Twelve Ways to say "Good - Bye"

Moving is not for the faint of heart with packing, unpacking, moving addresses and private data, uprooting yourself from familiar surroundings and learning the new cities to which God has called you. Farewells are never easy and often are accompanied by tears by the one leaving and those who are left behind as I can attest having once again relocated from one city to another. You leave behind precious friends, co-workers and churches. In contrast consider how simple life must have been back in Paul’s time with only a coat and a staff, a pair of sandals and a parchment! But, no matter now or then, farewells are just as hard. As we follow Paul, we come to the Aegean seashore where he tearfully said his good-bye’s to the elders of Ephesus. and we now in the 21st century can join him in this farewell and learn much about what to do and what not to do.

What to do:
• Plan and prepare for your departure with excellence and meeting your own needs and those who will be left behind.
• Remind those left behind of the successes you all had together as a team and the reasons why: they were prepared spiritually, emotionally and physically.
• Remind them how they provided for your needs and in return they reaped benefits.
• There may be trials which are unknown to you and to them which lay ahead so prepare by putting on your armor.
• Remind them that you are leaving because you know that God’s purpose has been fulfilled there and His work will continue…no one is indispensable; God will always provide for your needs and theirs.
• Remind them to minister to the weak ones left behind.
• Remember Christ’s words: it is more blessed to give than receive.
• Pray with and over those you leave behind.
• Allow them to accompany you to the “ship” and love on them there.
• See each move as one that will bring glory to God and good to you and them.
• Lastly see each move as an adventure that only God could plan! Look for the “silver lining behind the cloud” of new friendships, new cities to explore, new ideas to broaden your horizon.
• Leave with a smile on your face and a song in your heart!
What not to do:
• Do not labor over the farewells
• Do not allow others to sway your decision…when God calls; it is time to move

So what farewell is in your future? Take to heart Paul’s example and plan for your leaving others. This is important not only in physical moves but also for any who are nearer to eternity than here. Plan on your farewell with these points in mind.

God is Able

Feb 20^th: Ps 21-22 “I Know Whom I have Believed and He is Able ”

This hymn written in 1883 by Daniel Whittle reflects the truth found in our reading today: ‘I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.’  King David long ago wrote praises to the Lord about those truths. 

Some thoughts to reflect upon today:

1.      Blessings and joy find their source in the Lord

2.      God’s lovingkindness provides a foundation of trust and security

3.      God will search out and destroy our enemies

4.      God will not forsake those whom He has chosen (Heb 13:5)

5.      God is near even in desperate times to assist and deliver

Now in turn we are to use those reflections to:

1.      Go and tell both within and without the assembly… go and praise

2.      Remind others of Gods’ past, present and future protection

3.      Remind others that if one seeks, one will find (Prov 8:17)

4.      One day wall will see and praise God (Phil 2:10)

5.      Tell the next generation of God’s righteousness (Ps 78:6) 

May these two psalms be your joy and praise this day as you walk through challenges or blessings.

You, O Lord see the hearts of men. They deceive themselves because their hearts are sick and desperately wicked. You alone search the heart and mind. Men are in need of your loving touch yet in their ignorance they are like blind and deaf men and they cannot see the evidence of their sin. They worship idols that they make from wood and stone, hammered in the ground so they do not move! They seek rain from them but from You alone Lord does the rain come. They deny the words I speak warning them of impending danger. They deny the words written in Your book of the Law.

BUT, for the remnant whose hearts truly desire to know; You will reveal Your love and salvation. Then they will say with me “Your Word! I found it! I devoured it as I would a slice of the sweetest bread of heaven! Your word is my joy, my delight.” The tree planted by the streams of water brings forth blooms as they push down their roots and drink of Your living water. They are the ones that will grow strong, vibrant and produce fruits that are everlasting.

Where are you planted? Is the word of God your delight and joy! Share these truths with someone today!

In Isaiah we meet the Almighty God and his servant Isaiah. God speaks to him saying; As God, I allow men to find Me for I desire to act on their behalf. I send my Holy Spirit to seek them, find them, and then as they receive My word--indwell them. I remind them I will never leave them nor forsake them. My eyes rove to and fro throughout the earth seeking those who are humble and contrite of spirit and who tremble at My word. These are the ones I seek and on their behalf I offer My response. Heaven is where I dwell and where I sit upon My throne. The earth is my footstool. I have created it all for those who bow the knee to Me. I send the rain upon the just and the unjust so that they may be without excuse that they never knew Me. I will send more so that those who remain that have not heard will hear. How can they hear without someone preaching to them? I will send them as My herald to proclaim the good news of My kingdom.

Precious Father, Lord God Almighty, Precious Savior Redeemer, Precious Illuminating Holy Spirit, how humbling to know that You have chosen to allow me

to come into your presence and to know you. Keep my heart humble. Keep my priorities aright. Keep me close to your heart so I can hear your footsteps and hear your word proclaiming your everlasting lovingkindness an compassion.

From sunrise to sunset ponder these questions:
How does one nurture and develop their sense of spiritual mindset and vision for the current day and beyond?

Does what we do make a difference in our daily walk with God?

That is a daily question we all should ask. I wonder what the answer would be if we could stop and ponder that for a bit each day. What is your spiritual vision today? How would you answer this?

Here's a couple of thoughts to get you started:

NASB 119:15 I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.
NET Psa 63:6 whenever I remember you on my bed, and think about you during the nighttime hours.

Beauty in the Barrenness

Often the barrenness of our landscape is seen as without merit. But, as you ponder it there is a beauty that can be seen beyond its starkness and you begin to have a view of what our Lord faced for 40 days. It is a beauty of God’s handiwork in that it reflects only what is needed to sustain life for the creatures He has placed there. Each one is perfectly crafted to live in this environment with tough outer skins, special eyelids that keep out the dust and foreign intruders. Their feet are molded to walk on hot dry portions of the desert without being scorched. They can climb the barren rocks and hide in crevices where our peering eyes cannot see them. They gather liquids from the plants that grow and are nourished with the minimal rains that they store until replenished once again from the vital but infrequent rainfalls. It was in this environment Jesus fasted, prayed and was tested by the enemy and came forth as “gold refined in the fire”. He spent time with the creatures of His handiwork and was blessed by their presence. Is this how we see our barrenness? Do we see it as a marvelous introduction to all that God created and see it as “good”? Or do we sit in our barrenness, be it spiritual or physical, and only see the mirages of water and refreshment? Walk with Jesus in the barrenness and meditate with Him on this beauty where life is quiet and without earthly intrusions. Allow Jesus to walk with you and teach you His truth about Himself, His creation, His plans for you and His love for you. The enemy may come as your intruder into this blessed place but with a Word you can send him into the crevices of darkness away from your eyes and away from your heart. God allows the enemy of temptation, so that you may as Jesus, cling to Him and seek your refreshment from Him. He wants to teach you what can only be taught in the times of barrenness. Will you allow Him this privilege?

Photo from R. Inskip on US journey across America...Arizona

Today my Bible students and I waded through...yes waded through Gen 23. It is interesting that few commentators have dealt with this chapter and yet if one mines the truths herein there is a wealth of information that is not only intriguing but also worthwhile.

Within this chapter we learn of the death of Sarah. Trivia question: who is the only woman whose death is recorded? You are right if you said Sarah! Who is the only woman whose age is recorded? If you said Sarah you are right again! How about her place of burial? Sarah again. And what woman in the Bible is the only one whose name was changed? Yes, Sarah again. Sarah must have been pretty important for us to glean these points about her life. We might also add that Sarah is the only woman to have birthed a child after the age of 90+.

But in this chapter only 3 verses deal with the death of Sarah. The rest of the chapter is about the burial bargain Abraham struck with Ephron the son of Zophar which ended up being the most costly cemetery plot in all of biblical history. Note limited to biblical history! Many cemetery plots have cost more in dollars and cents but this one cost more than any other plot of ground in the entire Bible. In fact, Abraham ended up paying 400 shekels of silver for a cave, a field, the trees in the field and the boundary line. In addition, he also had to pay the taxes on this property from this time onward. In sharp contrast King David spent only 50 shekels of silver for the land belonging to Araunah for the plot of land that would house the Temple. Jeremiah only spent 7 shekels of silver for his plot of ground.


So what is the significance of this story in the Bible? First it shows that purchasing of a cemetery plot is vital to mark the site of a death. Secondly, where the plot is located is irrelevant to us but to Abraham it demonstrated that he had "moved on" from Haran to Canaan and trusted God for the future. Thirdly, family plots are not a new thing and in fact this is the first family plot and the first place that the word grave is used in the Bible. In this family plot not only would Sarah be buried but also Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Jacob's first love, Rachel would be buried in Bethlehem and her son Joseph would be buried in Shechem and our Savior in Jerusalem. Fourthly, Abraham knew that he needed to own a burial plot not borrow it. Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb but He needed it only for 3 days. Abraham needed a grave for posterity! To take it as a gift from Ephron meant that he now owed him something in return or if he borrowed a grave from another it would have to be returned. Fifthly, if Abraham only owned the cave and Ephron's field was sold to another the entrance then might be restricted thus cutting off a family inheritance's entrance. And lastly and most importantly, Abraham's purchase revealed his faith in the Promises that God gave him about the land being a gift from God to his descendants.

So what questions are we to ask based upon this story? First have you planned for your death and/or do you plan like Abraham to wait for death of your loved one to occur? The story is told of a man who had two cemetery plots, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. The man's son seeing that the end was near asked his father which grave he would like for his son's to choose. The man answered: surprise me. Is that your choice?

Are you prepared as Abraham to purchase a plot for a high price or will you go to the bargain basement for your loved one?
Important questions to consider.

Trivia point: King Herod erected an edifice over the Cave of Machpelah to protect it. Today the Palestinians control this edifice. They have set up centopahs for each of the deceased in the cave but have closed off the cave. The centopah's are memorials draped in green cloths which are embroidered in gold.One wonders what Abraham would have said to all of this "show". We know he is not there as recorded in Luke 16 where the rich man speaks to him across the chasm and now in the presence of the God he love having been taken there when Jesus took the saints from Paradise to Heaven!