Moral Compass

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—Romans 12:2

“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace …”—1 Corinthians 14:33a

Processing what is going on in the world is something that takes its toll on my spirit. So much of what takes place in my generation goes against what I know to be true, right, and dare I say logical? Confusion abounds. Media loves to add to this cacophony for their own profit, which makes the discussion among the masses often one of contention rather than polite discourse.

Sometimes the best help for me as I process these thoughts is having an open and judgment-free space and a willing ear. I can then lay it all out there and sit back and listen to the wisdom of those I love and respect, who themselves desire to walk with God in a way that pleases Him. Many times when I share my thoughts with others in this way, God brings me peace in the midst of the confusion, by recalibrating my mind on what is true, kind, noble, of good report, pure, etc. (Philippians 4:8).

Recently, I have had two such open spaces, one with my dear husband and another with my close friend. Both of them hit the “Cassy-sharing-is-caring” jackpot when I burst out of my seams with some of what confuses and bothers me about the world we live in. I really needed to understand how God sees what’s going on in our world and how to move forward in that understanding, both personally and spiritually. How do I approach living in the world but not being of the world as a parent, a relative, a friend, but most of all, as a Christian? How would Jesus act and react to these goings on today and how should we, as His ambassadors on earth (1 Corinthians 5:21), express to others what He would do?

My desire is to be Christ-like in the face of such confusion—not to condemn those who I believe are making choices contrary to God’s Word, some of whom are truly soul-searching and trying to find a place and a voice in this world. I know Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, but to save us (John 3:17). So, should someone ask my opinion on this or that matter, I could lovingly speak the truth of God’s Word into their hearts (Ephesians 4:15).

As a Christian, I believe the Bible is the Word of God and the final authority for all my decisions in faith and life. So, I am to make decisions as best as I know how based upon God’s Word, and not what Christians refer to as the “world’s standard” or doing what I think is right in my own eyes.[1] Again, I am not to conform to the world around me but to renew my mind. I do this by reading, studying and meditating on His Word. Through that process, I am transformed in that renewal so that I may prove the perfect will of God.

As God’s people who live in this world but who are not of this world, our “job” as Christians is to offer a lifeline to those who may also be looking for answers in the midst of all the confusion. We are encouraged in Scripture to do this in a winsome manner (1 Timothy 2:23-25). We aren’t to condemn others for making decisions that stand in opposition to what God states in His Word (John 3:17). We aren’t to condemn ourselves or other Christians because of a perceived spiritual failure on our part that opened the gates to whatever confusion exists.[2]

Satan is at work here (Ephesians 6:12). We as Christians need to realize this and not only that, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). I will give you that perhaps whatever “new” thing you may be facing may not have been as open in the past or as talked about as it is today (e.g., our 24-hour news cycle). But I guarantee whatever you and I are struggling to understand has happened in the past and is not new to the world. More importantly, it is not new to God. I find comfort in this thought, because I am so often like a deer caught in headlights and shocked and baffled when confronted by all the new theories that abound about all manner of topics. It heartens me to know, God has seen all this before and He not only has an opinion about it, He has a plan to use it for His glory (Romans 8:28).

The answer to all my heart’s questions is simply this: God’s Word is a steadfast and sure moral compass. It does not change because He does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). Its truth, its principles, its wisdom can be applied to all generations in all types of situations. I have faith in Christ. I believe the Bible to be His Word. And that is my moral compass. He steadies me in the storms of our day and my prayer, my heart’s desire is to reflect Him to others in this world in case they, too, are looking for answers beyond the world’s conclusions. I hope they will see in me someone who has a peace that is beyond human understanding and someone who can explain to them lovingly, kindly, and in truth how they, too, can have God’s peace (Philippians 4:7).

The opposite of His peace is the world’s peace, and it changes daily. One day the world will give you peace, and the next day it will be taken away because of this new study, that knowledgeable person’s opinion or this person’s experience. It’s never the same.

I don’t know about you, but I am desperate for guidance and peace in the midst of all this confusion. If you, too, are looking for direction, I can suggest nothing better than His Word to show you the way. It not only tells us how we can have a peace beyond human understanding, it guides us to our true Compass, Jesus Christ.

---

1 There are many verses in the Bible about mankind doing right in his or her own eyes and how that is the way to bring troubles upon oneself. The most telling verses on this topic are found in Judges, which is the book of the Bible that is the most descriptive (and frankly, one of hardest books for me to read because of it) of how wicked man can get morally when he is left to his own judgments. (See Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25; Proverbs 12:15.)

2 Don’t get me wrong. We should regularly ask God to show us sin in our lives, personally, and from there confess our sins and repent should God prick our consciences about where we as individuals are not walking with Him. What I am referring to here, however, is a fault-finding spirit that is divisive and not one of unity. One that criticizes and puts down others, especially other believers, instead of lifting and building up. If we as Christians maintain a habit of putting down fellow believers for this or that thing, the world may see us as not having love for one another. And it is this love that Christ commands us to have, so that the world knows we are His disciples, thereby being able to point others to Him (John 13:35).

Children Are a Blessing

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

—Psalm 127:3

“Children are God’s gifts, a heritage, and a reward; and are to be accounted blessings, and not burdens”—Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on This Passage (Biblehub.com)

I’ve been meditating on this verse a lot lately. I have a three year old, and I’ve been needing to meditate on this verse. I’ve come up with my own paraphrase, “Children are a blessing.” And I’ll say it over and over because I need to remind myself of this. Here’s why.

This verse keeps me centered on truth and not how I feel in any given moment. (Did I mention I have a three year old?) Sometimes, I just have to take God’s word for it that children are a blessing because much of the parenting of my personal little one feels like a slog, and I wonder to myself regularly will this stage ever be over?

I derive little pleasure in continuing to "train" my daughter to go potty, something we began over a year ago. And something, quite honestly, she knows how to do!

There is also the fact that about 20 times a day, I need to tell my daughter, “Now, how do you ask nicely?” I do this to try and soften that demanding three-year-old tone to my ears so that I feel like better serving her (I know, very servant-like of me).

And then, there is her turtle-like slowness to obey my wishes, a simple one being, “Honey, please stop being silly for the next minute so I can put your pull-up on after bath.” It’s these silly episodes that make me really feel my age. I wonder if I was at least in my early 30s would I be more patient with her sillies.

I don’t know.

I do know though that it’s in these moments and many others like them that I catch myself before I get too frustrated and speak this truth into my heart and mind: children are a blessing.

I have to sometimes admit to God, okay Lord, I’m just going to have to take your word for it because right now in this challenging moment with my little one, I don’t feel like children are a blessing. It really feels like the opposite of that.

And yet, something changes when that truth sinks into my mind and heart. The parenting cup that was half empty is all of a sudden half full, and I see a glimmer of that truth in her. Oh it may not be in big bursts on par with how she can just come apart over having to wear a long-sleeved shirt “coat” over her purple T-shirt because in her mind it just isn’t right!

What I see are little glimpses of the person God made and then placed in my husband’s and my care. I laugh at her humor (even her sillies!). I share joy in the things she enjoys. I’m in awe of her already adventurous spirit that often asks, “What next mommy?” I love hearing her daddy chuckle at her reasoning when she says something like, “But it will break my brains … what’s my brains again?”

I even love the smile she brings to my face when she says so matter of factly, “Princesses don’t wear jackets.” That is, until she goes outside and realizes it’s too cold and we go back in the house to put on a “princess” coat.

Truth is, I have been having a difficult time dealing with my emotions and feelings since I became a mom. It has not been an easy road for me. I have been wondering what’s wrong with me because I actually do not love being a mom. Parenting is hard and I feel it’s especially hard for me in these early years of my daughter’s life. 

It's because of these feelings that I get trapped in negative, “less-than” thoughts. I feel inefficient, lacking, and somehow deficient. Frankly, I feel out of my depth as a parent. Unfortunately, this not only distorts my own vision of myself but also how I see my daughter.

Thankfully God’s word is always true and always dependable. It contains the windshield wiper fluid and the wipers themselves that clear up my vision. Then, I see more clearly, albeit still very imperfectly, how my child is a blessing from the Lord and not just because God says so.

My sweetie is a blessing. Let me continue to count the ways.

Taking a Summer Break

I have been thinking about and studying many things lately with regards to what I believe and my walk with Christ past, present, and future. It is in large part because of this spiritual season I’m in that I think it would be a great idea if I were to take some time off and process all that God is trying to share with me during this time.

So, this summer, I will take a break from my “Under the Shadow of His Wings” blog.

Please pray for me as I take this little pause in sharing my devotionals.

May God bless you.

Until next time,

Cassy

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: 

for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, 

that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

—John 16:13

Words of Knowledge

“Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the 

words of knowledge.”—Proverbs 19:27

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”—Hosea 4:6a

Christianity is a belief system in which its adherents are encouraged to study. That does not mean we need doctorate-level (or even college-level) studies in order to practice our faith more perfectly. No. All of God's children have varying degrees of intelligence and varying degrees of interest. One believer may have a moderate level of education, for example, and loves to delve into the Scriptures by way of word studies. This believer may know he needs to understand God's view of patience more clearly, so that he may apply that quality to his own life. He would then seek out verses that use this word, read and memorize those verses, and then read those verses in context to the verses surrounding it for a deeper perspective and a clearer understanding of how patience applied in each of those circumstances.

You may also have a believer that just can't get enough of theology and how individuals down through history approached their faith. She would study the lives of great theologians and learn the concepts they defined and then learn the concepts of others (contemporary or not) who may or may not agree with this theologian's concepts, and then begin to study what they believe. From there, through her own knowledge of Scripture and by way of much prayer that God would guide her into all truth (John 16:13), she would seek God and ask Him to show her what He thinks of these rich theological concepts by way of His word.

There are Christians who love studying the end times and can't get enough of learning about current and future events and how they relate to biblical prophecies. There are Christians who love poetry and wisdom and so want to read the poetic books of the Bible, over and over and over again, so that the truths in these passages (of Proverbs for example) just start to become his own thoughts as he goes about his days. There are Christians who love to read missionary tales of current and past individuals who lived their faith out loud to a lost and dying world. Simply said, there is so much we can be fascinated with about God and His word that would encourage us to study deeper.

Studying God's word also protects us from the lies that we come across in false doctrine and false teachings. God expects us to study to show ourselves approved unto Him so that we can rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). This is key in our age of too much information because there are many voices and many ideas out there in our world that are clamoring for our attention. In order to clearly maneuver in these waters, we need to make sure our ship and our sails are without damage, and that our anchor is sure. That ship, sail, and anchor can be said to be God's holy and precious word and the basic truths He communicates to us through His word. Without knowledge of His truth to steady us, we will be like children, the Bible says, “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).

So, how do I cease from hearing instruction that leads to my destruction? I feel very fortunate because I happen to love studying. I love learning and diving deeper into subjects that interest me, and I am blessed with a thirst to know God's ways and to know His word. He has blessed me over and over in my own personal life with deeper understandings on this or that subject. But that thirst is not constant and it does change as far as what subjects I want to study or that He’s leading me to study.

For example, in my earlier walk with the Lord, I loved studying other religions and all the different views even within Christianity. That changed into a desire to know and understand my Bible better, and then led me into the discipline of reading my Bible every day. As time went on, I was then led to take a three year Bible college course that taught on every book of the Bible and how each book fit into the other to make the whole Bible. That was a beautiful and enriching study. I also love preaching, so I am someone who actually likes to attend church and listen to the biblical messages God has given His man to speak on in the pulpit. Today, though, I haven't been as thirsty, and I began to ask God to revive my thirst to know Him more and to live for Him better according to His word. I can speak honestly that God has given me a couple lessons this week alone that have begun quenching a newly growing thirst for Him and His ways.

But even if I'm not thirsty, I try to read my Bible every morning. It may be a chapter or two or several chapters. Lately, I have been reading one chapter in the Old Testament, one chapter in the New Testament, my daily Proverbs chapter, and as many as five chapters in Psalms. Before I read my chapters, I pray Psalms 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” With that prayer comes an expectation that God will bring to light any subject my spirit needs to feed on before I begin my day. And I think that's why I have a love for His word. He has used my morning Bible readings over and over to speak truths to me that I desperately needed or didn't even know I needed until He showed them to me.

So, as God's people, we need to study His word. This is a truth we see throughout the Bible. We need it so that we understand our place in the world and so that we understand His will for our lives better. But, perhaps most importantly, we need to study His word because if we don't, our knowledge of Him will slowly fade away and we will be setting ourselves up for destruction.

Let us be Christians who study God's word. But more than that, let us be Christians who love His word.

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

—Joshua 1:8

John 6:13 in my Bible

Sparing Your Words

“He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”—Proverbs 17:27-28

Have you ever desired to be wise and have a mouth full of wise words? I sure have and I still do. As I began to acquaint myself with the Bible soon after surrendering my life to the Lord, my first favorite Bible character was Solomon. Even today, he holds a special place in my heart. I love how when asked by God for any wish, he asked God for an understanding heart to rightly judge God’s people. And God gave him that and more. (1 Kings 3)

It could be said that because of this prayer request, we have the book of Proverbs, which was largely written by him. Tradition also ascribes the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes to him as well. In thinking about that, those portions of Scripture don’t even account for a large section of the Bible. In that, we can see the truth of these words above. 

Knowledge and wisdom are not necessarily found in grand words, lengthy speeches, or long pontifications about this or that point but are found in salient and direct thoughts that apply to all generations. Or in silence.

Think of it this way. Have you ever thought to yourself that the Bible should be a bigger book? The last verse of the Gospel of John even alludes to this thought: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25)

Wisdom, knowledge, and truth do not need large shelves or many volumes in which to be placed. It’s a beautiful thing that we have many books written from different perspectives to help us understand truths better. But I believe all we need to know can be found in Scripture, which has just the right number of pages and just the right amount of words to accomplish God’s desire to pass His wisdom to His children.

In application to my own life, Lord, help me to understand my own thoughts and words in light of this truth, that sparing my words – and holding my tongue – is often the wiser and more knowledgeable choice.  

Sibiu, Romania (December 2005)

Refraining My Lips

“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”

Proverbs 10:19

The book of Proverbs helps my walk with the Lord so much. I try to read one chapter every day, and despite the fact I’ve read this book over and over, God’s wisdom found in these pages of Scripture always teaches me something. Whether a proverb grounds me for the day’s events, whether a verse brings me to conviction, or whether a truth enlightens my understanding of circumstances that make my heart heavy, I often walk away from reading Proverbs with a word from the Lord that is just for me.

Today’s verse is such an example. I read it a few days ago and have been trying to commit it to memory ever since. Why? Because it has been a recurring theme in my dealings with others lately. I often get this sense of pride when sharing my “wisdom” with loved ones in which I think I have the answers to their problems. Without their request for advice, I happily pour forth all the wisdom I think fits their particular situation with such a self-righteous and judgmental countenance. Afterward, when I really take a good look at myself, I get so discouraged (disgusted more like it) because here was another instance I did not keep my mouth shut when I should have.

Now, I do not mean to imply that we should always be silent. For the Bible says, “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20)

On the one hand, some situations call for boldness, but a speaking-the-truth-in-love boldness—a God’s-clear-direction-to-speak kind of boldness that is free from self-righteous and prideful judgment. (Ephesians 4:15)

On the other hand, some situations call for our silence, perhaps because that person is not ready to hear the truth. They have not yet come to the end of themselves, which is precisely the place God wants them to get to so He can begin to heal them.

Perhaps it’s because we are not the vessel God will choose to use to bring a person to Himself and His will for their lives. I don’t know. But there are times I can feel a catch in my spirit that leads me to not speak God’s wisdom and counsel to an individual. It’s when I know it’s not my place to speak and do so anyway, that I know I have a lot to learn myself about the wisdom of learning to keep my mouth shut.

In the end, I know the one thing I can do for those I want to “help” is to pray for them. While I refrain my lips toward them, I do not have to keep quiet before God on their behalf.

“There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword:

but the tongue of the wise is health.”

Proverbs 12:18

Stehekin, WA (August 2008)

Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” –Proverbs 25:11

Somewhere in the pages of journals past, I know I have written about this verse before. It seems every time I read it in my Bible readings, God highlights it in my soul. It always shines through the pages of Scripture. 

This time, it reminds me that my heart's desire since giving my life to the Lord has been to posses His wisdom, sometimes even to my own vanity. However, it is mostly so I can know Him and understand His ways better, applying what He shows me to my life.

I think this is why I love Scripture because it is a well of God's precious wisdom and a solid foundation of truth. I have experienced His precious wisdom over and over by reading His Holy Word. I know there are many out there that stumble upon parts of Scripture—and you should know, so do I. The book of Judges, for example, has to be one of the hardest books of the Bible for me to read. The depravity of man and just how far we entertain our sinfulness is a fact that I have a hard time dealing with. But when I take a step back and gaze at the awful stories in that book and search for God's understanding or what He wants me to understand about such passages, I am pointed to the cross and the purpose of the Bible—that it points us to a merciful and loving Savior, Who took upon Himself the form of a man and sacrificed His life on our behalf to reconcile us to God.

And yet, some of His judgments can be hard to read too. Again, gazing at these parts of the Bible through the lens of God's whole counsel, we understand that if we turn to Him, He doesn't reward us according to our works and that His long-suffering leads us to a godly sorrow that brings about our repentance. He knows we are but flesh, and His mercies are new every morning.

The Bible taken as a whole is a magnificent treasure especially for those of us who are born-again because we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit in us and with us teaching us the mind of God as we read Scripture.

O friend, have you experienced this? So many “lonely” moments of my single years, for example, were spent in this Scriptural communion with God, sometimes with a pen in hand and blank pages in front of me on which I discussed with praise the treasure of truth God had settled upon my heart.

And do you want to know something I realize as I write this? God molded me where I was. He was the Master Potter directing my thinking one thought at a time. He was and is so patient with me because some truths He gave me were tainted by my sinfulness. My “disposition” toward others as I tried to communicate these truths has often been less than perfect. God didn't stop there with me though. In time and with experience He showed me a better way, a more Biblical way of handling the truths He graciously gave me. He taught me and continues to teach me how to communicate in love.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank You for all the words You have fitly spoken to me and for all the words You will fitly speak to me, so that I, too, may be an apple of gold in a picture of silver for someone else. 

Angkor Wat, Cambodia (2000)

The Strength of My Life

“The LORD is the strength of my life.”—Psalm 27:1b

Sometimes in my Bible reading a portion of Scripture jumps off the page in such a way I can feel God is saying to me, “Child, this is for you.”

Trusting God seems to be a recurring idea lately as I read God’s Word. It’s as if the garden of my heart has so many weeds of doubt that have grown up over the years, that God, through His Word, is slowly removing those weeds and replacing them with the seeds of His truth, namely that I can trust Him.

When I talk about the problems of life with fellow believers, we inevitably conclude that we don’t know how non-believers go through the pains of life without Jesus. That’s not to say Christians are immune to challenging times, but we know we have a God in Heaven Who whispers to our hearts that He is our strength when we do. We don’t face hard times alone.

Sometimes, He doesn’t whisper. It’s as if He has to shout, lovingly so, over the noise of our worries, “Child, don’t you know I will never leave you nor forsake you? Don’t you know my shoulders are large enough to carry your burdens, your worries, so you can stand tall and be confident in Me, not your own strength, not your own circumstances? Don’t you know how much I love you? Come with me for a while and let’s ponder the cross together. See what I did for you there? It is finished, my child. And although you can’t see Me, I sit beside My Father—our Father—in Heaven and pray for you. I love you. Always.”

And in this conversation with my heart, Jesus reminds me in this passage above that He is not just my strength, but the strength of my life. That is, my entire being can and should rest in Him and Him alone.

I take comfort in this precious seed of truth and pray it grows more and more until I can clearly see Him as He is.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia (2000)

Wisdom and the Foolish Woman

“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: she hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.” 

Proverbs 9:1-2

For the sake of simplicity, let’s say there are two women who cry out to the simple ones, the individuals who are seeking to understand their way in the world. One woman takes great care to prepare for her guests. As the opening verses of this chapter, interestingly, the shortest one in Proverbs, suggests, she builds her house, taking great care in the details. She kills her beasts, she mixes her wine, and she sets her own table. She prepares her servants and then she goes out into the street and calls unto the people who desire understanding. She says to them, “Come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.” (v. 5) She says to these who are searching to come to her table where she has placed no substitutes, where she has cut no corners, and live of her. Her name is Wisdom and she prepares and serves that which she offers seekers.

Then, there is another woman. She is simple and knows nothing. She sits at her door. Let’s say she’s sitting on her porch, which happens to be conveniently located at a place of high traffic in the city. Because of its location, she just calls out to those who are going along their way. She doesn’t actively pursue those who want understanding. She just picks from the “low-hanging” fruit, only from those who are walking near her door. She calls out to those who want understanding and says, “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” She prepares no table for her guests, but offers what some may call the counterfeit of Wisdom’s nutrients. She is lazy and has no integrity. And the guests at her table are dead and “in the depths of hell.” (v. 18) Her name is the Foolish Woman and the Bible describes her as clamorous—noisy, demanding attention, loud, and insolent.

We are, all of us, sought by these two individuals in every aspect of our lives. One, Wisdom, has the real thing, and she actively seeks out her guests. What she offers them is worked for and earned. At her table are truths that are rich, pleasant, and free.

The other, the Foolish Woman, represents the world. She’s loud and demanding, but lazy and slack, as she just picks from those of us who are near her door. There isn’t a lot of work she has to do to draw us to her table, which is filled with stolen waters and bread eaten in secret. Mere shadows of the real thing. She’s dishonest and only mimics what Wisdom offers and not even very well.

I think of God and all He has to offer those of us seeking understanding. He desires us to eat at His table, from the foods He’s prepared. He’s done all the work and all we have to do is accept His gift.

Then, there is Satan and the world. He cares not for you, only that you eat at his table instead of God’s. He’s lazy and unwilling to even make it attractive, but only through his persistent clamoring some of us cannot and do not refuse his offer of hell.

What a vivid picture of the difference between God’s way of offering us understanding and Satan’s way. 

Lord, help me to choose to sit at Your table and eat what only You can and have prepared for me.

 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”—James 1:17

Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA (2007)

Returning to Our Place

“And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry.”

Genesis 18:30a

“And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord.”

Genesis 18:31a

“And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet this once.

Genesis 18:32a

These three passages show Abraham’s shame in his persistence before God, but not his shyness or indifference before God’s throne. What a picture of intercession. I know God wants His people to be humble before Him in prayer—there is just no room for pride before His throne—and yet there is also no room for indifference and inaction.

I believe I have held a lie in my heart about how to squelch my pride before God and that has been inaction on my part. I thought to myself, if I don’t embark on those areas of my life that puff me up, then somehow I am more spiritual. I don’t believe this anymore. Something has changed in my heart since I yielded my writing to Him a little while back. That’s not to say I am free from my pride when writing, but that I am willing to let God use my writing while He works with me on my pride.

So how does this tie into this reading on prayer? Abraham’s prayer was filled with humility and action. He feared the LORD in the correct way by honoring His divine character but not in the fleshly way that leads to inaction (or indifference) on our parts.

The result was a sweet communion with God and a conscious remembrance and knowledge of his place before Him.

Beautiful.

“And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: And Abraham returned unto his place.”—Genesis 18:33

Rupea, Romania. (2005)

Into All Truth

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:”

John 16:13a

So many Christians I know carry in their hearts a life verse, some salient thought that speaks to their whole being about who God is in their lives or the direction God has given them along their journey. This verse is tangible evidence they have a personal God who communicates with them.

The issue for me has always been there are too many verses from which to choose. God has spoken to me and given me rest and comfort through many verses. Proverbs 3:5-7, for instance, is about trusting God with all my heart, not leaning on my own logic and understanding, and committing my paths, my thoughts and my actions unto Him so that He can direct my paths. I love that section of Scripture. This passage of God’s word steadied me as I was dating my husband.

How about “The Lord knoweth how” from 2 Peter 2:9? This small section of Scripture helped me through a very dark time in my Christian ministry, when I was looking through the lens of my flesh and not the Spirit, when surveying what was before me.

And then there is John 14:27, which is often quoted by me. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” What a gorgeous verse when you’re in a valley and the only way to look is up to the Lover of our souls, who gives us perfect gifts in our times of need.

All that to say, I think John 16:13a is the closest Scripture passage I have to a life verse. There was a day this verse was spoken to me, and it has never left my heart. The background of that day was that my church in California had just purchased a new building. The church members had gotten together to sell the old lumber and hardware left from the previous owner, along with home items brought in by the members for a very large garage sale. My pastor was talking with another pastor that day, and I had asked my pastor a question. I can’t remember the details of that question, but I believe by the Holy Spirit’s leading, my pastor knew I could only get the answer from God. I could not just take someone’s word for it, pastor or not. That’s when he said this verse to me, and I have never forgotten it.

Whenever I am perplexed over some doctrine or some difference among faith families in God’s beautiful Spiritual Church, I remind myself, that God, by His Holy Spirit, will guide me into truth. I like to say, not 75% of the truth, not even 99% of the truth, but “all truth.” What salve this verse has been to me, as God has gently guided me on paths of study since I gave my life to Him when I was 23. I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was eight, but I didn’t commit myself to His ways until much later. At that turning, my life has never been the same. Oh, there has been much heartache in the studies He’s taken me through, but they have produced in me a confidence in His Word, along with fruit-bearing Bible readings. He blesses my heart while guiding me into all truth—not at once, mind you—but, little by little, when He sees an open heart and a readiness to take in and absorb what He has to tell me. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:10)

Lake Pend Orielle, Ione, Washington. (Fall 2007)

(I linked this up with Christian Mommy Blogger.)