SelahV Today

Beyond the Abyss and Potholes

Have you ever found yourself in an abyss of weariness, disappointment, or discouragement?  Perhaps it is more like a pothole than a cavernous dark hole.  Yet you know, each day, whenever someone's words or actions cross your path, you crumble as surely as chunks of asphalt crumble when a tire runs across a hole in the road.  With every bump, the pothole widens and deepens.  You know you must do something about it; if you allow this hole to go unattended, it will soon be a canyon.

Potholes and pits are not fun.  Sometimes we have no clue what is wrong with us.  We can't understand how we find ourselves in such a state.  We have everything--a home, a family, friends, a loving God.  What IS our problem, anyway?  I confess, I do not know what your problem is.  I have a suspicion what mine is, most of the time.

Notice, there is something very telling about a pothole: a pothole is not a problem because of what is inside it; but rather, because of what is not inside it.  Just as a pothole on a highway needs to be filled to keep it from getting worse, we need to fill our holes of discontent, discouragement, disillusionment and despair.  When I find myself in the shadows of sadness and cannot see the sunshine, it is usually because my back is to the "light".  It's then I know I must turn around.

My greatest joy comes when I revisit the miracles of hope God has shown me through His Word. I consider how relieved the nation of Israel felt when they crossed the Red Sea. I consider the joy David felt when God forgave him. I consider the joy Peter felt when Jesus met him and told him to feed His sheep. I meditate upon the glory of God's presence in my life through the handiwork of His creation. I marvel that He would do so much for me, a sinner who once was at war with Him and His people.  Then I rest. I rest beside the still waters and cry and consider, Why am I cast down? My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. This is but a blink in eternity that I am enduring.

We aren't the only ones to be weary, tired, and filled with grief.  The disciples were so overcome with the news that Jesus told them at the Last Supper, that they couldn't even watch and pray with Him.  Remember what He said when He found them sleeping? “Get up and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation.” Luke22:46b.

I am tempted every day to focus on me and mine rather than He and His. When I lose focus and take my eyes off Him, I fall prey every time to the folly of circumstance. Meeting God, and praying and talking it all out with Him, does more for me than an afternoon nap, a shopping trip, or complaining to a friend. Knowing that the saints before me fell prey to the abyss at times, reminds me once again that God cares in ways beyond my comprehension.

Are you weary?  Are you discouraged?  Do you want to run away from life?

May the Most High God flood your soul today and lift you out of the quagmire in which you find yourself. May He give you clear insight and understanding of the grand purpose He has for you…this day. selahV

When It Rains

When it rains in Oklahoma, it is a beautiful thing.  Our area of the state is often parched for want of moisture.  This Spring we have been blessed with a much greater supply of rain than the past three years.  In fact, the two years prior recorded the worst drought in decades.  Today the rain is steady.  It pummels my steel roof and sounds like the rush of a giant waterfall.  It's soothing.  It makes me sleepy.  But more than anything, it makes me grateful.  I am so grateful for the life-giving water; Oklahoma actually has an abundance of hay for the cattle and horses that dot the countryside, now.

My neighbor, Melanie, will love this outpouring--so will her garden.  She has painstakingly and faithfullly planted corn and beans, and other veggies to can for the coming winter.  Sunday, she excitedly shared how high her corn and greenbeans had grown.  Today's rain will triple their height in a couple of days when the sun returns this afternoon.  I love the childlike excitement Melanie has in her new-found gardening adventures.  I can hardly wait to hear her praise for the rain and share in her joy of God's provision.

As I ponder how good it feels for me to hear her--or any other--praise God for His blessings, I consider how much more our Father in Heaven delights in it.  Our praise is a fragrance to Him.  As we acknowledge the Giver of life, the Provider of rain and sun, our faith is strengthened and filled with endurance to praise Him even in the droughts of life.  After all, we don't always have the rain.  I've never lived in such a dry climate.  While I love the perpetual sunshine, most gardens, lawns and fields often struggle to produce under its constant heat.  Last year the drought was so bad, many farmers had to sell off their cattle and horses because they had no hay to feed them, and the grass was nothing but dried splinters.  Today is a treat.  A refreshing.  A restoration for our land.  When it rains, somehow, God's presence and compassion seems all the more powerful and comforting. 

"¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust. ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children's children,
¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments." Psalm 102:13-18

When it rains, a visible blessing is apparent.  Especially for those in need of its sustaining benefits.  Yet greater, still, is the blessing of knowing the Creator of the rain.  Greater is the knowledge of God's grace and provision for life everlasting through the attoning work of Christ on the cross.  Greater is His promise of steadfast love to those who fear Him.  Greater is His righteousness to children's children. 

When it rains, are you reminded of the inconveniences, the need for umbrellas, and the parades that must be canceled?  Are you overwhelmed when it overflows a creekbed, or washes out a road?  Or are you reminded of this steadfast love in all situations?  this righteousness that spans decades upon decades? these benefits that are visible, that increase your faith in the invisible?  I pray it is the latter. selahV

A Butterfly Greeting

Just as I bent to add purple hydrangeas and tiger lilies to my son's grave arrangement, a bird started singing in a nearby pine tree.  The entire time I added flowers to fill the spaces, the bird continued its serenade.  I kept looking into the trees and couldn't see what kind of bird it was; then all of a sudden it flew to a different perch and started singing again.  It looked like a mocking-bird, but I'd never heard a mocking-bird sing like that.  Nowhere in the Bible is it written that a person can issue forth birdsongs for a loved one on earth.  I know that.  But I couldn't help but wonder if God wasn't blessing me a little more than normal on this 7th anniversary of Chad's entrance to heaven.  I laughed at the thought, that Chad was elbowing Gabriel and saying, "See her? That's my momma, putting those flowers out."

I began taking pictures to post on Facebook for my granddaughters to see the new arrangement.  And just as I began snapping photos, a spotted butterfly came and landed on one of the yellow roses.  Again I laughed.  The Lord sent us a butterfly to remind us of the new life Chad has in Jesus now.

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."  Romans 5:8-10

I took a few more pictures and noticed an array of yellow, striped, and small orange butterflies flitting from one yellow daisy to another in the cemetery and adjoining field.  The daisies reminded me of how much Chad loved to pick wildflowers alongside the road with his girls.  In fact, Abby (now 10), remembered that when she spotted some Texas Bluebonnets on the side of the highway just last month.  It was a good memory.  And that, my friends, is exactly what all those little acts of love created while Chad was here with us.  Sweet loving memories of his presence--memories to cherish today as we wait to join him some day.  One of Chad's favorite sayings was "Don't forget, take time to smell the flowers."

So, in honor of my son, I began picking daisies, and Indian Blankets for an arrangement at home.

Life is a beautiful thing...and memories are blankets of God's mercy in times like this.

I love you, my son...

Momma

 

GOD'S "ELECTING LOVE" REQUIRES A FEW THINGS...

Are you elected to receive God's love? Are you among those chosen by God to live eternally in His presence? Have you met the requirements?  God has some set up, you know?  When a candidate is elected to office, he has to meet certain requirements in order to be "elected"--a certain age, a residency, be on ballot within a specified time period, etc.  If he doesn't meet those requirements, then the election process (no matter how popular, how kind, how generous, how noble, how honest, a person he is), is null and void.  Even if the man receives the majority of votes in the election process, he still must meet the requirements or he cannot be elected to serve.  God's desire in His election for the kingdom of God, is that no man be a loser in the process.  So what are the requirements of God's elected ones?

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13

"EVERYONE."

Everyone?

Everyone who confesses with his mouth and believes in his heart.

"Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."  That's right.

"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Each and every person who hears the word of the Lord, and professes the Lord, and believes with their heart, then they are saved.  God makes no distinction...each person receives the benefits of His glory and is given the privilege to serve the risen Lord and coming King.  We receive the presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives to guide us, teach us, edify us, bless us, give us specific gifts, comfort us, and pour out faith, hope, mercy, love, forgiveness, self-control, meekness, kindness, gentleness, and peace. 

"All of these spiritual blessings are ours because of the electing love of the Father, the redeeming work of the Son, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit.  These spiritual blessings encompass everything that Christ Jesus has purchased for us."  Mike Leake SBC Voices

Who receives the spiritual blessings of God's love?  Who becomes the benefactor of the redeeming work of the Son of God?  Who inherits the wealth of the kingdom purchased by Christ's sacrificial death upon a cruel cross?  Who is sealed by the Holy Spirit and guaranteed the spiritual blessings in Christ the Lord?  Who gets to spend an eternity in heaven with the Lord?

Everyone who meets the requirements of God's election, that's who.

Do you meet those requirements?  If not, will you confess with your mouth today that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead?  Be elected today; let the Holy Spirit validate your election and seal you today forever. selahV