But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,
To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18 NASB
Psalm 103 was read yesterday at church. Psalm 103 is my favorite psalm for sure, and perhaps my favorite passage. It is about grace.
These two verses popped for me yesterday, as it occurred to me that I have a very sacred calling to live carefully in order to facilitate, as best I can, God's favor and righteousness on my children and my children's children. What a gift I have the opportunity to participate in giving...His righteousness.
I looked up the word "righteousness," and the lexical aid references Genesis 15:6, where Abraham's faith is reckoned as righteousness. God stamped Abraham's account "righteous" because Abraham believed in the LORD. Simple concept. Tough to live it.
In this Psalms passage, the righteousness is bestowed on those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to DO them! It is relatively simple to remember His precepts -- the catch is in the doing. Knowledge is not faith -- living the precepts -- that constitutes faith.
Covenants are serious matters to God. With Christ came a new covenant in His blood. (Luke 22:20) My obedience will affect my children and my children's children. While I don't believe that my acts will determine the spiritual fate of my offspring, I do believe in the mystery of how God works, and the mystery of how his seal of "righteous" is given -- the mystery of faith. Abraham was declared righteous because of His faith: he believed God's words. My faith is believing what He said in His Word, and His Word says that keeping His covenant and remembering and doing His precepts will impact His righteousness to children's children.
Do I understand the exact formula, or how it all works? Nope. But I do understand that seeking the lovingkindness of the LORD and His righteousness need to be on the top of every year's New Year's resolution list. A relationship with Christ does not require, or even allow for, scientific reasoning. It is a life of faith. Faith that leads to righteousness -- a label not a reality. (in reality I will never be righteous in this life -- but I am righteous in God's eyes because of my faith in the blood of His Son.)
Mystery. Ephesians 6:19 ...the mystery of the gospel...
12.31.2007
12.27.2007
Hope
Romans 8:25: But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Elpizo is a Greek word for hope. In my lexical aid to the New Testament, the following is included in its definition: to hope; expect with desire; hope in the manner of trust; to confide; to set one's hope upon something, that is, the hope of future good fortune.
Hope is one of my favorite words. This year I found a sparkling 8 inch word "Hope" among the Christmas decorations for sale, and it is now on my dining room shelf, right under a metal version of the word "Blessings." I love words. And now they are becoming popular decor... one friend even has the word "GRACE" on her dining room wall !!
A friend gave me a HOPE ornament...just the word, in silver, on a simple ribbon. What a lovely gift.
Last year I had purchased smaller versions of a similarly styled ornament, three words: peace, joy and hope. I hung them over the nativity set this year...after all, that is what His birth made possible: peace, joy and hope.
We all need hope. And the Word promises it. It's a struggle for me to know how to hope, as so much that I have hoped for has not come about. But "hope" is not the same as "wish." Wishes can disappoint. But hope never disappoints when it is properly placed. So, my hope needs to be in God's lovingkindness (HESED). My hope truly needs to be in the Lord, not in particular circumstances.
I'm going to be more careful about how I use the word hope. I'm not going to "hope" for good weather... Hope is a word that is sacred for me...it's bigger than circumstances...
Matthew 12:21: In His name the Gentiles will hope
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The "hope" in this Romans verse is Elpis in the Greek, defined as: desire of some good with expectation of obtaining it. The object of hope, the thing hoped for. confidence, security.
Romans 15:13 was the verse that my late mother wrote after her signature on correspondance. What a great verse it is. It covers the big three desires of every heart: hope, joy and peace. Who fills us? the God of hope. Where is joy and peace? in believing. What's the result of this believing? Abounding in hope. How can we abound? by the power of the Holy Spirit.
What a great word. This year, keep hope!
Elpizo is a Greek word for hope. In my lexical aid to the New Testament, the following is included in its definition: to hope; expect with desire; hope in the manner of trust; to confide; to set one's hope upon something, that is, the hope of future good fortune.
Hope is one of my favorite words. This year I found a sparkling 8 inch word "Hope" among the Christmas decorations for sale, and it is now on my dining room shelf, right under a metal version of the word "Blessings." I love words. And now they are becoming popular decor... one friend even has the word "GRACE" on her dining room wall !!
A friend gave me a HOPE ornament...just the word, in silver, on a simple ribbon. What a lovely gift.
Last year I had purchased smaller versions of a similarly styled ornament, three words: peace, joy and hope. I hung them over the nativity set this year...after all, that is what His birth made possible: peace, joy and hope.
We all need hope. And the Word promises it. It's a struggle for me to know how to hope, as so much that I have hoped for has not come about. But "hope" is not the same as "wish." Wishes can disappoint. But hope never disappoints when it is properly placed. So, my hope needs to be in God's lovingkindness (HESED). My hope truly needs to be in the Lord, not in particular circumstances.
I'm going to be more careful about how I use the word hope. I'm not going to "hope" for good weather... Hope is a word that is sacred for me...it's bigger than circumstances...
Matthew 12:21: In His name the Gentiles will hope
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The "hope" in this Romans verse is Elpis in the Greek, defined as: desire of some good with expectation of obtaining it. The object of hope, the thing hoped for. confidence, security.
Romans 15:13 was the verse that my late mother wrote after her signature on correspondance. What a great verse it is. It covers the big three desires of every heart: hope, joy and peace. Who fills us? the God of hope. Where is joy and peace? in believing. What's the result of this believing? Abounding in hope. How can we abound? by the power of the Holy Spirit.
What a great word. This year, keep hope!
12.26.2007
Resolutions
New Years resolutions may be a bit cliche, but for me it is valid to at least take the time to slow down enough to consider what needs tweaking as I hang the new calendar. And so... here's what I'll work on...improve on...not conquer or perfect. Life is a journey...
Word for 2008: Gentle. Lead a gentler life. Gentler on myself and on others.
Verse for 2008: But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,
To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18 NASB
1. Look for pockets of joy, and record them. Jan Karon calls them "Patches of Godlight." ** Live expectantly. Watch for the blessings.
2. Continue to find encouragement and challenge in the Bible, day by day.
3. Pray more consistently and methodically. Intercede for our children in particular.
4. Eat gently. Slower eating. Less eating. Healthful eating. Thoughtful eating. Enough said.
5. Exercise. Daily walking, gentle weight lifting (8 Minutes Each Morning plan) and stretching.
6. Take the time to read good books.
7. Create. Write and quilt. Again, make the time.
8. Nest. Keep organizing, purging, and finding the place for everything...(and everything in its place!)
9. Buy less, give more away...simpler....gentler... SIMPLIFY
10. Encourage. Correspond more -- birthday cards, thank you cards, thinking of you cards...
**from Diane's post: "...Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are "patches of godlight" in the woods of experience." C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.
Ms. Karon must have been quoting Mr. Lewis...
Word for 2008: Gentle. Lead a gentler life. Gentler on myself and on others.
Verse for 2008: But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,
To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18 NASB
1. Look for pockets of joy, and record them. Jan Karon calls them "Patches of Godlight." ** Live expectantly. Watch for the blessings.
2. Continue to find encouragement and challenge in the Bible, day by day.
3. Pray more consistently and methodically. Intercede for our children in particular.
4. Eat gently. Slower eating. Less eating. Healthful eating. Thoughtful eating. Enough said.
5. Exercise. Daily walking, gentle weight lifting (8 Minutes Each Morning plan) and stretching.
6. Take the time to read good books.
7. Create. Write and quilt. Again, make the time.
8. Nest. Keep organizing, purging, and finding the place for everything...(and everything in its place!)
9. Buy less, give more away...simpler....gentler... SIMPLIFY
10. Encourage. Correspond more -- birthday cards, thank you cards, thinking of you cards...
**from Diane's post: "...Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are "patches of godlight" in the woods of experience." C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.
Ms. Karon must have been quoting Mr. Lewis...
Looking to 2008
One of the Bible Studies I recently finished contained a phrase I loved: "Pockets of Joy." Even dark days and stretches of winter can be, will be, sprinkled with pockets of joy. And so, in 2008, I plan to blog and record these pockets that God creates just for me. Perhaps I simply need to be more cognizant of the moments that He sprinkles over each of my days.
Nicole Johnson, in her article entitled "Death of a Dream," states Never forget that we are in process on this journey and while we don't know what what the future holds, we trust God for very good reasons, and those reasons are still true in the midst of our losses. God has a way, uniquely his, and a time table, unknown to us, and he has great love that guides us toward bigger dreams, the kind that will never disappoint and never die."
Unwrapping my new journal is always exciting. Who knows what will be recorded in the year to come? I'm hoping that blogging will add one more reason to search for the blessings, and to share them with whoever's reading...
Nicole Johnson, in her article entitled "Death of a Dream," states Never forget that we are in process on this journey and while we don't know what what the future holds, we trust God for very good reasons, and those reasons are still true in the midst of our losses. God has a way, uniquely his, and a time table, unknown to us, and he has great love that guides us toward bigger dreams, the kind that will never disappoint and never die."
Unwrapping my new journal is always exciting. Who knows what will be recorded in the year to come? I'm hoping that blogging will add one more reason to search for the blessings, and to share them with whoever's reading...
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