“Intreat me not to leave thee,

or to return from following after thee:

for whither thou goest, I will go;

and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:

thy people shall be my people,

and thy God my God:

Where thou diest, will I die,

and there will I be buried:

the LORD do so to me,

and more also,

if ought but death part thee and me”.

(Ruth 1:16-17)

 

And so promised Ruth, a young Moabite widow, born from a people established through incest—to Naomi, her widowed and bitterly disappointed-by-life mother-in-law.

With this poetic declaration, Ruth set herself apart from her own idol worshipping people, and moved into an amazing historical position…the direct lineage of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Ruth couldn’t have known the eternal significance of the choice she made on the road leading to Judah. But at the core of her promise were the words that would define the rest of her life:

…and thy God will be my God…

And the daily defining prayer of my heart:

 

You are my God,

and I will praise you;

you are my God,

and I will exalt you.

Psalm 118:28

 

 

 

(bold/italics mine)

 

In those days…

all the people

did whatever seemed right

in their own eyes.

       Judges 17:6

 

Not a great rule of thumb for folks born with a sin nature and in need of grace.

Now turn the page to chapter 19. Or not. I’d have been tempted to leave this entire sordid mess of sexual violence and dismemberment out. Or at least give it a NC-17 rating so the unsuspecting reader doesn’t just stumble into it. But this pitiful story of the unnamed man, woman, father, old man and virgin daughter is merely a sequence in the bigger story.

So after they’d done what seemed right in their own eyes…

 

Everyone who saw it said,

   “Such a horrible crime

       has not been committed

         in all the time since Israel left Egypt.

Think about it!

   What are we going to do?

       Who’s going to speak up”?

                  Judges 19:30

 

Indeed.

My God is crystal clear on sin. He doesn’t sugarcoat it or the eventual outcomes of a life lived without him. And I praise him for that because when the stakes are high, and the outcomes eternal, I want the complete, unvarnished, and straight up truth.

 

 

The LORD said to Gideon,

“You have too many warriors with you.

If I let all of you fight the Midianites,

the Israelites will boast to me

that they saved themselves

by their own strength.

Judges 7:2

 

And with that, God introduced Gideon to a new concept:

Less, with God, always equals more.

Then he reduced Gideon’s army from 32,000 warriors to 300 soldiers and sent them to fight an army with soldiers clustered like a locust swarm and too many camels to count.

That night, using only blazing torches, horns and shouts, Gideon’s 300 soldiers simply stood in position around the enemy camp and the LORD caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords.

I stand in awe that the Spirit of this living LORD and Ancient of Days actually waited to be personally invited, by me, to dwell within me.

 

The angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon in the book of Judges and very plainly said,…The. LORD. Is. With. You.

And Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?”

Poor Gideon. He wanted to understand the “if’s” and “why’s” and “where’s” so badly that he didn’t understand the LORD was standing right in front of him saying…The. LORD. Is. With. You.

Poor me.

I do believe the LORD heard and understood both questions Gideon asked. I really do. But you wouldn’t know it from the LORD’s response.

Because then the LORD turned to Gideon and said, “Go with the strength you have … I am sending you!”

None of Gideon’s questions were even acknowledged. But the LORD’s supernaturally charged plan to totally reverse Gideon’s situation was ready to be implemented.

He just needed to listen and get up and go.

What else could I possibly need? The LORD is with me and I can go in the strength I already have because he is sending me.

‘Nuff said. Time to go.

(Judges 6:11-14)

(all italics/bold mine)

 

…Search for peace,

and work to maintain it.

The eyes of the Lord

watch over those who do right,

and his ears are open to their prayers.

1 Peter 3:11-12

 

Before I pray, I try to take a moment to visualize walking through the open door of God’s throne room with Jesus right beside me. His arm is around my shoulders and he says, “Father, she’s mine”.  And then they listen to my heart.

I often tell the Lord that I don’t want to waste his time or mine by praying ineffectively. I want his ears to be open to my prayers. So I ask him to change me, to cleanse my heart and remove anything in me that would hinder him from being able to respond.

And then, standing in the presence of the Creator of the universe, I pray.

 

 

…pay close attention

to what they wrote, (the OT prophets)

for their words are like a lamp

shining in a dark place—

until the Day dawns,

and Christ the Morning Star

shines in your hearts.

2 Peter 1:19

 

I love the Old Testament readings where my invisible God shows up with trumpet blasts or fire raining down from heaven or in the embodiment of the angel of God.

But his special chosen people kept choosing to leave this incredible Being for gods made of wood and stone. And God consistently respected their choices, but would also withdraw his blessings.

Then eventually they’d get the message and cry out for mercy. And he would always respond—many times by raising up a prophet who would lead them to victory.

Their stories make me rejoice that I live my life redeemed in the light coming from this side of the cross.

Blessings of attentiveness,

Jan

 

 

And again David asked the LORD what to do.

“Do not attack them straight on,” the LORD replied.

“Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar

          trees.

When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar

          trees, be on the alert!

That will be the signal that the LORD is moving ahead of you…”

          (2 Samuel 5:23-24)

Rustling leaves and snapping twigs…cracking branches and splitting trunks…flashing lightning and booming thunder? My imagination races around ahead of me trying to hear that soundtrack.

I love these out-of-this-world illustrations God shares with me to teach me about his unlimited strategy and grace. And my heart swells to know that, even though I’m bogged down in Saturday time, he’s totally unfettered and has his army out there marching ahead of me.

 

My bees arrived unannounced last Saturday afternoon.

Evidently the overnight rainstorm encouraged them to rearrange themselves.

Austin is wondering exactly how Uncle Bubba talked him into this. 

A girl in polka-dot farm boots called to say, “Mama Jan, we’re coming to catch those bees”.

A little sugar water is supposed to make bees happy.

6:30 is pretty early for bee catching.

Austin had never fancied himself as a bee catcher.

Slow is good.

Camera man ready.

Sugar cookies are good when you’re catching bees.

Okay. Okay. Okay.

Here comes a scary part.

Clipping off the little branches.

Considering the big branch.

Still considering.

Done considering!

Somebody’s gotta do this.

GO AUSTIN! Put those bees in the box!

See Austin run. Austin runs fast. Go Austin go.

Some bee catchers listen to Joe Scruggs CD’s while they wait for honey.

Now then…

So…

Austin is being ex*em*pla*ry (ig-zem’pl.-re)

Bee box filled.

Gotta find our queen.

Austin’s choosing a different career.

Helping those little critters into their new home.

Noisy. Noisy. Noisy.

Queenie?  Where are you?

Her Majesty, the Queen Bee.

Scoot em on in there.

Mama Jan loves honey.

Sweet little honey bee crawling on my neck.

The end of our beeing morning. And all of God’s creatures are special.

 

Late last night reading in the Old Testament book of Joshua, I was struck by God’s precision and intentionality when he laid out the boundary lines to divide his Promised Land. I smiled when I read verse 19:23 “the boundary ran…from the oak at Zaanannim”. Sounded to my ears like down-home directions given by someone who has lived someplace for many years. It’s almost like the “just turn left by the old red barn that was torn down 10 yrs ago” kind of directive that can only come from familiarity.

And God the Creator’s words to me are based on familiarity and bring intimacy to our relationship. But the depth of our relationship is much deeper on his side because he knew me before I knew him. He’s actually told me that he knew me before he laid out the foundations of the earth…such amazing unfathomable intentionality.

So I wonder…what would my daily world look like, if I practiced his directives intentionally?

I’m trying this one today… 

                     Give all of your worries and cares to God, 

                            for he cares about you.

                                       1 Peter 5:7

 Blessings of releasing

Joshua (the Israelite leader who moved into Moses’ position following his death) prayed:

      “’Let the sun stand still over Gibeon,

                and the moon over the valley of Aijalon’

So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies…

The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. 

There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the LORD answered such a prayer.”         Joshua 10:12-14

                          

My heart soars to know that the LORD God, this incredible amazing Being of power, is the same Father God I speak with daily. And I am so incredibly grateful that my children also walk with him.