I Believe You Can !!

I love memorizing scripture.  I love to have it hid in my heart where I can pull it out in the sleepless hours of night or any other time - no matter where I am or what  I am doing.
I do not have a photographic memory, nor do I have what I would call a good memory.
So if  you lack in one area,  you make up for it in another. I have developed aids that trick my memory into holding onto something.

I recently told a friend who does not memorize that I could in one sitting walk her through to where she would be able to recite the 23 Psalm.  She said she would be very surprised if that were true!
Well, she was surprised and I was pleased !   She was able indeed to recite the Psalm and still knew it a few days later.

If you will stay with me through this post I will make the same promise to you!

All you will need is your imagination.   It is a wonderful aid that God has gifted us with. I think it is underdeveloped in most people today because of all the visual technology we have in our everyday life that too often makes our imaginations  unnecessary.

So, are you  ready to accept my challenge ?
It has been proven that what we SEE significantly raises our ability to remember and recall with accuracy, so we are going to turn Psalm 23 into a movie.
Psalm 23 is, I'm sure, familiar to you and you would recognize many lines of it but not many people can recite it with all the 'pieces' in the right order.

First thing to note is that this movie's main character is Jesus !   As the first scene of your movie comes across your mind's screen you are looking at Jesus , standing in a field dressed in a Shepherd's robe.  He is looking at YOU because you are the supporting actor  in your movie.
If Jesus is your Shepherd and you are His 'sheep',  will you suffer want ?   I would think not ...
So here are your first lines ....
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!"  
What are the two greatest needs of a 'sheep'?   Food and water.
Did you know that a sheep will not eat if it does not feel safe?   nor will it lie down if it feels at all anxious.  Paint a scene of a lush meadow of green grass, the Shepherd near and all is peaceful. You have eaten well of the green pasture and have lain down to rest.
So the next line of your script reads... "He makes me to lie down in green pastures" 
A sheep who has eaten will be thirsty. The Shepherd knows and beckons the sheep to follow Him to the still waters.   Why still?   a sheep will not drink from turbulent or moving water.   Jesus is our Living Water, our Peace.   So He leads His sheep to the still waters to drink.
Next line... "He leads me beside the still waters."  
You drink, turn too quickly and OOPS ! you fall down !  Did you know that if a sheep falls on its back it cannot get back up unless someone helps it ?  A Shepherd would be quick to see a sheep that has fallen... one that is troubled, anxious and upset and He restores it again -- sets it back on its feet.
The next line ... "He restores my soul."  uses the Hebrew language that refers to this action of the Shepherd  picking up His helpless sheep.
Now, the Shepherd has set you back on your feet,  and you are ready to walk.   He leads the way and you follow.  Can you trust the paths the Shepherd will lead you on will be good paths? righteous paths?   of course!  Why ??  Because He Himself is Righteous!
"He leads me in paths of righteousness, for His name sake." 
The mountain paths are beautiful leading through cool treed forests and open spaces ....  but then !  the path takes a sudden turn and you gasp !   You are looking down into a dark valley, that sends chills of fear through your body!  But your eyes turn to your Shepherd, He looks deep into your heart and you know !!!  "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil , for You are with me !!" 
You see in the Shepherd's hand His rod and His staff.... Sometimes the Shepherd knows you need discipline, sometimes testing, sometimes rescuing/protection, sometimes healing -- all come through His rod and His staff and often they are used in the valley. Your movie's next line ....
"Your rod and your staff they comfort me !"  
So you follow close behind your Shepherd as the path winds down into the valley where you see your enemies lurking , waiting , hoping that they can lure you into their traps.   But you keep your eyes averted and look to see what your Shepherd is doing.
You are now at the bottom of the valley and you watch in amazement as your Shepherd busies Himself with something --  You soon see what He is doing !  You are surprised and pleased !
"You prepare a table before me in the midst of my enemies !"  
 He seats you at the table with a smile and pours the oil of His Spirit over your head.   Your enemies can do nothing, except watch helpless from the fringes of the valley.    Then the Shepherd pours His blessings into your cup -- not just until it is full ... but keeps pouring even though  it is overflowing !
"You anoint my head with oil, My cup runs over !"
You are overcome with love, devotion and praise for the Shepherd who loves you so !  and you rejoice with the realization that ... ."Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life !"   
and that's not all !!
"and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever !"    

Run through the movie again in your head and see if you remember the lines of your script.
Let me know your personal review of your movie !

Our Amazing God

I believe that many of the things Jesus said would define our world at the time of the end are certainly easily noted today.  
I don't know how much longer this earth will stand, but we know that one day,  Jesus will return in all His glory !  
Before He comes, I know that His desire is to save all who can be saved and He will reach out in every way possible to every man, woman and child!

Several years ago what I knew about Muslims could maybe have been stretched to fill a paragraph or two, but as we have been forced to acknowledge them more and more in our world view, so  has my knowledge, and happily also my understanding of them, changed and grown.

I have read more than a few books on the Middle East and specifically concerning  Muslims and their world.  I have read many  books written from a variety of  view points,  but I recently read two books that stand out as my current favourites.

I highly recommend them as 'must read books' for every believer.

One of them is called The Land of the Blue Burqa by Kate McCord (pseudonymous for protection)   The author lived for over 5 years in and among Muslims in Afghanistan to 'help them'.    She did not go with a government funded and protected organization  but under  a privately supported ministry.

Her story is sooo unique.  Not only does she give you an inside look of what it means to be a Muslim doing every life but she is an incredibly gifted writer in word and expression.   The reader is drawn alongside her and is an invisible guest listening to her conversations and thoughts, seeing through her insightful eyes.
Not only did I learn a great deal about Muslims and my heart warmed toward them but I also gained a new perspective on my own faith, why I believe what I believe and how best to share it with others.  

God is moving among Muslims.   Perhaps we, as a commissioned church, have failed to reach them and God is going Himself.   The stories we first started hearing a few years ago seemed incredible and we believed them to be unusual and rare occurrences    But those stories have become a flood and what God is doing can no longer be ignored or denied.
Jesus  is appearing to thousands of Muslims in dreams and visions declaring who He is and that He loves them.   Imams , terrorists, men/women,  Muslims from all walks of life -- God is no respecter of persons - He is appearing to them often and to many more than once.  

Visions and Dreams: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World  by Tom Doyle, Greg Webster,   is a  book that records stories personally known to and verified by the authors.  
Not only did the stories amaze and move me , but I also appreciated the information given to help the reader understand more precisely what the Middle East is all about.  
The book also is rare in how incredibly well it is written, its literary level reaches perfection and yet it is a very enjoyable book to read - easy to follow and understand.  
If you want your world view to be shattered and challenged and have your awe of God magnified , spend some time reading this book !   I know you will be glad you did !

The Dispelling of Shame

One day , long , long ago, a baby was born.

The baby’s birth was celebrated as only the birth of a King’s son can be.

Loving arms and affluence withheld nothing needful or desired for the baby.

His name? Mephibosheth.

A difficult name to pronounce was perhaps the first indication that an easy life was not to be for this dear child.

His loving father , however, hid hope in the meaning of the name he bestowed upon his son - ‘dispeller of shame’.

It was because of  the child’s grandfather, Saul, that the events unfolded that changed the course of his life, bringing shame upon him. 

The child was only five years old when disaster struck the house of King Saul.

When news that the battle had taken the lives of both King Saul and Mephibosheth’s father  came to the palace,  panic ensued. Fear spread like flames of fire and everyone fled for their life.

The young child’s nurse could not bear to leave her charge behind and snatched him up to carry him with her. In her frantic hurry, she stumbled and dropped him .  Mephibosheth's  legs were injured , leaving him permanently crippled.

We hear nothing more of this boy through the rest of his childhood and into his adult life until years later.

One day Mephiboseth had a visitor. Not someone he knew but a stranger, who demanded that Mephiboseth immediately accompany him. The King was demanding that he be brought to the palace to appear before him.

Mephiboseth was terrified. He knew the stories of how wickedly his grandfather had treated David and tried many times to take his life. Now David was king and obviously wanting to even the score. Take his just revenge!

Trembling , he was led to the throne of King David and there fell on his face before him in pleading tones offering himself as a willing servant!

Imagine how his trembling fear turned to disbelief - when he heard the words…. “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for Jonathan , your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather ….. “ and best of all, the words …… “You shall eat bread at my table continually!”

Mephibosheth, having lived with shame all his life was unable to grasp the ‘dispelling’ of it … and questioned … “Why ? why would you do this… why even look at a dead dog such as I?”

But it was true, the King’s blessings were poured upon Mephiboseth. He was treated as one of the King’s sons, sharing the King’s table for the rest of his life. (II Sam. 4, II Sam. 9)

***

This story is such a beautiful picture of us , isn’t it ?

Each of us fell through Adam and Eve and were crippled under the shame of sin, fearful of the judgment we deserved.

Yet, we are called by God, chosen by Him … for the sake of His Son … exchanging our shame for His righteousness.

He calls us His sons/daughters and invites us to eat at His table forever !

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God….” I John 3:1

“... That you may eat eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom …” Luke 22:30

An Author Rewrites

I had a very strange experience recently.
I have a Kindle and I LOVE my Kindle  -- it allows me to indulge in what has always been my favourite way to spend time -- lost in a book !

We were going away and so I downloaded a couple of new books to ensure I would have something to read.
Kindle in hand, I  opened one of them  as soon as I settled in the car.  My eyes moved over  the first paragraph and I was immediately puzzled realizing it was word for word a book I had read  a short time previously !  But the title was different and Kindle had not alerted me to the fact that it was a previously downloaded book !

I did a bit of digging and found out that yes, there were two books exactly word for word identical - by the same author EXCEPT for the last few pages.
The  book was a fictionalized story based on real events and characters of the American Civil War. The first book  ended with a tear jerking scene where the 'hero' dies in the arms of his bride - two days after their wedding.
Obviously,  at some point the author must have repented of that scene and decided to republish the book, under a new name and changing the last several pages to a 'happily ever after' ending.  

I had never heard of an author doing that -- since most often an author will acknowledge that the 'story' had a life of its own and the way it turns out cannot be changed any more than we can go back and rewrite our own life.

As I was considering what the author had done .... I was reminded that there was another Author who rewrote the ending to a story.
The Author I am referring to, of course, is God.
The way the story was first written, it ended with man lost in sin and death with no recourse or avenue of escape.    But God could not bear His story of man having a tragic ending and He re-wrote the story, overruling man's actions and self-destiny by providing the re-write salvation plan  that ends with man living joyfully in the Presence of God on a New Earth, forever  -- the only real-life 'happily ever after' !!