Image via Wikipedia

No one can teach you failure,

And no one can make you quit.

No one can force you to be negative,

Or to live like a hypocrite.

You see, the best of us all will falter,

The greatest can surely slide.

But the key to a higher living

Is a treasure we all have inside.

It’s knowing when to be flexible,

To bend, but not to break.

Adapting to a world of changes,

With our ability to give and take.

It’s reflecting a sense of optimism,

Even in the shadow of despair.

It’s learning to find contentment

When you discover the cupboard is bare.

It’s blending your imagination

Into the tasks that you face each day;

Weaving a garland of hope and trust,

As you struggle to find your way.

No,  life is not a bed of roses,

And sometimes it’s tough to see it through;

But you’ll never  discover the best in life,

Until you discover the best in you.

(Source Unknown)

Image via Wikipedia

“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”  Luke 2:19

This has always been one of my very favorite verses in Scripture.   I love thinking of how Mary must have kept everything hidden in her heart, and thought it all over as she went about her life;  I love that she went to her cousin Elizabeth, and the two women talked about what God had spoken to them.   To have God speak about what is being birthed in you, and keeping it to yourself, not necessarily out of fear of what others will think, or say, but to hold it as precious, as though keeping a trust.

Paul Wagner said once that “Blessed art thou among women” comes with a price.  We forget that, in our almost flippant ‘blessed and highly favored’ church culture.  We forget the price.  One of the verses that meant so much to me several years ago, when I was going through a time of tremendous pressure, was Revelation 12:6:  “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God”  and again in verse 14:   “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the servant.”    These verses refer to Israel in the time of the tribulation to come, but they held, and still hold, a very personal meaning for me.   So much of this journey has been about becoming aware that God has planted the seed of something within my life, that “Behold, I will do  a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  (Isaiah 43:19)  That place of rest and nourishment has been, for me, the Word of God.  It has been my protection and stability in times of great stress and confusion.  And the enemy stands ready to devour that which God is bringing forth, BUT  “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the Word of their testimony.”   And what a testimony it is, when that which is formed in the spiritual womb, so to speak, finally comes into manifestation in the visible realm.  Not necessarily of any particular value to the world (what good is a baby, when the world needs a Savior?)  but someone who eventually becomes one God can use to heal, deliver, and restore.  And the world says  “Well, where on earth did you come from?”  The wilderness; the womb, the pit, the darkness.  And WE are the army that overcomes the world.

Well.  This certainly didn’t end the way I started.  But it’s a good word, nonetheless.

Image by ~Prescott via Flickr

I was reminded tonight of how grateful I am for my life.   I love my home; my kids, my family, my work.  After everything I’ve been through, if all I have is I have my Bible and a coffee pot, I’m good to go.  Simplicity, according to Richard Foster, is “an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.”  I am not, and have never been a success-driven person.  Our parents raised us to value people over things, and I am so glad.  What motivates me is not money in the bank, or being able to buy whatever kind of car I want, or being able to retire early so I can travel and play golf.  (Okay, shop.  Trust me, you don’t want me swinging a club.)

What motivates me is people.  To go to the gates of hell, and get to all of the people the enemy thought he had won, and re-claim them for Heaven.  To be able to say “you may think you’ve played your best hand in this person’s life, but if they’re still breathing, the game’s not over.”  How do you retire from that?  If only one more can be reached, helped, and saved, that one is worth everything.  The enemy wants us to think- no, to believe- that it’s all over.  Wasted, ruined, spent, broken, and dead.  But I can promise you, that if there is the slightest spark of life left in you, God can blow the healing, life-giving breath of his Spirit into us, and resurrect us in such a way that we are unrecognizable, even to ourselves.  We become, literally, New People.  You can’t buy that at the mall.  There isn’t a gadget, outfit, or lifestyle the world can offer that can hold a candle to a changed life.  Give me people any day.  And with that,  Je suis content.

“Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”   Philippians 4:11-13

Image via Wikipedi

Fowlers, or bird catchers, were common in biblical times.  They provided birds as food, caged pets, and sacrifices.  Fowling was also considered a sport, and a source of amusement.

Because fowlers often hunted birds by capturing them in traps, the word is sometimes used in scripture as a warning of danger.  The psalmist wrote “We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers.” (Psalm 124:7)  Proverbs 6:5 advises a youth to ‘save yourself [from temptation]…like a bird from the hand of the fowler.’

The passage recited from Jeremiah compares those who exploit others to gain wealth with fowlers who snare edible fowl beyond their needs. (The illustrated Dictionary of life in Bible Times, p. 144)  “For scoundrels are found among my people; they take over the goods of others.  Like fowlers, they set a trap; they catch human beings.”  Jeremiah 5:26,27.

Psalm 124:7 (KJV):  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:  the snare is broken, and we are escaped.” And verse 8:  “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” This entire Psalm is a psalm of deliverance.

(Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, p. 610, note c)  Three outstanding facts which are clear in such an escape:

1.  Our personal weakness.  (i.e. Israel)

2.  The power of our enemies.

3.   The miraculous power of God!

(note d) The snare is broken.  “How like God this is, who always makes a way of escape from temptation or trouble in plenty of time for us to be able to bear it, and still know that it has been a miraculous deliverance.”  (Psalm 91; 1 Corinthians 10:13-14)

Psalm 91:3:  “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence…: (Psalm 141, 142-deliverance from snares.)

According to the psalmist, anyone who trusts in God has nothing to fear from the hazards of life, as symbolized by the cunning snares and traps used by catchers of birds.  The snare of a fowler often consisted of a net arranged in such a way that when a bird, or other small animal took the bait (and how often we do!) the net would fall and capture it.

Another kind of snare was a rope noose, which caught its prey by its feet, or fell from above and caught the bird or mammal by the neck.  Larger animals were trapped when they fell into a concealed hole in the ground.

The wiles (strategies) of Satan are frequently referred to in scripture as a snare. (1 Timothy 3:7)

See also:  Psalm 91:3,  Hosea 9:8