Engraved Hands

Behold, I have inscribed you on
the palms of My hands; your walls
are continually before me.
Isaiah 49:16 (NASV)

In the above verse, God was speaking to to a concerned people who were about to be taken into captivity. Although this event was inevitable, God wanted His people to have His assurance that they would not be forgotten by Him no matter where they went or in whatever dire circumstances they found themselves. His promise to the people of Jerusalem was so in depth, He promised to engrave them on the palms of His hands. Just seeing the walls of that city so precious to Him would be a reminder of His love for that city and it's people.

All of us have seen things that are engraved. Engraving means to deeply impress into something or to carve into something. If we want to be a little sober, we have all seen grave stones, all of which have engravings of some sort. Such markers used to all be gray in color but now can be black and light burgundy. They've become more decorative than before. However they are done, the engravings are deep enough into the stone to never wear off.

Some couples choose to have certain things engraved into their wedding rings...dates, Bible verses or brief words of endearment. Other types of jewelry may have engravings on them...watches, lockets, baby gifts and wedding items.

There are people in our day, who for their own reasons, choose to have tattoos applied to their skin in various of areas of their bodies. The Bible speaks against it in the Old Testament, but it's almost become a fad. We are told that a tattoo is next to impossible to have removed. It can be done, but usually with great scarring resulting. So in a sense, even the scarring will be a reminder to a person of what was once present.

No matter the items, engravings are meant to inform (send a message), meant to last and meant to remind. As I type, I look at the back of my right hand and see an almost y-shaped scar. I remember the day my hand was injured by the front paw of a very loveable dog. I was making a home visit as casemanager to a foster home. Their big dog greeted me with a stand-up greeting with paws on my shoulders. When reprimanded by the lady of the house, the dog slid down to the floor but in the process, his left front paw tore deep scratches into the back of my right hand. My hand began to protest in red, if you know what I mean. I went to a sink, washed it and then dried it with some pressure with paper towels. The foster mom retrieved the medical gear she was required to keep in the home and doctored my hand. For weeks, the back of my hand was an ugly and sore reminder of what happened that day. As time passed though, when healing had taken place, I still had and have to this day a reminder of that day and of that loveable dog who greeted me that day with great doggie exuberance.

When I look at the scar on my hand, I think of God's engraving the people and city of Jerusalem on the palms of His hands. He didn't need a reminder of them as He would never forget them as He never forgets us. For God, it was a loving gesture. Many folks who tattoo their bodies, do so out of wanting a lasting and loving tribute to someone...a parent, spouse or child. When the people of Jerusalem were taken into captivity, it could echo in their ears when God said, “Look, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand.” Their captivity was inevitable, but so was the love and presence of God.

Two things cross my mind at this point. Any kind of engraving or “skin art” are both permanent. To try to remove them only creates a mess. God has chosen to permanently engrave His people on the palms of His hands. Thus, He considers our relationship with Him to be as permanent as possible. I'm also reminded that such a thing should indicate for me personally that I'm a part of a great relationship with God beyond explaining or even at times understanding.

The main thing we must not forget is that Jesus also bears marks on his hands...scars. His scars are a result of what He did for us on the cross. Jesus doesn't have to be reminded of what He did for us that day. However, those scars should remind us of His love and provision for a wonderful relationship with Him while on this earth as well as the surety of a home in Heaven when at the end of life, when we step out into Eternity. We are a blessed people.

Thank You Father, for loving me so much. You wear me on your hands as a new parent bearing baby pictures for the world to see. You love me so much more than any new parent, close friend or favorite pet. Thank You for being You. I love You so much...In Jesus name...Amen

The Folly of Boasting

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise
man boast in his wisdom, let not
the mighty man boast in his might, let
not the rich man boast in his riches,
but let him who boasts boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me,
that I am the Lord who practices
steadfast love, justice, and righteousness
in the earth. For in these things I delight,
declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 9:23,24 (NASV)

BOASTING: excessive pride and self satisfaction about ones achievements, possessions or abilities and making those things known to anyone who will listen ad nauseum.

When young, even in my teen days, I can't say I ever heard the word “boasting” very much. The word we often used was the word “bragging.” Somehow, “boasting” sounds so pompous. Even back then, there were those in high school and college who didn't hesitate to brag about possessions, family backgrounds, accomplishments of various sorts or even their own good looks. (By the way, attend a high school class reunion and you'll find when it comes to bragging, nothing has changed with the same people.) Much of that came as a result of immaturity, because we all did and said a lot of things in those days that stemmed from the fact that we just hadn't grown up yet.

Probably the bragging I've enjoyed most during the years is when proud grandparents pull out pictures of their grandchildren. I wish I had a dollar for every picture I've looked at and doted on along with friends of children or grandchildren. Most of us have been there. We've also endured the vacation pictures of other folks who had the privilege of going places we only dreamed of. For me, they are usually fun to see.

My first week in a Christian college was an eye-opener in many respects. One of the main reasons for that was that I was in a new environment where there was more emphasis on the things of God than I had ever known. It was (and for all I know, still is) a very caring and friendly place. I loved it from the very beginning. However, I soon learned that there were those beyond the freshman year who didn't hide the fact that they were working very hard to appear to we Freshmen to be the Christian leaders of the campus. As it turned out, some were and some weren't.

We “newbies” were cautioned about one young man, a sophomore, always with a huge Bible under his arm, doing all he could to amass his own group of followers. The main way he won some naïve ones was through his bragging tactics. He didn't hesitate telling people how well he knew the Bible, how far he had come in the Christian life, how he had a high percentage of answers to prayer, etc. Who wouldn't want to be around that person? After all, think of all we could learn being around someone like that. I think the only time in my life when I truly doubted my salvation was after being around that young man for a time. I fortunately felt very led to find other means of spiritual influence in my life. That guy appeared to be a spiritual icon, at least in his own eyes. In the process, some of us felt put down and inferior both of which can cause a certain amount of doubts about things in general.

The people of Jeremiah's day were greatly disturbed when Jeremiah prophesied the coming siege of their city. The people thought they had so much going for them that surely the destruction of their city was impossible...just couldn't happen. They were quick to mention their wisdom, riches, and physical strength that would be a means of defeating any enemy. It's interesting that in our country today, we have the same boastful attitude in thinking our country can't be touched by invasion. We tend to rely on the wisdom of the wise, the money, stocks, etc. of the wealthy, and our military might. We can boast of those things all we want, but God is more powerful than those things as well as over any enemy that would do us harm. Surely we have learned since 9/11 and other terrorist attacks that we are vulnerable. Our country has seen high unemployment, tragic weather events and negative events regarding the economy in general. For the most part, we have lost all bragging rights. We have strayed far from a loving God and He will not take second place in our lives or in our country.

If the people of Jeremiah's day thought the Lord would be impressed with all they had to offer in defense of themselves, He was quick to correct their attitudes. He stated He wanted the people to boast in Him and then God gave them a list. They were to boast in the fact that they understood and knew God. He wanted them to brag on the fact that as the Lord, He exercised loving kindness, judgment and righteousness toward them. God as much as said that if the people were going to boast, then boast in those things that delight Him. God desires the same of us. Lest we feel too secure in everything that surrounds us, we must take heed lest God visit our country as he did those boastful people in those former days.

When all is said and done, you and I have absolutely nothing in this world of which to boast. God wants us to be happy people just as we as parents want our children to be happy. We know though that we won't always be happy people. Events in our lives won't always contribute to feel-good emotions. However, we can find our joy in the fact that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) Every single thing we have been given and own, even the very breath we breathe is from God Himself. Good health, job, precious children, roof over our heads, there is nothing we have that can be separated from His generosity in our lives. We have nothing to boast of when our Heavenly Father has seen to our every need, and often to our many wants and desires. It is all of Him...we cannot boast. The first words from our mouths should be words of praise for God's goodness to us in every facet of our lives.

So God says through Jeremiah that we can boast in our relationship with God and the privilege of knowing Him. We can also boast in God's practice of love, justice and righteousness in our lives. Most bragging focuses on self...how about we do a whole lot of boasting in God, in our Saviour Jesus and in the Holy Spirit who indwells, teaches and leads us every moment of every day.

Dear Father, You are too wonderful to be described. There is no way we can list every goodness You bring into our lives. Above all is Your gift of Jesus who is our Way, Truth and Life. Thank You Holy Spirit for your presence and leadership in our lives. Father, we praise You in these moments for You being Who You are every moment of every day.. In Jesus precious name....Amen

Going A Little Beyond

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the LORD your God is with you wherever
you go.
Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

There's a small bookmark sitting here on the arm of my chair that I have made for the ladies who are in the Bible study I lead on Sunday evenings. I will give them out at our Sunday session, but for today, I sit looking at it. On one side is a lovely mountain picture, while on the back is typed just what you read above...the title and the verse.

In our Bible study we are looking at the life of Peter before we dig into the study of his two epistles. In our study of Jesus' latter days on earth as we are viewing the four Gospels, we are about to go into the garden with Jesus and His disciples. The dynamic there is interesting, and yes, instructive for us.

After Jesus' Passover meal with His group of disciples and with Judas having been dismissed to go finalize his betrayal plans, the group walked to the garden of Gethsemane. Just inside the garden, He asked His disciples to sit down and wait with Him while He went to pray. From that group, He asked Peter, James and John to go further into the garden with Him. By now, the other disciples would not have thought this to be unusual. For some time, that group of three had become Jesus' inner circle with Peter, he probably being Jesus' best earthly friend.

In that moment as that special trio of men sat down, Jesus asked something very simple of them. He wanted them to watch and pray with Him. However, Jesus didn't stay with them. My Bible translation says that then, Jesus went beyond them. Here was one of the most devastating times of Jesus' life. The time had arrived when he would be given over to blood thirsty soldiers. He knew from Eternity that this time would come. The evil of it all became more and more evident as He walked on the earth, growing up and then ministering to the sinful, flesh-and-blood people He had come to die for. Jesus was about to walk beyond the group...alone.

There are times in our lives when we, too, must walk beyond the group, be that group family or friends. When we face very difficult times in our lives, we usually want the company of friends and family. How many of us would go to a hospital for surgery minus any other human being at our side. Little children on their first day of school want their mothers to at least walk them to the door of the school or better yet, to their classrooms. Still, at times, we are asked to go beyond...alone. Even when one has surgery, the waiting room may be filled with lots of friends, but at the last, someone we don't know wheels us into the surgical suite where no one familiar can go. The child going to first day of school, still has to go into that classroom and take a seat with no parent around.

All of us at one time or another will be called upon to “go a little beyond” and to do it completely alone, humanly speaking. When called upon to go through those times, what do we do other than lose sleep or appetite? Such times can cause one to be weepy, become grouchy or even make foolish decisions that will be regretted later. All of those things can be very normal reactions for some, but hopefully not all at once. So, when life calls on us to go beyond and alone, what are some things that will aid us in this process.?

For those of us who are born-again Christians, our initial responses should be spiritual ones. We must realize that although at the time we are without other human contact, Jesus never leaves us. In fact, the Holy Spirit in us feels every breath we breathe or tear we shed. He's as aware of our physical pain or emotional stress even more than we are. It's hard for us to wrap ourselves around the fact that there is Anyone who knows us that intimately, but it's a fact backed by the promises of Scripture.

Scripture will be a comfort to us IF we know anything about it. It's hard to claim promises from anyone, let alone our Heavenly Father if we don't know what they are. Our Bible study group is going to be going into a study of Peter's epistles. Together, the two epistles makes up only 8 chapters. Peter through the Holy Spirit had at least one major purpose in it's writing...that being the preparation for and comfort during suffering. Christians of that day were already in various stages of persecution by the Roman government. Christians had scattered to various parts of the known world. Wherever they were, Peter wrote to them to encourage them in the hardest of times. His words would come to be life preservers for those, who although living in groups, were still walking beyond and alone. So Scripture is a major source of blessing in those “beyond” times.

Prayer is such a powerful thing and yet, we almost ask in an apologetic way for the prayers of others. When a friend is in deep crisis, I've often felt guilty telling the person that I will be praying. At the moment, it seems like so little compared to what the friend is enduring. It seems like there should be so much more to do for that friend. Think about it...I can call on the Greatest Healer with the Greatest power ever known to come to the aid of my friend. As a friend of mine used to say, “That ain't chump change.”

You and I can also learn to practice the presence of God in our lives. How many hours a day do we go without giving God a thought and the fact that He is with us through the thick and thin of life on a 24/7 basis. I love that verse in our beginning from Joshua 1 but I have to wonder about myself at times if I really believe that verse. He is present in the difficult times but also during the everyday comings and goings of our lives. He's interested in everything about your life and mine just as we were with our own children when they were very young.

We must also do all we can to keep spiritual influences flowing in our lives especially with Christian people. We need Godly influence in our activities, the churches we attend, the things we read and the friends we have. We can't have all of these things at all times to be encouragements in our lives, but I'm afraid we don't even think about the importance of trying.

So here I sit with my little bookmark. I have told Bible study ladies in the past that the teacher or preacher of God's Word will often be tested on their own teaching. I hope my little bookmark will be an encouragement for them, but for right now, it's me who is reading the back of mine for personal reasons. Last week I learned I have an eye condition that will probably require injections into my left eye. If done, it will be out of necessity and today's appointment will reveal what's to be done. In my humanity, do I feel somewhat fearful and dismayed....yep! However, I'm reading the rest of the verse that as I “go a little beyond” leaving everyone or everything familiar outside, I know I never go alone for the LORD my God goes with me.

Thank You Father, for Your presence in my life whether it be at home, in a doctor's office or at the grocery store. Your interest in me is beyond expression and I pray I will never take it for granted. In Jesus' precious name....Amen

Love, Practically Speaking

And now abideth faith, hope, and
love, these three; but the greatest
of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13

With whatever spiritual maturity I have come to, one thing I have learned is that I Corinthians chapter 13 does not stand alone. In fact, it is nestled between two chapters that teach much about spiritual gifts. This chapter is read at a majority of weddings and there is nothing wrong with that. When viewing it through the prism of the spiritual gifts, this precious chapter can take on a much deeper meaning as we read it. The subject was important enough for the Holy Spirit to address it. In our Scripture it stands alone as a chapter and interestingly, as well as it being I Corinthians 13 in our Bibles, it has also been broken down into 13 verses.

Going through several things in an old box today, I came across a folder of articles I wrote about 35 years ago for a ladies magazine. One particular article was stuck between a couple of other articles and know it wasn't published at the time. Some of it may sound dated, but one day, I sat down, probably some time in 1979, and wrote out I Corinthians13 applying it to my life at the time. Can't help but share it with you. You may get a chuckle every now and then and that's okay or you may find yourself being critical. You might even be able to find yourself in some of the wording. Keep in mind, I had very young children at the time, one of which was still not in school.

I CORINTHIANS 13 (to me)

1. Even though I have a good gift of “gab” or can speak before hundreds of ladies, if I don't do so in love, what I've said will echo no longer than the sound of a spoon landing in the sink or two pot lids being banged together.

2. And even though I have a pretty good amount of common sense and a good head on my shoulders and am a fairly understanding person, and have faith in God's ability to work miracles in my life – without love, I'm a big zero.

3. And if I'm generous and give the last piece of meat from my freezer to a widow lady in my church, and though I'd give my life for what is right – without love, I would be doing it all for show.

4. Love suffers through late-night fevers and chicken pox, but comes through with a smile and sweet spirit; love doesn't care about Mrs. Brown's new house, furniture and wardrobe; love doesn't flaunt one's own possessions or abilities, doesn't over-rate her standing in the human race.

5. Love doesn't act in an inappropriate way for the occasion, doesn't seek to push herself into the presidency of the Women's Missionary Society, is rarely offended, and always thinks the best of everyone, giving all the benefit of the doubt.

6. She doesn't enjoy and “chew” on reports of sin and evil among friends and acquaintances, but is thrilled with reports of good – a soul won, a verse memorized, a friend's spiritual growth.

7. Love can take anything, shoulder all belief and hope, and can endure when a husband misunderstands, child errs, or financial disaster hits. Love can take it all in stride.

8. Love's always unfailingly present. Prophecies, language, knowledge and education are only temporary things; they'll ebb and vanish eventually.

9. We can never know all there is to know anyway.

10. But when Jesus comes, then all our wisdom and “smarts” will seem as nothing, for His knowledge is entire and complete.

11. When I was a little girl, I talked baby talk and understood my friends well, but not big people. I figured things out like a little girl. But when I grew up to be a woman, I put my dolls and story books away. I lost interest in mud pies and dressing up in my mother's sheer curtains and high heels.

12. Someday, all will be made very clear to me through the perfect light of God's love and I'll know as much about me then as He knows about me now.

13. So here you have three of the greatest emotions and gifts ever given to us by God – faith, hope and love – but love tops them all! It's the icing on the cake!!!

Thank You Father for being the love of my life. I know I don't have an ounce of love to give anyone except it come from You through me. Give me more love for others and more love for You as well. Thank You Jesus, for personifying love for us all. In Your precious name...Amen!