Remembering is helpful to a point. When it brings to light those who have served faithfully as parents, grandparents and great grandparents, we rejoice. When it brings us down and we can’t move forward, it is better to “pray through it” (like the Psalmist) or at times simply leave it behind.

The Psalmist (Sons of Korah) struggled with being physically removed from that which meant most to them. The songs of ascent (Psalms 120-134) referred to here were normally sung on the way to worship together as a community in Jerusalem. Yet, this description shows the Psalmist is in a very dry place (spiritually, like a famine). It appears the cause for the famine was a result of being physically displaced and much farther north in the country of Israel near the great Mount Hermon (described as Mt. Mizar- insignificant and small in comparison to the greatness of God’s presence -Kidner, p. 166). The Psalmist was separated from his spiritual community.

I was touched this week by the life and death of a beautiful saint from our home church in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Shirley Salo). Remembering when we lived near her family, I am filled with good thoughts of a time period when our lives revolved around a vibrant church community. As a child, all the adults (particularly Shirley) knew who I was (not something the children of the megachurches today can say). This makes me grateful and yet sad for my grandchildren.

Wherever we may be physically, God is near us. Nevertheless, no matter how beautiful the physical surroundings, our hearts can be even more irrestably drawn to a place in our memory where we once felt a sense of belonging.

His greatness breaks through the clouds of our doubt. His refreshment successfully satisfies us through memories or simply by moving on and seeing what we have learned through our history that will serve to nourish our future generations.

Even when others don’t “see” us or don’t seem to care, God’s presence is astounding. He is not only a rock but He is our salvation!- Teresa #hopeforfuturegenerations #fellowshipcanbe2ormoregatheredinHISname

Psalm 42:1-11 (ESV)

42 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?^[b]
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation^{[c] 6} and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
⁸ By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
⁹ I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰ As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

1. Derek Kidner, An Introduction and Commentary Psalms 1-72 (London: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 165-168.

One thing I realized about myself was that as much as I have a “Finnish” heritage and pride of “Sisu”, I crumble pretty fast when lies start to cloud my vision.

During the time I spent with my small group this past season studying Head to Heart (see http://www.BecomingWhatGodIntended), God opened my eyes to the importance of trust. As Dr. Eckman teaches, when we trust God for even 5 minutes of the day everything looks brighter, helping us relax inside.

In the past, I did not see my heart as one where the birds devoured the Sower’s seed. Now, I see it and repent of my lack of faith -do I not trust what God says about me more than what “Satan” lies about me? There are certain challenges where I’m full of faith (resources, giving to others) but one place that hits me hard and fast is to be maligned or shown aggression from someone I felt to be my friend or loved one.

If my competetive conflict style has a chance to kick in, then I’m pretty sure that I fully forget God’s truths planted in the soil of my heart. “I am a dearly loved daughter” becomes “you will know why that was wrong in no uncertain terms because you just messed with the wrong person”. Precious Moments Teresa becomes Godzilla’s team temper Teresa!

Why? I start to believe the lie instead of trust the truth about who I am. Sure it hurts when someone I admired or respected takes a sucker punch at me, but I’m determined to toughen up at the “get go”. Breastplate of righteousness means their words or false accusations cannot permeate the righteousness of Christ’s work in my heart. In other words, let me check the primary source FIRST. Dear heavenly Father, is this from you? When delivered outside of love, I know it is not!

In that case, consider the secondary source of attack and who they may be influenced by. Don’t let the birds devour God’s Word meant for you. Instead, allow the seeds of His Word to go down deep and bring healing and wholeness. – Teresa #goodsoil #expectaharvest #trustandobey

Mark 4: 1-20 (ESV)

4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.² And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸ And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”⁹ And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, ¹² so that

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.^[b]18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

When I watched the epic film, The Passion of the Christ (for the first time in 2004), I was overwhelmed with emotion. The line where Jesus tells Mary He is “making all things new” was strategically placed after He endured the scourging and mocking, and was being humiliated on the Via Dolorosa.

It made me realize how capable Jesus Christ the LORD was (is), to literally take on the penalty of sin’s curse for mankind (and continually intercede for us).

The moment in the film when my tears (more like sobs) started and would not stop was at the very end. The teardrop portrayed the Father’s grief, and made me remember that His most precious Son not only endured tremendous suffering but did it willingly for the sake of mankind.

Such love, such tenderness, such compassion from our Creator caused a ripple effect of love into my individual life. #sinoftheworld #debtpaid

I repented over and over telling God that I would no longer see my own “righteous works” as anything significant, it was only HIS provision that mattered and faith in Christ’s finished work. -Teresa

#madenew #fulltimeministrymeans #livingfullyinHISgrace

Revelation 21:5,6 (NIV).

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without costfrom the spring of the water of life.

Matthew 27:24-31 (ESV)

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood;^[a] see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged^[b] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters,^[c] and they gathered the whole battalion^[d] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”³⁰ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

God’s voice thunders and as I respond and recognize His role, I am confounded by His strength and His peace.

Has the voice of social media become so loud, clamoring for my attention, that I forgot WHO is truly great? Has my pain driven me to the maker of my soul, helping me find His truth? #inplainview

My husband and I re-watched a movie this week, “The Impossible”. I was reminded of the force of nature found in the ocean waves, namely a tsunami wave.

God’s voice is powerful enough to be over many waters. As we cry “glory” to Him, He draws us to the safety net of His peace.

King David taught us how to remain humble by remembering the greatness of God. Without Him we are nothing. – Teresa “Indie Hymn”#listentoHisheartofpeace #paindrawsustoHim

Psalm 29English Standard Version

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

29 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,^[a]
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.^[b]

³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth^[c]
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
¹¹ May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless^[d] his people with peace!

Footnotes

1. Psalm 29:1 Hebrew sons of God, or sons of might
2. Psalm 29:2 Or in holy attire
3. Psalm 29:9 Revocalization yields makes the oaks to shake
4. Psalm 29:11 Or The Lord will give… The Lord will bless