faith

I Still Hate to Edit!

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Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 KJV

I love to write (usually) but oh how I hate to edit (Always!) Writing fulfills a basic longing to try communicating with others things that are precious to me. Editing on the other hand simply reminds me detail by painful detail how I have fallen short. Maybe when God created us He feels a bit the same way. Do you remember how back in the garden of Eden God said, “Let us make man in our own image.” and then He formed and breathed life into Adam? At the end of the day He stepped back and maybe even smiled and said, “It was good!”

But soon after God began writing the story of Adam’s life, Adam and Eve sinned. From that very moment God’s editing work began. How it must have pained the heart of God to see His perfect children darkened by selfishness, rebellion and pride. But thankfully God does not hate editing like I do. In fact the greatest expression of His love came on the day of His harshest edit yet. That happened on a hill called Calvary where on the cross Jesus erased all the crimes of my previous chapters and then wrote in His blood the new and amazing story of His grace! Oh how thankful I am that Jesus is not only the author of my faith; but He is also the finisher (editor). He rewrites the final chapter of every one of our lives when we put our faith in Him and then turns out a masterpiece that will never need editing again!

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The Lord is My Editor

The Lord is my editor – He checks every word

He calls me to follow ‘cause I’m seen not just heard

He leads me through valleys with shadows and strife

And comforts my fears with His promise of life

He makes me a banquet though my enemy knows

Then He fills up my cup till His grace overflows

When I look back behind me I see mercy and care

In His every correction He gave hope I could share

Then he left me a note,

“Why not stay at my home

When you come to my city

And your writing’s all done?”

The Lord is My Editor by Peter Caligiuri © 2020 All rights reserved

Our Heavenly 911

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The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them… Psalm 37:39-40a

Calling God our helper has gotten a bad name as some have misinterpreted this as if it meant treating God like an assistant or employee. But the Hebrew word used here for help means to surround, protect and come to the aid of someone in trouble. God is not working for us, but instead He is like the ambulance driver or fire fighter who is equipped and waiting to answer our cry for help. So today if you look out your window and see trouble on your street and the news on television is filled with videos of riots remember that God’s help is available whenever we ask. The writer of Hebrews puts this into practical terms by saying;

Keep free from the love of money and be content with what you have. for He has said; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

What is really at the bottom of a lot of the unrest and anger we are witnessing is money. Liberals and conservatives both act as if people would be content if they just had a little more. Conservatives complain the government has taken too much and liberals act as if people need to be given more. Whatever happened to; “All we need is love!”? So no matter what side of the political aisle we stand on, today’s reading counsels us to take a deep breath and step back from the conflict and remember that the love of money is like a boss who can never be satisfied. If we become slaves to him we will lose our spiritual freedom and the only one happy with that is Satan. But if we turn to Jesus for help; He promises us contentment that no government can tax away and no thief can steal. He has promised to never leave or forsake us and the Greek word used here for never means – NEVER! He never hides out in the middle of a crisis or walks away when we mess up. He is our ever present help in the time of trouble(Psalm 46:1). He is heaven’s 911 operator and when we dial the phone of prayer; Jesus answers. He is always listening. All we need to do is cry out in faith and we will hear His calm and steady voice saying; “This is 911. What is your emergency today?

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Meditations From Psalm 25

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To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Psalm 25:1-3 ESV

Last week on Kathy’s Hesaidwhatks Blog she talked about her own experience of waiting with her son Aaron. What got me to thinking of today’s post was her closing thoughts from Psalm 25 on waiting. So yesterday I was excited to look back from the beginning of the Psalm. This is the first of at least two parts on what I found.

“To you O Lord I lift up my soul” Tells us of the direction of David’s prayer. Too often when we are in trouble we turn in every direction except to God. That is not to say we are necessarily praying to another god but that in place of prayer we often turn to every available source before we turn to God. We call up our friends or family. We buy whatever is the latest book on the subject or we even look up remedies on the internet. None of these things is wrong in and of itself but why is it that we exhaust every other resource before we ask Jesus for His help?

The second idea that David tells is to fill God in on all the details. David does more than just ask for God to bless his day; his food and sleep. David starts right out with his problem. While we may not know the exact setting of this Psalm we know that real combat was part of David’s experience. I can picture him peering down to where the enemy troops are camped and asking for God’s help because he is about to charge down the hill into battle.  

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Last David shares with us the answer God gives him even before he takes a single step. “Indeed none who wait for you will be ashamed. David’s waiting for the Lord is akin to William Prescott at the battle of Bunker Hill commanding “Don’t fire until you saw the whites of their eyes” He had learned that waiting on God meant deliverance from shame and that choosing not to wait is treachery.

What about you? What is God asking you to wait for and what battles do you need to begin asking Him to help you with. God is listening and waiting to listen for our cry. Why shouldn’t we learn to listen and to wait on Him?

For more from HesaidwhatKS here is the link