Some punctuate life with a consistent and steady .
Some complete their lives bungee jumping with expression !
Others leave us guessing at their purpose  ?
But you went out with a ;
An incomplete sentence that can  no longer be edited.
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Monthly Archives: August 2016
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
st. francis of assisi – 13th century
Joshua 1 1-9 After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ assistant:
“Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I’m giving to the People of Israel. I’m giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It’s all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.†(The Message)
____________ is dead! Who or what in your life have you been following for so long that even when they are dead and buried, you are still trying to follow rather than taking the role of leader? Even though Joshua was anointed by God to take over after Moses, he is afraid to take over the tribes of Israel who have proven the are prone to wonder off the path God has set before them.
Moses has brought them to the doorstep of the promised land. It is now Joshua’s job to claim the promised land. You and I have the same choice before us. The Lord anointed his disciples to go into all the nations and make disciples (Matthew 28). Since I accept that God is sovereign in my free will, and therefore, I believe that he will bring beautiful things out of my son’s death, it is now my job to lay claim to his promises. My story didn’t end with Jonathan’s death, any more than yours stop with whatever chapter has been closed in your life. So how do we move forward? How do we lay claim to all God has in store for his people?
Moses’ credentials include:
- Escaped genocide
- Became a prince
- Murdered an Egyptian to save a Hebrew slave
- Escaped Pharaoh
- Defended a group of girls trying to water their flocks
- Married one of the girls
- Shepherd for 40 years
- Talked to. . . (or arguing with)Â a burning bush (God)
- Became the God ordained spokesperson for Israel
- Returned to Egypt to face down Pharaoh
- Delivered the 7 plagues on Egypt
- concentrated the 1st born of Israel
- Parted the sea and brought Israelites to safety
- Drowned the army of Egypt
- Turned bitter water to sweet
- Manna and quail meals
- Produced water from a rock
- Settled disputes
- Delivered ten commandments . . .twice
- Saw God’s (butt) doubt me? Read the text: Exodus 33:21-23
- Built Tabernacle, Ark, Alter, and established the roles of the priests
- Led Israel to the doorstep of the promised land
- Wandered the desert for 40 years
- Only prophet to talk directly with God
- Defeated enemies of Israel
- Blessed the tribes
- Saw the expanse of the land God was giving to the people
- Buried on the mountain of Moab by God himself
And Joshua’s leadership is to follow all of this!!! His credentials include:
- Mighty warrior
- Only 1 of 2 spies who said Israel could defeat the giants and lay claim to the land
- Moses’ assistant
Do you feel insignificant to the call God has placed on your life? And, how do you determine when something is dead?
- God declares it so Joshua 1:1, 1 Kings 19:19-21
- He anoints a successor Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8-11
- “Go” He commands the next steps
God declares the things of our past are DEAD! You were a cutter, that is dead. I despaired of life, that is dead. Be strong and courageous! And it isn’t a request, it’s a command. Obedience isn’t based on feelings, it is base on mission. There are things in front of you and I, and our part in the story of God is not an option. I see throughout scripture that though God is flexible with our weaknesses, there are times such as calling of people like, Moses, Joshua, or Jonah, disobedience is not an option.
In turning the page on depression and suicide, looking back, feeling inadequate to the task God has clearly called me to is not an option. So today I declare, Jonathan is dead, and lay claim to the beauty from ashes that God has set before me. There are walls to come down, there is a real enemy to defeat and God is with me, he will not leave or forsake me. What in your life do you need to declare is dead and lay claim to mission and commission God has placed on your life?
2 Corinthians 1:8We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Today my family witnessed the aftermath of a suicide off a highway overpass. My heart breaks for the young man and all who loved him!
Lord, you witness all of our brokenness and sorrow! You are not distant from our pain. Put a hedge of protection, around the children, taken away from him moments before he jumped, and the witnesses of his last moments. Soften the memories for the first responders so that they can rest deeply in your arms tonight. Father, I cry out to you, end the curse of depression and suicide!
I know you are in control. I know that your timing is perfect! But, move quickly to turn our sorrow to singing! God, you do not always spare us from our brokenness, and I struggle with why you linger. My mind cannot fathom, why you spared me from suicide, but not my son, or the young man today. I trust your sovereignty, though I do not understand it! As it took many years for Joseph to understand the wide berth of his dreams, I do not see all that you are doing with my circumstances. May I be aware of those struggling around me.
Teach me to rest content in your arms, though my circumstances crash around me. Amen
Romans 5:5The Message (MSG)
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Do you honestly feel as if there is more to come? I struggled with believing this passage when it seems like around every corner is more trouble, more pain, and more sickness. I feel shortchanged!
Yesterday, while surrounded by the prayers of our church family, I began to grasp that God is breaking me of all that hinders my passionate patience, tempered virtue and creating in me an alertness to the goodness of God. Notice that it doesn’t say I, it says WE. I’ve been trying to shout on my own and I am getting hoarse. It is in community that the consistent and fervent prayers reveal the purest form of perseverance. We need each other! Since our battle is not against flesh and blood our weapons are not of this world. Satan knows my weakness is my family’s health. My faith seems to fall apart when their sickness increases. I need others to remind me that Satan does not have the last word!
I ask for prayers for Daniel, his reflux has worsened and he will be scoped on Wednesday.
I ask for prayers for Brian as he develops discipline in doing his vertigo exercises and wisdom for the doctors caring for him.
I ask for prayers for my insomnia, that I will develop healthy sleep habits.
I ask for prayers for Natalie that she doesn’t get lost in the midst of everyone’s struggles.
Find out that you are a Swan! Your story is worth completing.
National Suicide Hotline
If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call the National Suicide Lifeline at 988 or go to the website at https://988lifeline.org/