Jesus loves me, this I know. This category is about Jesus, the Living Word, my prayers to Him, my worship of Him, His relentless pursuit of my heart and His invitation to me to come to Him in Sabbath, my Savior, my Rest.
Phillips, Craig & Dean supports Denver area church in spreading the gospel through their upcoming movie “The Prophet’s Son”.
Film Project
This film is rich in music, politics, and drama. It dares to reopen the wounds of Columbine, expose the heartache of homeless, runaway youth, and demonstrate the bold faith and love of Christian believers. In the ever-present longing of the main characters for each other, The Prophet’s Son models purity in the kind of love that lays down its life for others. The movie is at once romantic and prophetic, demonstrating the power of God to conquer in every imaginable situation, while preparing His people for impending judgment.
UPDATE: 7.17.11 It was a fun night, hanging with Gwen!
A little humid and muggy for my taste, but it was fun. Plus, I feel so much more hip and cool around the ravishing Gwen, this little fireball of an intern!
I am a little behind on my schedule. Not woefully. Just a little.
I am about halfway through 2 Corinthians. There are moments when I am tempted to think: perhaps I should have just read the Psalms for summer. But since the Word of God is life-giving, living and active: wow, I need that in me. The more Word, the better!
More importantly, I still, with busyness of life and love, relationships and aggravations, the intensity of the exciting before and after of Heaven Fest over the next month and a half, wasted time and way-too-jammed-packed time, too – well, sometimes there isn’t a place for the Word to live, inhabit and dwell as it deserves. So it isn’t even the reading of it, just making sure it gets “done,”, it is the doing/the meditating on/the rich possession of the Word I must work on.
Like, you can’t just buy a packet of seeds and hope for a harvest. You must turn and prepare the soil. You must nurture it with rain and sunshine. And while it is still a tender shoot, you must protect it in your heart, for the strong winds and storms and the hail will come.
You can’t just read it and walk away – back into life without knowing that it needs a place to be rooted in your heart.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1.22-24 NIV
So, maybe, as I enter week 6 of 14 (are the rest of you hanging in there with me??), I will be able to give the Word of Christ the home it deserves in me. And what a benefit to me in the process.
When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
LORD God Almighty. Jeremiah 15.16 NIV
They feed me, Your words do, LORD. They nourish my spirit.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[ may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2. Timothy 3.16-17 NIV
Your Word, LORD, equips me, trains me, corrects me, gets me ready for all this fun, crazy-good Kingdom work You let me participate in. I mean – I NEED that! Thank-You, Lord!
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4.12 NIV
Alive and active? Then I want that in ME! Yes, please!
More than good life lessons and moralizing, greater than wise words printed on a page, not just historical teaching or religious guideline, His Word is an ongoing-active-sharp-surgical-white-hot-purifying-judging-healing-clarification-bringing double-edged sword. Cut me through, LORD!
THIS WEEK, God willing and the creek don’t rise (and I am pretty sure He is willing), July 10 – 16: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians; Psalms 59 – 70
Also known as the Go Eat Pop Corn section of the New Testament. Years ago some one told me the way they remembered the order of these Pauline Epistles was to give them this acronym. Thus Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians became Go-Eat-Pop-Corn, or for some people “God’s Electric Power Company.” It is funny because I think it is really just easier to remember Galatians-Ephesians-Philippians-Colossians. But I do still have to quick-sing the Books of the Bible song I learned as a girl when I am trying to get to a minor prophet in the O.T. super fast. *smile
May the Word of Christ dwell richly in you this week, and in me, too!
For this week, July 3 – 9 :: Mark (yes, the whole book), all 16 chapters, and Psalms 47-58
I love the Word. I really needed to do this for the summer, or the busy-ness of life and family and Heaven Fest would swallow up my commitment. I look at it like a date: I have been invited to spend time in the Word, with the Word!
In the Psalms this week, you will read,
“You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in Your ledger, each ache written in your book…”
Of course it will sound a bit different in your translation (the above is from The Message). But watch for it. Find it. He sees.
FACTOIDS about the Book of Mark: He was a youngster and a straight-to-the-point kind of guy. Mark gets it: Jesus has changed everything and Eugene Peterson notes that Mark communicates an “air of breathless excitement in nearly every sentence he writes.” Mark just believes it: Jesus came! God is here and He is for us! Yeah!! Mark, in a hurry to tell the story, will remind us, too, that God is zealous in His desire to be with us, to SAVE us!
Ready? Set. READ!
Looking back at 1 & 2 Corinthians and this past week’s Psalms 35-46
There are actually times I would like to argue with Paul. Ha-ha.
But overall-I would L O V E to be like Paul. He is absolutely one of my major Biblical heroes. I remember a song from the 70’s: “I wanna dance like David, preach like Paul…” and that is true. LOVE his strong words. Also the fact that he knows his written word is strong. He is a tough guy who writes – letters! Before the end, I hope to have re-written all of his letters for my family, to just shamelessly rip off his stuff in long letters to my family.
Here is what I am deeply pondering from the Corinthian letters (1 Cor. 7) about how to live in light of the time being short. “From now on…those who buy something [should live as if it were not theirs to keep….I want you to be free from concern…” I don’t know why that hit me so pointedly. Just made me realize that everything we buy comes with a pricetag of time and space and maintenance. Just pondering…
Psalm 37 was soooooo good
The whole thing basically says this: Don’t worry, don’t fret, don’t take stuff into your own hands. God has got you covered. A great Psalm to meditate on!
I am in northwest Indiana today. It is the part of Indiana not in Indiana time zone, but actually part of the greater Chicago-land area? You know that part?
Moslander Family Reunion!
I woke up this morning (it is an hour later here than home) and started listening to the audio Bible on www.biblegateway.com to wake up gently, when Tara shook me from my good times with, “Do you realize what time it is?!?” I keep forgetting about that lost hour! Geesh.
So, as for all the rest of you, keeping up on my plan for the summer is a challenge, but it so worth it – even the catch-up days! So worth it! Hang in there, everybody!
This past week:
Wow. As much as I adore and love Romans 8, I wonder how much more weird and confusing Paul could have been in Romans 7??? Geez-Louise! Yet, on the topics he covered, I would be talking in those same circles, I fear! The Book of Romans…I HAVE to read it again before the end of the summer and then I’ll be back!
Psalm 27.13-14, I will take this! It is mine. But I will share, too:
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 34 is an thoroughly encouraging, full-of-truth and crazy-great-hope Psalm which includes the most amazing, rich declarations including:
…I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. {even just my fears}
…Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. {I have everything I need}
…The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry {He hears me}
…The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. {all!}
…The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all {ALL!}
And those are just a few.
NEXT UP for the week of June 26
1 & 2 Corinthians and Psalms 35 – 46
Because of reunion, I may or may not be a few days behind. But I’ll catch up. You will, too!
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. In me, too! :)
This is going to be an exciting week! Romans! Romans has 16 really crazy-deep-and-good chapters, so it is 2 per day + an extra here or there. And basically a Psalm or two daily.
From this past week?
“Everything they do is done for people to see” Jesus’ indictment against the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law regarding hypocrisy in Matthew 23.
Wow. That is hard. Because the minute you become an “up-front” person, the second you get the ministry-title (pastor-teacher-evangelist-prophet-apostle-women’s ministry leader-Heaven Fest director-COO of WWM-group leader-ministry supervisor, whatever), you are sure targeted to start believing your own press when the adversary starts patting you on the back. God, deliver us from ourselves and from thinking we have “a place” because we are above or beyond others and from putting guilt, condenmation, rejection, religious burdensomeness and general religious crap on people. God, help us.
Vain worship. Jesus does not play around with it. I would hate, at the end of all things, for my worship to have been in vain. Matthew 15.3-9
The Psalms…I love them. They are not just lighthearted sing-song pleasantries. They struggle with the heart-issues. Psalm 15 is one of the most difficult. Lord, who may dwell in your Presence? The answer is hard to live. Psalm 19, an homage to the beauty and life-giving nature of the Word of God. Deep prayers, “Keep your servant from willful sins, may they not rule over me,” and “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Really, truly a prayer of my life.
My summer theme:
Pondering
[AMP] Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness
[CEB] The word of Christ must live in you richly
[GW] Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you
[The Message] Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives.
[NLT] Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives
Have you ever wondered, if for some one else, you have become to *amen* to everything the enemy has tried to do to them their whole life; whether you have become the person who causes the grief and rejection, rather than heals it? The wound-inflictor rather than the wound-dresser?
Broken.
The day can be perfect. And the heart can be broken. And you do not get those hours back.
Cast all your cares upon Him , for He cares for you…
Bearing burdens.
You watch and pray. You warn and lookout for…But you cannot fix everything for the people you love. If you could, they’d come to you instead of the Author and Finisher of their faith.
The good with the bad.
You can plant the highest quality seeds, but while you are sleeping away without a care in the world, an enemy will come in to sow weeds. And even though you planted good seed, there they grow, side by side. You don’t uproot the enemy-weeds or you’ll hurt the crop you desired, the one you carefully planted and cared for. You wait until the harvest. Then it will all be revealed. The good with the bad, side by side until the Lord of the Harvest brings it all to light, just like in Matthew 13.
Two people in a room
B O M B : exploding weapon, torpedo, ticker, missile, minefield, attack, blast, bombard, destroy, destructive, blow up, charge, unstable, threat
O R
B A L M : dressing, emollient, ointment, soothing, restorative, refreshing, palliative, healing, easement, comfort, soother, alleviation, salve
Which one will I be?
Sometimes I really think I should be further down the road to Christlikeness.
Yeah! Some of you joined me. Joining anything takes effort, so I applaud you! Thank-you. You are keeping me accountable, too! Come on, Tami, Dave, Stef, Joe & Robin (??), mom, Stormie, Heather, Marilyn and Dawn: hold my feet to the flame!
Biggest Challenge:
Slowing down to let it sink in. It is really not that much to read at once, or especially if you are separating it into the morning and evening readings, as is a more traditional, high-church approach in daily meditations. I actually read all of the first 11 Psalms at least 3 times, some, more. I need to learn to stop, meditate, think them through, sloooooooooooooooooooooow down. Yes, I do!
What I am taking away ~
The very final words of Matthew 14 just exploded in an almost-summary of this whole Jesus story, didn’t they?
“…And all who touched Him, were healed.”
Wow!
Also diggin’ on Matthew 13, which is all about being a {backyard} farmer like myself with the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Weeds and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. When the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables, he explained,
“Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you…”
That is where I learn all the secrets of the kingdom – when I am planting and weeding and sowing seed in the garden.
As for the Psalms, I just have always loved the third chapter –
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
Followed shortly thereafter by Psalm 5.12, that favorite scripture that says, “Surely. LORD, You bless the bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield.”
I am surrounded by the cover-shield of the force-field of the love of God. Don’t mess with me.
What did you read/love/take away/want to keep?
I am off this morning to do a Heaven Fest Sunday in Dacono at New Horizons Christian Church with my buddies Glenn & Linette Bellew, where I will get to invite people to volunteer or hook us up with materials to keep those costs down, because, every. single. dollar. we get. from parking AND tickets – is being. given. away! Jesus, help us! There are 7 “Heaven Fest Sundays” going on around the metro-area this morning. That is crazy favor from God with the fam, gotta love the Household of Faith! www.heavenfest.com
2 Timothy 3.16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
For fun and for LIFE, here is where I will be this summer. Want to join me?
Reading the New Testament and Psalms through this summer.
This is reading 410 chapters of Bible over the course of June, July, August and wrapping up the week of Labor Day. It averages to slightly more than 4 chapters a day, or more specifically, 2-3 chapters of NT daily, plus almost 2 of the Psalms each day of the week. That is just averaging.
I know summer seems a weird time to pick up a “plan,”to start somthing that you are committing to when we usually see this time as our “lazy days,” (although who has time to be lazy ever these tdays??). But don’t you also hate getting to the end of a “season” and find that it was wasted, that you didn’t get everything from it you could have?
The busier I am, the more I need the life-giving Word of the Living God to be in me, to actually live in me…
Colossians 3.16 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Russian sage.
Ideas on fitting it in
Get up an hour earlier. This is my plan. The cool of the morning is a lovely time for the Word.
Skip the summer reruns on TV and take that last hour before sunset to sit outside and read and refresh.
Raed the NT through the week and drink up the Psalms on the weekends.
Read aloud. You are supposed to read to your kids anyway. How about reading the scriptures aloud to them? Faith come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, don’t be surprised when you actually start to be increased in faith by your own reading. Preach it!
Listen to the audio Bible on the way to work, or during a walk. www.biblegateway.com has it for free. www.youversion.com, too. The Bible is readily available free of charge!
Schedule it in like everything else we do for the summer: play dates, ball games, vacation days, picnics, small group.
Then?
Meditate on it throughout the day. At the end of each week (or on Sunday), write yourself a few quick notes of what God’s Word did in your heart the past week.
Jeremiah 15.16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.
The plan.
WEEK OF
June 5 Matthew 1-14; Psalms 1 – 11
June 12 Matthew 15 – 28; Psalms 11 – 22
June 19 Romans; Psalms 23 – 34
June 26 1 & 2 Corinthians; Psalms 35 – 46
July 3 Mark; Psalms 47 – 58
July 10 Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians; Psalms 59 – 70
July 17 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon; Psalms 71 – 82
Hebrews 4.12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
It is about 20 minutes a day, I’d say, reading at a leisurely pace (I just meandered through Matthew 1-5 and Psalm 1-5 in about 30 minutes). Just think what a great meal we’ll have enjoyed in the next 90 days!
This .jpeg can be saved to your computer desktop for reference
Want to join me? Want to? Come on. You know you do!
If I have the words of men and angels and can argue all my cases and can even do God’s bidding for Him, but I don’t have love (to give), I end up just being a bunch of loud, imposing and worthless communications. And if I have the gift of prophecy and can reveal to everyone what God’s next move is, let everybody know the secrets of the ages, and yet do not love people {{what?!? a prophet without love? is that possible?? // pure sarcasm}}; and while we’re at it – what if I am the latest, greatestspiritual- hoo-ha, laying hands on people and moving mountains, or totally different – what if I am dancing all over injustice and rescuing the exploited and raising money for the poor and saving everything in the world and on the earth that needs saving, but I can’t manage to love…can’t just put it into action {{love.is.a.verb. so sang DC Talk}} towards the person in the room with me, then what? What is the point if I can’t show it, be it, live in it, allow God’s own love through me…to you, then?
I don’t get love, after all this time, still.
1 Corinthians 13. Image taken by Stormie. From her view while lying on the patio swing. On a sweet Sunday afternoon.
God, help me learn to love like this, no hidden agendas, no manipulating, just free of self-focus and selfishness. Teach me to be hope-full, trustful, protecting at all times. Give me opportunity to become patient (but be merciful, too, here, Lord, please) and by the end, can You help me to be, so I will be remembered for being, kind? I so appreciate kindness, I would like to be kind, too. I really would. So I wanna learn to L O V E like this, like 1 Corinthians 13 talks about. It will have to be Your love. Yours. Through me. Let it be.
