Tag: bible

Beach Vespers

Scripture
Photo credit: Sasha Martynov

I am blessed to have a close circle of friends, sisters-in-Christ, who I like to refer to as the “Outer Banks Girls.” We were in Bible study together years ago, got busy with kids and careers and scattered a bit, had a reunion in 2011 at Kill Devil Hills, and then reunited more and more often since then. We now go to the beach together twice per year, once in the fall, and once in the spring, for an entire week.

The beach week. It is more than a retreat. It is a time for renewal and spiritual strengthening, as well as a time for rest and getting away from it all. Our beach trips have evolved and now include a time for Vespers sometime after the evening meal. This includes the lighting of a candle and some readings of scripture. I have pondered that few sacred minutes, the meaningfulness of winding down a day this way before the Lord, and I offer this anthology of meaningful words as one pattern inspired by our time at the beach.

Beach Vespers

Psalm 50:1 “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Psalm 113:3 “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

(Every Moment Holy Vol. 1, For Arriving at the Ocean) “We have traveled this day to the bounding sea, O Lord, to the far edge of the habitable land, as to the utter end of our own measure and ability and strength, to find here reminders of Your limitless presence extended immeasurably beyond us.” Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”

(VV, Praise & Thanksgiving) “When I think upon and converse with Thee, ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.” Psalm 98:5-8 “Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together.” (HYMN or Scripture Song here)

So, as this day nears its end, (Valley of Vision, Third Day Evening) “May our conscience be clear, our hearts pure, our sleep sweet! And with the innumerable company who neither slumber nor rest we join in ascribing blessing, honour, glory and power to the Lamb upon the throne, for ever and ever.” Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(EMH, The Hours: Nightfall) “Here at day’s end we seek You, O King of Earth and Heaven. You have been our sustenance across the sunlit hours. Be now our Counselor, Comforter, and Protector in the dark of night.”

Psalm 141:2 “Let my prayer be counted as incense before You, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 77:6 “…’Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.’ Then my spirit made a diligent search.” And I find you, Lord! Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun to its setting My Name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My Name, and a pure offering. For My Name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”

(EMH, The Hours: Evening) “Retire now, you children of God, contemplating His words and resting in the peace of the surety of the love He has extended to you in Christ. Know this night the comfort of His Spirit, Who ever abides in and among us,…”

Amen.

Bigger Than Us

Scripture

The truths that are bigger than us, don’t let them become easy to miss. Don’t doze off. Pondering is a helpful non-waste of time. Just think through the wonder of a small seed that grows into a very tall sunflower plant. According to Wikipedia, the tallest sunflower on record achieved 9.17 m (30 ft. 1 in.) in height. Think about all that had to happen from the time of planting a small sunflower seed, to the time of the plant reaching such a great height.

Psalm 89:27,33-37 says, “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth…But I will not remove from him My steadfast love or be false to My faithfulness. I will not violate My covenant or alter the word that went forth from My lips. Once for all I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, His throne as long as the sun before Me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Psalm 89 is a Messianic psalm. It speaks of the coming Messiah in the family line of David. It affirms God’s covenant that lasts forever and will never change. It speaks of a “faith-in-God” people group and a “forever” kingdom. A big truth!

The truth of an Infinite Creator God is one of those bigger-than-us verities. God’s character is big and is expressed in many ways, especially revealed in His redemptive plan whereby Jesus, the established King and Savior, has secured victory over sin and death for those who have faith in Him. Failure to ponder this is truly an eternal risk. Not grappling with the Word of God is tantamount to fatal – a permanent oversight that has forever ramifications…

In this psalm, God promises He will not remove His faithfulness, will not violate His covenant, will not alter His word, and will not lie. What He establishes is forever. These “will nots” are big truths. Pondering God’s unchanging character and plan is more than a fruitful pursuit, far beyond the wonder of the height of the sunflower. Just because the truth of God is so big, we should not take it for granted.

Take time. Give thought. Open your mind and heart. Look and see the height and depth of Who God is and what He says. It is big.

Heart Highways

Scripture
Photo Credit Anna Christina Fordham

"Going" is what life does. You've heard it said, "Life goes on." The journey doesn't ever stop, even if it is upended by continuous disasters, minuscule and epic.

Psalm 84:5-7 says, "Blessed are those whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion."

The possibility that the heart can move forward when the body is pulling forcefully backward is the present reality of life in Christ on a planet  that is passing away. Believers are assured the journey is toward our heavenly home, an eternity that will never stop, where heart and body finally blend forward in their highways to Zion and arrive there! And then, no more wrenching tears, no more calamitous pain, no more betrayals. No more suffering. No more Valley of Baca...

The Valley of Baca in the Bible can be translated "the valley of weeping." Baca would include any difficult or devastating place in life. Any place of hopelessness. Any place of helplessness. Zion, on the other hand, is the "City of Holiness" or "city of refuge" in the Bible.  It is the place of hope. It is the place where God dwells, where the Lord protects His people. Where suffering ends. Where relationship with God is unhampered and joyful. Where nothing keeps the heart's highways from being Godward. Where nothing prevents the worship of the One True God. Where there is no more doubt. Where there is only certainty that God has kept all His promises. Where God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Where God reigns and all is well.

So how can the springs and early rains even be found in our present "valley of weeping?" Only via hearts that are truly highways to Zion, where Zion is the place of God's presence now and in the future, full of the springs of His life-giving word, packed with the refreshing rains of His mercy and grace, abounding in pools of truth and selfless love. These highways of the heart have no detours, no construction slow-downs, no left-lane sitters. These highways flow unimpeded in one direction - toward Him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Let the highways of your heart point you to Zion.

God Notices and Cares

Scripture
Photo Credit: Anna Christina Fordham

Life has a way of reminding us that all is not well. We keep picturing how things should be, and we are forever disappointed.

It’s not just the guy holding up traffic in the left lane. It is the constant dribble of new aches and pains, the harshness of meeting deadlines, the dailyness of dirty diapers, dirty dishes, dirty clothes. The incessant need to eat or drink to fill some nebulous void masquerading as hunger or thirst. It’s the obsessive patterns we create to thwart the idea that we lack control. It’s the subtle eye rolls or whispered cuss words when the whiteout spills on the desk, when crumbs fall on the freshly cleaned floor, when papers are lost in various piles. It’s the proverbial rock stuck in your shoe!?!?! Constant.

Luke 12:6-7 (ESV) says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” In Luke 12, both before and after the verse about the sparrows, we are reminded that God notices us and cares for us even more than the sparrows. We are encouraged to trade in our many fears and frustrations and place our security in Christ alone.

God’s providential care extends over the small details of our lives. When I need reassurance, and when I wish to actually see His care of me, He faithfully pulls back the veil so I can see His mercies clearly in my life. I saw His protection last week when I exited the interstate, having to come between a school bus and a semi truck. I saw His provision when a palliative care coordinator just happened to be available at the oncologist’s office. I saw His timing, traveling mercies, and healing power in my husband’s recent shoulder surgery. I heard His kindness when a lady helped me to reschedule an appointment over the phone. I felt His comfort when all my praying friends were quick to turn their attention heavenward to intercede on my family’s behalf. The list is endless…

While all is not well on earth, I remember that earth is not really my home. Still, all that happens to me does not get ignored by God, but instead is orchestrated by God to prepare me for my eternal home. He reminds me daily to release my fears to Him and to find my security in Him alone. Were it not for this great hope in Him, I would feel that the void in my life would never be filled. Remembering His care for the sparrows, I remember that He cares for me in daily detail. Nothing in my life is unimportant for Him to care about. I am surely not forgotten.

Mathematical Musings: Ups and Downs

Scripture

The mathematician in me has always appreciated the concept of inverse variation: if the value of one quantity increases, the value of the other quantity decreases in the same proportion. For example, at constant temperature, as pressure increases, volume decreases. You might remember this from physics or chemistry class.

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 (ESV) says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…” The inverse variation analogy might be a stretch. But, in the life of a believer, we don’t fret about the inverse relationship between the outer and inner selves. We take heart. While the outer physical self decreases in stamina and vigor, by God’s grace our inner self is increasingly renewed and invigorated for glory. We are embodied souls living with a “both” existence of life and death. As we lament the curse of bodily decrease, we also take joy in the grace given in our hearts being enlarged by a beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Another look at mathematical principles includes the concept of direct variation (the opposite of inverse variation) which happens when both values increase at the same time and in relationship to one another. 2 Corinthians 5:11-15 says, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves (crazy), it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that One has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him Who for their sake died and was raised.”

As the Corinthians increasingly mocked Paul as being crazy, the unbelieving Corinthian culture increased in darkness and hard-heartedness. Yet, there was a simultaneous increase in right-mindedness – knowing the fear of the Lord and sharing the Gospel with others. Being sober and crazy at the same time, increasingly. Have you ever experienced that dual reality? Paul exemplified sobriety in his passion for ministry, motivation to please Christ, and priority to persuade others of Gospel truth even while accusations of his craziness increased.

Being in your “right mind” is observed when a believer grows in relationship with the Lord to reveal outward evidence of wisdom, fruitfulness and passion. The world may question the faith upon which these evidences are based as insanity. But taking a page from Paul’s playbook, nothing else matters except that the love of Christ controls us increasingly and that we live for Him. What may seem ludicrous to one group will be eternally life-giving to others.

Here are other valuations that increase in concert by God’s perfect design. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Let these increase directly in relationship to one another.

For the believer, direct variation should be a “both” existence of faith and love. Watch love increase when faith increases. It is direct!