The people keep a comin’ and the train done gone. Do you remember an old Christmas spiritual called, Mary Had a Baby? Today, I think on this St. Helena Island Spiritual.
It has deep soul and sweet simplicity: Mary had a baby, yes, Lord,
Mary had a baby, yes my Lord,
Mary had a baby, yes Lord,
People keep a-comin’ an’ the train done gone.
There is natural melody, even if the true melody is unknown. But, I can’t stop thinking about the phrase, People keep a-comin’ an’ the train done gone.
There was a lot going on then. (Which doesn’t take away from thae fact that there is a lot going on now.)
This story isn’t only about the past, this story is about today, right now, this very moment. Mary had a baby, yes, Lord.
So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. And Joseph also went up . . . out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to . . . Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, Luke 2:4.
OK, now it makes sense: The people keep a comin, but what about the thought, the train done gone?
The kids sing it so simply: Mary had a baby. Yes, Lord. The familiar Bible Story, found in Luke 2 and Matthew 1.
What did she name Him? Yes Lord?
What did she name Him, yes my Lord,
What did she name Him, Yes, Lord, …
A virgin shall be with Child and they shall call His name, Immanuel. Matthew 1:23.
Immanuel, God with us. Mary had a Baby and He is God with us.
The people keep-a-coming, and the train done gone. Have we missed something. Have we missed the Everything?
The word of God is living. It’s alive. It rings true yesterday, today, and forever: At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. Luke 2:1.
We’re traveling here and there. Days are busy. We are occupied with important things. We are “counting” on many things.
Does this song bring about an urgency? Is there a “train” we might miss?
Do we really have time to seek out this Jesus?
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
‘Mary had a baby, Yes Lord…what did she name Him? Yes, my Lord… ‘She named Him King Jesus, Yes Lord, …the people keep a coming but the train done gone.”
Have we put Jesus in the barn?
Let us wake up to the sounds of angels. The birth announcement is made: Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid, Luke 2:8.
And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”
A Savior has been born to you.
To me, to you, to everyone in the whole world: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.
The Immanuel has here.
He is Savior of the world. That Babe left all His glory of heaven to be born in a barn and wrapped in a few rags for me, for you. Today, the story is true.
‘Mary had a baby, Yes Lord. The glory train is here today. Let us choose to get on, right now, for Love has come.
Mary had a baby, Yes lord!
The people keep-a-coming and the train’s all mine. I see it, and I’ve boarded, will you join me this time?
Category: Articles
Guilty. But, Jesus
Adultery? Are we all guilty? We, believers in God through the Son He has sent- we are the Bride of Christ. We are the Church. If Jesus is the Bridegroom, then aren’t we guilty of adultery as well, putting so much attention on stuff in this world and not giving attention to the wedding at hand?
So, the story is told in the Book of John, chapter 8, that God has come into the temple, And He, Jesus in fact, begins to write in the dirt: “This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. John 8:6. Two thousand years before, it was the finger of God who wrote on stone tablets, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14.
The Religious Leaders came as policemen asking about the punishment this woman, caught in adultery, should receive. Jesus spoke: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
One by one, they slipped away, beginning with the oldest even to the last. (Yes, this is how it is written in John 8 verse 9). ‘And Jesus was left alone – with the woman standing in the midst. “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
This is the voice of the Lord. And she answered, “No one, Lord.”
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (These are the words of Jesus, no pointing of the finger in John chapter 8 verse 11.)
Do you think the woman lifted her head to look in His eyes? Jesus comes today to forgive our sin.
Am I willing to hear Him and lift up my head? Am I willing to receive his forgiveness and go – and walk in the light? No more hiding in the night.
If Jesus is the Bridegroom, and we are the Bride if Christ, shall we go now giving attention to the wedding at hand?
“The marriage feast of the Lamb ” (Revelation 19:6) is coming! Is the Bride making herself ready? Our Bridegroom, Jesus – does He have first place in our heart?
We’ve all failed to be faithful! We’ve all missed the mark. What are we to do? We must hear the voice of our Lord:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord requires of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
Are our ears open to hear His gentle and compassionate voice: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
I pray for myself, I pray for you, that we lift up our chins and make this very choice.
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” This is in the Book of Revelation, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Story is written, the invitations are going out! Revelation 19 reminds us: Let us be glad and rejoice, for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come.
Let us be a Bride that makes herself ready! Yes, no? We all have the choice.
Where's the App? Directions? … God's word
Where’s the App that will let me know what’s ahead? Where’s the GPS to guide me through the next step?
“Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken:” Make no mistake, the prophet reveals, this is the word of the Lord, and He bids all to hear.
This is the voice of God’s Holy Word. He seems to call aloud to everyone. Exclamation points in place, New International Version, Isaiah, chapter 1.
Breathed out by the breath of God, the One who made us, not we ourselves. He sees, He watches, He’s ever present and powerful. He knows our name. He has a plan, He knows what He’s doing. His thoughts are not ours. He is God Almighty, He’s the great I AM.
Do we hear? Do we remember? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm One Hundred, eleven. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning,” found again, in Proverbs 9:10.
At this time, do we care? This is important to ask. Who’s voice do we hear? Oh children of the world, “Wake up, fast!”
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.” The Lord speaks to he who has ears. Words printed in Isaiah 1.
These words came off the tongue of the Lord. His heart speaks. There are no contractions. Do we take time to see for ourselves, or do we simply think we know it all too well?
“Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.” These are the words spoken by the prophet, Isaiah chapter 1.
The Book is living water. Are we thirsty for the well?
Where have we turned our backs, is the question. Have we turned them on God? Let’s stop and have reflection.
“Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.” Isaiah 1: 2-6.
Which direction? Is there a remedy? Where is a reliable fix? If peace is what is desired, the accuser is not the Lord. The accuser is the devil- sin is the reproach.
But God has made a way. He is the Way, you know. He sent His Son – His blood poured out. To atone us, everyone. To make us at-one with Him. His blood was shed to redeem us. His arm is not short, His ears hear. His name is forever, to bring hope, and peace and salvation, to all the children everywhere.
“Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; …” Isaiah chapter 1:16,17. But don’t think for a minute, that this is about you! The only righteousness in you, can be in be-liev-ing.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18.
It is time to seek the Lord.” …seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1 proclaims, but the power behind all of this –
is in the name of Jesus.
Remember the angel and the words proclaimed: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2 verse 10.
The Messiah is born, and a sign was given: A baby in a manger. The shepherds, the star. Have we forgotten? Are our hearts far?
Let’s turn around as John the Baptist suggested and see, “… the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:9.
Instead of our backs, let us turn our face – to the Lord. Acknowledge Him. Believe He came for us. Call out His name,seek His promises to guide us.
His name is Jesus, sad hearts weep no more. He has healed the broken hearted open wide the prison doors, He is able to deliver – evermore.”
If you need help with the praise part, open Psalm 111. Read aloud and watch your mind be transformed:
“Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established for ever and ever,
enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for his people;
he ordained his covenant forever—
holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise.” Psalm 111. Amen.
What's glorious? Being together
What’s glorious? Huge colorful mountains, vast rippling seas?
Yes, and when people gather together, share the same space with no agenda except to be together and simply, be.
Let’s face it, being human in this broken world brings us all to a common bond, faced with daily struggle and trial. Not to diminish the fact that many are faced with crisis, recent loss of health or loved one, or other.
These words sound so dry, yet the pain is excruciating for one in crisis. Where hearts feel as if physically bleeding, and the pain becomes consuming. The clouds of darkness hover over and it’s hard to see any good.
But the Bible reminds us what is good, when we feel as if we are spinning in a whirlwind of pain and would rather be alone instead-“Oh, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” (Ps. 133:1).
This is good. This is pleasant. Brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors, moms, dads, grans and grants – not all at once, but brethren, with some common ground, being together …
In unity. This is the heart and mind of God.
God, the One Whom sent His Son to earth, to show us the Way, and even how to pray, in this very familiar manner: Our Father in heaven. The Bible doesn’t say, “My Father in heaven,” it says, “Our Father …”
“Oh, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
There is usually food involved in all this. And this involves hands, and so becomes need for helpers. Ice breaks, hearts beat again, by the simple warmth of togetherness.
So, somehow today, I hear words in my ear, “Just do it!” Get together and celebrate life. Celebrate all things beautiful.
And may we remember that we are being prayed for by the One who holds our heart, even it be bruised and broken, He tenderly cares. Jesus prayed to His Father:
“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—” The Book of John, chapter 17, verses 20-22.
Jesus has given us the glory that the Father gave the Son? Maybe we don’t experience that glory until we ‘let go’ of all we’re holding on to, and ‘let God’ bring us to a place of unity.
” … complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:2-4).
Could it be, that the One who made us, knows what will bring us happiness? Unity, all glorious.
How can we understand God’s glory? Hear the prayer of the Son:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” John 17 verses 1-5.
A time to gather together. This brings glory to the Father. But perhaps, so much more that we can comprehend at the moment.
Unity opens us up that we might have confidence and joy for all of eternity: “…that they all may be one, as You Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21).
Christ the center, that we might all someday see …
"Can we reason together?" asks the LORD
“Oh world, are you angry and troubled? Do you forget to walk careful with fear … not ‘fear’ as you listen to restless thoughts of man, but ‘the fear of the LORD’, which is the beginning of wisdom. (1)
“Look out!” they yell and seek their own view. “Look up!” My voice speaks. I give peace, hope, and understanding to you.
“The church has caused great pain and appears to have pointing fingers.”
“Don’t you see, it’s the sin of man that brings condemnation? I have come. I AM Savior. There is no condemnation to those who are in Me.”(2)
“Come, and let us reason together. Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” (3) I was sent by My Father, and willingly died on a tree.”
But that could not hold Me. I rose from the dead.(4) Where do you set your mind? Where is your mind set? Look to Me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” (5)
“I will show you great and mighty things that you know not yet. (6) I Am the LORD.”
Don’t look out toward the strife and the wars, Look Up to find wisdom to cope. “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the world…”(7)
“I didn’t leave you as orphans alone, (8) I left you with My Spirit and the Word. Receive Them. Don’t reject. “Be still and know that I Am God.” (9) Pull the Good Book from off of the shelf. Have an open heart and mind, and see …
for …
yourself.
I love you with outstretched arms forever. If I seem distant, I dwell in thankful hearts and praises.
Look up to Me. My name is Jesus.”
(1) Proverbs 9:10.
(2) Romans 8:1.
(3) Isaiah 1:18.
(4) Matthew 28:6.
(5) Matthew 11:28.
(6) Jeremiah 33:3.
(7) Colossians 3:2.
(8) John 14:18.
(9) Psalm 46:10.
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Ps. 147:3.
“He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3.
Sometimes, when there is nothing to hold on to, or it seems as if there is no place to go, refuge and comfort for the soul can be found in God’s Holy Word alone:
“He heals … Psalms One Hundred Forty Seven verse Three.
and maybe that’s as far as we can go somedays. But there is hope in the words, ‘He heals.’
Because, God’s Word is true. He speaks what is. Whether we can believe it or not. There is no shadow of turning with God. God is love, (1 John 4:8).
God doesn’t get moody and irritated. He doesn’t just walk out the door. He doesn’t give up on anybody. He is Holy and righteous. God is all-together lovely. God is love – yesterday, today, and forever.
There is no One like God. Doctors can bring about healing, but ‘He heals.’
He is big enough for our unbelief. He loves in a way that’s never-ending. Can we ever fully understand all that?
He knows this broken world we live in, so His perfect word spells out in black and white letters on the page: “He heals the broken hearted.”
And maybe we can only get that far, but when we close the Book, we grope for some light in the dark tunnel. And, it shines,
so gently,
so quietly,
but it’s there:
‘He heals the broken-hearted.’
And, nothing makes sense, and the pain is unbearable, but then those words come back in a whisper, and somehow,
I’m not sure how,*
but the thoughts make the next breath possible to endure: ‘He heals the broken-hearted.’
And God, who is amazing and knows everything, knows that the Book will be opened again, just to look at what’s next.
The black and white letters on a page, that’s all they are, but Somehow so much more.
God, He breathed out the words, and whether or not, right now we can even believe they are true, God says, He not only heals, but He binds up … their wounds.”
*Yes, we can actually Know how.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three in One. They will never leave us. The Holy Spirit reveals what is true, and the mystery is, in our hunger and thirst, we finally seek, Truth:
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 4: 7-9).
Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k]neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans 8:34-38)
This is a comfort to our affliction: “Thy Word has given me life.” (Psalm 119:50.
“He heals. The broken-hearted. And He binds up their wounds.”
Tune me again Lord, and again . . .
“Tune it up. It’s flat.”
When an instrument’s out of tune, it brings about a stop. Before moving on, it’s got to be tuned.
So, with a turn of a peg, or a bit more complicated maneuver, an instrument is brought back to position, that harmony may once again be brought to the ear.
If it were only that easy for the human race.
Our hearts go out of tune. Sometimes by our own hard strums, but also by outward bumps and hits.
But who can tune a heart?
We try, and we fail. The task is too hard.
Words were penned way back in 1757. Robert Robinson wrote a familiar hymn. A turning of the head, can prove to any stubborn heart—remedy and hope for today.
Read aloud, or sung alone, there’s something supernatural when we desperately need a new tune.
Let it go, and let the sound out. Speak with me old words, that perhaps they are our help to turn our head and tune our heart.
Come Thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing/Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet/Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it
Mount of Thy unchanging love
A battle rages. Our eyes haven’t been fixed upon the mount. We forgot that with God, streams of mercy never cease. Our eyes haven’t sung melodious psalms. We forgot that unlike any man, God’s has unchanging love.
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” Luke 22:31,32 speaks clearly words that we feel are our reality.
The hymn. The hymn. Let’s remind ourselves of God’s faithful presence and peace:
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here there by Thy great help I’ve come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
Our hearts can’t believe in any love like this. So we will continue to read aloud, our remedy, God’s bliss:
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let that grace now, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
God, help us! Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Here is the turn that will bring back the harmony again:
“Here’s my heart Lord,
take,
and seal it,
seal it for Thy courts above.”
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” Luke 22:31,32.
words from mom of 11: "I'm never having any kids!"
When an editor mentioned that they were looking for interesting stories of change, I thought, “Hmm, A young single always saying: “I’m never having kids,” and later became a mom of eleven.
Perhaps there’s a story that might ignite some curiosity.
It starts with my name Toni ‘stu’ Born. The middle name given to me by my mom when she was exasperated with my stubbornness, and the last name, very German, given to me by my dad, Ernst Edward Born.
Stubborn was my middle and last name. Head-strong, with more energy than 5 people could need in a day, and smart, (from my dad who had some amazing brains being a surgeon and an oncologist in his day.)
Setting off to school, being disillusioned with the University, next came an audition to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena,CA. In the middle of all that, I had an eating disorder, thinking always about food, or how to avoid it, or how to work off what had already been eaten.
Insanity, of which I touched on a bit in previous writing, in which no-one really knew, except my family. But God had a plan.
I asked to transfer for my second year of school at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the next thing I knew, was this 19 year old was moving to NYC! (I think an exclamation point is appropriate here.)
Mind you, I was now in the middle of ‘food utopia’.
But God, He had a plan.
He got me off the insanity roller-coaster with His Word, as I, day by day thought about denying the indulgence of destroying myself, moment by moment with my thoughts, which turned into destructive actions.
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34. (Hey, and this verse is repeated three times, found also in Luke 9:23 and Matthew 16:24.) God knows we need to be chewing on this one, past, present, and future.
“What does this have to do with wanting no children to having 11?” you might ask.
“Everything,” I say. Because, I began to live in such a way that I would talk to God, “Your will, not mine be done.”
So, yes, I married.
O.K., I fast forwarded quite a bit for the sake of word numbers, but that story will be saved for another day),
In reading God’s word daily, falling in love with Genesis, and the Book of John. Loving the Psalms and Proverbs, and the Book of Romans,(and in time, all the 66 Books), I discovered that God’s word was a treasure to me. It was my life. My salvation. My breath.
Oh, yes, I love my husband too, but Jesus was my #1 love always and forever after saving me from my insanity. (And then getting me through birth 11 times, and childhood traumas and cancer.)
Yes, Jesus is my #1 love always and forever. Just ask my husband, he’s always played the 2nd fiddle – especially after all the kids. Sorry, Mike. Don’t get me wrong, Mike is the man. It’s just that Jesus is the Man!
(Don’t you think an exclamation point is needed after that?)
My patient, loving and persevering husband will tell you stories where he was hit head-on in an accident, and when he finally was able to come home from the hospital, with 7 kids running around and me expecting our Grace, he had to wait a half-an-hour more for his pain meds. Mike has cried only a few times in our 30 years of marriage, and I think that was the first.
And believe me, I was crying too.
So, the change from having ‘no’ children to having ‘all’ the children can be explained in one word: God.
Why 11? Well, that was God’s number for us. But, I will make this short: Believe it or not, God spoke to me through a song. An old hymn.
I was playing for a woman’s retreat 20 years ago and we ended with “I Surrender All”.
“I Surrender all. All to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”
I felt in my heart, then and there that God was asking me, “Will you give me your womb?”
O my goodness, Nobody does THAT!
But the Lord put this on my heart, and Mike’s through time, -to trust God with our family.
And Mike ‘waited on the Lord’ (!) to hear this for himself. Exclamation point for all who know Mike, he ‘waits’ on the Lord.
Obviously, Mike heard the calling of God as well. We didn’t want ‘more and more children’. No, we just wanted ‘all’ the children that God had for us.
You see, Mike is a man with the ‘gift’ of faith, where as I simply have faith. (And as small as a mustard seed at times.)
And we continue to seek God and His word, in ‘fear and trembling’ at times with all the pressures of this life, but we hear Jesus simply ask, just as at the start,
“Are you willing to trust Me in this?”
So, continually Mike and I must make the choice to show up on our knees, with our eyes on Jesus asking, “Show us the way.”
And moment by moment, step by step, He does.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5,6.
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4.
“This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me.” Psalm 119:50.
So, it all started with this, amplified: “Jesus called the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].”
Trusting God is always filled with excitement and blessing.
May we all walk close to Jesus and listen carefully to Him and hear Him speak gently: “Are you willing to trust Me in this?” And each day we wake, may we make the choice and say, “Yes, Lord. I surrender all.”
From fairy tales to Freedom
You see, I grew up with only the fairy tales.
I grew up with the finger’s – crossed and the blown up Easter Bunnies. I grew up with Santa Clause coming to town, and the Tooth Fairy. Some of these are good and fine, and part of being a child– but fears and insecurities and dark thoughts, and … anger, rooted itself deep inside of me – I was choked from enjoying life.
All the believing I was doing, was simply in elementary things – which proved to be like vapors in a cloud.
When I reached, for what I thought had substance, it would only prove disappointing.
I moved away from my home in Arizona to NYC when I was shy of 19 years of age. As weeds in a garden, out of control, an eating disorder was silently taking over my thoughts working its way to destroy every bit of life in me.
I didn’t know what to do with temptations. Always thinking I was fat, thinking of eating or how not to eat, and work off every calorie I had eaten. My thoughts were like a circus spinning in a hundred directions in my brain, with laughing, scary clowns and music with confusion and destruction everywhere.
I had no peace.
There were goals, and ‘how to’ books, but I had no control over my life. I knew all the things I should do. But, I had no power to do them. I had no strength to untangle the knot my world was tied in.
In desperation, I walked into a room filled with people with similar struggles and I read a poster on the wall – one word, three large letters: G-O-D.
This marks the beginning of the rest of my life.
Somehow, on that day, in a basement of some church on a street in Manhattan I realized that GOD was the help I needed.
This time, I knew I didn’t need a diet or a special doctor, I needed a Savior. Not religion, but living Help from a Living God.
I had packed a Bible with me in my move from Arizona to NYC. Given to me by the Key Club boys in High School, back in 1979.
It was one verse in the Book of Matthew 16:24, that Jesus said it, “If any man come after Me, let him deny himself .”
God impressed upon my heart this thought, “Toni, you are destroying yourself with this destructive behavior. I want you to deny yourself of that – because I want to give you a life that is free and full.”
As I was learning how to eat without great panic, and ‘denying myself ‘ the destructive behavior, God had me focus on the next part of the verse: “pick up your cross…”
And even though I didn’t understand what pick up your cross meant, God started helping me understand this to mean: not my will but God’s will be done.
He wanted me to have joy. Not to destroy.
God helped me heal and grow.
“Follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24).
Follow Jesus is what I began to do. I read His word. He unveiled Himself in His word. And through time, He healed me.
(Thank you, by the way, Key Club of Arcadia High 1979, Phoenix, Arizona. You have no idea what an impact that gift of a Bible would have on me. I never returned to my High School Reunions because I moved to the East Coast and kept having babies, but that’s a story all its own).
It is always fitting to praise Him
“Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!” Thus sings the chorus from the 147th Psalm.
There are times when it’s easy to praise God. And there are times, when Oh, we don’t feel like praising Him at all. It can be a sacrifice.
But He tenderly makes it possible when He beautifully paints the morning sky. Can you hear Him ask your heart’s eye,
“Did you see the colors I formed for you? I Am the Lord and I love you.”
He puts joy and delight in a young child’s eye. “The life in this child is a reflection of Me. Be still, take notice. Take time and breathe.”
We work and we toil and we plod along in our lives, we move forward but the rhythm doesn’t always flow real nice, then all of a sudden there is a surprise.
Could it be, we actually won the prize!
Perhaps a sacrifice of praise is the best medicine always. God knows that His children are happy when they hear what He says:
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!”
Breathed out by God, Psalm 147 just might be words to lift weary hearts high as the heavens:
“The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.”
He doesn’t tear apart, He doesn’t divide. The Lord builds up, the Lord gathers,
‘How good it is to sing praises to God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him.’ (emphasis, mine!)
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.“
These are words from the Lord God Almighty, we can believe Him faithful always, even when we can’t see.
He is good and He is worthy of our praise, when the sun shines and when the skies are dark with rain. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He loved us yesterday, He loves us today.
“He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”
We can’t come close to number the stars, yet He knows the name for each of us. He – knows – whose – we – are.
“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
He knows the good, the bad, the ugly. He knows our thoughts every minute.
“The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.”
God’s word reminds us that the ‘fear of the Lord is wisdom’. Trusting Him will make our whole being, sound.
“Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.”
Our vocal chords have strings. Let us be willing to look to Him and sing.
“He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle, and for the young ravens when they call.”
The word of God empowers the weak. Reading His words transform feeble knees. God’s word is light and living. Oh that we would heed it each morning and evening:
“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!”
Will you join me today to praise Him with out ceasing? He knows when the rhythm and rhyme isn’t flowing, but He is the One Faithful to keep you. He is all knowing.
“Praise the Lord.”
On the good days and the bad.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!”
Amen, amen, amen, Amen!
How to 'just do the next thing."
What is it to ‘look to God’ when the eyes of the heart have been shattered? When the next breath brings excruciating pain and tears.
How can the next step be taken. How?
We are surrounded by witnesses, even as a great cloud. The Book of Hebrews breathed out by God says. People long gone and people in our view. We must be willing to watch them, somehow.
If we don’t have a willing heart, we need to ask God to give us one. That’s the start.
Doesn’t a runner focus, commit time to the race and train? They’re at the track, enduring pain, restriction, even criticism, but they make the choice to even run in the rain.
To do the next thing …
when the breath has been knocked out, we must look to God and Jesus His Son. He sent Him that we might have all the witness we need.
Moment by moment , breath by breath, how did Jesus withstand the agony of the cross?
Eyes on the Father, His heart on us. Jesus said, I AM willing. He laid down His life for us.
Who is this Man who overcomes, that we are to look upon?
“He is the image of the invisible God…” Colossians 1.
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible … All things were created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1.
These are words written in the Book for all people, quietly sitting on the book shelf. But when opened and read, God again … becomes big.
“He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.” John 1:11.
Rejection and grief are not foreign to Jesus. A witness sufficient, He is alive evermore.
Jesus lifted His eyes to His Father when He prayed for all the people of the world:
“Father, the hour has come, …
“Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, …” John chapter 17, Jesus prays for us still.
As a child we remember Three in One, but somehow through time, perhaps we believe ‘me’ is part of the sum.
But this broken world comes to cut us and bring pain, and there’s nothing left in the ‘me’. Everything’s changed.
So we turn and knock and hope that it’s the right door.
“For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame” Romans 10:11.
“Call us, ‘Whoever’ , Father God, we need You. Show us the Son and move in us by Your Spirit. Bring us each day to clearer vision. Forever, always. This is our prayer to our Father in Heaven, Your will be done, You be our vision.”
“My son, ( and daughters too), do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastened, and scourges every son ( and daughter), whom He receives.” Hebrews 12 verse 5and verse 6, extra nouns added to include all of us.
“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9.
In order to do the next thing, we must first breathe. Perhaps the Word of God is our very breath. And Jesus will show us the way, and the path. He is the One who will get us through each step.
Give us, God's own handwriting
God has come into the temple, in reading His Story as told by John in the eighth chapter of his Book.
And it is told, (in verse 6, if you happen to want to look at the story yourself), that He begins to write in the dirt.
“Wait a minute. When did God write in the dirt?”
Two thousand years before, it was the finger of God who wrote on stone tablets, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20.
The religious leaders of the day came as policemen asking about the punishment this woman, caught in adultery, should receive.
“Now Moses, in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” They asked Jesus.
Jesus didn’t answer right away. He stooped down instead and started writing in the dirt with His finger.
So, the scribes and Pharisees kept pressing for His answer.
Jesus raised Himself up and said, (New King James Version):
“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ( John 8:7).
So one by one, they slipped away, the Story is told.
The oldest leaving first, ‘even to the last.’ (vs. 9).
And Jesus was left alone with the sinner. “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
This is the voice of the Lord.
And she answered, “No one, Lord.”
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
These are the words of God. This is His handwriting.
Do you think the woman lifted her head to look in His eyes? Jesus comes today to forgive our sin.
Am I willing to hear Him and lift up my head? Am I willing to com to His feet, guilty, and receive his forgiveness. No more hiding in the night.
Adultery. Lies. Turning from God. The Law is broken in one point it is broken it all. “He who is without sin, let him throw the first stone.”
We are all guilty. Everyone of us has broken the Law of God.
Are we choosing to love the Lord our God with all our hearts? Moment by moment, we love ourselves greater.
Oh, let us draw near to God, perhaps we were ‘brought to God’ in the midst of our sin.’
But shall we not hear the voice of the Savior this day:
” … where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you? “
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
This is the voice of the Savior of the world. This is His Story in the Book of John chapter 8.
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” Psalm 119:9.
He has written His word. The handwriting is His. Today, do we believe Him? Let us lift up our eyes to His and say, “yes Lord. I receive You.”
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But …
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become …
Children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:10-12.
Faithful amid unfaithfulness..
A poem written long ago by J G Deck and published in 1846, would be an appropriate prayer for many us today.
“Faithful amid unfaithfulness, ‘Mid darkness only light,
Thou didst thy Father’s name confess, And in his will delight.
Unmoved by threats or flatt’ring wiles, Or suffering, shame, and loss;
Thy path uncheer’d by earthly smiles, Led only to the cross…”
The poem is about the Man, sent from God.
Jesus, whose name most know and have heard. Yet His name is often thrown around, and used as in a curse. Yes, the name of the Man often banned in public circles, is the very name that when called – brings death to a reverse.
“Faithful amid unfaithfulness, ‘Mid darkness only light,
He’s misunderstood completely- from Love to Judge, thought to have a pointing finger – these things ought naught be so.
If only the children of the world could know: “Faithful amid unfaithfulness, ‘Mid darkness only light,
Thou didst thy Father’s name confess, And in his will delight.
Unmoved by threats or flatt’ring wiles, Or suffering, shame, and loss;
Thy path uncheer’d by earthly smiles, Led only to the cross…”
We, so easily are moved by the multitude. Wake up dear people, any dead fish can float downstream.
Wake up, Wake up and decide to stand – for the Man who for your deepest and ugliest sin, laid down His life, in your place, And stretched out His hands.
Consider and think . . .
Make this a day of decision, to swim upstream against the flow. J G Deck’s poem has a prayer for us all, to seriously ponder, and in our hearts make a home:
“Give us thy meek and lowly mind; We would obedient be;
And all our rest and pleasure find In learning, Lord, of thee.”
Meekness is power under control. Others minded is the “lowly mind” needed so.
Peace, peace glorious peace we need. Peace, peace. Is this not what mankind seeks?
“Dear Lord Jesus, help us to yearn for more of You. Help us hunger and thirst for Truth. “Thy Word is Truth,” the Bible declares. “I am the way, and the truth . . .,” Your mouth proclaimed. O that You would receive the glory due Your name. In these last days, may mankind find that it is You that they seek. Increase faith in the land. Take away the world’s unbelief.”
“Jesus, Your name is high above all others. Draw the children, the fathers and the mothers. Encourage the grans, draw nigh to the grants. Pour out Your Holy Spirit. Bring a “river of life” running through. Make the “lame to walk,” the “blind to see.”
“Give us thy meek and lowly mind; We would obedient be; And all our rest and pleasure find In learning, Lord, of thee.”
And if there be any heart that has never received, let them open the door and let You in. “Jesus, my Savior, Almighty God. Forgive me. Wash me, Empower me with Your Spirit. Give me faith that I might believe, now and for all eternity.
In the name above all names. The King of Kings. I Am. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Nevertheless God
We desire friendship with Happiness. We yearn for acquaintance with Joy. But often we find hidden around the corner, Distress and Restlessness.
Where is Rest?
Airwaves reveal that women “roar” and men “parade themselves.” Children very young and very old, and all the ages in between seek Refuge.
He reaches His hand out in the storm. He speaks, as “our bodies had no rest, . . . we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.
Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us . . .” (2 Corinthians 7:5,6. NKJV).
Refuge comes in the storm. His Word brings His companion, Calm. And Calm has a twin, who’s name is Song.
“O soul are you weary and troubled. No light in the darkness you see. There’s a light for a look at the Savior and life more abundant and free.”
Then Remember came to my rescue and offered some strong exhortation:
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38, NIV.
“O God,” I cry, “Remind me.” The mountains quake, the trials mount. When lying on my bed, my head cries, “There’s no way out!”
And a still, quiet voice speaks mysteriously deep:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46, from the Holy Book.
God speaks in the hymn of old, when weariness overtakes our soul, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
So I run to the Word, His present help, and I turn to Psalm 46 to calm me back to sleep:
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
So, let us “turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face,” that we might seek refuge from the Lord and not men. That we might have Peace dwell deep inside, giving counsel and comfort to put anxiety aside,
that we might have an abundance of hope and joy and all the rest, because we have made God, The Almighty, Lord of All the Universe, our confidence.
Today, today – let us yearn to seek His face.
No rest in a storm, or is there?
No rest in a storm, or is there?
“Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” This is found in the Book of Mark chapter 4 verse 38. It appears that Jesus sleeps in their storm.
And we often think that Jesus ‘sleeps’ through our storms as well. So, we set off to live our life without Him. And the Book, then, remains closed.
I write this blog, with the theme , “He shows us His Hand.” As I visualize the picture painted years ago of crashing waves of a storm on a lone ship, yet with further notice, the waves form His Hand with a secure hold.
But – I didn’t believe at times, even as a believer, I didn’t believe that God cared about the crisis and great ‘squalls’ of loss that came my way.
People with good intentions would say, “Just hold on.”
But there was no ‘holding on.’
There were words on my bedroom wall, passed often in the midst of each day, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. And I would talk to God and say,
“I don’t believe You.”
But none of this changed the fact that He, God, the Creator of the Universe, the One who knew my name before I was formed in my mother’s womb – none of my doubt changed the fact that – God had a hold on me.
So I write a blog with a ton of underlying rules, but I hear One voice, “Write for yourself, what I’ve shown you.” (Jer. 36:2),“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you …”
But, what if I truly gave up on God? What if I didn’t search for Him to show me something? What if I didn’t cry out to Him, “Jesus, don’t You care that I’m drowning?”
I don’t know. Because I did call. I called His name. I did.
“Jesus. Help me.”
So, the Book is open, to Mark chapter 4 and I read verse 9 a bit ahead of the storm:
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
And I asked God right then, ‘to speak to me now.’ And in looking beyond verse 9 of Mark 4, Jesus explains a story that He told multitudes that day.
I will include the Word of God here, but I will say, God spoke. He wasn’t sleeping, He was near. Not because I could see Him or even know ‘something’ had changed, it hadn’t at all – but you see, He didn’t ‘give’ me peace because ‘He is Peace’. He is the Peace I seek. It’s in the calling of His name.
He’s not just a ‘fair-weather’ Friend. He’s a forever Savior through the thick and the thin.
So, way before Jesus spoke the words, “Peace, be still.” In Mark 4 verse 39, He spoke to them in a story, that they forgot once the waves had hit:
“Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown.
And we often think that Jesus ‘sleeps’ through our storms as well. So, we set off to live our life without Him. And the Book, then, remains closed.
I write this blog, with the theme , “He shows us His Hand.” As I visualize the picture painted years ago of crashing waves of a storm on a lone ship, yet with further notice, the waves form His Hand with a secure hold.
But – I didn’t believe at times, even as a believer, I didn’t believe that God cared about the crisis and great ‘squalls’ of loss that came my way.
People with good intentions would say, “Just hold on.”
But there was no ‘holding on.’
There were words on my bedroom wall, passed often in the midst of each day, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. And I would talk to God and say,
“I don’t believe You.”
But none of this changed the fact that He, God, the Creator of the Universe, the One who knew my name before I was formed in my mother’s womb – none of my doubt changed the fact that – God had a hold on me.
So I write a blog with a ton of underlying rules, but I hear One voice, “Write for yourself, what I’ve shown you.” (Jer. 36:2),“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you …”
But, what if I truly gave up on God? What if I didn’t search for Him to show me something? What if I didn’t cry out to Him, “Jesus, don’t You care that I’m drowning?”
I don’t know. Because I did call. I called His name. I did.
“Jesus. Help me.”
So, the Book is open, to Mark chapter 4 and I read verse 9 a bit ahead of the storm:
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
And I asked God right then, ‘to speak to me now.’ And in looking beyond verse 9 of Mark 4, Jesus explains a story that He told multitudes that day.
I will include the Word of God here, but I will say, God spoke. He wasn’t sleeping, He was near. Not because I could see Him or even know ‘something’ had changed, it hadn’t at all – but you see, He didn’t ‘give’ me peace because ‘He is Peace’. He is the Peace I seek. It’s in the calling of His name.
He’s not just a ‘fair-weather’ Friend. He’s a forever Savior through the thick and the thin.
So, way before Jesus spoke the words, “Peace, be still.” In Mark 4 verse 39, He spoke to them in a story, that they forgot once the waves had hit:
“Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 1
8 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Peace is in agreeing and accepting what God says. Even when you don’t understand and your heart even bleeds, Jesus is our Peace – for now … and always.
Call Him, He answers. Jesus is His name.