us each by name and not one of us goes missing.

“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”  (Daniel 12:3)

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life – ”  (Philippians 2:14-16)

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1:17)

sincerely,           Grace Day

 

 

 

 

We all need to be encouraged from time to time; actually daily encouragement would be welcomed by most of us, I’m sure.  Encouragement usually takes the form of words spoken to us that are both complimentary and affirming, validating us in our choices and actions.  But if others tell me only what I want to hear, or what they think I want to hear, rather than the truth I need to hear, is that really encouragement?

Encouragement is necessary for the strengthening of our faith.  In Acts 14:21-22 we read that Paul and Barnabas were “strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, ‘It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.’ ”   Sounds more like a dire warning than encouragement, if you ask me.

But here’s the thing.  Encouragement tells the truth.  And here’s something else. Jesus prayed these words for us, “Father  . . .  Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”  (John 17:17)  So if I want to encourage a friend, I can trust that God’s word will get the job done because God’s word is truth and encouragement tells the truth.  Without truth, (the whole truth and nothing but the truth) words meant to encourage are hollow and devoid of any real power to strengthen anyone’s faith.

God’s word, however, is full of power.  “so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  (Isaiah 55:11)

Now Paul and Barnabas were telling the disciples that they would have to “pass through many troubles” (ie. hardships, trials, suffering) not because they wanted to talk the disciples out of following after Jesus but because they wanted to encourage them to keep on believing in and following after Jesus.  So why the doom and gloom?

Taking a closer look at what they said, we see that the end is “on our way into the kingdom of God.”  Truth containing hope.  A happy ending.  The truth of God’s word is hope to whoever reads it.  God’s word is an encouragement to me because it tells me the truth and in so doing gives me hope.

Jesus said in John 16:33, ” . . . In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”   this is truth full of hope.

“Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”  (2 Corinthians 4:17)  again truth filled with hope which brings encouragement

” . . .  now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  (1 Peter 1:6-7)  more truth & hope!

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  (1 Peter 5:10)   this is encouragement,  truth plus hope

Paul said, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul could say this because of Jesus’ words of encouragement to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:10 & 9)

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4) truth- I will have to walk through some valleys;  hope – my Heavenly Father is always with me;   this encourages me and strengthens my faith during the times I spend in those dark, dangerous valleys

” ‘Come now, let us reason together’, says the Lord.  ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ ”  (Isaiah 1:18)  truth – my sins have stained me;  hope – God provided a way to erase that stain when He sent Jesus

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)  truth – God loves me;  hope – if I believe in Jesus, whom God sent, I have eternal life.  nothing could be more encouraging than this!

“Therefore encourage each other with these words.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:18)  we can and should encourage others, dear readers, with God’s words.

because encouragement = truth + hope and God’s word is full of both!

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess, I watch a lot of reruns of the TV show Law & Order.  So I feel like I know a lot about searches and searching in general.  Those detectives are always looking for clues to solve the crime and for evidence needed to convict those that carried out the crime.  But the detectives run into a lot of resistance when they try to carry out their searches.  The people don’t want their homes searched or their cars or to be searched themselves.  They are very uncooperative and the detectives always seem to be waiting on search warrants from the court, so that they can lawfully, legally search whoever or whatever they need to in order to bring the hidden facts to light.

The detectives need to uncover the truth.  The criminals need for the truth to remain covered, hidden safely out of sight where no one can see and know.  The criminals are hiding the truth in order to avoid being found guilty and punished for their crime.

Those Law & Order detectives would love King David who wrote this Psalm to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  (Psalm 139:23-24)

Imagine that – David asks God to search his heart, he invites God in with the express purpose of knowing him and of testing him.  The Living Bible translation of verse 24 reads, “Point out anything You find in me that makes You sad,”.  David wanted to please God that much – enough to ask God to reveal what in him grieved his Creator.

In Psalm 26:2 David says, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;”    God does not need a search warrant or nor does He need permission because He is Omniscient and knows all things anyway.  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”  (Hebrews 4:13)  But even so, David welcomes, actually invites God to search him and to know him.

Adam and Eve did just the opposite in the garden.  Long before David made his heartfelt plea to God, they hid from God, wanting to cover up what they had done in disobedience to their Creator.  Jonah did more than hide, he actually ran from God when he didn’t like the plans God had for him.  Jonah eventually figured out that no one can out run God.  There was a time when David, too, attempted to hide from God.  David wanted to hide what he had done from others as well as from God. David even went so far as to commit murder in order to cover up what he had done.  He wanted to keep his secret hidden.

David’s past actions make his request of God in Psalm 139 all the more surprising, all the more beautiful.  He was willing to be searched, to be exposed, to be known. That’s a risk not many of us are willing to take.  It is painful to be exposed to the light, to have things removed that need to be taken away.

But David was brave enough to cry out to God, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  . . . Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  (Psalm 51:1-2 & 10)  That kind of heart surgery is painful – the washing away of whatever God finds offensive, (as David asked) no matter how desperately I want to hang onto it. And then the creating of the new heart, which only God can do.  Truly a miracle in any day and age.

That’s what David was consenting to, was asking God to do.  To search him with the idea of uncovering and removing anything in him that as he said, God found offensive or anything that made God sad.  David knew that only God could do this thing he asked.   He said to God, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.   . . .   Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.”  (Psalm 51:7 & 9)

David was willing to be searched by God, willing to submit, willing to surrender to whatever God would need to do in order to clean his heart and restore him to right standing with God.

David’s end game was this desire of his,  “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”  (Psalm 19:14)

That’s why he wanted God to search his heart.  May that be my prayer too.

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one of those still unsolved mysteries which continue to be debated by inquiring minds or by people with too much time on their hands.  Either way, the debate continues  . . .

I think about this debate as I think about Sarah, Abraham’s wife, waiting on God to give her a child, the child He promised her – the heir He promised to give to Abraham.  So Sarah was waiting, hoping, trusting – and then she wasn’t.  Sarah was done waiting on God.  She decided to take matters into her own hands, to rely on her own wisdom and her own ways to bring about what she was no longer willing to wait on God to do.

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.   . . .   so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children.  Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ ”   (Genesis 16:1-2)

And I began to wonder, which left Sarah first?  her hope or her trust?  When did her hope die?  Years were passing, she was continuing to get older.  Her circumstances were not changing, or if they were, they were changing for the worse.  She obviously had lost all hope that God’s promise would be fulfilled because she stopped waiting on Him.

She no longer trusted the One who had made the promise.  Was it when she stopped trusting that her hope died?  Or was it because all her hope was gone that she ceased to trust?  Which died first, her hope or her trust?

If I give up on something or on someone, have I lost hope?  hope that things will be better, different?  Why have I lost hope?  Is it because my circumstances have not changed (like Sarah’s) or have gotten worse?  Have I lost hope because I no longer trust that God is able or that He will change any situation or person in order to accomplish His good and eternal purposes?  When trust is gone, there is no reason for hope to remain.

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ ”    (Matthew 19:26)   Had Sarah quit believing those words?

Have I at times?  Do I trust God?  He is trustworthy.  But do I believe that?  He says in His word, “I am God, and there is none like Me.   . . .   I say:  My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”    (Isaiah 46:9-10)   I just have to wait on Him. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)

It is while waiting that hoping, trusting and believing are put to the test.  When one of these goes, the other two follow.  If I stop believing then I no longer trust and if I no longer trust God then I have no reason to hope that He will keep any of His promises.  When Sarah stopped waiting on God, she stopped believing, she stopped trusting and she stopped hoping.

And yet, God kept His word in spite of this.  “Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.  Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”  (Genesis 21:1-2)    So the wait was worth it and it was God’s timing not Sarah’s that prevailed.

How often I grow weary in the waiting.  When I find myself hopeless, I must realize and admit that I have stopped trusting God, because as long as I am trusting God, I have a reason to hope.  Even though I may not know which one left me first, the other one will surely follow, because they exist together.  Trust in God allows me to hope and hope requires that I trust someone able to do all that they promise.

“We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.”  (Psalm 33:20-21)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been thinking about the statue of liberty and the words “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”  (Emma Lazarus  1849-1887)

We are all refugees looking for our home.  Some of us just may not realize this yet.  Adam and Eve were actually the first refugees.  Cast out, forced to leave behind the safety and perfection of their garden home, they became wanderers in search of a new home to replace the one they had lost.  And mankind has been lost and wandering ever since.

Continually searching for that elusive, permanent place to settle in and to call home is exhausting.  Jesus’ words of invitation sound so like Lady Liberty’s, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30)

Refugees today are seeking rest; rest from the burdens of oppression, poverty, disease, crime and lack of freedom to live their lives in peace and safety.  We all want a safe place we can call home.  Jesus knew what it was to be homeless.  “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.’ ”  (Luke 9:58)

Jesus knew what it was to be poor.  He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  and James states, “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?” (Matthew 5:3 & James 2:5)

Abraham lived as an alien while he followed where God led him.  Abimelech said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.  Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you.”  (Genesis 21:22-23)

I, like Abraham, live my life as an alien here in this land.  Philippians 3:20 explains why this is so.  “But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our  lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”  Peter wrote to believers, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”  ( 1 Peter 2:11)

So I, too, am a refugee;  looking for, longing for – freedom and peace and security. Jesus holds out His hands, offering me all three.

” . . .  Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’  . . .  Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’ ”  (John 8:31-36)

“because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”   (Romans 8:2)

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  (2 Corinthians 5:5)

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”  (Psalm 33:11)

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.”   that’s security   (John 10:28)

As a refugee, wanting to flee the famine, the violence, the suffering, the losses of this life – I long for that safe place to call home.  “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”  (2 Corinthians 5:1)

Our world is full of refugees in search of a home.  My home is being made ready for me, but in the meantime I must live like Abraham, as an alien in a land not my own.

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)

sincerely,                  Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it is said that nothing is certain but death and taxes – and even those two things are filled with uncertainty if you ask me.  Taxes and tax laws are continually changing, we can never be certain of the amounts we will owe from year to year as tax rates increase or decrease, deductions are added or taken away, the rules change and all the while new taxes seem to appear unannounced just when we thought we had the old stuff figured out.

And death? – death is surrounded by uncertainty.   When will it happen?  How will it happen?  What will cause it?  Where will it take place and under what circumstances?  And of course, then the uncertainty of death really begins – where do I go when I die?  Is death the end?  If not, what comes next?  What does life after death look like?

We may feel we live in uncertain times what with all the school shootings and church burnings and wars and rumors of wars, but truth is, life has always been this uncertain, ever since Adam and Eve were put out of the garden.  What we are experiencing today is nothing new.

Abraham knew about uncertainty but he knew something else as well.  When God told Abraham “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”, he did just that.  “So Abraham left, as the Lord had told him;  . . . they set out for the land of Canaan,”  (Genesis 12:1, 4-5)  Although the destination of Canaan is supplied here, Hebrews 11:8 tells us, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”

Talk about uncertainty!  Abraham was asked to leave what he did know, his country, his people, his father’s house and journey to what he did not know in some undisclosed destination.  Everything about Abraham’s future was uncertain, where he was going, how long it would take to get there, what conditions he would encounter along the way, what people, what obstacles, –  Abraham couldn’t exactly google travel info and weather conditions so he could know what to expect, how to pack, how to prepare.  Were there mountains to cross?  Deserts? Would there be pasture for his flocks along the way?  He would be the alien, the outsider; would he be received well or would they kill him and take his wealth for themselves?

So if everything was so uncertain, why did Abraham obey God’s instruction? Could it be that Abraham knew the only thing certain was God Himself?  Genesis 15:6 tells us, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Abraham’s faith in God overrode all the uncertainties of his circumstances.

Abraham lived a life of uncertain certainty.  I can relate.  I do too.  I am surrounded by uncertainty in this world and in my daily life.  I do not know with certainty what the rest of this day holds for me, let alone the future.  But, like Abraham, I know the One who does know.  I know the God who said, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.” (Isaiah 46:10)

Uncertainty is no respecter of persons, both the rich and the poor alike deal with uncertainty daily.  While the rich are watching Wall Street, wondering if their stocks will gain or lose, the poor are watching and wondering as well; wondering where their next meal is coming from or if they will eat at all today, watching the weather as they wonder where they will seek shelter should it turn cold or stormy.

Living with certainty in an uncertain world would seem to be an impossibility. There is nothing sure, it would seem.  Those who achieve fame or fortune live with the uncertainty of how long it will last before it is no longer theirs.  Jobs are gained, jobs are lost.  Relationships, including marriages, come with no certain promise of lasting.  Illness strikes without warning as do hurricanes and tornadoes.  We make our plans but there is no certainty that the plans we make will come to pass.

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”  (Psalm 33:11)  This is something  I can be certain of amid all the uncertainty that I experience in my daily life.

The secret to living a life of uncertain certainty is found in these words, ” . . . I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”  (2 Timothy 1:12)  Yes, ” . . . faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  (Hebrews 11:1)  “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Now I see “through a glass darkly” but I don’t need to see, I just need to trust the One I am following.  For “We live by faith, not by sight.”  (2 Corinthians 5:7)  “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Living a life of uncertainty is the lot of the human condition here on earth.  We may think we are in control as we make our plans, but we are not. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  (Proverbs 19:21)

Our circumstances are always going to be ever-changing and uncertain.  But we can choose to be ” . . .  like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”  (Matthew 7:24-25)

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”  (Isaiah 26:4)

I have no choice about the “uncertain” part of this life I live, but I do have a choice about the “certain” part.  I can choose who or what I will follow, who or what I will put my trust in.  I can live a life of uncertain certainty because I belong to the One who is certain to keep each and every one of His promises.  “Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in Me will not be disappointed.”  (Isaiah 49:23)

Like Abraham my daily journey is filled with uncertainty.  I do not know the end from the beginning – but I know the One who does, my Heavenly Father.  I belong to Him, I follow Him – I am His.  And because of this I live a life of uncertain certainty.  What a wonderful way to walk through this life!  Praise God!

” . . .  for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”  (2 Timothy 1:12)

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s the question we often ask of God.  That’s the question God asked of Adam and Eve so long ago in the garden as they hid from Him among the trees.  “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ ”  (Genesis 3:8-9)

I feel like God still asks that same question today of me at times.  And I have to ask myself, ‘do I, like Adam and Eve attempt to hide from God sometimes?’  Why would I hide from my Heavenly Father’s loving, comforting, protective presence?  Job wasn’t hiding from God.  Job was doing just the opposite.  Job was trying to find God so that he could question God.  Job wanted answers to his questions and his first question was, “where are You, God?”  Job was seeking God, convinced that God had abandoned him, based on his own dire circumstances and great losses. Job no longer felt God’s presence and protection abiding with him and he was desperate to know again the relationship he thought he had lost forever.

Am I like Job?  Aren’t each of us at times?  We wonder, where is God in our circumstances, in our suffering?  I know I, like Job, cry out, “where are You, God?” Do I rely on my circumstances and my feelings to determine if God is present with me, rather than rely on His promises to me that I find in His word?  Do God’s words, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” ring true for me?  Do I believe them over my current circumstances?  Do I believe them over how I feel at the moment?

If my Heavenly Father were to ask of me the same question He asked of Adam and Eve in the garden, “where are you?”,  how would I answer Him?

Truthfully, some days I am in the pit, paralyzed by fear or doubt or discouragement.  Some days I am on the mountain top – though all too briefly – much more briefly than my stays in the pit.  For the air is thin on the mountain top and there is no level ground on which I can lie and rest up for the journey yet ahead of me.

Some days you will find me in the valley, while some seasons I spend in the desert – thirsty and wandering, searching for an oasis.  Some days I can be found drowning in self-pity or in rough seas, fighting just to stay afloat.  Then from the flood to the furnace I go, wondering if I will survive the flames.

You may find me on the roadside of the race; injured and weak, cast aside, watching others run the race – surprised that no one hears my cries and stops to offer a hand of help.  You may find me wandering far from the path – pursuing what does not please God nor satisfy me.  You may find me lost in a forest deep or climbing a cliff impossibly steep.

You may find me crawling in a cave or conquering heights that I might gain a better view – but may You find me always, ever, on my knees, while seeking more of You!  For knees can bend and head can bow, no matter where I be – on mountain’s peak or in ocean’s depth, I am never far from Thee.

And with this revelation it is abundantly clear to me, I am the one who waxes and wanes, who comes and goes, in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  He is right where He has always been and always will be.  God never changes, never slumbers nor sleeps.  He is an ever present help in trouble, His faithfulness endures to all generations.  His mercies are new every morning.

My Heavenly Father is right there waiting and watching, just like the father in the parable of the prodigal son.  God is ready to receive me again and again – as many times as I look up and see that I have again wandered away like a small child chasing a butterfly or some other elusive longing that she forgot was already completely fulfilled by the God she so casually left behind in order to search for what she already possessed.

And so I find my way again to the God who “fills everything in every way.”, including me.  (Ephesians 1:23)  And when I do, I find my Heavenly Father waiting and willing to receive me with open arms and to celebrate my return, just like the father of the prodigal son received him in the parable Jesus told.

And here’s the wonderful truth that Job, even in all his troubles and loss and suffering knew – even when he couldn’t find God, Job never doubted that God knew right where he was and would come to him when the time was right.  Job was never lost to God.  Job was never hidden from God.  God never needed to ask of Job, “where are you?”  God knew.

I, too am not hidden from God.  Even in all my wanderings, all my comings and goings,  God does not need to ask of me, “where are you?”  God knows.

“But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”  (Job 23:10)

“the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”  (Psalm 121:8)

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Where can I flee from Your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.”

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.”   (Psalm 139:7-12)

sincerely,            Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quests are supposed to be about finding something, presumably something of value.  Quests are about finding answers, not creating more questions.   Or are they?  My last quest left me full of unanswered questions and lacking the item I so diligently sought.

Quite unsatisfying if you ask me.  Searching for something that doesn’t exist, or for something that was but now is not.  Is anything permanent anymore?

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”  (Luke 21:33)

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”  (Isaiah 40:8)

Man builds his monuments that he might be remembered, while he returns to dust leaving behind his monuments – empty, speechless, unable to tell his tale, when there is no one left to remember who it was that made the monument in the first place.

We toil to make a mark while we are here, to leave a footprint that will endure in our absence, giving evidence that we did indeed pass through this way.  But our footprints fade a little with the passing of each generation, until like footprints in the sand they are completely obliterated by waves and wind, as if they had never been at all.  And when there is no one left to tell the story our footprints once told, no one left who knows our story, no one left to carry our memory in their heart, the erasure is complete.

What then is it that will last?  The things I hang onto or the things I let go?  Is it the skyscrapers, proud monuments to man, that will endure or is it the bridges, lowly paths providing passage to connect us on our journey?  Will it be the things that I accumulated or those things I gave away?

These are all queries of life’s quest, life’s quest to find meaning and purpose amid the mundane.  And each of us is on that particular quest whether we realize it or not.  We may be on our own personal quest for fame or fortune or happiness or love or health or peace or knowledge or understanding or for some rare treasure that we want to possess; but underneath it all, our quest is simply to make sense of the life we are living.  We want answers to life’s questions, that is our quest.  We spend our time dealing with the queries of our quest.

Jesus asked some relevant questions of those He spent time with,  such as, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”  (Mark 8:36-37)  or “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”  (Matthew 6:27)  or ” ‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ ”  (Matthew 16:15)

Jesus asked this last question of Peter, but truthfully He also asks this question of each one of us personally.  And just like Peter, my answer to this question makes all the difference in the world.  An eternal difference.  A truthful answer to this question leads me to a successful conclusion of my life’s quest.  The answer to this question leads me to the answers of all the other queries of my quest.

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ ”  (Matthew 16:16)

Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)

A quest is a grand adventure and life is definitely a quest – a quest for answers.  So part of questing is questioning, the most important part.  There cannot be a quest without questions.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (Matthew 7:7-8)

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

happy questing my fellow questers!     sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

that’s what we are – treasure carriers.  Now this may be hard to believe and take some getting used to – but it is true – we are treasure carriers.  This seems a contradiction because I have been a treasure hunter, a treasure seeker but do not think of myself as a treasure carrier or a treasure holder.  I may long to discover hidden treasure (like people do when they search their attics and basements in hopes of finding something of value among all the broken, discarded, outdated items classified officially as junk), but it would not occur to me to imagine that I already possess and carry great treasure within myself.

There are pleasure seekers and treasure seekers;  there are ring bearers, cup bearers, banner bearers and armor bearers; those who come bearing good news and bad.  But treasure?  There are those who carry treasure?  and these treasure carriers walk among us on a daily basis?  and I am one of them?

Treasure is usually under lock and key, guarded well, not easily accessible to just anyone.  Or it is hidden away in unknown, secret places.  (hence the allure of treasure maps)  Treasure is not for the masses, but only a select few perhaps, such as those who are royalty or those who are pirates by trade.  There are safes and bank vaults and museums for art treasures.  There are keys and locks and alarms and armed guards.  We go to great expense, to great lengths to protect our treasures and to keep them safe.  We take great care to provide places worthy of housing our treasures, places such as palaces and museums in which we keep what we deem to be of great value.

The crown jewels of England are stored in the Tower of London.  Museums are large, beautiful buildings fit for housing precious paintings, sculptures and other valuable works of art.  Except for treasure that lies buried beneath the ocean on sunken ships from times past, most treasure is kept in surroundings matching the exalted nature of the treasure it contains.

That’s why it is so surprising to me that I should carry a treasure of priceless value in my earthly body.  It makes no sense.  But this is what Paul meant when he said, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 explains it this way, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”  That’s the treasure – God’s Holy Spirit – come to live in me; to live in anyone who asks Jesus for the gift of His life giving presence.

Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians about, “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  (Colossians 1:26-27)  Glorious riches, in me?

I am the “jar of clay” Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians, as containing this treasure.  Some translations say “earthen vessels”, which I love for how accurately it describes me, seeing as how we were formed from the earth.  “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  (Genesis 2:7)

“for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.”  (Psalm 103:14)    God knows how we are formed because He is the One who formed us! God told Adam, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”  (Genesis 3:19)

So my earthly body hardly seems a suitable place, a place worthy of housing treasure of any kind, let alone the glorious riches of an eternal, imperishable, living Creator.  Beautiful, valuable treasure deserves an equally beautiful, expensive dwelling place.  But God chose to make His home with me and in me?

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”   (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Jesus said in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  Paul says to the Ephesians, “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts though faith.”  (Ephesians 3:16-17)

“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”  (Romans 8:11)  So there it is.  God’s Spirit lives in me.

I am carrying this imperishable treasure around in my perishable body, this treasure of great value is housed in this home made from dust!  Isaiah 57:15 tells me something about where God dwells, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

That’s the contradiction that is beyond my understanding.  The Creator of the universe who dwells in unapproachable light also dwells with me, His Spirit lives in me!   And because I am a broken, earthen vessel, the light of this treasure of His Presence shines out through each and every crack for all to see!

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;  . . .   And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.”  (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

I am a jar of clay, I am an earthen vessel,  I am a treasure carrier!

sincerely,          Grace Day

 

 

 

how many times have I heard that instruction?  well, every time I’ve been on a plane getting ready for takeoff, I’ve heard that instruction as part of the pre-flight routine that every airline observes.  Now when I say I’ve heard this instruction, a more accurate admission would be that it has been given while my mind is busy with other things, such as wondering if I remembered to pack ? or if I remembered to turn off ?.  or I’m thinking about whatever or whoever it is that awaits me at my destination. All this preoccupation leaves little chance that I am truly hearing these pre-flight, in case of emergency, instructions.

Nevertheless, the instructions, “put on your own oxygen mask first, before attempting to assist or to care for anyone else around you.” are given before every flight as part of the “what to do in case of an emergency speech.”  Why?  because without my own oxygen mask on, I would be totally incapacitated, unable to help myself, or anyone else.  I would be useless.

This instruction to put on my own oxygen mask first, reminds me of an instruction Jesus gave in Matthew 7:5 when He said, ” You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Good advice for anyone who wants to help someone else.  I need to take care of my own mask or my own plank first, before I can be in a position to offer assistance to someone else.

Putting on my oxygen mask first, before doing anything else, makes perfect sense in light of Jesus words in Luke 6:39, ” . . .  Can a blind man lead a blind man?  Will they not both fall into a pit?”  If I’m not connected to the oxygen source myself, I can’t help anyone else to get connected to the same life saving oxygen source.  It just isn’t possible.

Jesus offered other survival instructions as well.  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”  (Luke 6:37)  In each case, something is required of me first, some action I need to take before I can relate rightly to other people.

Jesus gave the ultimate survival instruction when He said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)  I am not to sit back and wait to see how others will treat me before I decide my actions towards them.  I am to put on my oxygen mask first, then treat them well, minister to them, serve their needs.  I can do this because my needs are met as I am already attached to the life giving source of oxygen.

I have heeded the instruction to put on my own oxygen mask first.  I am plugged in. I am connected to the source that sustains life.  And that makes all the difference.

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.   . . .  Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:1,4-5)

sincerely,         Grace Day