Our Place of Refuge

November 8^th 2012

Today is the calm after the storms. I’m looking once again down Ocean Pathway amid storm destruction and debris. The ocean is now calm and a slate blue against the gray sky. My mind is reviewing the events of the past 2 weeks, as I watch a sailboat sailing past. The first one I have seen since the devastating storm which has hit the Jersey Shore. It was my intention to write a blog and share a story about our place of refuge and shelter before Hurricane Sandy ever approached. It is an even more meaningful story now. My thoughts had been on scriptures which tell us that the Lord is our place of refuge, a place of shelter from the storms of life.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

       Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God in whom I trust.”

                                           Psalm 91:1 NASB

Do we put our trust in Him when the storms of life hit? Is He our refuge and fortress when the fierce winds come?

It has been less than two weeks since Sandy made landfall on our coastline and we have been hit with yet another Nor’Easter! This one brought snow last night! How strange to awaken to snow laden trees which still have autumn leaves clinging. I looked down upon tent cabins with snow covered roofs and remembered once again the events the Lord brought to my mind in June. This is when I first came to the attic room where I now sit.

November 19th, 2012 

It was in the 1970’s when I summered in a tent here in Ocean Grove. The winter had come and there was a freshly fallen snow upon the ground one Sunday. A friend and I decided to go and see our tent cabin in the snow. Back in those days the streets of Ocean Grove were closed to traffic on a Sunday. We parked the car in Asbury Park and ventured over the foot bridge into Ocean Grove. The snow was still falling and I still remember the crunch of the snow under our boots and the silence and peacefulness of the evening. It was nightfall and the light streaming through the windows of Victorian houses had cast a glow upon the snow covered ground. We were so moved by the Spirit of the Lord that we decided to go on a prayer walk, praying for the future of Ocean Grove, for ministry and for the spreading of the gospel. My attention was drawn to a certain house and I was so moved by the Spirit of God, that I went over to it with my friend and prayed with my hand upon it. I prayed that this house would be a house of refuge and shelter for those who didn’t have anywhere to go. Once in a while in the years to follow, when I would pass this house, I would remember that particular night. I hadn’t thought about it in recent time.

It was in June of this year that my family and I were looking for a place to go for the summer months. We weren’t able to find a place which would work for us. It was the very day we had to leave our winter rental, when an unexpected door opened to a place to stay. It was a couple of nights later, while going to sleep on the floor in this house, that I remembered that night many years ago. I was in the very house I had prayed at on that snowy night 35 years ago and it had become my house of refuge and place of shelter. I thought about it again on the night of the big storm and I knew I was where He wanted me to be. He provides.

All of this has reinforced in me the knowledge that the Lord has made provision for each and every one of us. He has seen ahead and provided for our needs before we even knew them. He saw our sins before they even were committed and made provision in our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them. He calls us to trust Him in the aftermath of the storm. He calls us to “walk by faith and not by sight.” He is our place of refuge!

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed

And in your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

     When as yet there were none of them.”

“How precious also are Your thoughts

    To me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

   If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with you.”   

                                                          Psalm 139:16-18 

The Pilgrim Pathway

I’m gazing down the Ocean Pathway from my little kitchen table this morning, at the ocean which is shining like a crystal sea. My mind goes immediately to the song, ‘Victory in Jesus’ and the words “I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory, and I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea; about the angels singing, and the old redemption story, and some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.” We have a song of victory even now, because the old redemption story is ours to sing when we are in Christ Jesus. Oh, my heart is pierced, but I have this hope, a hope which keeps me walking forward despite the circumstances of life right now in this present moment. I quiet my soul before Him in the quietness of this morning. I’m looking down at the tent community where many of the tents have been taken down and some still remain. Fall is upon us now, the change of a season. The 143^rd Camp Meeting summer season has now ended. The leaves on the trees which surround me are displaying a hint of changing color, as the messages heard in Bible Hour and at The Great Auditorium linger in my mind. He grants me renewed vision and hope for those things ahead not yet realized. I’m tempted to slump in defeat, but faith wells up within me, as well as the urge to continue walking by faith and not by sight. I encourage you to do likewise and to sing that song of victory.

All is quiet in the tent community now. They have packed their things away and gone home. The joyful sounds of laughter and singing have been replaced by the sounds of acorns falling and the squirrels scurrying about gathering them. The magnificent Auditorium organ is silent once again. I hear the sound of the ocean waves lapping upon the shore, as I remember this past summer and all of the lessons learned here. I began this summer contemplating the purpose of life and this pilgrim pathway we walk. I was thinking about the fact that much of our lives are spent waiting, waiting for that next thing to happen, whatever it may be. We set goals and strive for them and once they are achieved, we strive for the next thing and it begins all over again. Some people spend a whole lifetime waiting for a goal to be achieved, a vision to come to pass. I’ve even seen people pass away, never seeing that goal or vision come to fruition. On this earthly path we travel, our finite minds can’t grasp the full scope of those things which the Lord has planned for us. We only see a small part of the whole and this is only a small part my friends. Eternity is our goal.

I had the privilege this past spring to spend a good deal of time visiting with my aunt who passed away mid June. She never had married, nor had children. Her nieces and nephews were her children. She introduced us all to music and many a family gathering was spent gathered around a piano, singing hymns of the faith. We spent her final days in rehab reminiscing, talking about music and faith. One day we sat together with other residents in a hymn sing. I glanced around at these elderly folks, some with dementia and others whose bodies were just worn out. I thought of how quickly time passes and how all these folks were once young and from many walks of life. All had traveled different paths, but all now stood on common ground at the edge of eternity. I listened to them sing with quivering voices and such gusto. Their faces were aglow with faith and hope. They all had a common goal. My mind turned to a scripture from 2 Corinthians….

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 5:1

This life, these bodies are temporal. As I watch the tents coming down around me in the community here, my mind once again turns to this portion of scripture.

4. “For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

5. Now He who prepared us for this purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

6. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-

7. For we walk by faith and not by sight-

8. We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

9. Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

I have gained a whole new perspective this past summer. Our Lord has shown me the richness of life in the here and now, as we live it in the light of eternity as our goal. Life takes on meaning and purpose, when we have as our ambition to please Him day by day. Maybe we can’t make sense of the things in our lives right now, but we can know that in Christ, there is a purpose and a plan in the eternal perspective. We know that when we are born anew in Him, we are given His Spirit as a pledge, a promise of eternity with Him.

Many great hymns of the faith have been penned right here in Ocean Grove. The summer began with the passing of my Aunt Margie into the eternal promise. The summer season ended on Labor Day with the passing of our beloved Director of Music Emeritus and Song Leader, Lew Daniels. He shared with us the stories behind these hymns. One of his favorite ones being, “When We All Get to Heaven”…the 2^nd verse reads…

“While we walk the pilgrim pathway, clouds will over spread the sky; but when traveling days are over, not a shadow, not a sigh.

When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”

We are walking the pilgrim pathway my brothers and sisters in Christ. We are on our way home.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:57-58

Blessings be yours in abundance!

The True Vine

I’m sitting and overlooking ‘The Great Auditorium’ here in Ocean Grove. It has been some time since I last wrote. Springtime has turned to summer as I’ve gone through a transition in my life and what you might call ‘A Dark Night of the Soul.’ I’m coming out on the other side now and the Spirit of the Lord has fallen afresh on me.

The last time I posted, spring was unfolding before us. I was gazing out the window of a little sun porch at the season and sharing its wonders. Now, I’m in a new season of my life and I have changed location. I was uncertain of the future and where I would be living the last time I wrote. I had been looking at the possibility of homelessness once again at that time. The Lord was gracious to me in my darkest hour and opened the door to a dwelling for the summer months. I’m gazing out a different window right now. I can see the ocean from where I sit and I can see all those tents, which were packed in their cabins this winter, they’re up and inhabited now. Tent City has come alive. Once again the Lord speaks to my heart from here in Tent City, as He did many long years ago.

I have been reexamining my life and my direction, constantly looking to Jesus and for the Lord’s Will. He has been teaching me many things through the Scriptures. He has given us a guidebook from which to draw and learn. Sometimes we are called to come and wait before Him to discern the answers.

I was looking back in my journals the other day, looking to those things He has taught me in the past and came upon this passage dated May 22, 2008…..

“It has been some time since I have been able to write. My life has once again gone through a dry time ~ a time too difficult to write. I keep waiting for the better times ~ tired of writing in the ‘waiting time’. I have come to the end of the road and there isn’t any way to go ~ it’s a dead end street and only the Lord can make a way. My money has run out ~ my resources have come to an end. My Lord is my only answer ~ my only Redeemer.”

This really struck a cord in my heart. My mind was brought instantly to the book of Ecclesiastes and the cycle of life. I was reminded of the meaninglessness of life without the Lord. He is the One who brings purpose and meaning into our lives and makes sense of all things. Life isn’t meaningless; there is a purpose to it all. It struck me that I’m still in that waiting time, I’m still facing the same struggles…yet, things have changed in me. My Redeemer lives and He is at work transforming me! My friends, the Lord is at work in you. It may seem as though you are caught up within this endless cycle called Life, but He is transforming you and preparing you according to His plan and His purpose.

As I have shared before, Ocean Grove is known for its many interesting flower gardens. I was out walking along the street, communing with the Lord in my heart, while admiring the gardens along the way. I was questioning the Lord, trying to make sense of current events in my life, when my attention was grabbed by a white picket fence with a twisted vine wrapped around it. I went over for a closer look and was delighted by what I saw. I saw huge, green grape leaves and clusters of juicy grapes. At that moment my mind returned to a vision God had given me in 2008. All of the events of my life instantly made sense as I gazed at that vine. The Lord had spoken.

It was within the same week of discovering this vine, in which I came upon the journal passage written May 22, 2008. I read on in the journal…

“The Lord has taught me much in these past few weeks. I was walking home from work ~ thinking how nice it was to live in Ocean Grove ~ I was just about to thank the Lord that I lived here and for my home ~ but couldn’t speak. Fear gripped me as I realized how close I was to losing all ~ for I am at the end of my resources. I could just see Satan speaking to the Lord, “Go ahead ~ see if she will still thank you ~ if I take it all away!” It seems that all I thank God for is taken from me. I walked two blocks, my mouth stopped with fear… and then…I thanked Him all the way home.

It went on to say…

“The other day God gave me a vision (like a day dream.) ~ It was a vision of branches pruned all the way back to the vine ~ nothing was left. I said, “Lord, haven’t I been pruned enough? ~ There isn’t anything left. I’ve been stripped. Will I not see any answers in this life? Is my only hope in the life to come? I said that I would choose to believe and not give up hope.

The vision continued. The vine burst forth with new growth ~ like a movie in fast-forward. Beautiful, luscious growth came forth from the vine ~ bushy and bright green ~ and then grapes popped out ~ lots and lots of grapes ~ plump and juicy. All that is left in my life is Jesus ~ the vine. He stands out ~ all of me has been cut away. My life will bring forth new growth and fruit.”

In the gospel of John, the 15^th chapter, we read the words of Jesus…

“I am the true vine, and My father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”       Verses 1&2

My brothers and my sisters in Christ…Do not become discouraged! Do

not become discouraged by the pruning process!! Do not become disheartened and think that you have failed, that the Lord is punishing you or that you have done wrong. Yes, we are sinners. We are sinners saved by grace. If you have confessed known sin, examined and purified your heart before Him, know that you are being pruned. Notice what His words are saying…

“and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

We, as believers, are those branches connected to the vine. Note that this verse says….   “every branch that bears fruit He prunes.”  The believer, who is in union with Christ and bearing fruit, the Vinedresser prunes. Why does He prune us? He prunes us, so that we might bear even more fruit!

It has been a little more than four years since that day in May of 2008. I have suffered many things since then. It only got more intense. I lost much more and I did lose that home I thanked Him for on that walk. I was driven from my home and wandered the streets. I was stripped of all things. There wasn’t anything of me left.

I want to encourage all of my brothers and sisters to abide in Jesus, the true vine. Allow Him to fill you up and produce new growth and fruit in your life. Don’t be satisfied with withered branches and dried up fruit. He wants to produce greater things through you for His glory. There isn’t any greater joy!

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Verses 4&5

My friends in Christ Jesus, we can trust Him to bring forth that healthy new growth and that plentiful fruit in our lives. This is His desire for us, that we might bear much fruit in due season. Do not lose heart or give up hope. I am telling you out of my own experience, that there isn’t any greater joy or peace. I didn’t lose it all…I have gained much. The losses in your life lead up to an eternal hope, which does not disappoint.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.”

Vs. 8

Allow Him to produce that growth and fruit in you through full surrender. May joy, peace and hope be yours now and forever.

We Will Rejoice!

“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Oh, glorious day! The past few days have been days mixed with sun and clouds with an occasional shower. April is known for its showers which bring May flowers, but this year has been a little unusual. The May flowers arrived before the April showers, due to our mild winter. Many times things don’t turn out the way we expect them to turn out. We often form pictures in our minds about the way we think things will work out in the grand scheme of things; and then they turn out totally opposite of what we thought the end result would be.

Today is Friday, April 13^th, and my mind is returning to Friday, April 13^th, 2001. It was a day to become etched into the very core of my being and never forgotten. It was a day that turned my life and that of my family around and spinning. The day we observe as Good Friday, fell on that day, on that particular year. 

This was the day and the year that my children and I received the news that my husband (their father) had a tumor the size of a grapefruit in his right lung. We knew that he was ill, but this wasn’t at all what we were expecting to hear. Our world was crushed that day. Life as we knew it would never be the same. We had hopes and ambitions that would never come to fruition, in the way in which we had anticipated. The darkness of that day was the darkest we as a family had ever experienced and it was Good Friday. It was Friday the 13^th. I can’t even put into words the crushing pain of that day! I remember that my husband couldn’t tell his mother and sent me with that horrible news. I walked to her house, my heart pounding and blinded by the tears. It wasn’t until I mouthed those words, that the dam broke and I sobbed uncontrollably.

My mind turned, as it does this day, to the disciples of Jesus. Their Lord had been crucified and things hadn’t turned out the way they thought they would. They loved Jesus and he had been taken from them. All their hopes and dreams were crushed that day. They were experiencing that horrible pain of loss, which one can’t even describe in words. They were full of fear and anguish, with an uncertain future. I was thinking on that particular Saturday, in 2001, of what it must have been like for them. I didn’t know what was going to happen either and was filled with fear and uncertainty. It was the message of Easter which gave me the strength that I needed to make it through the days to follow. I remember still, standing with my husband and children on that Easter Sunday. I remember how the words of those Easter hymns and songs took on even more meaning….

“Because He lives…

      I can face tomorrow…

 Because He lives…

    All fear is gone…

 Because I know…

  He holds the future…

Yes, Our Lord lives! He takes away our fears…because we know He holds the future!

Things didn’t turn out as I had imagined they would in my life.  My husband and I had many plans, dreams and thoughts concerning ministry and other things. It wasn’t according to our plan for him to die so young, before things were fulfilled in our lives. It was the same with the disciples. It may be the same with you as well. Maybe things haven’t turned out according to the way you saw in you mind or dreamed it would happen. Our God is not finished with us yet! He is still working out His plan in places where we don’t see.

The day of which Psalm 118 speaks, is the new day that our Lord and Savior ushered in through His death and His resurrection.  It is a day which He has made possible for us to enter, through the remission of sins, by the blood of His New Covenant.

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

To be continued…

He Has Provided A Way

I’m sitting on a little upstairs porch this afternoon and I’m watching the birds flying back and forth past the windows. They are eating the remaining holly berries which are now dropping to the ground. I’m marveling at the Lord’s provision. At the same time I’m also contemplating the events that the Christian community is observing this week, while our Jewish friends are busy preparing for the Passover. The observance of Passover begins at sundown this Friday night. This year it falls on the same day we are observing our Savior’s death on the cross.

I’m reading about Jesus teaching the people with parables, knowing that His time was approaching. After Jesus had finished teaching the people, He said to His disciples, “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”  The chief priests, the scribes and the elders were plotting to take Jesus by trickery (or deception) and kill Him. Little did they know that Jesus knew about their plotting and that He didn’t need to be tricked, He was planning to give Himself willingly on our behalf!

As I was looking over the scriptures to meditate on them, I came upon these verses, which struck a cord in my heart…

“And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,

 A woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil,

 And she poured it on His head as he sat at the table.”

It just hit me in a new way, this woman’s devotion to her Lord. She was putting Him first above all things and serving him with all her attention. The disciples were critical, but Jesus honored her by saying…

“Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Our love and devotion to Jesus is what He desires above all things! Is He first and foremost in our lives? Are our hearts wholly His?

The Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover; and when Jesus hour had come, he sat down with His twelve Apostles. He said…

“With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

It is with a fervent desire He desired to eat this meal commemorating the deliverance of His people from Egypt. This is the love that he had for his Apostles and which He has for us. It is a fervent desire to share in this meal and He desires we all share in it! He calls each and every one of us to share in it and we can! This particular meal was commemorating the deliverance of us all! A deliverance from sin and death into His kingdom.

It was while they were eating that Jesus took the unleavened bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to His disciples and said,

“Take, eat, this is my body”

“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you, For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Jesus not only said, “This is my blood”, but He said this is My blood of the new covenant.”

What glorious news!  The Lord has provided a new covenant in His blood….for all of us! His body being the sacrificial lamb!

Let us minister to Jesus, giving Him our full attention and devotion this day! He has instituted a new covenant in His blood, by the sacrifice of His own body. He has called us all to enter in by faith!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

A Persevering Faith

On the morning of March 29^th I wrote…

I’m gazing out my window this morning at clear blue skies! The rain of yesterday has ceased and the wind has dissipated the clouds of earlier this morning. Those clouds greeted me with the morning light, as I was up before the dawn. My mind and my spirit tormented by the circumstances of life at the present time. I questioned God and sought for His answers. His Holy Spirit then began dissipating the clouds hanging over my life. The wind of His Spirit began clearing my mind, like the winds outdoors which clear the sky. The ornamental pear trees are now in full bloom, giving the town the appearance of a ‘Spring Wonder Land.’ All I can do is gaze at all the delights of Spring from this side of the glass. My very bad allergies keep me from entering in to enjoy it fully.

In the same way, the circumstances of life can keep us from fully entering in to those things He desires for us. They distract us and avert our attention from Him. I realized this upon awakening this morning. I was imagining myself stuck in a hole, struggling to get out and feeling trapped. It was then that our most precious Lord and Savior gave me a flash back of an image I had seen on-line just yesterday. It was an image of a man in Georgia, who had fallen into a muddy pit of clay. He was buried alive, yet still living. As I watched the video of it, a chill ran down my spine and I thought, “How awful!” I watched as firefighters were pulling him out. He was moving in slow motion. He apparently had been there for some time and had become exhausted from the struggle to get out. He was completely caked and covered in the muddy clay, barely able to breathe. His features couldn’t even be seen. After the Lord brought this scene to my mind, I thought, “Yes, this is me! I’m buried alive, yet still living, unable to get myself out of the pit, too weak from the struggle and hardly able to breathe” Immediately, I thought of Psalm 40…

“I waited patiently for the LORD;

 And He inclined to me,

 And heard my cry.”

The Lord always hears our cries when we wait on Him! He calls us to not only wait, but to wait patiently! Waiting isn’t easy, that is for sure. We aren’t just waiting, but we are waiting for the Lord. He is right there and He listens to us. We are not alone. He hears the cries of our hearts!

“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

 Out of the miry clay,

 And set my feet upon a rock,

 And Established my steps.”

Oh, that image is vivid in my mind! I see those firefighters taking hold of that man’s weak arms to lift him out of that horrible pit, that miry clay. In the same way our Lord takes hold of us to lift us from the pit. The pit can be the circumstances of our lives or sin which so easily entangles us. We struggle and squirm only to be pulled further down and encased in the miry clay. We become exhausted in trying in our own strength to free ourselves. All the while we have a Savior standing near. He never leaves us in the pit, but He lifts us up, gives us renewed vision and helps us to stand. We need to wait patiently for Him and call out to Him, rather than struggle. He will turn to us and hear our cries. He will not only bring us out, but He will also set our feet upon a rock, so that we won’t slip back. He is the rock. Jesus is the Rock of our salvation! We look to Him and our steps are established and steadied.

“He has put a new song in my mouth-

 Praise to our God;

 Many will see it and fear,

And will trust in the LORD.”

Just as I’m writing this, evening is falling and there is a mocking bird singing outside the window. I’m reminded that He has given us a new song to sing! A song of praise! A song of praise for who He is, what He has done and who He is to us! We may not yet have come to the other side of those trials or difficulties, but we can offer Him praise for being there and for the hope that we have in Him. Many will see and be amazed and know that they can trust in Him as well!

“Blessed is the man who makes

 The LORD his trust,

 And does not respect the proud, nor

 such as turn aside to lies.”

We are so blessed when we make the Lord our trust! The word here for ‘respect’ means “has not turned to”. We are to turn to the Lord, to cry out to Him, rather than to the proud who think that they have all the answers or who have turned aside to lies. Our confidence needs to be in Jesus! This many times means waiting on Him, rather than losing patience and looking to the “quick fix” that so many look for.

“Many, O LORD my God, are Your

   wonderful works

 Which You have done;

 And Your thoughts toward us

 Cannot be recounted to You in order;

If I would declare and speak of them,

 They are more than can be numbered.”

The best thing to do, when we are in the pit of despair, is to start recalling all of His wonderful works! We need to begin recounting all those things which He has done while we have been waiting. There is an old chorus with these words, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!” Let us remember our blessings and start counting. His thoughts are always toward us and He is ever mindful of us. How awesome is this to think about! His thoughts of us are more than can be numbered. Now doesn’t this make you feel loved and cared about even now!

The next portion of Psalm 40 is quoted in the book of ‘Hebrews’ of the New Testament in the Scriptures. Here the writer inspired by the Holy Spirit writes…

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.

   But you have given me a body to offer.

You were not pleased with burnt offerings

  Or other offerings for sin.

Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God-

   As it is written about me in the scriptures.’”

Throughout the Old Testament we can find references to Jesus and who He is. This is a reference to Jesus and what He has done for us. What better time for us to meditate on this portion, then when we are approaching the Passover observance; and are coming up to the day in which we remember His sacrifice, on our behalf, upon the cross of Calvary? Jesus had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Your will be done.” The Scriptures go on to say in Hebrews 10, verses 8-12…

“First, Christ said, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings

 or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them.’ (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will.’ He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”

“Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”

Our High Priest is Jesus, our Savior! He is the one standing above that pit of despair and hopelessness, ready to hear our cry and to take our arms and help us up! We can go right into the presence of God, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. He has put into effect a new covenant, in His blood. The scriptures say to hold tightly to Him, not wavering in hope, but trusting in Him to keep His promise. We are to encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, the one who perfects our faith.

The Psalmist David goes on to speak of those things the Lord has done for him and to declare His faithfulness and salvation. He calls upon the Lord’s tender mercies, His lovingkindness, His truth and His covenant promise to preserve him. He says, ‘Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord make haste to help me!” for his heart fails him and he is beside himself with anguish. He is still in that pit of miry clay, but he is looking forward to the Lord’s covenant promise. He is waiting for that deliverance and is speaking out of faith. There are those around him who mock him saying, “Aha, aha!” and the Psalmist David says….

“But I am poor and needy;

 Yet, the Lord thinks upon me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Do not delay, O my God.”

The Hebrew word here for ‘poor’ means afflicted, one whose outward condition makes him needy, one who is depressed, lowly and humble. Are you in the pit as David was? Our Messiah has come to preach good news to the poor. To be of lowly position doesn’t indicate a lack of faith. (Read Hebrews chapter 11- about the heroes of the faith and what they endured)  David was still in that pit, waiting with a persevering faith for his deliverance, when he wrote this psalm.

Do you feel like you are stuck in a muddy pit of clay? Are you exhausted by the struggle? Are you too weak to get out? Do you gaze through the glass desiring to enter in?

The good news is that Jesus has died and risen from the dead! If we have turned to Him to save us, then we are sprinkled with the blood of the new covenant. We may enter in! He is standing nearby and He is reaching out to us. Wait patiently with a persevering faith!  Our deliverance is near!

Hearing His Voice

Oh, what beautiful weather we’ve been having! It is only March, but it looks and feels like mid April! I have been taking a daily walk each day enjoying and watching as Spring unfolds before me. Every day a new variety of flower is springing up from the earth and the air is full of the fragrance of their blooming. All the gardens along the sidewalk are full of daffodils and are now joined by the hyacinths in full bloom. The magnolia trees have just opened up these past few days, as temperatures have risen into the 70’s, even here by the shore. What an awesome sight to behold! It is so important to take the time to quiet our souls before the Lord, Our Maker and the Maker of heaven and earth.

I’ve been noticing more birds around as Spring approaches. They are gathering materials and building their nests. I was sitting out on the porch swing listening to their calls and to their songs the other day. A mourning dove was perched high up in a tree cooing, reminding me of my flock on the other side of town. At least I refer to them as my flock. I’ve been watching them for years now. Many years ago there was a pair of mourning doves that nested each year across the street from my house in a white pine. I enjoyed observing them and watched as their numbers grew from year to year. They would awaken me each summer morning with their cooing and in the evening, as the sun was setting, I would enjoy the peaceful, soothing sounds. In the winter they would seek shelter from snow storms by perching on my porch. I’m noticing that there aren’t as many doves back at the old homestead any longer. They seem to have been scattered by the Cooper’s Hawk who has taken up residence over there. In recent days I’ve observed an increased number of them where I’m residing now. Little do they know that not far from here, there is a Peregrine Falcon perching and eyeing its prey upon the gate pillar at the entrance to town.

I’ve been reminiscing about a particular day a few years ago. I had been watching the doves from my upstairs bedroom window. They had perched all around the outside of the house and some sat on the rooftop of the cottage next-door. They were calling back and forth to one another and I decided to have some fun and see if I could trick them. I began to imitate their call and see if I could get them to answer me. I could always tell the inexperienced birds from the older ones, for they weren’t as wise. The older ones were suspicious and would tilt their heads and watch me with uneasiness. The younger ones could be fooled. My call sounded like the rest to them and they couldn’t tell the difference. I hid behind a curtain and cooed to a young bird on the roof of the cottage. He bobbed his head up and down and tilted his head, cooing back. He listened some more and flew to the porch roof. He moved closer and closer until he was right up against the screen of the window. I peeked out my head from the curtain and he realized he had been tricked!

Why do I share this little story? The Lord has been teaching me this past week about the importance of hearing His voice and not listening to the voice of a stranger. He has been reminding me of being in that place with Him of sweet communion and fellowship. In that place were He is so much a part of us, that we are at one with Him. This is where He desires us to be. I was in such travail this past week. I had turned away from this blog post, defeated by the very subject of which I was writing. I thought maybe if I backed off, the torturous thoughts would subside and leave me be. It is hard at times to follow the Lord and proclaim His Word! I usually plow through it, refusing to give the enemy his way, but I was too weak this time to realize what was happening.  I always pray the Lord will give me life giving words to share with all of you and I often sense the Holy Spirit empowering me. The enemy tries to thwart it any way he can! This time it has been with accusations and unrelenting thoughts of failure! I was working on the post and doing some research when all this self-condemnation came heaping up on me. The enemy preys upon our weaknesses in subtle ways. One thing led to another until I was beside myself with anger about my situation and my own short comings and seeming failures! I couldn't get out of it, even though I had been receiving words of freedom, of life, of not being bound to what is past, etc. Have you ever been given a word from the Lord, you think you've received it and then it is tested? I can't believe I stooped so low! I listened to the accuser. My blog post is based on John 10 and not listening to the voice of a stranger, but rather hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As I thought about that time I outwitted the dove, I thought about this portion of scripture. I thought of how I had allowed my guard to be down, listening to the voice of a stranger, rather than to my Good Shepherd. It wasn’t until I was brought down that I realized I had followed the voice of a stranger. Before the Biblical account of Jesus declaring to be the true and good shepherd, we have the account of the blind man who was healed by Jesus and receives his sight. The Pharisees (religious leaders) had confronted this man who declared, “One thing I know; that though I was blind, now I see.” This man had such a life changing experience, that he was never the same. He was thrown out of the synagogue for proclaiming that Jesus had healed him.  Jesus hearing that he had been cast out went out and found him. He declared to this man that He was God and the man said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshipped Jesus. Some of the religious leaders were near by and Jesus then addressed them. He turned the subject from physical sight to spiritual sight.

My dear friends, those of us who have also declared, “Lord, I believe!” have received our sight as well. Many times we feel like outcasts in the midst of religiosity. Let us not be afraid to proclaim Him boldly and unashamed. Let us draw into His presence and worship Him for who He is and what He has done for us! Jesus then turned the conversation from sight to hearing. May we be in such close communion with Jesus, that we aren’t outwitted by the voice of another. In John chapter 10 Jesus says:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

“But He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep,

“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

The Pharisees didn’t understand what Jesus was saying, so He said to them again:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

“All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me , he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”   (NKJV)

It is so important to come to that place in our walk with Jesus that we know His voice! He is the door by which we enter in. Others have come and still come, false teachers and false prophets. Do we know His voice enough to discern what is truth and that which is falsehood? The enemy would steal from us our joy, kill our hopes and destroy our lives, but our Good Shepherd has come to give us life. He wants to lead us in and out of green pastures as we follow His voice, rather than the voice of a stranger; who would lead us into the depths of despair and hopelessness. How well do you know His voice? Are we like that young dove who was so easily deceived? Or do we know Him so intimately that we aren’t deceived by the voice of another? Who are we listening to?

May you experience His life Abundant today and every day! May you hear the voice of your Good Shepherd!