Expectations

I have really enjoyed reading a blog recently called Holy Experience. It belongs to a mother of 6 who is an amazing writer and many times I am refreshed and encouraged by her perspective. Here is an excerpt of something I read there today that encouraged me SO VERY MUCH!

“Expectations kill relationship.”

I’ll never forget where I was standing, what the color of the sky was, when Mama said those words.

The words reverberate inside of me, and ring true, sure. When I expect something, demand something, presume, anticipate, await something, I fail to be to grateful for what is. I smother the gift of what simply is, in my stampeding expectation for what I proudly, arrogantly, wrongly think should be. My expectations of what kind of life God should give snuffs out my gratitude for the life He has given.

Read the rest here.

(Also I have been tagged to post some recipes....will do that soon!)

My Anthem

As I meditating on Scripture this morning I was amazed by God's unending nearness and presence that He has blessed me with because of His favor and was inspired to write down this prayer that I prayed. What a sweet truth that as sinners who deserve wrath, the cross has made a way for God to come to us in love.

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus” 1 Tim 5:21

Dear Lord,

I praise you, my God, for this truth. My God is a living God who is in all places at all times. Nothing happens with out your awareness or intended purpose. My life is in submission to your authority which is a blessing because I need you to lead me and guide me. Let this be my anthem, before me stands the One that was crucified for my sins and rose from the dead so that I may triumph over sin. Allow me to never forget Christ nearness to me. Increase my desire for your nearness so that I can live for you. As I continually bask in your presence let my heart overflow with gratefulness for paying my ransom. Let the nail scarred hands and feet remind me that my life is a living sacrifice for you, my lord.

East to West

Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.


This song has hit so close to home lately...

Casting Crowns: East To West


Here I am Lord and I’m drowning
In Your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don’t want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight

I know You’ve cast my sin as far
As the East is from the West
And I stand before You now
As though I’ve never sinned
But today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the East is from the West?
Cause I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
You know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in
Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way


Jesus, can You show me just how far the East is from the West?
Cause I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
Cause You know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

I know You’ve washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can’t live by what I feel
About the truth Your word reveals
And I’m not holding onto You
But You’re holding onto me
You’re holding onto me

Jesus, You know just how far the East is from the West
I don't have to see the man I’ve been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest (mercy I find rest)
You know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

(Just how far, the East is from the West, Just how far)
From one scarred hand to the other
(You know just how far, the East is from the West, Just how far)
From one scarred hand to the other

Reflections on God's love

The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

"The great God not only loves his saints, but he loves to love them, is pleased that he has pitched upon these objects of his love. He will joy over them with singing. He that is grieved for the sin of sinners rejoices in the graces and services of the saints, and is ready to express that joy by singing over them. The Lord takes pleasure in those that fear him, and in them Jesus Christ will shortly be glorified and admired." (Matthew Henry on above verse)

With Laura being gone this week I have had a chance to focus on the main thing be reminded of the love that has been shown to me that surpasses all over loves. Because Christ taking my place on the cross I am now a child of mercy and am allowed to experience God’s goodness. His goodness has supplied all of my need and His mercy has blotted out my sin. Since my sin has been blotted out, God does not just love me, but He delights to love me. He is rejoicing over me with joy and gladness. My joy is His presence. With God in my presence I have perfect comfort and absolute security, He is all that I crave.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever. (Psalm 23:6)

"'For thou art with me.' This is the joy of the Christian!...'Thou Art with me' I have in having thee, all that I can crave: I have perfect comfort and absolute security, for thou art with me...Goodness and mercy follow him always - 'all the days of his life' - the black days as well as the bright days, the days of fasting as well as the days of feating, the dreary days of winter as well as the bright days of summer. Goodness supplies our needs and mercy blots out our sins." Charles Spurgeon on above verse

marriage goals : more prayer

“We become fruitful by grace; we persevere by grace; we mature by grace; by grace we grow to love one another more, and by grace we cherish holiness and a deepening knowledge of God…The Savior cannot be glorified in our lives, nor can we be finally glorified, apart from the grace that He provides.” D.A. Carson

I've included a quote above from D.A. Carson on prayer. Prayer is in essence a crying out for more of God's grace. One of my conviction as I've tried to use this time to think about how I can better lead my family is the lack of praying together. There is a promise that where two or more gather together in Christ name He is there. The beauty of marriage is that we have the 1 plus 1 equals 2. Now we just have to take the next step and come together in His name to seek Him and His grace. As I was thinking about that D.A. Carson quote there are marvelous implication for it in relation to prayer. Below is my paraphrase.

“Marriage becomes fruitful by grace; marriage perseveres by grace; marriage matures by grace; by grace we grow to love one another more, and by grace we cherish holiness and a deepening knowledge of God…The Savior cannot be glorified in our marriage, nor can we be finally glorified, apart from the grace that He provides.” D.A. Carson paraphrased by me

Thoughts on Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Over at the Desiring God blog they have a couple of great resources on the tragedy of the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis.

1)A video of footage from the scene (Desiring God offices is located one office away from the bridge) with an excerpt from a Piper sermons called, "Where is God."
2)John Piper's reflection on the event and a conversation he had with his 11-year old daughter when he put her to sleep.

Both of these resources I would highly recommend.

This morning on the metro the cover story was on the bridge and a report in 2005 said that the bridge was "structurally deficient." Is that not true for all of us. Are we not all "structurally deficient" because of the sin that plagues all people. I am not God, but I know who is, Holy Spirit, help me to completely place my trust in Him because in Him there is no weakness or deficiency.

"There is no such thing as implicit confidence or reliance on God until we renounce all confidence in ourselves. When Paul was convinced that no wisdom or efforts of his own could deliver him from death, then he was forced to rely on the power of God... The experience of past deliverance and mercies is the ground of present peace and of confidence for the future." Charles Hodge

Sing of His Mercy

This past Sunday at church we had a responsive reading based on Psalm 136. Psalm 136 is probably one of the first Psalms that really stuck with me when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Every verse in this particular Psalm ends with "His mercy endures forever." Spurgeon comments on this repeated line:

"His Mercy Endures Forever. We shall have this repeated in every verse of this song, but not once too often. It is the sweetest stanza that a man can sing. What joy that there is mercy, mercy with Jehovah, enduring mercy, mercy for ever. We are ever needing it, trying it, praying for it, receiving it: therefore let us for ever sing of it."

Living in the power of the gospel

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you, what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” –Hebrews 13:20-21


This past week I led our single’s care group on a discussion about the power of God. The above Hebrews passage is not one that I’d typically think of when I think about God’s power except for until I read what Matthew Henry wrote about the verse.

“He (Jesus) rose again for our justification; and that divine power by which he was raised is able to do every thing for us that we stand in need of.” Matthew Henry.

As I meditated on this passage it rocked my world to think about how the power that is found in my forgiveness of sins, is the same power that God gives me to do all things. It is an easy thing to assume the forgiveness of sins, but the real difference is when we find power for all of our needs to be met and strength to glorify God in all that we seek after. Anyone can say that “your sins are forgiven,” bug God has given us more then just forgiveness, He has given us His Spirit then at allows us to do more then we could ever ask or think of. (Matthew 9:1-8, Ephesians 3:20-21)

This power that is available through Christ blood is magnified by an awareness of weakness. If I am self-sufficient I can accomplish nothing. If I humble myself then God will lift me up and give me strength.

“When we are really weak in ourselves and are conscious of that weakness, we are in the state suited to the manifestation of God’s power. When we are emptied of ourselves, we are filled with God. Those who think they can change their own hearts, atone for their own sins, subdue the power of evil in their own souls or in the souls of others, who feel able to sustain themselves under affliction, God leaves to their own resources. But when they feel and acknowledge their weakness, he imparts divine strength to them.” Charles Hodge

What a dreadful thing to be left to my own resources. I know I am a goober. How thankful I am that I can place my hope in God and know that He is faithful to His children. I have no hope apart from Him, but in Him I find strength for all trials and every circumstance that happens in life.

“Jehovah who created all things is equal to every emergency; heaven and earth are at the disposal of Him who made them, therefore let be very joyful in our infinite helper.” Spurgeon.

Mr. Clean!

Mr. Clean has been doing wonders around my home! And no I'm not talking about the man pictured above ;) My sweet husband has been blessing me time and time again but helping me with cleaning! Some of you who know me well....Mom ;)...know that cleaning isn't my favorite thing. I really have to push hard to motivate myself to clean. I love cleanliness, but just hate the hard work that gets you there. Either way since we've been married I have grown. (For those of you who are thinking "gross I've eaten at her house or used her bathroom" don't worry I do clean those very important places! I just don't like it!)

Recently I've come into the kitchen to see Lew scrubbing away at dishes, or wiping down the counters, sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom. He even swiffered last night! Oh how blessed I feel. He often does these things without asking, just to bless me. He doesn't even care too much about things like the bed being made...but knows that I do...so he does them. He's even getting to be better than me. I told him if he keeps that up for long I won't ever want to clean again ;)

Thank you my sweet pea! You are such a blessing to me. You are truly an example of Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

When Sinners say "I Do"

Calling all married couples out there! If you haven't already picked up this book, I so highly recommend it! Even after just reading the first chapter I was so encouraged and filled with hope for our marriage to continue to grow and strengthen...with the help of the gospel that is!

Towards the end of the first chapter Harvey starts talking about Street theology...he describes this as "trying to exercise our faith in a world where couples get angry and doors get slammed."

Here's a little glimpse into the first chapter under this section:

"The sober truth is that without full disclosure on sin, the gospel of grace becomes impertinent, unnecessary, and finally uninteresting. Without a full disclosure on sin, blind self -confidence will compel us to try to make our marriages work on our own strength. And whatever we try to do in our own strength does not have as its goal the glory of God and does not get its life from the fountain of the gospel....What if you abandoned the idea that the problems in your marriage are caused by a lack of information, dedication, or communication? What if you saw your problems as they truly are: caused by a war within your own heart?

If you happen to be reading this book in the glow of a blissful honeymoon, now would be a good time to lean over to your sugarplumhoneykins and whisper softly, "I'm a really big sinner-and I'm yours for life."

That's how you do street theology in marriage."

What a sweet revelation! It's so refreshing to be reminded that the strength of our marriage comes from the Gospel! I so often forget this and try to lean on my own strength and then become weary and overwhelmed by my sin and weakness. I think marriage is the one area I consistently forget to apply the gospel to! I think that has to do in part to the lies that come from this world saying what marriage is all about.

In the last part, the message to newlyweds made me chuckle. I remember very keenly our honeymoon (it was only 7 months ago ;) ) I didn't have to make that little statement...It wasn't long before Lew knew I was a big sinner! But he has joyfully hung in there..and by God's grace will do so for life.

This is how faith reasons...

I read this in Morning and Evening and it encouraged me so much! How often I forget these precious truths. This has been a season of "walking by faith, not by sight". And though there have been challenges, God has proven faithful in every step.

I hope this encourages you today to remember how faith reasons...by looking to the promises of God...the faithfulness of God's character...and ways in the past that His strength has carried you!

"Tell me the secret of where your great strength lies!"
--Judges 16:6

Where do we find the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food on which it feeds. Faith is fixed on the promise of God and sees it as an extension of the great heart of God Himself. Faith says, "My God could not have given this promise without love and grace; therefore, it WILL be fulfilled."

Faith thinks more about WHO gave this promise than it does about the promise itself. She remembers that God can not lie; He is all-powerful and unchanging, and on that basis she goes about her business with firm conviction.

Faith also remembers WHY the promise was given, namely, for God's glory. She feels perfectly sure that God's glory is safe; He will never let the luster on His crown become tarnished, so His promise must and will stand.

Faith, then, also considers the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father's intention to fulfill His word. "He did not spare even His own SON, but freely gave Him up for us all; therefore, how could He possibly hold back from freely giving us all things?"

Faith also looks back on the past for her battles have strengthened her and her victories have given her courage. Even in times of great need and danger faith says boldly, "To this point God has helped me, and He will help me still."

Faith views each promise in its connection with the Promise-giver, and can say with assurance, "Surely goodness and mercy WILL follow me all the days of my life!"

[M&E]

Faith in God

"Faith in God carries with no guarantee of comfort in this world: this was no doubt what Hebrews 11:37-38 wants us to learn. But it carries with it great reward in the only world that ultimately matters." FF Bruce

We plead with you to pray for Alivia and her parents. Her parents are having to walk through a very dark valley right now. Alivia is 3 years old and has been battling Leukemia for 18months. She is their only child and they have had to make the decision to end her life support. Please pray for comfort, peace, and that they would experience the nearness of God in this immense suffering.

Look not unto yourself...

Something that has been ever on my mind lately is...myself! I try to contemplate how I can solve a problem, how I can make the right decisions, how I can care for others that God has placed in my life, how I can please God through my life and do the right things. These are just a few examples of how I try to depend on myself and my own strength. And though we do play an active role in "working out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 3:12) I tend to forget the last part of this passage: "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 3:13) I forget that though I do work out my salvation through obedience and active decisions to please God through my life... It is really God's work in me, through His Son, that makes it all possible! Looking to myself is never the answer, I am called to look to Christ...yet I so quickly forget to do so. The result is usually weariness, grumbling, and feelings of being defeated. It usually when these things appear that I realize what is going on and God kindly refocuses my gaze back onto His perfect son, whose bled was shed for all of my weariness, grumbling...so that I can have victory!

This is how God brought this to my attention this morning:

“Looking unto Jesus.”

Hebrews 12:2

It is the continual work of the Holy Spirit to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great to be forgiven; your repentance is not real; you will never be able to continue to the end; your faith is weak!"

All these are thoughts about self, and we will never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self; He tells us that we are nothing but that "Christ is everything." Always remember that it is not your hold on Christ that saves you, it is Christ Himself (and his hold on you); it is not your joy in Christ that saves you--it is Christ (and His joy in saving you); it is not even faith in Christ, though faith is the instrument of your salvation--it is Christ Himself (His blood and merit) that accomplishes salvation.

We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we want to overcome Satan and have peace with God, we must do so by "looking unto Jesus." Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon your mind when you wake up or when you lay down each night. Don’t let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; look to Him, and He will never fail you.

“My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

-Morning and Evening 6/28
Charles Spurgeon

I pray that we can be reminded to look to the author and perfecter of our faith and run with endurance the race that is set before us. He is the one who has gone before us, and He is the one that makes the way possible.

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.
Hebrews 12:1-2

"Far more precious than jewels"

Happy Mothers Day Mom Lewis and Ellis!

We could never fully communicate how your love and care all these years has affected us, but we can't let this day pass without thanking you and saying how much you mean to us. You truly are a treasure to us!

The Woman Who Fears the LORD

Proverbs 31:10-31

An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

Happy Birthday My Love!

Hard to believe another year has gone by, but every year I find myself more grateful for you! Thank you for being the best husband and friend, God has richly blessed me through you. Life tastes so much sweeter with you by my side, and every new day that we have together I can find so many new reasons why God picked you as the perfect man for me. Thank you for the joy you bring to my life, all of the adventures and laughs that we share make me feel so rich to have such a treasure as you ;) Thank you also for the way you spur me on towards godliness, you are such an example to me in so many ways, I really could never fully describe just how thankful I am for you.

I love you my dear, Happy 27th!

Remember

I saw this video on a friends blog and was provoked. Lets remember to pray for those people who are giving up on their own comfort as well as the comfort of their own families in order to fight for us and our families. I realize I don't have anyone close to me serving in the Middle East so it's so easy to forget all that they have sacrificed and left behind! I feel like the best way I can remember them is prayer...

How precious to me are Your thoughts...

I was reading Morning and Evening by Spurgeon yesterday and was so encouraged. Even though I am not going through a specific form of physical suffering right now this passage brought me back to places of physical suffering that seemed to be endless at times. Physical suffering, more than any other form of trial I walked through, seemed to weaken me the most....and those were the times that I seemed to question God the most. "Lord where are you, have you forgotten me in this place?" or "Aren't you all powerful, please remove this heavy burden" But unlike Christ when I cried out for God to let this "cup" pass, I forgot to add in the very vital part of "not my will but Yours be done." But it was through those trials that I learned to depend on the Lord the most, it was those times that God built endurance, character, and a hope in Him that is unwaivering (Romans 5) The evening passage from M & E last night was from one of my favorite chapters in the bible Psalm 139. This verse speaks of God's intimate involvement in our physical bodies. He knit us together in our mother's wombs, we are fearfully and wonderfully made! And not only that but He planned all of our days before one of them came to be. That means the good days and the bad days...healthy days and sick days....all of them were intricately planned and orchestrated by a loving God who wants nothing but what is best for us and who desires to pour out mercy over mercy over mercy upon us! Hope this encourages you in the midst of any form of suffering (especially physical suffering) that we have a God who is involved, and who is always thinking of us! Let us think upon our God's care in all things, there is no trial that He is not in...working for our good and His glory.

"How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!" Psalm 139:17
... God is always thinking about us, never turns His mind from us, always has us before His eyes; and this is precisely how we would want it, because it would be dreadful to exist for a moment outside the observation of our Heavenly Father. His thoughts are always tender, loving, wise, prudent, far-reaching, and they bring countless benefits to us: It is consequently a supreme delight to remember them....He observes us incessantly, and not a painful emotion escapes Him; in our toils He notices all our weariness, and He writes all the struggles of His faithful ones in His book. Those thoughts of the Lord encompass us in all our paths and penetrate the innermost region of our being. Not a nerve or tissue, valve or vessel of our bodily fame is uncared for; all the details of our little world are thought upon by the great God. Dear reader is this precious to you? Then hold to it.

Grace notes

Most days when I get off the metro I don't usually take notice of the trumpet player who performs for spare change. As musicianship goes he's kind of average and definitely no Joshua Bell. Although this morning his music featured grace notes that made my heart sing. As I was coming up the escalator I was looking at the front page of the Express and saw the face of the killer from the Va. Tech shooting. As my eyes were confronted with this face, my ears were impacted with the sound of a trumpet proclaiming, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." This brought me back to the truth, this world isn't my home. One day I will be face to face with the One who has bought me with His blood and transforming me to His image. On that day there will be no more death, no more pain, no more sadness or sorrow, but everlasting rejoicing in the holy lamb who was slain so that all may know His all surpassing worth and glory.

When the Lord Pays the Way...

Long time no blog....things have been busy! Lew's settling into his new job and things are going great. I have been really busy with school, we have a huge project once a semester called a "concept map" and seriously it's a 40 hour project....and we only get a week to do it. But I finished it and presented it Friday, did well, and then to top it off I had a test yesterday. So that's really all there is to update on ;)

Lew read me something very encouraging yesterday from The Minor Prophets by James Montgomery Boice. This is from the chapter on Jonah 1:1-3...it is such a good reminder of how our God provides for us when we simply seek his will and obey, something that has been quite a struggle for me lately! I want to have my own plan sometimes, I see an outcome that I desire and I think if I do this and this and that everything should go according to plan. Oh, but that usually is not the case, usually things don't turn out how I planned and it's then that I realize that God is the one who knows what is best for me, if only I would seek His will and obey. I am reminded every day that I am just a "work in progress"....just like Jonah...unfortunately he learned the hard way too....except his "hard way" was in the belly of a whale...I guess I should consider myself blessed!

At this point we find our first great lesson regarding God's sovereignty. Built into Jonah's first attempts to get away from God are two results that will follow anyone who tries to disobey him.

First Jonah's course was downhill. He would not have described it that way. He would have said that he was improving his life, just as we do when we choose our own course instead of God's. But it was downhill nevertheless. This is suggested in verse 3, where we are told that Jonah went "down" to Joppa. It is always that way when a person runs from the presence of the Lord. The way of the Lord is up! Consequently, any way that is away from him is down. The way may look beautiful when we start. The seas may look peaceful and the ship attractive, but the way is still down.

There was another result. In his excellent preaching on Jonah, Donal Grey Barnhouse often called attention to it by highlighting the phrase about Jonah "paying the fare." He noted that Jonah did not get to where he was going , since he was thrown overboard, and that he obviously didn't get a refund back on his ticket. So he paid the full fare and did not get to the end of his journey. Barnehouse said, "It is always that way. When you run away from the Lord you never get to where you are going, and you always pay your own fare. On the other hand, when you go the Lord's way you always get where you are going and he pays the fare."

Jonah illustrates one half of that statement. The story of Moses' mother, Jochebed, illustrates the other half. Jochebed conceived Moses during a time of great persecution by the Egyptions, a time in which Hebrew male infants were being thrown into the Nile River to die. When the child was born Jochebed and her husband, Amran, tried to hide him as long as possible, suspecting, I believe, that this was the one who had been promised by God to be the deliverer of the people. But at last the baby's cries grew too loud, and another plan was necessary. The mother made a little boat of bulrushes covering it with tar. She placed Moses in it and set it in the reeds by the riverbank. Then she stationed Miriam, Moses' sister, at a distance to see what would become of him. Though she wanted her baby more than anything else in the world, Jochebed entrusted the matter to God, allowing him to do as he wished with the child.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river, saw the ark in the water, and sent her maids to fetch it. When it was opened, she saw the baby. He was crying. This so touched the woman's heart that she determined to save him and raise him in the palace. But what was she to do? The child needed a wet nurse. Where could she find one? At this point, Miriam, who had been watching from a distance, came forward and asked if she could be of assistance. "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" Miriam asked.

"Yes" said the princess. Jochebed was brought.
Jochebed was about to receive back the child she most dearly wanted. She would have done anything to have kept him. She would have scrubbed the floors in the palace! In fact, if the daughter of Pharaoh had said "I am going to give you this child to raise, but I want you to know that I have seen through your stratagem. I know that this young girl was not up on that hill watching by accident. She must be the sister of this baby, and therefore, you must be the mother. You can have your child. But as a sign of your disobedience to the Pharaoh, I am going to cut off your right hand"--if she had said that, Moses' mother would probably have held out both hands, if only she could have had the child back. But that is not what happened. Instead Pharaoh's daughter gave the child back declaring, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you" (Exod.2:9).

"I will pay you." This is the point for which I tell you the story. Jonah went his own way, paid his own fare, and got nothing. Jochebed went God's way. Consequently, God paid the fare, and she got everything. I repeat it once more: When you run away from the Lord you never get to where you are going and you always pay your own fare. But when you go the Lord's way you always get where you are going, and he pays the fare."

Dream Job

I mentioned in my last weekend read that in my last weekend read that in high school I wanted to grow up to be a journalist. I have had people ask me what my dream job is and I've given a myriad of answers, but I was thinking about it, and plain and simple, my dream job is to be a writer. Will that dream ever come to fruition? Yeah, I get to write all the time, the question of getting paid for my writing is another story. Even if I never actually get published or make a living off of my writing, I definitely plan on continuing to pursue it for the simple joy it gives me and the exercise of mastering rhetoric because I believe no one ever truly masters it.

Speaking of writing, below is a meditation that I wrote earlier this week during my quiet time on Hosea. Even if a publisher never publishes my work, blogger will always publish me ;)

My sympathy is stirred (Hosea 11:8)

If you are more aware of your sin then God’s love for you, then direct your attention to the cross. Kneel before the cross and realize that the death of His Son was for you. The only begotten Son of the most high king gave up His life for you to be adopted into the family of God. Nothing can break these family ties for you have been wrapped with His bands of love. At calvary, the most heinously conceivable sin was displayed for all to see that even when sin abounds to its highest level that grace is still triumphant. All of your sins were placed on the son at the cross so that there is no fear or dread of any punishment.

At the moment that you notice condemnation lurking around the corner, remember that our God is not like man. He is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin, because of His great love for you He has washed you clean of the sin that stains you. His grace has abounded greater then any past, present or future sin. Your coming before Him is not on the basis of your works, but what He’s done. Your holiness is not what you’ve earned, but what He’s given you. You are eternally His, He has bought you with the blood of His Son and will not give you up.

How can this be you ask? God’s heart for you is a heart that overflows with compassion. Instead of treating us as we deserve, He crushed His Son for us. The fierceness of His anger was the burden that Christ faced so that we can experience God’s love poured out into our hearts. Due to our sin, we should have been destroyed by God’s holy wrath, but the righteous One who knew no sin, took on our sin and died in our place so that we can be considered righteous. At the cross God’s sympathy is displayed and we find no greater display of love.