hidden no more

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt.
They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’
But the only swiftness you are going to see
is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!

A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill."

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
He's gathering strength to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for Him!

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. Cry for help and you'll find it's grace and more grace! As soon as He hears, He will answer you. Although the LORD gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!”

Then the LORD will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock. The oxen and donkeys you use for hauling and plowing will be fed well. In that day, when your enemies are slaughtered and the towers fall, there will be streams of water flowing down every mountain and hill. Moonlight will flare into sunlight, and sunlight, like a whole week of sunshine at once, will flood the land when the LORD binds up the bruises of His people and heals the wounds He inflicted.

[Isaiah 30:15-26 NIV/NLT/MSG]

hope

i've always loved crocus. growing up, the corner of our lawn bordered by the house and driveway was the crocus spot. every year i would expectantly await the first signs of life in that little patch. the blooms themselves don't stand out against more popular flowers, but there was something inherent to them - seeing them blooming out of snow, before the grass turned green, when all else seemed dead.

i think the colour yellow is somewhat similar to the crocus. nice in itself, but set against colours like red - it seems common or insignificant.



i watched "the last kiss" with donna this weekend. i wouldn't recommend it, but there was one line tom wilkinson's character said, that i really appreciated: you can't fail, if you never give up.

i think it's easy to see this "never giving up" as something extravagant. last january, i moved to los angeles to pursue my dream of working in the film industry. now i'm back in kansas city and don't know what i'm preparing for. that may appear to be giving up - but i think there's something to the crocus, lying in wait under the ground, holding out through the winter, knowing it will be ready when it's time to bloom.

faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen.
without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have. for,
God can be trusted to keep His promise. hope that is seen is no hope
at all. wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD.

[heb 11:1; heb 10:23; rom 8:24; psa 27:14]

advent

the people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.

there is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

My righteousness draws near speedily,
My salvation is on the way...

isaiah 9:2; psalm 31:24; proverbs 23:18; isaiah 51:5

and so it begins.

these three remain:

faith, hope and love. but the greatest of these is love. (1 cor 13:13)

faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.(heb 11:1,6)

hope that is seen is no hope at all. no-one whose hope is in [the LORD] will ever be put to shame. those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (rom 8:24, psa 25:3, isa 40:31)

this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 john 3:16; 4:7)

"the Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its own blessing and happiness, because it is the truth and reality of God in the soul. therefore [it] is in the same joy of life, and is the same good to itself everywhere and on every occasion. would you know the blessing of all blessings? it is this God of love dwelling in your soul, and killing every root of bitterness, which is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love..." -- william law

ah, if only we would live this way. i see more and more the daily necessity of loving my neighbour, of humbling myself, of asking Christ to fill and guide me.