Psalm 18:34 “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”

[Lord, you prepare your children on every level for what you know will come. We see this in how you put Joseph through training in Potiphar’s house, and then through serving others in prison, making him ready for being the Prime Minister of Egypt.

In the same way you are preparing us, equipping us, strengthening us through challenges and difficulties, getting us ready for the opportunities you are planning to give us.

I think of how you had me study Latin in high school and this prepared me for learning a difficult Asian language for ministry.

I think of how you had me working for years in the tire shop, learning how to manage both people and business, and how to deal with the public, preparing me for leading the field in the Middle East.

I think of how you had me marry late, giving me time to mature and giving me a fine German wife with a vision for reaching the world for Jesus and an understanding of other cultures, making transition to the Middle East easier and our work there more effective.

To you be glory for your wisdom, for your knowing what will come, for your faithfulness in preparing us, for your unfailing presence with us, for the fact we can praise you now for things we neither understand or like.

Whatever the darkness, He gives us light

Psalm 18:33 “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;”

[David had to be quick and sure of foot in his fleeing from King Saul, as well as in his battles. In our battles with the Satan and the people he uses against us, you, Lord Jesus, make it possible for us to run swiftly, surely and gracefully in your paths so that, in your strength, we can endure through whatever comes.

I think of a recent incident where I was excluded from an event; it was painful and I was angry. But you, Lord Jesus, helped me, bringing to mind Scripture: “Trust in the Lord and do good…delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:3-4).

So, I let go of my anger and hurt, held on to your commands and promises, and I was able to rise above my natural responses and to be gracious to those who excluded me. I was able to run gracefully in the paths of the Lord.

You helped me to “run with perseverance and patience the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1b,2). The credit for doing these things goes to you, Lord God, for you make our feet like that of a deer.]

from the internet

“God sightings” (seeing God intervene in our lives) are such a wonderful way to see the Lord’s careful and precise working for us. In Hebrews 12 it says, “Run with endurance the race that He has set out for us, looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.” Seeing the God sightings he has laid out for me increases my faith and gives me a basis to trust Him when  the next crisis comes. In the past couple of weeks there were a series of God sightings I’d like to share some with you to help you spot yours.

1. While using a 7 inch grinder to cut some metal, it kicked back and hit me in the face. The fast spinning cutting blade missed my head while the body slammed into my lips. Definite protection from the Lord! If the blade had it me, I’d be dead.
2. Later while working on an embankment, I lost my balance and slowly rolled down it, landing with a big thud. This was followed by growingly intense pain in my back. It felt like a broken rib. But by the next morning I could work almost normally, a miraculous recovery!
3. For some reason we didn’t know, our primary doctor sent Barbara to see a neurologist, but we went anyway. And he said he can potentially improve her balance and slow down her mental decline!
4. Our primary doctor, on our last visit, told me that the next time I need medical attention to call her office and talk with a nurse for help instead of going to the emergency room. Just the info I needed when the inside of my mouth where the grinder hit me was becoming more and more painful, to the point where it hurt too much to eat, I was concerned it was infected, so called, but no nurse answered.
5.  Then just when we arrived at the neurologist’s office for Barbara’s appointment, the nurse called and after a somewhat lengthy conversation, just before being called in to Barbara’s neurologist, gave me a 4:15 appointment!
6.  Our appointment with the neurologist ended at 3:55. We jumped in the car and zoomed three towns over to the other appointment, arriving 5 minutes late and I was taken right in.
7. The doctor said, “Good that you got here in time, 5 more minutes and I would have left!” She confirmed that I had an infection and prescribed me some antibiotics.
8. By the next morning I was much better, able to eat again without problem—God strikes again!

It is so easy to either not notice these or to think, “That was lucky,” or “Nice coincidence,” instead of giving God credit and glory for His careful, loving care in our lives. Look for God sightings in your life and use them to grow your faith and glorify God, which is the purpose of our lives!

Another Installment of Autobio, more on revival

The experience of dealing with specific sins, I found, was just the beginning of a revival, one which is continuing to this day. It is an upward trajectory which brings more freedom, more joy, more light, better relationships and more effectiveness in ministry and in life.

What has become clear to me is that there is a “vivacious cycle” which feeds this revival. It begins with intentionally nurturing my “first love” for Christ. I do this primarily through my personal worship time each morning. The best way for me is to write down my words of worship as I reflect each morning on a Psalm. I find this to be a transforming power in my spirit as well as my thoughts, will and emotions. And eventually these were put together into the devotional book “Edified.”

Along with journaling through my worship time is the practice of praising God in and for all things. To give thanks for what God has allowed when I don’t want to do so is an expression of faith in the character of God and a chance to give Him glory. As I do this consistently, I see how He works things out, showing His love, wisdom, power and grace. That stokes the fire of my “first love” even more.

Then, out of the increase of my first love, flows an ongoing revival. Seeing more of the holiness and greatness of God brings into stark relief another of my sins. I can then confess, repent and forsake this sin, and fight more effectively against it.

This is followed by the third factor in this “vivacious cycle”: having a worldview shift. We all have a natural worldview, which clashes in many ways with a biblical world view.

As I worship God, and move ahead in revival, I see more clearly in my Bible reading where my natural thoughts, understanding and desires oppose God’s ways. Then I can reject my wrong, natural thinking and shift over to God’s higher ways of thinking and acting.

This then leads to further worship, which fuels my revival, which leads to more worldview shifting, which leads to….. well, you get the idea.

This is a never-ending process of walking further and further into the freedom Jesus bought for us on the cross. His freedom gives us the ability to choose what is right, to follow Him, to walk in His light.

Psalm 18:30c, “He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”

[Here is another statement of the perfect partnership you desire with us, Lord: your powerful protection is predicated on our premeditated hiding in you. If we choose to rely on ourselves, refusing to flee to you, to seek your wisdom, to obey what we know to be true, to run in your Way–we place ourselves outside your shelter.

But if we run to you for help, thinking Truth, praying for guidance, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, submitting to your Wisdom–then you swing your shield of protection over us, keeping us safe from all true harm. “He who DWELLS in the shelter of the Most High will REST in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1). If we  don’t dwell there, we can’t rest in His protection.

How do we run to you? Primarily through four actions:  praise in all, praying in all, preemptively thinking your Word, and persistently obeying it.

It means taking seriously such statements as “I will boast all the more gladly in my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:9), and “…call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psa. 50:15).

It means implementing Philippians 4:6,7 “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God [our part]. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [shield] your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” [God’s part].

So, for example, when we are sick, taking refuge in you means our first move is to praise, thanking you for the situation, knowing you have allowed this for a reason; then asking for your help and healing. Then going to the doctor if necessary. This declares our dependence on you, gives you glory and opens the way for you to work through whatever means you choose to bring healing at the right time.

The opposite of this is seen in the life of King Asa: “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians” (2 Chron. 16:12). And he died in his illness. To flee to the wrong place can be deadly. So let us flee to God instead.

More on this to come on this tomorrow.