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"Like a Tree" May, 2015

5/24/2015

Happy are those who...delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

(cf. Psalm 1:1-3)

LISTEN TO: Blind Boys of Alabama: "I Shall Not Be Moved"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQPd0wklaoo

Everywhere we turn, someone new has the secret to living a happy and successful life. There are books galore spouting outlines to financial, personal, or emotional freedom. Blogs are running amok with snappy sound bites on how to live each day to the fullest. It seems for a people who have accomplished so much, we keep searching for more. What golden ticket are we looking for?

The Book of Psalms is an ancient source of wisdom written thousands of years ago with basic advice, tried and true. The book opens with a blessing. Do we want to live a happy life, a blessed life? The "secret" the ancients discovered is this: live the covenant. The Psalmist talks about "the law" but the law is not "the law" in our modern, secular understanding of the term. "The law" is the covenant of love and reconciliation God has established with Israel and ultimately with humankind through Jesus Christ. This covenant is about relationship with God, community that is spelled out in worship and right living. So being happy, blessed and successful has a lot to do with how we treat others.

From the root of blessed/blessing comes generous, gift, peace, even benefit. So our efforts to live rightly according to covenant precepts, to delight in these conditions God has set forth for us, to ponder them and apply them day and night, makes a blessing. It turns us into generous people. It makes us a gifted people. A peaceful people. Please note the difference: blessing and success is not about how much we gain but about how we all benefit when one person chooses to live the precepts of "the law." Remember again Jesus' response about the how to follow the law: (Matt. 22:36-40)

"One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?” Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

Or from the Prophet Micah:

"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

So Psalm 1 is the true mini-guide to successful living we need. The psalmist says if we practice covenant love we are like trees, planted by the water. A tree planted by a water source in a dry Mediterranean climate has hit the jackpot. It doesn't have to worry how it's going to be nourished. It is watered despite whatever the weather conditions around it. No matter what is happening, it produces fruit and its leaves provide shade. It is able to prosper and grow.

This tree is a symbol of how we are to be in this world. Planted in God's word and love, we bring forth fruit and shade for others. We are a blessing. We prosper even in difficult conditions. We are blessed because make a difference in the lives of others.

So today, study psalm 1, the mini-guide to successful living. Do you need help in learning more about "God's law?" Join us! Our Bible Study "Summer in the Psalms" will begin on Facebook on May 18. Like us on Facebook and join the journey! If you are local, we meet Tuesday nights in Nassau Country, Long Island. Questions? Shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you!

Prayer: "God, make me a blessing to others, like a tree planted along side the waters. Give me the grace to delight in right living and teaching and to study it."
http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1293.htm

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"Cast Your Lot with God" May, 2015

5/17/2015

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The  Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage. Ps. 16. 5-6

Listen to:  Casey J:  "Fill Me Up"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3vL2zZQ-U

It has come to no surprise that the American diet is in shambles. Portion sizes over the past twenty years alone have in some instances tripled. At the same time, we haven't kept up in terms of exercise or in healthy living. The result?   While some strides have been made, close to 30% of US adults are obese, which has great ramifications on other health related issues, such as diabetes and heart disease. It seems like we have not chosen our portion wisely. Or perhaps they have been chosen for us, and we have been led along, and need to become educated consumers.

One thing is for sure. When it comes to our spiritual diet, we often expect little and are given more than we can imagine. We have become anemic because we subsist on so little, crumbs really. We are lucky if we make it church once a week. Perhaps we catch a a spiritual slogan during the day. Maybe we open our bible and read a chapter. Some of us may stop and pray a while. We find it hard to maintain a semblance of a daily spiritual practice. So our portions are skimpy. No matter where we are at, we have conditioned ourselves to expect less than what God wants to give or do. Our actions are saying, "mircro-size this!" to God. God just laughs at us. God says, "look around you. You see the sky? The ocean? The trees and flowers? the animals? All the people in their diversity? Look at the sky and the expanse of the universe beyond? Look at the inner workings of one of your cells. and now ask me if I'm not God enough for your problems." We should be saying, for once, "go ahead, super-size this, because I got a God who is capable. My God holds the lot, the Psalmist proclaims.

Psalm 16 is a promise to us that God is for us. Like is Psalm 23, where the Psalmist says our cup overflows, God here is identified as our cup, our "lot" in life. Unlike popular culture, pitching your lot with God is not a dull, miserable existence. Our God is a God of surprises and humor. Our God is a God of love, peace and justice. So God loves to stir the pot. Having God as our life portion is not only a true soul fit, it is never dull as some might imagine. God would overflow our lives with blessings. That doesn't mean challenges and problems go away. It just means that prayer, fellowship, joy and peace can become standard fixtures of our spiritual diet.

The psalmist assures us that the boundary lines are drawn generously. With God, our life path is guaranteed to be full; we will be called to be the best we can be. Our inheritance is consistent with the lot God has given us: a heavenly Home that is greater than we can imagine, fashioned by love, build by mercy, truth and righteousness.

Do you identify God as your "lot" in life? What would it be like to "cast your lot" with God?

Prayer: "Lord, I cast my lot with you. You are my portion. Show my the boundary lines you have laid for my life. I thank you that for the everlasting share you have bestowed on me."

Join us Mondays on Facebook! Like us at "Summer in the Psalms" 9pm EDT. Make some new friends!
Call for local classes in Nassau County, NY

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/eat-right/distortion.htm
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102253718

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"Mother's Day" 2015

5/10/2015

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" Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me."
Isaiah 49: 15-16

Dedicated to all the amazing women who made us who we are:
Bette Midler: "You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItWIYcD6jas

"While many of us are busy with last minute purchases of flowers or chocolates for mom, or making luncheon reservations, it might do good to remember that the roots of Mother’s Day in America. Anna Jarvis sought to honor her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis, who was a humanitarian and peace activist. The elder Jarvis treated wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created women’s friendship circles to promote reconciliation. She created Mothers’ Day Work Club to address public health concerns. Once the holiday became commercialized, Anna Jarvis sought to have it rescinded.

  So let us enjoy our Mother’s Day treats, but let us not forget the dream of Anna Reeves Jarvis, the inspiration of Mothers’ Day: that the mothering instinct at its finest finds it source in the divine, what some like to call Shekinah, the holy indwelling spirit of God. This Spirit  nurtures, inspires, pushes, defends and calls us onward always to new life. While we know God exists beyond gender, we are so accustomed to masculine images that contemplating feminine images is a spiritually healthy practice.

As a special Mother’s Day treat, I am including the devotional that my friend, Dorette Saunders sent out earlier this week. May it bless your spirit as it did mine!

“It’s been said that the florists and chocolatiers have a field day in
The days leading up to Mother’s Day. The holiday was officially celebrated In the US in 1914 and has continued faithfully to this day. Why all the fuss? Consider this: None of us would be here if it weren’t for our mothers.
  Despite the fact that women in biblical times lived in a
Patriarchal society, the Bible has a lot to say about the influence of mothers on their children, and the sacrifices they made for them. Hannah, Samuel the prophet’ s mother, offered him as a young child back to God so he could serve as a priest in the temple (1 Samuel 1:1-26). Jochebed, Moses’ mother, saved him from the genocide Pharaoh orchestrated by hiding the young child in a basket among the bulrushes along the Nile (Exodus 2:1-10). Mary, the mother of Jesus, was willing to risk the shame and the consequences of being unmarried and pregnant in order to be obedient to the will of God (Luke 1:26-35). The Syro-Phoenician woman, whose daughter was tormented by demons,
refused to be denied, and told Jesus she was willing to take even a “crumb” of his healing power so her daughter would be made well (Matthew 15:21-28). Those who are mothers know that being a mother is not an easy task, and it is a job that does not come with a retirement package. In fact, in the majority of cases, no matter how empty the nest or how high her kids are flying, or what kind of trouble her offspring gets into, the DNA (Do Not Abandon) gene in these mothers remains intact.

What’s the role of a godly mother? Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, puts it succinctly: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). We know that such instruction is wise because\ the apostle Paul commends the faith of his protegee Timothy, which was passed down to him from his family saying:” I also remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Your grandmother Lois had the same sort of faith, and I am sure that you will have it as well” (2 Tim. 1:5,6).

This Mother’s Day, as you recall your own mother, remember those who are surrogates, grandmothers, godmothers, foster mothers, and those countless amazing women who nurture from a heart of love. Say a special prayer for them. Remember, too, to forgive those who are not and may not have been the mothers we would have liked them to be. Ask God to extend his grace to them as well.”

To sign up for Dee's weekly devotional, Wednesday's Word, email fidelity2u@verizon.net.

Pray: "Mother God, on this Mother's Day week end, open our eyes to all who need your mothering care. May we be the surrogate mothers, the spiritual mothers to those who need love, nurture, guidance and hope."

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"What's in a Name?" May, 2015

5/1/2015

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"Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:1)

LISTEN TO:    Sandi Patti "How Majestic Is Your Name"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu9X535MDEg

What does your name mean to you? For most people, a name is more than just a empty word. When we recall someone's name, we  remember  their character, their attributes and their foibles. I remember a friend's name and I immediately see her face in my mind's eye. Memories flood my mind. So a name is never just a name, unless you are reading the phone book and have no association whatsoever with the person behind the collection of letters. A name signifies an identify. A name represents our history and an accumulation of our stories. Most of us are thoughtful to live very consciously into our names. We protect the good name we have build up over the years against any impingement of possible doubt to our integrity. That's how important our name means to us.

There are over 900 titles for God in the Bible, although about about only a handful used most frequently. Can you imagine keeping careful track of all the stories and attributes associated with each one?! What this tells us is the struggle to be in relationship with an infinite being in a way that we mortal beings can appreciate and handle. God, in all God's infinity, chooses to love us, to be named in ways that we can relate, and be in relationship with us. So God's most majestic name is Jesus, for in Jesus we see both humanity and divinity combined. Jesus is God's name to relate to us and to convey love to us.

The Psalmist tells us God's name is "majestic" -- which can also be translated "wide" or "great." Only God's name could be wide enough and great enough to contain the earth. That's what the gospel of Christ did. So through Christ the God whose name covers the earth has said, " " See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands"  (Isa 49:16). In God's eyes, your name is precious. You are not just another name in a book. God knows the story behind your name. Not matter what has happened, God can always restore integrity to our names.

What legacy do you want your name to leave?

Spend some time researching some of God's names in scripture.

What names resonate with you?

Try this sites:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/namesofgod.html

Pray: "Ha-Shem: Teach me your names. Teach me my name in your book. Help me live up to the name you have give me. How great is your name in all the earth!"

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"Like a Tree" May, 2015

"Cast Your Lot with God" May, 2015

"Mother's Day" 2015

"What's in a Name?" May, 2015

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"Like a Tree" May, 2015﻿

"Cast Your Lot with God" May, 2015

"Mother's Day" 2015

"What's in a Name?" May, 2015

Author

Archives

Categories

"Like a Tree" May, 2015