Calendar Day 9: El Roi: The God who sees me

Day 9 – El Roi: God who sees me
Spiritual Principle: Although Hagar in Genesis is the only one to have used this name for God, the holy majestic God of the universe, the principle is throughout scripture. God sees all, knows all, and one day will reveal all as the books are opened in eternity. No matter our circumstances, God hears and God sees and He alone provides the answer to our dilemma. Because He is all knowing and all seeing we can “take his yoke upon us for his yoke is easy to bear and his load is not hard to carry (Matt 11:30) which is only possible when we know that we are a His child (John 1:12).


Prayer: Holy Father, with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning. You revealed Yourself to Hagar, as El Roi for you heard and saw her affliction. What a marvelous caring God would leave the heavenlies to reveal Himself? It is that through the example of Hagar, we might know of your love and compassion for those in the deepest times of despair to encourage, and to reveal Your love to and for them. You saw the affliction of your children in Egypt and chose Moses to lead them out. You saw the need for a godly king and revealed David to Samuel. You loved Daniel and revealed the knowledge of dreams and the future. That is why as obedient children we come boldly or confidently before your throne of grace to seek your help. (Heb 4:16). We thus claim your promise to order or direct the steps of the righteous this day. We claim it so that your plan perfectly ordained in eternity may come to fruition and glorify You as the author and finisher of our faith.

El Roi, you know each hair upon our heads, each sparrow that falls to the ground and you know us whether or not we recognize Your presence at this moment in time. Therefore, give us a heart to know your love, an eye to see your work, an ear to hear your words so that we may worship you. Hebrews 1 tells that when Your Son was manifest you told the angels to worship Him. This day we ask but one thing; a heart to share your love in divine appointments that you have planned before in eternity past; an eye to see your beauty around us and an ear to praise and worship rightly. May we so live and worship that we know we are but exhibitors of the good works that You have prepared for each one of us.

Application: I Th 4:18 “therefore encourage one another with these words” by sharing your comments.

Day 8- El Elyon God Most High

Day 8- El Elyon God Most High
El Elyon in the Septuagint: ho theos ho hupsistos — the God most high
Scriptural Principle:
God is Sovereign and rules over all. He is supreme above all. Dan 4:34-35. El Elyon is praised and extolled for His eternality, His authority, His all encompassing roving eye over all of His creation. It is because of that we stand in awe and as Nebuchadnezzar said; we recoil from asking, “What have you done”? Stop now and praise Him and allow your heart to focus on who He is and not your circumstances.

Prayer:
El Elyon, God Most High, we stop now and pause to elevate your Name above all Names. Your name is a reminder that in time of distress, discouragement or any other time of uncertainty we can come to You; for in Your presence we find security. You see all, know all, and are over all. When I stop to view my day in light of eternity then I know that all things are working for good that I might boast in this one fact alone: that I know and understand that you Lord, Jehovah, The Existent One, act out of faithfulness, fairness and justice over all your creation both in the heavenlies and on earth.

Scriptures:
Dan 4: 34-35; Jer 9: 23-24; Rom 8:28; Is 14:24; 27; Is 46:9-11; Dan 2:20-23

Change and/or Resistance

Change and Resistance

Eldercare, the new buzz word. In Ps 90:10 we read: “The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is especially strong”. Today because of the wealth of medical knowledge we are seeing this being pushed farther back. Many of our neighbors and family members are living well past this into their nineties and even to the ripe old age of 100. So what challenges does this bring? Recently in the Kindred Spirit magazine published by DTS there were a series of articles on this subject. You can read all of the issue by clicking here. Nancy Barton wrote an article entitled “Are you Aging Well Spiritually”. Her points are well taken and are noted as those often seen in the very elderly. Note how many receive checks!
1. Fear: Losing independence and losing the ability to care for oneself, losing a spouse, losing abilities to respond as one did earlier in life. (check, check, check, check!!!)
2. Relational Wounds: Loss of children’s touch and attention, pain from betrayal, slander or gossip. (check, check)
3. Physical Issues: Wrinkles, sagging skin, physical abilities declining (check, check check!!!)
4. Weariness: Been there done that mentality (check check check)
5. Attitude Issues: Complaining, grumbling, apathy. (check check check check!!!)

Lately as we face this with family members we are asking how should we respond? Again from Kindred Spirit, Dr. Jeffery Watson reminds us of two scriptures: Ex 20:12 “Honor your father and mother so you may live long” and 1 Tim 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives...he has denied the faith”. Wise counsel to the young but to the elder who is resistant at any type of change what do you do? You have talked, prayed, visited, offered assistance, hired caregivers and yet are faced with a brick wall. So it is that God provided yet another article with some sound and wise advice. “What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity”. How true that statement is and is the stalemate many are facing. Now the next question is this: how do you make it clear to the elderly whose mental processing has been diminished due to a recent mini-stroke or heart attack or just plain aging? It seems so clear to you but to them it is “you want to take away my independence”. You have sat face to face explaining all of the issues before them, showing them options and instead only hear “I resist your help”. The article continues with this statement: The point is, often, we misinterpret resistance. We misunderstand the root of push-back and view it as negative. Yet, in reality, it can be a positive! Resistance is an opportunity to clarify our vision, our expectations, and even our hopes and dreams.

As we walk in this valley we continue with the daily constant prayer: Protect the resistant, clarify their understanding, protect them from a major crisis, open their eyes to see and feel our love, may they accept the provision for their help, remove all doubts and fears and lastly may we have wisdom to know the next step especially when the geographical distance is so great.

Open mouth..put in foot...

A week of not putting mind in gear before opening mouth should be a reminder of this verse that would be best learned and memorized and recited daily: Eph 4:29 "You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear."

"Wants"

W.O.W. “Want” defined by: to wish, need, crave, demand, or desire; from having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants in consequence of our wishes. Mark 8 is a good example of this description. Note the first part of the chapter indicates the “wants’ of the people to be fed, then the “wants” of the Pharisees for a sign, then the “wants” of the disciples for understanding, the people’s “wants” for the blind man to be healed, and lastly, Jesus “want” of knowing who people think He is. Let’s analyze each “want”. As we walk through each ask: is it a wish? A need? A craving? A demand? A desire? Does the circumstance fulfill or bring about a want that we did not know we had or is it that we know we have a have a want which is then fulfilled clearly because of the compassion of Christ?
1. How do you see the first “want”? There was a need for food for the people who had come to see and hear Jesus. Observe the people, Jesus and the disciples. The scripture is silent on the people but we note that Jesus had compassion on them. The disciples on the other hand, “wanted” a decision, a direction from Jesus. Observe their attitude. They questioned Jesus on how they were to provide food for this multitude. You can almost feel and hear the tension in their question.
2. What about the Pharisees who “wanted” a sign? Is it a need or is it a demand? Observe their behavior before Jesus. They came out and began to argue with Him.
3. In the boat Jesus “wanted” the disciples to have learned from #1 and 2 situations. Observe the disciples and Jesus. The disciples discuss amongst themselves but do not include Jesus. Note Jesus question: do you not yet understand? Translated being, I just performed a miracle of provision of food for a people that did not request it and I did not perform a sign for those who did. Are you still not able to distinguish between a need and a want?
4. The villagers and the blind man want for healing: Did the blind man seek it or was it a compassionate spirit of the villagers? Reading between the lines we see two clues. Jesus took him apart from the villagers and Jesus told him to not return to the village.
5. Jesus wanting to know: Who do people say I am? Observe the answers of the disciples. Observe Peter who rebukes Jesus. Clearly it was not just a wish but a demand. In a matter of seconds Peter goes from doing what is right to being a servant of Satan.

From all of these examples we can draw some conclusions:
1. A want is distinguished from a need and our attitude and behavior demonstrate where the difference.
2. A want more often stems from a selfish desire rather than wanting to glorify God

Hump Day...Moses or Paul?

Yesterday was a "Moses day". I wore "I can't do this" all day. How does one get over the hump when one faces a "Moses Day?" One turns their face to the heavenly Father. And so I found myself this a.m. reflecting upon Ps 25-26 and pondering the character of God. I noted that the Psalmist knew that in uncertain times God was trustworthy, His teacher, His lovingkindness and compassion was ever before him and that God was his and my refuge. Then in the NT I was reminded that when Paul was "dressing" he put on the "I can do all things robe" unlike Moses. What a contrast.

On "Moses Days", it is good to reflect upon these qualities and to know that even though I do not know what is ahead He does and thus He can be trusted. He will teach me what I need to know as I seek to do His work. He wants to shower me with His lovingkindness and compassion when I feel weak.

I feel so overwhelmed with this course work and yet as I think about doing the audio portion I know that He will give me the right words to share, the right timing and the excellent enunciation and articulation. He is trustworthy. So I am putting aside my "Moses robe", and finding that robe Paul wore, drying my tears and setting forth today to accomplish His task.

Attitude Adjustment needed....

Today was just like any other day; or so I had supposed. But, then I had a nightmare about my piano lesson which led to the fact that I overslept. Then upon arising I spilled the blueberries all over the kitchen and I forgot to add the coffee to the pot. And then the Bible reading was from Numbers 35-36 about the Levites and God's provision for their livelihood. But added to that positive side was the flip side where Israelite men asked Moses to make sure the daughters of Zelophehad did not marry outside their tribe or if they did they would lose their inheritance. Now you tell me why they did not mind their own business? Why did they come to Moses about this "problem" as they saw it? These poor girls were Zelophehad's only heirs and these men were either looking to inherit their property (what scumbags) or they were looking to protect their inheritance (what righteous godly men). It came across as the first to me today. GRRR Who said women are busybodies? So my morning was less than reflective of God's goodness I must admit. Do you have days like that? What was the result: An hour late to work and a stomachache from the rushing and the frustration. What is God teaching me in all of this?

As I was thinking about this on my morning preparation of showering etc. I began to say God thank you! Thank you that You did not want me to judge those men...lesson #1. Thank you that God would provide husbands for them. What a dowry! Lesson #2. And thank you that Moses seemed to understand their need of protection. Lesson #3. It is amazing what a 5 min shower will do to one's attitude when one is listening to the voice of God.

As I was pondering all of this we took time to call my father-in-law who recently experienced a mini-stroke. Today was his 95th birthday. That put life into perspective. God began to ask me how He had provided for my dear mother in law who is 93. Let's see: I have graciously kept her husband of 73 yrs alive for yet a few more days or months or even years if I see fit. Thus, God said, who are you to question the Israelite men? Attitude adjustment.

So God said, will you stop today and ponder my goodness? Will you stop and reflect upon this as the day I have given to you to serve Me? Will you get your attitude in the right frame of mind as you wait on Me for the future?
I had to admit how impatient I am. And I had to reflect on the fact that I am not resting in His provision, praying and reflecting upon my Lord and on His goodness. Attitude Adjustment needed! Done! It is good to have these lessons in life as hard as they are. DRATS!

Oh ...PS: (I still think they were scumbags... :-)