Month: June 2023

“When we come into the land, you tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you are letting us down. Gather your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house.”

Joshua 2:18 (NAB)

Rahab was a harlot, who helped hide two spies who Joshua sent to the city of Jericho. They were spying out the city with the plan to invade and take it over. After helping to hide the spies, she asked Joshua to save her and her family. Joshua promised to protect Rahab on the condition that she put a scarlet cord in her window, as a sign for his army. He assured her that his men would be told to spare the home with the scarlet cord in the window, and to harm no one inside. She gathered her parents and siblings together, put the scarlet cord in the window, and they all stayed inside the home. When the Israelite army took over the city, Rahab’s home was spared and her household was saved. She became a believer in the God of Israel and never returned to her harlot life. She married a soldier named Salmon from the tribe of Judah and had a son. Her son was named Boaz and he married Ruth, who was part of the family tree that carried on to David and finally to Jesus. Rahab changed her destiny, becoming an ancestor to Jesus, all because of a single scarlet cord.

In the story of the exodus from Egypt, Moses instructed families to put the lamb’s blood on their doorposts, so that when the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over those homes and all the families inside were saved. God’s signs of salvation involve blood, only in Rahab’s case it was a scarlet cord, the color and symbol of blood. The blood of Jesus is like the scarlet cord in our window or the blood on our doorposts. It is God’s promise to us, a covenant in His blood. As Rahab trusted the scarlet cord, we trust in the blood of Jesus. Rahab and her family had to stay inside the home to be saved, as we need to abide in Jesus to be saved. God values our families as much as we do, and we learn from Rahab that we can intercede for our household’s salvation as Rahab did for hers. That scarlet cord was a sign of promise and the covenant Joshua made with her. Joshua’s very name is a variation of the name of Jesus, and both names mean salvation, which is no coincidence.

The story is a foreshadowing of the salvation promise that later came through Jesus. No one could imagine that a harlot would become an ancestor of the Messiah, but God imagined it, and still shows His mercy to anyone who will receive Him today. Rahab had faith in the promise, signified by a simple scarlet cord, and obediently stayed inside her house.

Jesus, we have faith in the blood shed by you on the cross, and as we stay in a relationship with you, please bring to pass all the wonderful plans you have imagined for us, our families and our household. Amen

“The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Psalm 51:17 ( RSV)

If Jesus wept over the physical death of Lazarus, there’s no doubt that He felt sadness and wept over anyone’s spiritual death as well. 

Jesus probably felt sad for the rich young man who claimed to obey every commandment, but still turned and walked away from Him. He had to feel sad knowing Judas, who spent so much time in fellowship with Him, ended up turning on Him in betrayal. 

God is sad for anyone who turns and walks away from Him, which is illustrated in the story of the prodigal son. Jesus reveals the Father’s heart through this parable, in how the Father runs to embrace his son, not standing, angry with crossed arms. He celebrated that his son was dead, but is now alive, and He desires everyone to be made alive again. 

Peter’s second letter tells us that God is not willing for anyone to perish, but He desires for all people to come to repentance. God may not be willing to lose anyone, yet He gives everyone the freedom to choose. Then He pursues after them day and night until they return. The 19th century English poet, Francis Thompson, referred to the Lord as the “Hound of Heaven”, who chased him down through days and years, as he hid from Him through his laughter and his tears, until he finally surrendered to the determined love of God, who followed him like the hound of heaven. He never loses the scent of one lost soul, and like a hound, He chases after them every day, until they return to Him. That’s the mercy of God. 

David described a broken and contrite heart as being the best sacrifice that we can offer to God. The definition of “contrite” is to feel or express remorse or penitence; affected by guilt. We not only feel it for ourselves, but we pray it for those we know and love, to experience the same repentance that leads to life. 

Our guilt is washed away in His boundless mercy, and so we want that for anyone we care for, and until it happens, we feel sorrow in our hearts for them. That sorrow is the sacrifice of a contrite heart that David wrote about. 

The apostle Paul spoke from a contrite heart to the Romans, when he said, “I feel great sorrow and unceasing grief in his heart for my own people. “

Jesus said from the cross, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” Those people seemed to know exactly what they were doing to Jesus, but in His contrite heart, Jesus felt sorrow for their lost souls.  God wants what is best for our human psyche, to both receive His complete soul cleansing and to also desire it for the people in our lives. Those who haven’t yet experienced God’s love through His forgiveness and mercy, are missing out on the joy of loving Him. Jesus even said, “whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

Lord, give us a more contrite heart, by sharing with us, your own sorrow for lost souls. Remind us that you are sad for all those who walk away from you, so that we will pray more fervently for them. Please chase down after every soul we lift up to you today, until they finally surrender to your love and mercy. Amen 

( I’m sharing an animated portrait of Jesus weeping.)

“Jesus wept.”-John 11:35🙏😥 pic.twitter.com/DHbjpLkd0M

— Letty (@Letty69033728) June 9, 2023

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

Proverbs 15:3 (RSV)

When my twins were three, I had an opportunity to do free lance artwork from home. I illustrated educational audio visual filmstrips and was painting the illustrations in our family room area where the boys played, so that I could keep an eye on them. 

One day they were extremely mischievous, far beyond what was normal for three year old active twin boys. I had a difficult time finishing my art job, and I finally said to them, “You are not acting like the same Mikey and Jonny today!” 

One of them answered, “You are not acting like the same mommy.” 

I thought, “What?  Wow! “ I really learned a lesson that day. We naturally expect that our parents would be steadfast and unchanged in their behavior and give us their same attention each day. My children noticed my new distraction and they were simply reacting to me. I am an imperfect parent, who has learned from my mistakes. That day I learned it from the mouth of my three year old son. 

People may change and even fail us, but God never changes. His love and attention toward us is perfect. He doesn’t get sidetracked with special interests and obligations. He is God, so He gives us personal, undivided attention all the time. It’s up to us to believe it and receive it.

God never changes, but there will always be adults who act as if God is a distracted parent and not interested in them. I wonder how often people are acting out because they falsely perceive that God doesn’t care about them. God gives each person His same attention and love, even if their own parents didn’t. If they only knew, they would surely behave differently. 

Children need the presence of a caring attentive parent just as we all need to know God’s caring attentive presence in our adult lives. We need to visualize Him with us, by faith, watching over us in every single part of our day, even when things are not going as we would like.

Because He loves us as an attentive affectionate father, He has much more to teach us, and He finds different ways to do it. Sometimes He teaches us through the words of a toddler, like Jesus said, “out of the mouth of babes….”

Heavenly Father, thank you for being a patient, attentive father to us. Help us to train ourselves in knowing that you are with us in every part of our day. Reveal your love to us and help us to receive what you want to teach us each day. Amen

….”to have all the richness of fully assured understanding, for the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Colossians 2:2-3 (NABRE)

All the mysteries of God’s wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. 

Hidden things are not apparent, unless we search for them. In Christ, there are treasures of wisdom which help to strengthen our faith. We are blessed with the opportunity to have access to these hidden things through Jesus. 

I don’t always remember my dreams, but I wrote down the details of a strange one I had about a year ago. I dreamed that a man was telling me that I needed to quickly leave my home and go with him to a hiding place. I didn’t recognize the man as anyone I knew, but I trusted him, and so we set out to travel together on foot. 

We ran through various outdoor landscapes, and when he took my hand, I was able to run as fast as him, and stay alongside him. When I let go of his hand and ran at my own pace, I couldn’t keep up and lagged way behind. He was so much faster, stronger and taller than me. 

I finally called out to him, “Hold my hand so I can run faster !” 

He grabbed my right hand and then I ran so fast, and could stay equally along side of him. 

We saw a pond, where we were going to stop to drink water, but when we arrived, the pond was dried up. He just stepped over it and we both continued running. I never got tired nor was I ever thirsty. He held my hand until we finally arrived at an interesting street, filled with stucco homes all in a row. 

Each home was colorfully decorated and there were men still working on the outside details of each one. On the front of each home, there was a big cross, colorful banners filled with scripture verses or Christian sayings, which I was trying hard to read as we walked by each one. 

We finally arrived at our destination, where I was going to reside. It was one of those many colorful homes, which was to become my hiding place. I never did get to go inside my hiding place, because that’s when I suddenly woke up. 

The man in my dream wasn’t Jesus, but he definitely was a heavenly being, probably an angel. The best memory I could recall after waking up, is the beautiful colors of those hiding place homes, and how fast I could run when the man, or angel, held my hand. 

I thought about that dried up pond, and the fact that I wasn’t thirsty. 

We may encounter many dried up ponds in our life, which can be very discouraging, unless we are receiving the living water that Jesus gives us. He told the woman at the well that His water would satisfy forever, and she would never thirst again. I was not thirsty in my dream, and that’s why the dried up pond really didn’t matter. 

The secular world considers those who live by faith, as using faith as a crutch. Some would say that a hiding place represents an escape from reality, but a hiding place in God is not a place to escape our problems, it’s a place to discover the hidden treasures of His wisdom.

Running alongside that angel is symbolic of living my life while abiding in Jesus, keeping my hand in His. Each house represents the colorful treasures that God has for everyone who believes. We can run and not grow weary, when we keep our hand in His. He has treasures to reveal to us, and we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. 

There was so much more to learn and discover inside those colorful homes, and I’m sure it would reveal the depths of His love for us. Maybe  it would be too overwhelming to reveal in just one dream. 

God is always working to reveal more of His wisdom to us, as the men in my dream were still working on enhancing each of those homes. It seemed to be an invitation to go deeper and farther, to seek the treasures of God that are hidden in Christ. 

Lord Jesus, please hold our hands and give us strength to run with the endurance, which only you can give us. Help us to seek those treasures hidden in knowing you, and reveal the depths of your love to each reader today. Amen

“…strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Acts 14:22 (NASB)

I picked up my first Bible from off my book shelf the other day. I haven’t touched it in years because I read the Bible on my phone or iPad now. I found it amusing to read the front and back inside binders, full of my hand written inscriptions. There were many tidbits of wisdom and scripture references that were personal revelations in my early days after Jesus changed my life. 

I looked at my young handwriting, and recalled the spiritual place I was at, in my life back then. I was a twenty year old single college student, still living at home. My only responsibility was to school, homework, tests, and thinking about future goals. I was developing my friendship with Jesus, which showed through my hand written notes in my Bible. Today’s scripture reference was written down inside the back binder, with words that read “ it is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

I went to the 14th chapter of Acts and read it. Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra, preaching and healing people, and the crowd thought that they were two mythological gods who came down from heaven to them. Paul restrained the crowd  from worshipping them as gods. Before that episode ended, the Jewish opposing authorities came and won over the crowd, and then they all decided to stone Paul. After they stoned him, he lost consciousness, and the disciples carried him out from the city, thinking he was dead. Paul finally woke up and went on to the next city. After he preached the gospel in that city, Paul wrote this scripture saying that it is necessary to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. 

The persevering spirit of Paul was to never stop believing, never stop moving forward, never stop preaching and to shake the dust off himself and keep heading on to whatever God had next for him. He went from being worshipped as a Greek god to being stoned like a criminal, all within hours in the same day. He didn’t invest his hope in being favored by people, having gone from extreme popularity, successful meetings and good times, to stressful situations, being despised and losing friends, through no fault of his own. Paul expected hardships and tribulations, and he survived many throughout his ministry. His tribulations were mostly physical beatings and stoning, being hated just for preaching the gospel. 

Today, we are not likely to be stoned or beaten, but God’s people are suffering in other ways. Relationship issues, health problems, loved ones who are far from following Christ, and underlying battles of the mind, all of which can be harder on our spirit and soul than any physical beatings are. Paul once said “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” While we live, we need to take every thought captive, and fight to keep ourselves living for Christ, not for the favor of people. It doesn’t come naturally, because we are emotional beings, and life gets very complicated and messy. In spite of the problems that are before us, we need to remind ourselves that we were once alienated from God, but are now reconciled to Him. We are God’s people, Holy, and irreproachable by faith in Jesus. Whatever we are going through, we still belong to Christ, He has purchased us with His blood and filled us with His Spirit. We resolve to live for Him. Paul said that he rejoices in his suffering and affliction, and he had peace knowing it was all leading him to heaven in the end. (Colossians 1:24)

As I read my inscription written in the binder of my Bible, written when I was young and carefree, and excited to know Jesus, I reflect on all the events of my life over half a century. That sounds amazing, half a century of knowing Jesus. Fifty years later, after ups and downs in my faith, I can say today that to live is Christ, and He is my rock and my refuge, still leading me to heaven through all the tribulations. 

Lord, thank you for your keeping power over us, and let your Holy Spirit fill each reader now with the assurance that you are with us and bringing us to heaven, through every hardship we have suffered. Amen 

“..for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Roman’s 11:29 (NASB)

We are all imperfect, complicated people, who step out of God’s will at times, but He manages to work with every situation we find ourselves in. Like a GPS, God will re-route us back onto the correct path. 

Instead of waiting patiently for their promised son, Abraham listened to Sarah, his wife, and had Ishmael through Hagar, their maidservant. It caused problems later when Sarah became jealous and resentful toward Hagar and her son. Sarah, who had a strong and strange personality, eventually threw them both out of their home. She is a major part of this story for a purpose, for us to learn from it. She laughed when the angel foretold the news that she would have a son the following year. The angel asked Sarah why she laughed, but she lied, denying that she had ever laughed. God shows us through Sarah, that He can still fulfill His promises, despite people who bring some type of dysfunction into the family dynamics.

 Abraham was submissive to God, which is admirable, but it’s hard to read of his tolerance and compliance to Sarah’s demands. Despite the flawed relationship between Sarah, Abraham and Hagar, God continued to work His will out through it all. Nothing is too complicated for God, and He rerouted His plan. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, and He even protected Hagar and her son, making many nations out of Ishmael. Sarah finally became pregnant in her nineties, and bore Isaac, who became the promised father of the twelve tribes of the chosen nation of Israel. 

Irrevocable is a powerful word, it means final, cannot be changed and is never going to be reversed. God worked through the complex family dynamics and still gave the gifts and the calling to Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, as He intended. Whatever God has planned for us, also cannot be revoked by our own shortcomings and mistakes. Stepping outside of His chosen path for us may delay things, but His gifts and calling will still come to pass. God is much more patient toward us than we are of each other. He works within our mistakes and redirects us back on the path He has planned. Maybe it was a mistake for Abraham to listen to Sarah, instead of waiting for the promised child, but Abraham is still regarded throughout scripture as righteous, because he believed God through it all. Our job is also to believe God and do our best to keep obeying Him. He will bring all His promises into a reality, while working through any of our shortcomings. 

His ways are unsearchable and His wisdom is so rich, it’s hard to comprehend how He works within our flaws, but He does. This irrevocable calling comes straight out of His irrevocable love for us. 

What a beautiful God we serve and we thank you Lord, for your patience toward us. You shower us with love and grace, by helping us to rise up over and again, so that we can experience the joy of your irrevocable love, gifts and calling. Amen