“LORD, who shall dwell in Your Presence?”

Only those who are innocent and who do what is right. Such people speak the truth from their hearts and do not tell lies about others. They do no wrong to their neighbors and do not gossip. They do not respect hateful people but honor those who honor the LORD. They keep their promises to their neighbors, even when it hurts. They do not charge interest on money they lend and do not take money to hurt innocent people. Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed. Psalm 15:2-5 NCV 

Christians demonstrate their relationship and fellowship with God in the everyday, ordinary, getting-up, going-to-work, having-lunch, sitting-in-car-line, helping-with-homework, cleaning-the-kitchen-again activities. Worshiping God is not confined to the church building. When our inner integrity merges with our outward sincerity, the heart reveals its true intimacy with Jesus. Desiring to serve or wanting to love, wishing for faith or longing for hope, simply is not enough. Behavior becomes the thermometer for our worship. Integrity exceeds doing what is right by doing it for the right reason. Sincerity has only room for truth, honor, and love. Are you lukewarm?

"In the stillness, our false, busy selves are unmasked and seen for the imposter they truly are." Richard Foster, Prayer, Finding the Heart's True Home 

If we take inventory of our behavior, what will we find? What happens when we remove our masks: control, busyness, apathy, carelessness, greed, prejudice, rationalization, self-consciousness, comfort? Can we find justice without truth? Can we know completeness without mercy? The simplicity of Psalm 15 lays out the characteristics for a Believer who desires to abide in God's presence. So, take off the masks. Live with honesty. Work, speak, and think, making Christ the center of your intentions.

"He who does these things will never be shaken." NASB

This phrase, a promise of a faithful God, appears at least 8 times in Psalms and Proverbs.The Hebrew word mot describes something that "falters, falls, shakes, slips, or staggers." In these last words, God reminds us that our completeness is in Him; He is our sure foundation. While we are certain to falter, likely to fall, sometimes shake, and frequently stagger, God embraces our frailty and failures with mercy. God calls us, first, into His holiness to restore our inward integrity, then reveals Himself to others through our outward sincerity. If we walk among the bruised and broken, sit beside the outcasts and overlooked, encourage the frail and fallen, and do this in the name of Jesus, we will never be shaken. ~dho

Consider This:
- Identify the masks you wear that keep you from finding completeness in Christ.
- Will you take off the masks and enter God's holy space?

When our inner integrity merges with our outward sincerity, the heart reveals its true intimacy with Jesus. Donna Oswalt

God calls us, first, into His holiness to restore our inward life, then reveals Himself to others through our outward tasks. Donna Oswalt

*previously published on BreathingRoomForMySoul.com 2015/DonnaOswalt

God in Our Moments

 Affirmation of faith:

"We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the Lord of yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is the Lord over life and death.
We believe that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. With His help we can remain faithful when tempted, peaceful when troubled, and loving when opposed. 
We believe that in all things we can be more than conquerors. For neither death nor life, neither the present nor the future, neither suffering nor trials can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen."

God's love finds us where we are whether we are suffering hardships or shouting hallelujahs! Because God desires a relationship with us, He longs to share in our days, whether they are long and full or hurried and fragile. God walks with us so closely that sometimes we can miss Him ~ especially when everything seems easy and good and simple. I believe God both weeps and celebrates with us.

From a familiar hymn, these words remind me to be aware of time:
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.*

In the week to come, whatever comes our way, I believe we can find God in all our moments. Be aware and in awe of His presence! ~ dho

* hymn Take My Life, and Let It Be

God Calls

The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.  Fredrick Buechner

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin 

We search the world for meaning, for purpose, for reasons. When the world does not offer wanted answers, we wonder if God has forgotten us. If we pray to God for meaning, for purpose, for reasons, and He does not respond as we expect, we doubt that God is listening. We crave more and more of the world's tokens, collecting the trophies of greed and pride, and we are empty. And still, God calls to us and seeks us ~ wherever we are. God has designed a purpose for each of us ~ a place to serve. God abides with us ~ in all times. Perhaps it is we who have forgotten; it is we who are not listening.

Read 1 John 2:12-17

I remind you, dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name. . . And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. . . Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him.
1 John 2:12-16 The Message

In a deeping relationship with God, our wants change. We can respond with greater compassion, with quiet humility, with sincere love. We begin to respond to the Father's love. We search the heart, the mind, the soul for His Presence. We find deep gladness.

consider this!

• When your deep gladness in God merges with the world's deep hunger, what happens?
• How does a growing personal relationship with God change your wants?
• What are your cravings?

Living Word ~ remain in our hearts ~ guide our thoughts ~ abide with us always. Forgive us when we ignore You. How often we stand at the corner of "Want" and "More," uncertain and unsure! Yet You forgive our selfish ways, call us to a place of deep gladness. Take away our cravings for the world and replace them with cravings for You. Amen. ~ dho

*previously posted March, 2009 on BreathingRoomForMySoul.com; Donna Oswalt

Ordinary Days of Summer

Bless the LORD, O my soul! You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.” Psalm 104:1

Summer is ending! Carefree days wave good-bye as the next season brings new school days and new friends, resumes the routines of life and work and possibilities. The passing season leaves behind the hottest weather as cooler temperatures begin. While this season of growing will come to a close with the last harvesting of berries and tomatoes, baskets of apples will soon be picked, and their hot ciders will chase away autumn’s chill. Fire pits will light backyards and toasted marshmallows will delight after the children find themselves tired from running through pumpkin patches. A new season begins as the previous season fades.

The last walks on sandy beaches with warm, gentle breezes give way to the emerging beauty of nature’s newest fashion show, leaves of crimson and ocher and gamboge. With these few fleeting days, let recollections of laughter and leisure and love crowd your heart, cherish the smiles, chase the passing moments once more. Like childhood, summer will end, too soon for some. One fall night, we will sit beside a toasty fire and retell our great summer adventures. Under the beauty of a majestic, extraordinary canopy of stars and planets and galaxies, we will look up and know these ordinary days to be priceless! - dho

“We the People”

Today is the 4th of July, the day America celebrates independence from British rulers, remembers the signing of the  Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, when "the Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America". For those citizens of America, this was the beginning, the foundation of independence. We don't celebrate the the Constitution, signed September 17, 1787, the written footprint of freedom and liberty that empowered and outlined the responsibilities of "We the people". Those beginnings and struggles to define freedom have been followed by decades of great efforts and epic failures to live out this kind of freedom. America is not about a particular place or group of people, rather America is "a radical and unprecedented idea, based upon liberty and freedom for all". (Eric Metaxas, If You Can Keep It)

In reading Eric Metaxas’ book If You Can Keep It, The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty, one finds a combination of choices and conflicts within the promises of liberty. The founders of America's document of freedom, The Constitution, believed that "the idea of total religious freedom was paramount." Metaxas writes about freedom and liberty, government and self-government, about virtue and love of country all being part of what formed America's ideals of freedom and what "we the people" must value. He speaks to the fragility of freedom and the uniqueness of America's government. Metaxas describes the heart of America as "the idea of living for others - of showing them a new way of living." We the people of America have often failed each other, lived too often and too long among the brokenness.

America, with its unique government and struggles to live its principles of liberty, continues to learn and evolve. It is not perfect, nor are its citizens; however, all citizens of America are to be included in the "we" - each to share the burdens and to enjoy the goodness. I treasure the freedom to worship as I choose, the freedom of speech to share my thoughts, the freedom to dream and opportunities to achieve dreams, the freedom to respectfully disagree with some and still remain part of this country. Especially on a day that celebrates independence, with both humility and sadness, I do remember that this freedom has not come without its many wounds, some physical, others psychological, generational losses that linger, personal pain that divides. 

I believe in a God who offers a "radical and unprecedented idea" of spiritual freedom. I believe in a God who loves and chooses to love everyone. I believe in a God who desires a relationship with an imperfect person like me. I believe in a God who can do all things!  -dho  

** Previously posted on this blog July, 2020/dho

26,000 Days of Possibilities

 

Daddy and me! 

What is 26,000? About ten years ago I listened to someone discussing Mark Batterson’s book IF. The question of “how many days had each of us lived” was posed. The challenge was to count each day. Online I found a way to calculate my days from birth to a specific date and began to record them in my devotional/prayer journal. That was some years ago, but on June 19, 2026, I reached 26,000 days! 

The challenge had been to evaluate our days for purpose. Each time I wrote the total number of days I had been given, I became more aware of how I spent each of these days and often what I had not done. Over these many years of living, I have wasted more time than I care to admit and have known days and seasons of waiting for God’s leading on what would be next or what decision to make. I have also celebrated many of the days, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations, births of children, friendships both new and old, and achievements, mine and others. My days have been full of countless blessings - those I remember, those I have forgotten, and the ones I simply missed. 

While we prefer not to think about dark times, there have been hard days that felt hopeless, endless, and uncertain. Days where disappointment and disease and death have randomly interjected themselves into my life. I have grieved with others; I have grieved my own losses. My timeline also finds days of service but sometimes reluctant sacrifice, obedience and inherent obstinance, revival and occasional remorse, faithfulness and unplanned failures. We all have such days.

 

Josh Baldwin’s song “Evidence” often reminds me, “All throughout my history, Your faithfulness has walked beside me… I see the evidence of Your goodness all over my life.” Seeing and knowing God’s goodness matters because while many of our journeys on this earth are exciting and new and joy-full, some are winding and uphill. How easily we find His Goodness in times of renewal and rejoicing! Yet, in the narrow spaces and difficult places we doubt His Goodness. God’s Goodness is always with us.

In his book, Batterson suggests that counting our days is like “counting the possibilities” of our lives. The opportunities we have every day to make a positive impact for Christ in this world are countless. He writes, “The possibilities of your life are limitless.” If we seek God, He will show us more possibilities than we can imagine. Find, or maybe rediscover, your God-given passion and purpose. Then act! I remain more than grateful to God’s generosity to me - 26,000 days and counting! To God be the Glory in all that is done in service for Him. -dho

 

** I confess to not having read IF, but I will say my favorite Mark Batterson book is Whisper, How to Hear the Voice of God. I do recommend it. I wrote a Summer Series on my blog in 2019 about this book (June 13, 2019-September 5, 2019). Can search the blog by “2019 Summer Series” or go to the 2019 index.