Lasting results

Nehemiah 13:14 Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.

When I read this prayer of Nehemiah, something resonates in my own heart about his desire.  The entire story of Nehemiah is of a man who was called by God to do something seemingly entirely foreign to his experience and his personality.  He was a cup-bearer to the king in his exile from his homeland yet his heart ached over the situation in his home county, and he had spent time in prayer about it.  Then when God made it clear to him that he should be in charge he did so.  In this final chapter of his story he again had to step up and be strong in leadership, which he did.  I see here the essence of true, God-blessed, God-ordained leadership.  He saw what was wrong and took steps to correct things, which was good, but his prayer tells me it was not easy for Nehemiah to do.  He wanted to be sure that he had done something God would bless by making it a lasting result, whether it was done perfectly or not.  That is my own prayer as well.

No regrets

Nehemiah 8:10b Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

As I read these verses in chapter 8 I realized that the leaders told the people over and over not to grieve.  Why?  The Book of the Law was being read to them for evidently the first time in a long time.  As they heard, the people were beginning to understand it anew and recognize their spiritual need.  Verse 9 says they began weeping as they heard it.  So Nehemiah and the Levites were comforting them.  It is as though they were saying, “The past is done with.  You have made a new commitment to God so do not dwell on the past.”  Verse 12 says the people celebrated with great joy because they now understood God’s words.  Our strength to face the future comes from our joy of forgiveness.  Our past failures do not have to cripple us as we move forward.  The past is just that … passed.  Our forgiven sin is over, forgiven and forgotten by God.  We can face new tomorrows freely and joyfully.  No regrets.

Strengthen my hands

Nehemiah 6:9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be complete.”  But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

There are so many times when we are tempted to give up on something God has given us to do because of things that happen or things that people say to us that discourage us.  It is important to keep in mind God’s call on us for whatever task it is that we are doing, and to remember that our enemy will do whatever he can to discourage or destroy us and render us unable to work.  We can pray this same prayer that Nehemiah prayed, “Strengthen my hands.”  Even the act of praying this simple prayer has brought courage and strength to keep on keeping on when I have prayed it.  It has kept me from giving up when otherwise I would have done so.

When little is a lot

Nehemiah 3:33 Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their houses; and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the song of Ananiah, made repairs beside this house.

The task of repairing the entire wall around Jerusalem was without a doubt a huge job for these few exiles who returned from Babylon to repair the city.  Where do you start when everything needs cleaning up and repair?  I know how I feel when I face a big clean-up at home, so I can only imagine how big and how discouraging this could have been for these Israelites.  How to do it?  Take a small “bite” and start working!  This chapter tells just that … each family repaired the small portion of the wall that was in front of their own house.  When put all together, each little portion turned into a big job completed.  I cannot be deterred from doing a little bit at a time.  It will grow big.  And I love the statement in chapter 4 that says the leaders stood behind the people, guarding them while they worked on the wall.  That support was, I am quite certain, very energizing to those who were trying to work and guard their work at the same time... energizing and encouraging.  I see this as a picture of what our church leaders/pastors do for us.  They are watching out for us as we try to build in our lives.

Determination

Ezra 7:28b Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

It was no small or insignificant task that Ezra was taking on.  He was going to be going back to Israel to rebuild Jerusalem and he had never been there nor had he ever done anything like that.  His background was all “wrong” for this.  Besides that, the people living in that area were enemies of the Israelites, and much more powerful.  This verse says that Ezra took a deep breath, so to speak, and jumped right into the task at hand.  And why/how did he gather up the courage?  Because he knew the Lord’s hand was on him and would bring success.  That give him the courage to step out and prepare for the journey and the job ahead.  In fact, earlier in the chapter, in verse 9-10 we are told that the hand of blessing of God was on Ezra specifically because he had set his heart to study, obey and teach God’s word.  That determination gave Ezra what he needed to take on that big task.  If we know God’s hand is on us for a task, we can step up and act courageously. 

Prisoner of hope

Zechariah 9:12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoner of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

This verse/promise is part of a prophecy to the Jews about the coming Messiah who would come as a King, a righteous and powerful yet humble Savior.  As a part of His powerful take-over, this passage says He will set prisoners free from their waterless pit (v.11).  Immediately after this is when this verse comes, almost as though the prophet says, “Since you are now freed, go to your safe place.”  The word “stronghold” denotes safety and security and when it is coupled with this description of the prisoners now as prisoners of hope, I see a picture of what hope can accomplish in my life when I have it.  My security as a follower of Christ is in my hope.  Hope is defined as “the feeling that what is wanted can be had” (re: www.dictionary.com) and that is exactly what my confidence in Christ is.  I am captivated by that hope … it holds me.  I am a prisoner of hope.

My legacy

Zechariah 3:8a …you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come …

When I read this phrase God used when addressing the high priest, I was reminded of the legacy each person leaves to those who come after them.  In this case, God was telling Joshua (the high priest) of the way he was a symbol of God’s mercy and forgiveness and restoration for the people of Israel.  If I am faithful to God in my lifetime, how my life is lived can be a symbol, a testimony, of how God leads and blesses a faithful follower and those who have occasion to reflect on y life in the future (friends, family members, grandchildren) will have in my life a symbol of what they can enjoy of spiritual and heavenly blessing.  It can be my way o f leaving a legacy even if there is not much of material goods to pass along.

Butterfly card

It always amazes me how little creativity I have when I am sick, and it has been no different this past week or so with a bad cold.  My heart wanted to do something creative but my brain and my body rebelled, so when I felt like sitting down and making a card yesterday afternoon I knew I must be on the mend. 

Be strong and work

Haggai 2:4b-5 “Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, “and work.  For I am with you,” declares the Lord Almighty.  “This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.  And my spirit remains among you.  Do not fear.”

This is yet another reminder from the Lord to His people that He plans to keep His promises to them.  It does not mean that everything will be easy.  He says to be strong and to work.  This implies the existence of potential weakness and potential laziness.  But His promise is that if they will “bite the bullet” and do what has to be done, they will have two results: 1) God’s presence for courage and strength, and 2) good and successful end results.  Just in case there is fear in facing the challenges, God also reminds them of His continuing presence and that they need not be afraid.  This is a great reminder to me that I can do whatever God directs me into if I will be strong and courageous and diligent to do the work.

Cause for celebration

Ezra 6:22 … they celebrated with joy … because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God …

The Israelites had two reasons to celebrate that are my example of how I should view what God does for me.  First, they celebrated because they were able to do work on repairing God’s house.  Just knowing they were going to be able/allowed to do what they really wanted to do was cause enough for celebration.  They were exiles/slaves under the Assyrians and they were going to be allowed to return home to repair damage.  Then, to add joy to that celebration, God had changed the king’s heart and he was supporting the effort.  God had answered their prayer to be able to go home and repair but then God added the extra blessing of the king’s support.  I can always celebrate what God is allowing me to do but there is usually some form of extra blessing that can make my celebration even sweeter if I just look for it … the phone call or note of encouragement, the unexpected meal or visit, the hug or word of encouragement… those can be the joy of the celebration as well.

Just do it afraid

Ezra 3:3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord …

I suppose that as long as we live on this earth there will always be someone or something around to cause us to be afraid, or to feel fear or feel threatened.  That should not, it cannot, be allowed to keep us from doing the right thing.  We should do what is right even if we feel afraid.  That is what the Jews did when they rebuilt the altar in Jerusalem.  Fear can paralyze us but only if we allow it to do so.  If our desire to please God and to honor Him is strong enough it will give us the extra courage we need to overcome our fear and do what needs to be done.  I remember reading the story of what a mother told her little girl who was afraid of doing something (I can’t remember what it was).  She said to the child, “Just do it afraid.”   It happened that way for those Jews in Ezra’s time and it can happen that way for us the 21^st century if we are as determined as they were.  The passage does not say why they were afraid of the people around them, but it does not really matter.  The important thing is that they went ahead in spite of their fear and did the right thing, the thing they should do.  They did it because of “what is written” (v.4).  After they took that initial step, they presented regular burnt offerings (v.5), so the first step was the hardest but it got them going on the right track and in the right direction.

How faith came

Daniel 6:16b The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you.”

I think this is one of most moving parts of the story of Daniel, and (for me) maybe of the entire Bible.  It is an expression of faith from a man who had a desire for faith but did not know much about the faith of the Israelites.  The king had been forced into this situation by evil men and out of his own foolishness, but he wanted to believe and God perhaps allowed this trial in Daniel’s life to help King Darius believe in Him.  From Daniel’s perspective, this was a trial of his faith, but from God’s perspective it may be also been a way to bring a pagan to belief.  At least, that was the result!  This is yet another reminder to me of God’s purposes that may be hidden from me in this lifetime.  There are spiritual battles in heaven for the souls of men that may be unknown to me but are nonetheless real.  We cannot begin to know all of that is happening that will bring faith to a person in the end.

More paint chip cards

I had some left-over paint sample cards sitting on my craft table so I decided to do something with them ... something simple ... so I die cut both samples with a large label die and added a white message label on top of that with a paper flower, all coordinating colors.  Add a bow of some pretty ribbon and ...

And a slightly more close-up look:

That second card is actually a teal color, but I could not get the right angle to show off the beautiful hues of the colors.  Guess I'd better work on learning more about photography!

The fiery furnace

Daniel 3:26b-27a So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors crowded around them.

The three men had been through a terrible ordeal, almost losing their lives, yet when God saved them from death in the fire, it created quite a sensational and earth-shattering, life-changing effect on everyone, not just on themselves.  I cannot help but think about how rewarding it must have been for those three to see the turn around in attitude by all of those officials.  It was part of the spiritual reward of the faithful three for their willingness to stay true to God and stand up for what was right, and I suspect it was perhaps the most meaningful part of their reward even though they also received a “human” reward by being promoted in the province.  Would that I would remember this valuable lesson when my trials come.

Thoughts and prayers card

Mary, one of the women in our Bible study group at church, is a main care-taker for her son who has been having some very difficult times lately.  I had sent Mary a card several weeks ago but her son has been on my heart lately as well even though I do not know him personally.  I wanted to make a nice, heartfelt card that was a little bit more masculine but still carried a good message for him and since I was having a hard time doing this, I finally sat down at my craft desk and literally prayed over the card.  I usually do this but not so intensely (because I want every card I make and mail to be an encouragement to the recipient).  Well, I started looking through my papers and I think the Lord clearly answered my prayer.  I anticipate His also answering my prayer that this card will have the desired effect on Mary's son when he receives it in a couple of days.  Who knows, maybe the Lord is timing the arrival of this card to just the "right day."

and the inside:

God's eagerness

Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

God is looking for true repentance and obedience, and this is no clearer than what we read here in this verse.  It is also clear to us from this verse that God is not reluctant to forgive our trespasses if our sorrow over our sin is from our hearts and not just an outward display.  The description of God here leaves little to no doubt about His eagerness to take us into His family and love and care for us, forgiving all sin and starting anew.

Changed by worship

Ezekiel 46:9b No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate.

This verse is talking about the people who come to participate in worship and I was struck by this part of the verse that reminded me that my encounters with God should have me leaving by a different “gate.”  I do not know what the “real” meaning of this was for the children of Israel, although it seems to speak to the orderliness with which God wanted the temple worship to be carried out, but what I saw for myself here was the need to be different in some way whenever I leave God’s presence.  If I am always coming and going toe same way, the implication is that I am no different from the encounter with God and that means staleness.  If I am leaving out from the “opposite gate,” the implication is “change.”  That is what God wants for me.

My possession

Ezekiel 44:28 I am to be the only inheritance the priests have.  You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession.

The priests were God’s representatives to the children of Israel as well as the people’s representatives to God so theirs was a very important task.  They needed to be able to be fully attentive to their responsibilities and for this reason God wanted them unfettered, unhampered, by things that could distract them.  Possessions have a way of doing that to us.  Possessions and inheritances have a way of taking us over if we are not careful.  For me, this is my reminder that God wants to be my number one “possession” with everything else taking second place.  It is only then that I am able to honor and serve the Lord in my own life, even though I am not a full-time priest as those priests in this verse were.  The principle is the same for me as a member of the “royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:5).

The heavenly spotlight

Ezekiel 38:23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations.  Then they will know that I am the Lord.

God allows mankind to go any direction they want to go spiritually.  He is available to any and all who want to believe, trust in and live for Him.  However, I see over and over the book of Ezekiel statements about the efforts God takes, or will take in the future, to make His trustworthiness and His greatness so obvious to unbelievers that they cannot deny it.  He will do whatever He can to show His greatness generation after generation.  “Then they will know that I am the Lord.”  They will be without excuse (Romans 1:19-20) on the Day of Judgment.  In my mind’s eye I picture a world-sized spotlight shining on God in that day, spotlighting His greatness and his holiness in order to accomplish that goal.

Vindication

Ezekiel 36:23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name … and the nations will know that I am the Lord when I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

 I looked up the word “vindicate” in the dictionary because it is not a word we use very often in our daily language and I am glad I did so because it gave me much more food for thought as I meditated on this verse.  To vindicate means to clear, as from an accusation, to justify, or to defend against opposition, or to assert one’s right to a possession.  What great understanding as to what God is telling His people here!  He is accused, even in our day, of being an unloving or harsh dictator and His goal is to clear His name from such an accusation by saving people from sin and wickedness.  By His powerful actions of salvation and provision and His miraculous ways of rescuing people from spiritual and physical danger He is defending Himself to man and to Satan, and He is asserting His right to His children and to His holy name.  When I see God at work in my own life or in the lives of those around me, I am seeing God vindicate His great name.  And when I reach heaven, whether at death or at Jesus’ Second Coming, God will have vindicated His holiness completely, without question, for eternity.  And, as Ezekiel reminds us in just about every chapter of the book at least one time, then the nations will know that He is the Lord.  He has done, is doing, and will continue to do everything He can to convince people to worship Him and Him alone.

Friendship album no. 2

After making this small friendship album a few weeks ago I still had quite a bit of sayings about friendship left so I decided to make another book with a set of paper I've had for ages and never seemed to be able to use up.  Here are some views of the new book I just completed yesterday afternoon, except for deciding on a "finishing touch" for the cover or perhaps adding something to make the closure chain look more appealing ... I just can't decide what I want to do yet.  Anyway, here are some selections of the six pages in the book as well as the spine and front cover:

Page 1, closed, then opened:

Each page includes an open-up flap and a pocket with a tag in it (each tag has a label "handle).

Also, on the back of each page is a small pocket with a little tag in it for photos or journaling.

God's pleasure

Ezekiel 33:11 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.

In this verse, I see that God has great pleasure in those of us who choose to love, honor, obey and live for Him.  He created man to be a reflection of His own glory and so that is what brings the greatest pleasure to Him.  My life, when lived the way God intended when He created me, not only fulfills me as an individual, but also fulfills Him as the Creator.  When I live according to His Words, I have more peace, greater joy, and a satisfaction that is deeper than I could have any other way (Proverbs 6:22)  and God finds greater satisfaction in His creation.   This verse also reminds me that God does not want to have to punish anyone … He is not a harsh judge.  He would far rather save us than judge us.  He is a loving Creator God, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the Truth.

Note-worthy motivation

When I saw the idea for this "Love Bomb" on the Pootles website the other day, I knew I wanted to try making it, so I got out some 6 x 6 paper I had set aside not knowing what to do with it and set my hand to making one of these cute accordian-style holders.  I am really tickled with the final result!

It holds four little note cards...

Then it ties together... so cute!

Since I decided to give it to my Weight Watchers buddy Sandy, I put four motivational sayings on the four cards, mostly things that have been said by WW members at one time or another.  I put a Bible verse on one of the cards as well since I believe that one of the keys for my success is going to be trusting God to help me be disciplined enough to succeed.

I already gave it to Sandy and she loved it!  So now I am trying to figure out a way to have to make some more of these!!

Busy birthday month

September is a big birthday month for me... friends and family alike.  I like to make cards that speak to my thoughts about each individual I am making a card for, and this one is a case in point.  This friend has beautiful grey hair that makes colors pop on her and she seems to look good in every color so I though of her with this beautiful teal and red/ fushia combination.  I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed putting it together with strips of washi tape.

The Lord my God

Ezekiel 28:26 They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them.  Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.

There are so many examples in Ezekiel of what God will do to make sure the Israelites, or in some cases, their enemies, will know that HE is the Lord.  In this verse, God says that the way the Israelites will know He is the Lord their God is when they have calm, secure, safe lifestyles while their enemies go through hard times.  There have been many times I have looked at my easy, safe, secure life and wondered at the blessing of God on me.  I cannot always explain why my life is so much easier than many others, but maybe some of that is in some way related to my being reminded that He is the Lord my God.  Then, too, even when things are not going well for me I still see God's presence in my life and circumstances and that is the contrast between me and an unbeliever who has no peace.  Either way, God uses my situation to remind me that He is the Lord my God.

God's teaching tools

Ezekiel 24:24 Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done.  When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

Although, admittedly, I am not sure I totally understand this passage, I see yet another instance of God using a man (this time Ezekiel) to remind the children of Israel that God is God, reminding them that He is omnipotent and worship/obedience-worthy.  This time, however, God asked a really difficult thing of Ezekiel in order to use him as a minister and prophet to the people.  Ezekiel’s wife died, and God asked him to not display his grief.  Ezekiel already had skepticism from the people around him, and then he had to do this.  Being the servant of God is not always easy.  God does not always shelter you from difficulty.  In fact, He may actually USE the difficulty as a stepping stone for teaching onlookers about Himself in some way.  I need to keep this in mind when things seem to go “wrong.”  It may be one of God’s teaching tools to others.  I saw this happen when I moved to Jordan with no decent household goods.  What was hard for me (having to leave so much behind in Beirut) became the key to my ability to minister to my new friends and neighbors because they saw me as one of them, not a “rich” American.  What a powerful lesson for me then and it has stayed with me all these 40 years since then.  God will use even the most difficult things in our lives for good if we allow Him to do so.

Forgiveness is certain, sin forgotten

Ezekiel 18:22-23 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.  Because of the things he has done, he will live.  Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? Declares the Sovereign Lord.  Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

The paragraph in which these verses are found begins with God’s statement that when a wicked person turns away from their wicked ways and begins obeying God’s ways, they find life.  It is after they have turned to God that their offenses are forgiven and forgotten.  Because of their turning from sin to God they will live, and that is the thing they have done that gives them life.  God wants that turning to happen in every person.  It is His desire to see that.  He created us and does not want any of us to be lost to Him, but it depends on our turning.  As soon as the turning occurs, so does the life and with it, the offenses are forgiven and forgotten.

Or, as a following verse (18:28) says: