windows...

Windows….

I was searching for a certain photo last night( I finally found it) when I came upon a file of photos that I have been saving for “something”…

 

One I have added to from various places in the world, various reasons, various shapes/sizes/uses, various ages….

 

I have included part of that file…so many…ones which are hundreds of years old, ones which are poured glass on uneven molds, ones which reflect the inside or outside, ones which give light to the darkness, ones which show colors, ones which tell stories, ones which show the outside or inside world, ways of escape, etc…

 

Reading through the prophets after reading through rest of the Old Testament, is like seeing windows in time, past, present and future…they give glimpses of so much to their contemporaries as well as some of the future. They give glimpses of their lives and what they are seeing and living as well as going to live as time goes on…

 

These writings also show the imperfections of people….they reflect on the times they are living/have lived/going to live…they look at the outside world as well as the inside world of people…they give light to the darkness…they tell stories…

 

Thank YOU for the timeless Word…windows to YOU through writing….reflections…scenes…light …

 

At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made

Genesis 8:6

When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife.

Genesis 26:8

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall.

Joshua 2:15

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Daniel 6:10

Ezekiel 40,41

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Malachi 3:10

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

 

Eeyore….

 Eeyore….

Eeyore is a fictional character in the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh.

I know several “Eeyores” and have known more  over my lifetime…they are the “cups-half-empty” ones who when given good news find a negative side to it…the victims even when life is going great….the naysayers…

I thought of this when  reading the books of Jeremiah, Lamentations…

Jeremiah ,when called by God to be his spokesman, said “ I am too young”…, but God replied….

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” 

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. 

And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” 

They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Jeremiah 1:4-10,19

To be honest, God  can say he knew each of us…Eeyores or not…He formed us…with a particular path and message…planned…

But, I digress, back to Jeremiah…God gave him words to speak to the people…and they were words of judgment, no wonder he is likened to Eeyore…those were hard words, harsh judgements to people who really don’t want to hear them…

 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’ “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

Jeremiah 18:11-12 

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’

Jeremiah 5:23-24 

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. 

And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 

But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 

“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 

And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.

Jeremiah 7:23-24,27-28

Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

Jeremiah 11:8

But, amongst the judgements, are shining verses that show God’s everlasting love…

“I am merciful…”

“I will heal your faithlessness “

“Delights in steadfast love, justice, and righteousness “

There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? 

For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. 

But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

Jeremiah 10:6-7,10

 “Can do all things”…

“Your words  became to me a joy and delight  of my heart…”

“My strength, stronghold, refuge”

Healer, savior, praiseworthy…

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

We need the Eeyores in life as well as the encouragers….we need those who speak truth, those who challenge us…even when it may be hard…we need each other….and most of all we need God, who loves us with an everlasting love…who has plans for us…who strengthens us…who disciplines us…builds us up…Jesus, a Saviour, …the Holy Spirit, truth bearer, counselor….

Thank YOU…..

Reading Jeremiah….

 Reading Jeremiah….

Reading through Jeremiah is like reading through the morning paper, one bad thing after another…proclamations, decisions, bad news, deaths, destruction….

The if’s, the then’s…

The causes and effects….

The unrepentant, the broken….

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord , all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord . 

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 

Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord .’ “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. 

“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? 

Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. 

Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. 

And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 

And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim. 

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. 

And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 

But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 

Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 

And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips. 

And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste. I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; 

no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. 

We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

Jeremiah 7:1-15,23-24,26,28,34,8:6,15 

I realize that Jeremiah was speaking to Jerusalem, but the words echo down through the ages, ringing true for today…

We have the saving grace of Jesus, if we will but yield, hearing Him speak our to hearts, not turning away as the ancient people did…and have done down through time…Jesus is there waiting….He still saves…He still fixes brokenness…

Why become a wasteland, when we can become fruitful for Him?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord , and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 

God spoke the Solomon…

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 

These words still ring true today as they did thousands of years ago…

Thank YOU….

Daily Devotion: Broken Walls, Broken Lives

Daily Devotion: Broken Walls, Broken Lives

https://mvotd.com/zach-williams-dolly-parton-there-was-jesus-video_12bb32bb2.html?mc_cid=d5d913aaee&mc_eid=9b75957afc