On the topic of ~ peace

          My Bible study this morning was on the topic of peace.  That is something we all want, isn’t it? To have peace in the middle of the storms in life…

This is what the Lord says
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands,

your peace would have been like a river,
your well-being like the waves of the sea.

Isaiah 48:17 & 18

        A couple of things stood out to me as I dug into the study… first is that peace can only come when I surrender to the authority of God. Oh that is so hard to do – to relinquish what I think are my rights to submit to God’s commands. And please don’t think I have that one mastered!! Some days it is a constant struggle for me to let go. But regardless of any feelings I have, I can choose to surrender to the sovereign authority of Christ.

        And here’s the thing - when I do surrender I am then able to hear God’s voice. Since He is the one who created me and knows the plans He has for me, then it only makes sense that I should listen to what He wants to teach me and where He wants to direct me! (Well… of course!)

        The icing on the cake, though is that we get this incredible bonus when we surrender, submit, and obey… peace! It is, like Beth Moore wrote in her book Breaking Free, “to have a security and tranquility while meeting many bumps and unexpected turns on life’s journey.”

        If you know me or have read some of my blogs you know that music is a huge part of who I am and how I worship my Savior. I love a wide variety of music from the very old to the barely off the presses new!!But for today, nothing can quite say it like one of my old favorites… and after I was done with my quiet time, I went out to the living room, sat at my piano and played this one with a big ole’ smile on my face and a heart full of gratitude just overflowing with peace: 

 Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Listening to the Voice of Truth whisper words of hope...

            There are moments when I am so discouraged I feel like giving up. In those moments all I can see are the gigantic waves about to take me down… the panic overwhelms me and the despair suffocates me. I can honestly say in those moments I’m not really tuned into what the Voice of Truth is trying to tell me. Instead all I hear are the “ghosts” of the past telling me lie after lie.

            Then there are the other moments – the ones where God opens the floodgates and pours out hope for my parched and weary soul. I love those moments! Those are the ones that energize me, puts some spring in my step, and my day has some umph in it.

            Once again being honest, those hope-filled days are the ones when I am really listening. I can clearly hear words of encouragement like:

“Don’t be afraid, just believe” (Mark 5:36)

“He calls His own sheep by name

and leads them out

when He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them

and His sheep follow Him

because they know His voice.” (John 10:3b-4)

            In the past couple of weeks I have been writing verses on 3x5 cards and speaking them out loud. I’m getting quite a stack! But I’m going to keep at it because it is making quite an impact. As I speak God’s Word out loud, I’m hearing truth and it is soaking deep down into my heart producing incredible peace and restocking my hope supply... and it is silencing the lie-telling ghosts! Pretty amazing.

            I’m going to let Romans 15:13 sum it up for us today –

May the God of hope fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you trust in Him

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

An intensity of worship

        I am grateful to have the ability to read the words of the Bible. I am incredibly humbled when God gives me the ability to comprehend what is being said!

        This morning I was in Isaiah 6 – that beautiful scene that takes place at the throne of God. He is high and lifted up and being worshipped. And as Isaiah looks on he is caught up with the wonder of God. He is awestruck as he listens to the angels cry out

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

the whole earth is full of His glory.”

        The intensity of worship was so great that it shook the very doorposts of the temple. Wow! Wouldn’t it be amazing if the adoration of God would be that intense today?

        That’s when I think it all hit Isaiah – Who God was and who he was. In that moment of understanding he said he was ruined – meaning that he should be completely cut off from the presence of the Holy One.

        I’ve been there – awestruck by the greatness of God and then that sudden jolt of recognition of my own sinful self… that moment of feeling utterly worthless and small and thinking “what in the world am I doing standing before God?”

        But then, at the exact moment when you can identify with Isaiah and you sense the height of despair look at what happened - an angel took a burning piece of coal from the altar of sacrifice and touched Isaiah’s mouth.

“Your guilt has been taken away

and your sin atoned for.”

        Oh the blessed relief and freedom that comes from knowing your sin has been forgiven! To know you have been given a right standing before God – it is almost more than a heart can contain.

        God then asks who would be willing to be sent on His behalf. Isaiah didn’t even hesitate in his response. “Here am I, send me!” Oh, me too, Lord, me too!! Help me

     see Who You are

          worship You with such intensity it shakes the rafters

               understand who I am – broken, poor, and needy

                    with that understanding, repent

                         know Your gracious forgiveness     

                              hear You ask for my willing heart

                                   then respond without hesitation!

A Last First

          I’m feeling a wee bit somber this morning… it is a last first. My last child is going to her first day of college. That just doesn’t even seem possible. Wasn’t it just a couple of days ago I was attending my first day of college classes? (You don’t really have to answer that…) And here it is my youngest having her go at it.

           I’m excited for Kimberly as she begins this new adventure of college. She’s going to meet all kinds of people, learn all kinds of new information, and be challenged to live what she believes. I’m so thankful she has good friends and a great Christian college group she belongs to who will help challenge and encourage her in her walk of faith.

          I’m also (dare I say it?) excited for me, too! As much as it can be a sober realization of how fast life can go by, it is also opens a new door for me, too. This new era means I have the opportunity to do some of the things I’ve been dreaming of doing. My Abba and I have been having some long chats about that… and while I don’t have all the green lights yet, I’m beginning to see some things coming together.

          A last first? Sure. But also a new beginning… pretty exciting times!

Since last I wrote...

        It has been an interesting few months since last I wrote. The summer has been a cooler one than last year – although we have had some pretty hot days, too. But for the most part, even being part way through August, the grass is still green and flowers are still going strong. I’ve certainly enjoyed a less intense summer.

        There has been a lot of doings going on, too – the end of the year piano recital, my youngest daughter’s graduation from high school and open house, a summer session of piano lessons, a trip out to PA/NY to see family and friends as well as an open house for my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary, and a quick but nice 2 day get away with Tim.

        Now it’s time to start thinking about the fall – piano lessons, getting Kimberly started at college, Tim back to driving bus… And yes, truthfully, there is a bit of disappointment that we have not moved on to a new assignment yet. But at the same time, there is a contentment that we are doing what God asks of us at this moment.

        God has definitely been stretching my faith… which I am confident is all part of His plan. I’m so thankful for the stretching although there are moments when the pain of being stretched can be intense. I love this quote from Warren Wiersbe –

      “When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. His loving heart knows how much and how long.”

         Isn’t that great? It sure has been an encouragement on the days when I have wanted to give up. Just like Romans 8 telling me what the end result God has in store by working all things together for good… and that is to make me more like His Son! Makes it all worthwhile!