Stevemidkiff's Blog

This time element can get us out of focus.

Things like Waiting are a big deal

We see things going a certain destructive way

We don’t have the time for it

Wait on the Lord. That’s what prayer is about

Putting our times in His hands.

God is never in a hurry, but do we have the time for Him

He can never fail. Why would we want to get in His way?

What He has promised He says He’ll perform.

But waiting that’s a real trust issue

“Wait on the Lord … wait, I say, on the Lord.”

That was the one thing we can’t seem to do.

Or, we won’t do

Our failure to wait costs us

Waiting is a lifelong lesson.

And we desperately need to wait.

We try to wait but we fret,

We try to wait and we have fits,

We try to wait and We get fatalistic;

Nope, that’s not trusting prayer

We are to wait on the Lord. Give Him the time

1 Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!
many are they that rise up against me.
2 Many there be which say of my soul,
There is no help for him in God. Selah.
3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me;
my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
4 I cried unto the LORD with my voice,
and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked;
for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people,
that have set themselves against me round about.
7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD:
thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Psalms 3

GOD! Aren’t you paying attention?

Look! Enemies past counting!

Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,

Enemies reproducing like rabbits

Mobs of them all around me,

roaring their mockery:

Psalms 3:1 PARAPHRASED

I’ve been putting myself to sleep

thinking over psalms 3 lately

I memorized Psalms 3 years ago In the KJV

Now here I am

many litters of Rabbits have invaded our yard

I’m feeling a little over run. I see them everywhere

They are super cute as babies.

You pick them up & they squeak

I am a member of an online gardening site

Someone on this site told me I’ve invaded the rabbits land

And that I need to yield to the rabbits & give them space

They freak my little dog out. She has a fit

Granted my dog is a big neurotic.

She barks at bugs.

I even had someone write me about Washington law

The law protects Rabbits.

I can’t move them. I can’t do anything about them

So yes, many rabbits rise up against me

and they say; there is no help for me from God

But God says He’s my shield.

If the Rabbits are breaking through the shield

If there getting around the fencing

God says He’s my glory & He lifts my head up

Selah (breath) breath that calming air in

But the Rabbits say there’s no help for me in God

I water this big Hosta plant & 3 bunnies jump out

from under the plant with Hosta on their breath

So I cry unto God. I lift up my voice.

My dog screams too.

God hears me & her

Escargot is a dish consisting of cooked edible land snails.

They are often served as an hors d’oeuvre and consumed as a delicacy

You can buy canned escargot in any grocery store.

But they are slip sliding around in our garden like starving maniacs

I’ve read they really love bran flakes.

These slick gooey treasures will eat bran flakes until they explode.

Yuck

‪Don’t allow the luxury of despondency.

It’s dangerous. ‬

‪Depression drains the heart

Despair denies us impressions of grace. ‬

‪Disillusion magnifies & falsifies coloring to objects

Discouragement renders our burdens too heavy.

God’s designs are infinitely wise

Knowing Jesus as our Lord & Savior

is a song,
is an ecstasy,
is a feast,
is a revelry.

It is strong as the rock is strong,

it is as sweet as the honey is sweet.

F W Boreham

Father, we’re prone to complain.

We admit it.

Let us reflect Your joy

Allow us to exemplify Your beauty.

Fill us with Your grace,

Fill us with Your tenderness,

Fill us with Your light,

Fill us with Your truth.

Let Your energizing Spirit

live through us

Use us to lift up those around us.

As You break us through pressures,

let Your fragrance spill through us.

Selected

Where we’re devastatingly weak.

When we’re exhausted,

Where we’re broken down and fragile.

When we appear to have an incurable disability.

Where our thoughts are toxically tainted,

There fill our mind with your truth.

When our soul is cluttered in duplicity

Where we feel artificial treachery,

Then purge us with Your integrity.

When we’re twisted by inappropriate unfitting habits,

Make us trustworthy and reliable.

When we’re polluted in our own waste,

make us pure.

When we’re shamefully unattractive & horridly repulsive.

Fill us with Your loveliness.

When our reputation is warped in scandal,

Where we’re disgrace and discredited.

Give us Your new name.

Keep us from notorious atrocities.

Replace our inadequacies with Your virtues.

Take our shame & disgrace and replace it

With Your glory and praise.

In the name Jesus

It’s almost like Jesus prefers losers, cast-offs, and ne’er-do-wells.

Like He’s recruiting sinners, in fact.

God is prioritizing broken people from broken situations

to be His chosen emissaries to a broken world.

Which means that as weird & messy as our churches may be,

We are exactly suited to this weird & messy time we’ve found in our cultures.

Sure we’d all prefer to hang with cool people. You know hip type folks.

The churches now seem to predominantly want the young attractive look.

We want the cool name that sounds more progressive. (or at least, we think its cool).

We want newer hipper music.

We want a cool space to do cool things.

The traditional is out and the “old people” stuff, are you kidding

Will come on. That’s not the best face for growth strategy

Adapted from J. Wilson

“If we are not willing,

we confess that we are willing

to be made willing”

John 7:17

When we surrender full control
of our life & plans to Christ,
we discover God’s peace.

When we lose our lives for his sake,
we find Christ’s life instead.

Adapted from F B Meyer

As we try to learn to rest in Christ, we have to take life as He brings it to us.

Knowing who we are in Him, we gain confidence in our relationship with Jesus,

We can welcome others into our lives in whatever way He desires to bring them.

But what if that person hurts us? It will happen of course it will.

But we don’t have to feel like we’re somehow less,

We don’t have to feel as if we’re somehow unworthy,

Even though various individuals we allow near us will appear to attack us

They may say we’re lacking. They may harangue us as despicable

They may conjure up disparaging allegations

But if we have followed Jesus in the past into these relationships.

And if these discrediting individuals claim to have a good relationship with Christ

But reject us as shame-worthy and unfit.

We’re not diminished or impaired by their opinions about us.

Everything we are in Christ, we still are in Christ.

Everything we have in Christ, we still have in Christ

You see, our identity in Christ gives us strength & confidence in all human relationships.

The relationships of the past, present & future don’t alter who we are in our Lord

No one can take away from us what Christ has given us.

No criticism, no betrayal, no insult no outrage can lessen us.

We, trust Jesus. If He leads us to someone, He leads us to connect with that person,

We let God handle the results.

We Trust that Jesus will protect us & make the appropriate adjustments

God may teach us tolerance by putting us around the intolerable types

He may teach us love by allowing us to be around acrimonious scathing individuals

But when the rancorous types unleash their venomous vindictiveness give it to God

Adapted From a friend D. Orison