MY FATHER'S WORDS

Rain pelted us for days as the earth was watered by heaven's storehouses; the ground soaked up the needed refreshment even as the pavement was like a bounce house for raindrops. I wonder what is thirsty in our souls? In the dailiness of life we miss what brings us life. Jesus tells us He came, "That we might have life and have it  to the full." John 10:10 and yet we seem to pave over our souls with busyness and technology so that life-giving water cannot reach us. We leave our gadgets and social media lonely, confused, connected to the cloud, but not planted by a stream of living water. Psalm 1:3

As a  little girl my father called me, "sweat pea." What does your Father call you? Isaiah is full of the Father's words for us, like a rain shower of love from heaven, listen to Him calling:

~"I will sing for the one I love, a song about his vineyard." Isaiah 5:1

~"You are precious and honored in My sight and I love you... do not be afraid, for I am with you." Isaiah 43:4-5

~"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 54:10

~"Give ear and come to Me; hear Me , that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love." Isaiah 55:3

God pours His love into our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, yet we do not always hear His love.

Ask Him today, the Father to the fatherless, to open your heart to His love. It may be a downpour.

Feeling needy, parched, thirsty? Let the love of God saturate your very being.

"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water , and the parched ground into springs...so that people may see and know , may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it." Isaiah 41:17-18, 20

Medicine from Sacred Scripture:

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,

 that we might be called children of God."

1 John 3:1

SAFELY NESTLED IN

Just outside my sun room window the world of nature wakes to nurturing. The goslings have arrived in all their fluffy splendor and I marvel at how they follow. One set of parents seems to have it down pat but the other are circling their young in frantic hope of keeping them in line. I wonder if God looks at me this way? As my Abba Father, does He chase after me and try to reign in my wandering heart and wayward ways? 

He actually tells me He is my soul's shelter and refuge. "Show the wonder of your great love, You who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."  Psalm 17:7, 8 Sitting under Someone's wings isn't my strong suit, I would much rather fly the coop than stay sheltered somewhere until the storm or flurry has passed and I am safe.

"He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Psalm 91:4 

This closeness, where God's feathers touch me, is terrifying. I feel for the little birds who are sitting under the robin, she is on them day and night; so my Father in heaven is protecting me. The Lord, the God of Israel, is the One under whose wings I have come to take refuge; in distress or danger, I am kept safe.

Medicine from Sacred Scripture;

"You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." Exodus 19:4

PIES, PIETY AND PEACE

Pies, cookies, muffins, laundry, dishes, the list goes on and varies only slightly from day to day; yet the challenge remains. How can I live in this world and yet have a home for my heart? Life's demands deceive us into believing that we can find our satisfaction here and yet deep within we feel a nagging loneliness that echoes of eternity.

Discouraged, I wake to find the counters cluttered with leftovers and I wonder. How do we, "taste and see that the Lord is good," when the pace of life gives little time to seek the One who gave us life? I live in this world, amidst this tug and pull of need and desire. I need to clean the kitchen, make the breakfast, and yet my desire is to be nurtured and loved by God my Father.

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 

His voice washes over me like the tides of the sea, calling me to Himself. In the midst of my chaos: "I am your shield; I am your strength when you are afraid. I am your Abba Father; when you need anything ask Me. Do you need resources? I am here. Do you need guidance? Come to Me and I will show you the path of life. Let Me lead you on level ground. All I ask is that you rest, trust, believe and hope in Me alone. I am your peace."

God asks that I find my rest in Him. What does He ask of you?

Medicine from Sacred Writings:

"How long will your heart be fluttering about things present?"

 John Chrysostom Fourth Century

EASTER MONDAY

So many flowers, so many friends, such laughter and food and joy. Easter is longing fulfilled. We look on in the garden at His agony, lulled to sleep by our own weakness; we watch in the courtyard of our lives where we betray Jesus with our words; we stand at His trial shouting, "crucify Him," with our choices; we weep at the cross as He lays down His life for us.

 "I have come that you may have life and have it to the full. I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." John 10:10, 11

What He lays down we are asked to pick up: His life. "I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20  As we live these days of Easter may our lives be defined by Him: His love, His power, and His mercy. His very life is being lived in us as we place our faith in His saving power allowing His goodness and abundant mercy to inform our choices, our thoughts, our loving and living. We no longer live for ourselves, but for Him.

May we live Easter fully alive, awakened by His Divine love.

Medicine from Sacred Writings:

"Let us remain pasturing beneath this Shepherd...For we have a Shepherd who so loves us that He gave even His life for us. When therefore He is both powerful and loves us, what is there to hinder us from being saved?" 

John Chrysostom Fourth Century

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST SHED FOR YOU

"It is Finished"   Jesus in John 19:30

"I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt."  

The Lord to the Israelites Exodus 12:13

"The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." 

Hebrews 9:22

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Jesus to His Father Luke 23:34

"Let His blood be upon us and on our children."  

The crowd answering Pilate  Matthew 27:25

"How much more then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences... He has died as a ransom to set us free from sins ."

Hebrews 9:14-15

Medicine from Sacred Scriptures

SONG OF LENT

Waking in the stillness of the still dark day I hear a chorus of morning birds and feel the wild wind whpping across the pond. I am drawn by all the activity; the ice has melted and spring has come. As the days have melted into weeks and Lent has gone by us we stand in the middle of the drama of Holy Week.

 Mercy calls to us, "Come, taste and see that the Lord is good. Come, listen for my love as I walk into Jerusalem knowing I will die for you. Allow every step I take in love and obedience to inform your days." Could it be we are so caught up in the daily demands rather than in the One who created the day. Yet, underneath it all a song is being sung to our souls if we would stop and listen. It is the song of God's love for us.

I miss the meaning if I merely go through the motions; if I let the wind touch my face I am reminded there is One who made the wind, if I step into the story of Christ's Passion and find a love so this consuming it would take sin and destroy death, I am changed. 

Allow God to touch you as you walk these holy days

.

Medicine from Sacred Writing:

"If one says, "I have fasted the whole of Lent ," do you say, "I had an enemy but I was reconciled; I had a custom of evil-speaking, but I put a stop to it; I had a custom of swearing, but I have broken through this evil practice. It is of no advantage  to merchants, to have gone over a great extent of ocean, but to have sailed with a freight and much merchandise. The fast will profit us nothing if we pass through it as a mere matter of course without any benefit." 

John Chrysostom   Fourth Century

LENT'S OFFERING

Grace crashes over me, it is the only way for God to reach me. I come to Holy Week feet stumbling, pride crushed, afraid to raise my eyes to heaven for all that I have done and left undone, said and thought. God simply whispers, "I am your light and your salvation. I am the refuge of your life." Psalm 27:1

Allow My love to be a hedge around you, strengthening and giving you the grace you need to live and love. I come to the Father in my weakness, stand in His Presence and hide in His cloak. The weight of His mercy nearly breaks me as He draws near to me, even in my sin. He loves.

In this endless mercy my soul can hope. God asks me not to fear or be dismayed at my sin, for He is my God and He tells me He will strengthen me and help me, even holding me up with His righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 He comes gently, riding on a donkey, ridding me of my sin, taking it away and drawing me to His deep love found on the cross.

 I would look for a love less crushing, He would be broken for me.

Medicine from Sacred Scripture: 

"A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick 

He will not snuff  out." Isaiah 42:3