Cute synopsis of a profound book. I will make only one point about this preview. Note the amphibian on the shoulder of the person is the last scene in this preview.

UNEXPECTED REDIRECTION

02/21/202002/21/2020 / jpound / Leave a comment

Solitude and silence are the most radical of the spiritual disciplines because they most directly attack the sources of human misery and wrongdoing. To be in solitude is to choose to do nothing. For extensive periods of time. All accomplishment is given up. Silence is required to complete solitude, for until we enter quietness, the world still lays hold of us. When we go into solitude and silence we stop making demands on God. It is enough that God is God and we are his. We learn we have a soul, that God is here, that this world is “my Father’s world.
– Dallas Willard (from the intro to Invitation to Solitude & Silence by Ruth Haley Barton)

Posted by Bill Taber | Feb 18, 2020

“THE MYSTERY OF GOD”

Seeking God through solitude and silence seems to have ushered me into a place of encountering the Mystery of God—a place where I lay out the issues of my heart to God alone and become vulnerable to him for whatever happens next. Whatever happens next may not be what I wanted or expected, but with hindsight over time I begin to see that, indeed, “all things have been working out for my good” (Romans 8:28). Making time to reflect in the presence of God has allowed me to see that God has been more interested in me and the development of my heart than in “magically” responding to my list of wishes and wants. There have been times when he has surprised me by throwing my agenda out the window and turning me in an entirely new direction altogether.

SEEKING GOD THROUGH SOLITUDE AND SILENCE SEEMS TO HAVE USHERED ME INTO A PLACE OF ENCOUNTERING THE MYSTERY OF GOD.

This type of unexpected redirection happened on a weeklong personal retreat a couple of months after my divorce in 2012. My work background is as an accountant, and after divorcing I resigned from my job at the time, intending to take several months off to begin putting my life back together and applying for another accounting position. As a hobby, I had already developed an enjoyment of noticing the wonderful variety of wildflowers while hiking in the woods. A couple of days into this retreat I was looking through a wildflower book I had purchased, when suddenly I “heard” the voice of the Lord as clearly as I ever had, saying: “You’re looking at it!” I was quite stunned and had no idea what this meant, nor that a process of nurturing and building my heart anew was about to begin.

“NURTURE IN NATURE”

With the encouragement and support of my first Battle teammates, I embarked on a journey to become a volunteer naturalist and see where it would take me. Awe and wonder flooded my heart as I studied and engaged in work projects out in nature. In the end, this was not about becoming a naturalist—it was about experiencing the love of God in my heart like never before. It was as if all of my senses came alive!

Day after day for two years, as I headed out to work at a nature park or a municipal park, or into the woods to hike alone, I entered into a sense of freedom and spaciousness. The trees, streams, rocks, birds, wild turkey, deer, chipmunks, snakes, sunrises and sunsets, etc., all became my companions in adventure—and especially wildflowers. I took my camera with macro setting and photographed every wildflower I saw. I would spend hours magnifying them on my computer, with unceasing amazement at the intricate beauty displayed, hidden from the unaided eye. What a beautiful world! What an awesome God! As season moved into next season, I was thrilled to find new wildflowers to photograph, almost daily. When not on work projects or at seminars or attending naturalist classes, I was alone in the woods with God.

I maintained a constant awareness of him, discussing my experiences with him, growing in my love for him. And the deep gratitude I felt! When guilt would creep in to rob me of all this, he was quick to knock it down. This was for me. I needed it more than I could understand. I was being changed. I was being nurtured. I was being loved.

Slowly, things like trust and rest and peace began showing up more in my inner self. I began paying less attention to things that drive me, and more attention to those that draw me. And it began after my life had been drastically altered by divorce, propelling me to take “time away” in order to simply be with the Lord in solitude and silence.

If something I’ve written has caught your attention, what might your own life experience be saying to you? Has the path you’re on taken you to an unexpected dead end, as you stand looking over at an alternative that somehow tugs at your heart, though it’s uncertain where it will lead you? Is that “tug”—an undeniable spark of life—greater than the fear that accompanies it? What will you choose? Suppress the desire? Or explore it with God and see if it holds an invitation from him to become more of who he uniquely made you to be? Ask him if taking some extensive time away to lay out the issues of your heart before him is what He has in mind for you—for whatever comes next!

God’s basic will for your life is not what you do or where you live or whether you marry or how much you make—it’s who you become.
– John Ortberg, from All the Places to Go

Posted at The Wellspring Group

Word of God

12/24/201912/24/2019 / jpound / 2 Comments

The Word of God, the Bible–Old and New Testaments. It is what we have of God. Actually we have more than the Word but I am just focusing on the Word of God right now.

We are so blessed these days to have devices to deliver to us the Word of God and other tools to help us understand the Word of God more clearly and more accurately. I use as many of them as I want to read and study the Word of God–laptop, Kindle, cell phone and more if I have them. Sometimes, however, I want to hold the Word of God.

Yes, in ancient times the Word was temporarily held in the minds of men and spoken to others. However, God’s design is that His Word be retained in written form. This insures His message as He gave it originally is retained.

I still love holding the Word of God in my hand and reading from the physical copy. I desired that today and it was satisfying. The written Word allows us to notate much more easily in my view and when I retrace I am reminded and I remember what I have been taught by Him in the past.

That is His Big objective — that we remember Him, His truth, His leading us through all of life. Our souls need Him–we need to remember His truths and His work in us. Thus we grow and mature and become more conformed in Christlikeness.

Read the Word of God today! Through the Word we are changed in the ways that pleases our Lord Jesus.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

12/24/2019 / jpound / Leave a comment

“God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing ye dismay.
Remember Christ the Savior was born on Christmas Day.
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r when we were gone astray.”

I said to My gentlemen this morning: “May we be His gentlemen today!”

I just read this morning of King David–in the line of our Messiah.

King David sinned greatly against himself, against his Nation, against a woman and against His Lord. He awareness was clouded, His spirit was numb, His soul was distorted. He was for all practical purposes lost. Satan’s pow’r was reigning in his life and domain.

It took a prophet to make him sober, see the gravity and depth of which he had fallen so quickly. He did repent and also paid dearly in consequences.

Satan’s pow’r roams now and He goal is to take you down–even in this beautiful season. Guard your heart with all diligence because he is on the prowl.

Pray! Claim the protection of the Lord and His Spirit. Do not fear! The Lord makes a way forward when our circumstances says to us there is no way. You will move forward in His care.

Christmas Eve gifts to you!