End of the month. End of the quarter.
What do I have to show for myself? Well the business hasn’t started yet, but will begin very soon.
Mom’s thing is still being addressed, and we’re still praying for favor. I’m also thankful because she waits on the Lord, and she renews her strength; And that as she believes, so by the stripes inflicted upon Christ, so she is healed. All according to the Word.
The prayer meetings have been more productive in that we’re getting more real-time updates from our folks, and we’re getting fresh revelations from their perspective. So far, what’s stood out is how the theme of trusting in the Lord has stuck to a majority of them for the past, oh, 6 weeks straight. The ‘streak’ was recently broken, but I believe trusting God continues to be an underlying theme for us.
Speaking of themes, we’ve done very well in encouraging the congregation that this year, we’re bearing much tasty, natural, and organic fruit. We’ve emphasized the role of the Word and the role of the Holy Spirit – We abide in Christ by meditating on His Word, and we bear fruit in season.
We recognize that while Christ produces the fruit, and we bear it, it’s the Holy Spirit that we work with, that love, peace, patience, joy, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness and/or self-control is in full display and partaken of, no matter if we encounter mountains or valleys, no matter what the situation or circumstance may be.
Gas prices have been up as of late, and we’ve adjusted here at home – well, I’ve adjusted, at least – by not doing more than one trip out per day (that is, if I go out, I stay out until everything that can be done in town is done, because once I go back home, I’m not taking the car out again), and commuting for any other trips.
We saw a small increase in price of LPG tanks during our last purchase. I’m still figuring out where to get the capital to make our house more solar powered and less oil-dependent.
With that being said, I’ve been looking for part-time online jobs recently. Savings are almost out. I’m barely making enough out of my church allowance (bless my congregation, I’m so thankful for them) to pay for utilities and city services.
I’m sharing this end of all that’s going on but I’m not leaving it at that – see, there’s the awareness that I shouldn’t be sharing any of this for the world to see, and let my results speak for themselves… but, well, there are more results to show and share.
In spite of the risks, I share all of this to emphasize that there is still peace. Joy abounds. We continue to be faithful through it all – actually, we’re more encouraged now more than ever, because it’s in setbacks where we see the faithfulness of God.
God be praised, I’m recognizing His kindness, which causes me to be more kind and considerate with everyone I encounter – yes, even my beloved co-motorists, in spite of them cutting me off, not respecting zipper-lanes, switching their signal lights at the very last 1/500th of a second before actually making a turn… KNOWING that they may be going through their own trials, and enthusiastically (read: not sarcastically) speaking all the blessings of heaven and earth upon them.
Ahem. Sorry, I got sidetracked there…. Fruit abounds, folks! Sin abounds, but grace abounds all the more! The light continues to shine and shines ever brighter even in the increasing darkness, just as the Truth just stands out all the more no matter how deception and distraction tries to take a hold of us.
Fruit abounds! Out of sorrow, shame and setbacks, we are bearing much fruit!
I suppose there’s much more to say about this quarter, but I’ll leave it at that, for now.
Thank You, Father, for the reading of Your Word.
Psalm 59
The Assured Judgment of the Wicked
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.
First off, here’s an example or a perspective of a proper response to threat. This was when King Saul gave in to his insecurity and began to openly attempt to kill David, who he now saw as a threat to his leadership and his throne.
Imagining this situation happening here and now, as I write inside my house – I’d probably ensure the safety of the rest of my household, before making necessary security measures, just so I’m ready when they make a move…
…but I guess there’s always a waiting game. In preparation, and as we wait, well, we would do well to dwell in the presence of the Lord, and keep His Word, going as far as to make a composition with all in our minds.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For look, they lie in wait for my life; The mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD.
4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.
Awake to help me, and behold!
5 You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors.
Selah
6 At evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city.
7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth; Swords are in their lips; For they say, “Who hears?”
8 But You, O LORD, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the nations in derision.
9 I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense.
10 My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.
11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget; Scatter them by Your power, And bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, That they may not be; And let them know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth.
Selah
And there it is. I promise you, I didn’t read this Psalm before I typed whatever I did as an introduction. If you notice the pattern here, David shared in detail about the threat to his life, but he always ends with asking the Lord for help, always ends with declaring that the Lord is good.
Point is, we’re always going to go back to Him. No matter how ‘far gone’ we may see ourselves, the Word remains in our hearts, and the Spirit always leads us back – and it’s not that we went any distance away from God – He’s been faithfully with us all along.
David writes of the men waiting to take him down, but then he writes for help from the God of hosts, the God of Israel.
He writes of their brashness and arrogance, but then he says that he waits on the Lord, his strength and defense; Pausing before going further, asking our God of mercy not to kill them, but to scatter them, and to consume them – that they may know who God is.
14 And at evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city.
15 They wander up and down for food, And howl if they are not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.
Folks, if there’s anything I’m brought to emphasize today, or at least at this moment, it’s that bearing fruit isn’t as complicated. Sure, there’s fruit to bear in seasons, but as we see here, in more immediate and urgent moments, Christ produces fruit through us as well.
Love was produced as David asked God to spare the lives of these men who were sent to kill him.
Self-control, peace and joy were produced as David always brought to back to God, after being real about the situation that he was in.
I recognized the same fruits as I went into detail about all that we’ve gone through this quarter.
…And that’s another thing. Fruit isn’t just seen at the end of situations and circumstances, they’re also produced and we bear them also while things progress – for better or for worse.
I suppose this all serves as a reminder that no matter what we have on our plates, no matter what we’re going through, we are connected to Christ, the Vine. Sure, God is watching us from a distance, but He also our Vinedresser who is just as present with us, here and now, as close to us as He could ever be – bringing us from glory to glory, lifting us up, cleansing us with His Word as necessary.
End of the month. End of the quarter. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and is always with us, ministering to us by way of conviction, reminding us to stay focused on Christ, the living Word.
Let us therefore take heart, and stand secure.
Let us continue to be brought back to rejoicing, even in pain. Let us give thanks, even in confusion.
Let us keep praying – taking in the Word and speaking the Word without ceasing.
God is our defense, God is our God of mercy.
Amen.
125645/365000
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment