Weekly Spiritual Meditations - 4/12

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ANVIL TIME by Max Lucado
On God's anvil.
Perhaps you've been there? Melted down. Formless. Undone. Placed on the anvil for reshaping...
I know. I've been on it. It's rough. It's a spiritual slump, a famine. The fire goes out. Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears. We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing.
Passion? It slips out the door. Enthusiasm? Are you idding?
Anvil time.
It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless. The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens. "All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I'm still hurting, wondering..."
On the anvil.
Brought face-to-face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go. Jesus in the garden. Peter with a tear-streaked face. David after Bathsheba. Elijah and the "still, small voice." Paul, blind in Damascus.
Pound, pound, pound.
Anvil time is not to be avoided; it's to be experienced. Although the tunnel is dark, it does go through the mountain. Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We shouldn't try to escape it. To escape it could be to escape God.
God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it's in the right shape. A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God.
Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you're still worth reshaping.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence; or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:10-12)

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No Unfinished Works of Grace by DR. Ron Meeks
I have not had the opportunity to travel much, but several years ago my dad won a trip to Italy through his business and he asked me to go along. A highlight of the trip was visiting Florence, the great city of the Renaissance.
One afternoon out of curiosity I went to a museum where the some works of Michelangelo were displayed. As we viewed the half-finished sculpture of St. Matthew the tour guide explained that this unfinished work was a prime example of Michelangelo’s philosophy of art. He believed that in a stone there was a figure or statue waiting to be released.
The work of the artist was to free the statue from the stone. The statute was so lifelike that I thought any minute St. Matthew might just step out of that huge stone. As I looked at the half-finished statute, I could see that the artist had begun to free the statue but had not been able to complete it. The tour guide went on to explain that Michelangelo had numerous works he never finished.
As I thought about God’s work in us, I realized that God has begun a work in us to conform us to the image of Christ. However, unlike Michelangelo, God does not stop working in our lives until he finishes what he intends to accomplish. According to Philippians 1:6, God will finish what He has started. Ultimately, God has no unfinished works of grace.
Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6)

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Hurry Up and Wait by David Cummings
"But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.". (Isaiah 40:31)
We spend many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years rushing through life only to find ourselves waiting, waiting, and waiting some more. We wait at the doctor's office; we wait at the grocery store; we wait at the post office; we wait at the pharmacy; we wait for our children to grow up and then anxiously wait for them to come home again.
Waiting is hard, exasperating work. The fact that we hate to wait has created a "quick fix" society. We microwave our food; pump our own gas; process our words on a computer; write notes of affection on the internet, not paper; text instead of talk, jet to locations far and near; hear news from across the world in fractions of a second; eat out because it takes too much time to cook, and so on. In our world, waiting is bad. However, in God's world, waiting is good. God has given us many instructions on the necessity of waiting. Let's look at some of these:
"Truly my soul waits upon God; my salvation comes from Him." (Psalm 62:1)
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14)
"This is our God; We have waited for Him and He will save us." (Isaiah 25:9)
"Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield." (Psalm 33:20)
"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope." (Psalm 130:5)
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1)
"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." (Lamentations 3:25)
"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." (Isaiah 64:4)
Did you notice the words used by those who wait on God? These are not words of frustration and confusion. These are words of strength, salvation and blessings. Waiting on God, as David, Isaiah and many others learned, means letting go and letting God. It involves study, reflection, prayer, solitude and time apart from the world.
We microwave... God works miracles.
We rush... God refreshes.
We get angry and impatient... God is busy reorganizing our priorities.
Hurry Up And Wait! Spend time giving time to God. Block out a section of your calendar for the Son of Man.
Then sit quietly... shh... shhhh... and wait on God.

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NOT MY PROBLEM by Alan Smith
The Browns were shown into the dentist's office, where Mr. Brown made it clear he was in a big hurry. "No fancy stuff, Doctor," he ordered, "No gas or needles or any of that stuff. Just pull the tooth and get it over with."
"I wish more of my patients were as stoic as you," said the dentist admiringly. "Now, which tooth is it?"
Mr. Brown turned to his wife... "Show him, honey."
It's easy to be brave when someone else is the one experiencing the pain! I wonder as I write and speak about facing trials with a positive attitude if I could be so upbeat if I actually suffer the loss of everything I own in a hurricane or tornado. It's easy to be brave when someone else is experiencing the pain!
It's also easy to believe that someone else is the only one needing treatment. "Don't look at me, doctor. Take care of her!" As you sat listening to (or delivering) a sermon Sunday, did you find yourself saying, "I sure hope so-and-so is listening, because this is something he really needs to work on!"
Listen to these words of James:
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:23-25)
James does not say that the word of God is a magnifying glass or a telescope to look at others. Rather, it is a mirror. And a mirror is only used to look at yourself.
I pray that you will take the opportunity today to use the word of God as a mirror, and may your life be changed by it.

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Showing Through Author Unknown
A little girl on the way home from church turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the preacher's sermon this morning confused me."
The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?"
The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?"
"Yes, that's true," the mother replied.
"He also said that God lives within us. Is that true, too?"
Again the mother replied, "Yes."
"Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and he lives in us, wouldn't He show through?"
I like that little girl's way of putting it. If God lives in us, then there's no way of keeping Him from "showing through". That's the essence of Christian living -- living in such a way that people around will see God in our lives.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

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The "Book" by Rick Hamblin
My friend Arthur had some reading materials on his hospital bedside table: a couple of novels, a newspaper, a magazine, and one small, tattered volume with a worn cover and pages that needed to be held together by a rubber band. Arthur's surgery had been a success and he was feeling better than he had in months.
"Do you have enough to keep you busy?" I asked.
"I think so," he gestured toward the bedside table. I held up the slim volume that was falling apart. "Maybe you could afford to get a new copy," I joked.
"I like it just as it is. Take a look."
I slipped the rubber band off and was amazed. Every page had markings on it - underlinings, checks, circled words, comments in the margin. This book hadn't just been read; it had been a constant companion, a source of comfort and inspiration. I read a passage to myself - profound words by a writer who had thought deeply about faith and the human condition.
"I see why you like it," I said.
"I could not have gotten through the last 25 years without it." Arthur replied. Leaving his hospital room, I remembered a quotation I'd seen on a church bulletin board: "Show me a Bible that's falling apart and I'll show you someone who isn't!"

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Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns
Your time of transition will be over soon. Just a few more points of preparation will put you in a position of moving ahead. Take a solid stand of faith and trust in Me, says the Lord, and face the final steps of this process with patience, assurance, and certainty that My will is being accomplished in your circumstances. 2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Do not despair, I will make a way even in the midst of your wilderness experience. You are a pilgrim passing through, and this is a temporary matter. In terms of the eternal kingdom this is momentary. Refuse to give this situation more prominence than it deserves. Let Me lead you through this time of correction and need, says the Lord. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Beloved, examine and enumerate the issues that are a concern to you. Then, deliberately release them to Me, with faith in knowing that I will bring those things to completion in perfect order; just as I am also revealing those things in you that must come to justice and correction, says the Lord. Do not despise this time of sanctification and purification. Psalms 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.

I am bringing you to another level of commitment, but you must abandon religious exercise and man's traditions to seek life in the Spirit. I am opening the treasures of walking in the Spirit as you choose to be obedient to the revelation of spiritual reality being unveiled. The blessings will be beyond what you could think or ask if you refuse to go back to what is familiar, says the Lord. Luke 12:48b For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Make a special effort to stay present with Me, says the Lord. Resist the temptation to dwell on the past, and deliberately let go of all failures and regrets. Walk with Me here and now even though your tendency will also be to race ahead and try to see what the future holds. There are things that you need to see and deal with right here where you are now. Let me show you and give you wisdom. Psalms 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

Be on the lookout for weapons formed against your soul, particularly your emotions. The enemy wants to not only distract you from spiritual endeavors, but wants to disable your desire to walk in the Spirit. Watch particularly for depression, condemnation, frustration and outrage. You will feel completely justified in allowing these expressions to manifest, but it would not be in your best interest, says the Lord. Exercise self-control. Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.

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The Trumpet by Bill Burns
"Set the trumpet to your mouth!" Hosea 8:1
I will bless you if you will come to Me and believe. I will prosper you in new ways in this season. I, Myself, will be your guiding light. I will be your healer and deliverer. For, it is the set time of favor. I will come and accomplish that which you can believe for, because it is by faith that you receive all that the Father offers you in His kingdom. So, come this day by faith. Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and My door shall open to you, says the Lord.

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Jesus, My Friend by Nancy Burr
I have an awesome friend; He is so kind
He fills me with hope and peace of mind.
When things go wrong as they often do
My friend stays with me helping me through.
When I’m overwhelmed and feeling down
He fills me with joy and takes my sad frown.
Along life's path when I stumble and fall
He picks me up cause He hears my call.
Jesus is His name; He’s my awesome friend,
And I know He’ll be with me right to the end.
His loves for me never goes away
I know He loves me day after day.
My friend; I know He loves you too,
And He’ll stay with you and help you through.
You know He even died for you
He died because His love is true.
He died to pay the price for sin
So in your heart He can come in.
The only thing that He asks for
Is that you open your hearts door.
Just ask Him in and in He’ll go
Then you will feel Him that I know.
You’ll feel His love flow right through you
And I know your heart will feel brand new.
You’ll want to shout and praise His name
For you asked Him in and in He came.
Yes I have a friend; He is the best,
You can bet He’s better than the rest.
Nowhere else will you find a friend
Who will stay with you right to the end.
And when that end on earth is here
He’ll take away our pain and fear.
For we’ll see Jesus lovely face
And He’ll hold us close in His embrace.
I have a friend who’s faithful and true,
He loves me and He loves you too!

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My Treasure by Nancy Burr
Thank you God for changing my heart,
For healing me up so I don’t fall apart.
Thank you God for staying with me,
For guiding my way and helping me see.
For calming my soul when problems I face,
And for showing me Your mercy and grace.
For loving me Lord like no one else can,
And for loving me even before life began.
Thanks for the love that You’ve placed in my heart,
And each day I thank You for another new start.
I’m so filled with sin that I hurt once again
But thanks for forgiveness and freedom from pain.
Thank You for always being my friend,
I know You’ll be with me right up to life’s end.
And once my life ends in your arms I will hide,
I know You’ll be waiting with arms open wide.
Thank You O Lord for saving my soul,
For giving Your life so that I can be whole.
You died on the cross so that I can be free,
So forever I’ll praise you down on my knee.
Thank You for filling my heart with a song,
For the joy of knowing with You I belong.
For the hope that I have because of Your love,
And for the blessings You send from above.
You are my best friend, my Saviour and King,
And I thank You my Lord for everything.
Thank You for changing my heart dear Lord,
You are my treasure, my greatest reward.

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"Then he said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.'" (Luke 12:15)

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:34)

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7

Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:14

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Listening in the Dark by Kenneth L. Pierpoint
Years ago in my room at Moody I would pray at night with my roommate Paul Davidheizer. We would get in our beds and turn off the light, then we would each pray. After we prayed we would usually talk for a while. Often I would still be talking after I discovered that Paul was asleep. He was a great guy but I could just talk longer than he could listen.
I am almost always the first one up in the morning around our place. So when bedtime comes for my daughter Hope, who is four and enjoys the luxury of sleeping in, she usually has another good half hour of energy left in her day. She doesn't wind down slowly at the end of the day. She finishes her day like a runner straining for the tape. She always has a little burst, a little sprint to the finish. I know in a perfect world parents put their children to sleep at night. That's not always the way it works at our house.
The other night I was exhausted and eager to sleep. I had an early start the next day and a full agenda. I got into bed. But Hope was in no mood to sleep. She had a place of her own but she came in our room and jumped in bed with us and refused to lie down. For a few minutes she used the bed for a trampoline until I made her stop. "Lie down right now and go to sleep Hope." I warned her, and I turned off the light.
She lay down but my warning and the darkness had no effect on her whatever. She jabbered on about her day, her dolls, her diet and her general philosophy of life unabated. She punctuated her stories with pointed questions demanding a response. One of us would mumble a barely coherent answer and she would chatter on. Finally she interrupted her own energetic soliloquy with a question, "Am I talking too much?" With that we were both awake and chuckling. We both quickly assured her that she was not at all talking too much. When heavy eyes ended my day she still had stories to tell.
As I drifted off to sleep I took comfort in the thought of my unsleeping Heavenly Father who never tires of hearing me talk. He wants to know when I have something to celebrate. He likes it when I tell him my fears and unburden my guilty heart to Him. He listens when I chatter excitedly about plans. He cares about what I think. He even stays awake at night and listens when I am talking in the dark. He can listen longer than I can talk.
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Psalm 121:1-4)

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Thank you, heavenly Father, for your love and mercy. Let the light of your love shine through us so that others may see and believe. Amen.

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Read Through The Bible
2 Kings 19
Isaiah Assures Deliverance
1 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer
8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’” 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.”
The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.’ 21 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 23 By your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: “By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, To its fruitful forest. 24 I have dug and drunk strange water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.” 25 ‘Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 27 ‘But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.
29 ‘This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 30 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.’
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the Lord. 34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

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Dear Lord, thank you for your presence and for your voice that calls to us wherever we are. Help us to see what you are doing and equip us to serve you. We thank you for our blessings. Help us to remember that all we have comes from you. Amen.

Wherever you are in life, whatever you've done, you can begin again. If you do not have Jesus in your life and wish to ask Jesus into your life please go to this link now to do so: http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130 .
Jesus is calling you to live a life that matters.