All posts by ljmonson

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“What shall we call Him?”

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I John 11-4  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you that we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

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I’m not much of a prayer warrior. Before you gather up your stones to throw at me, I do pray, I do lift up to God my life in expectation of change. But sometimes my requests are about control.  I want to control my circumstances and my plight by manipulation of God to do my bidding. My prayer requests seem to only be about things.  About things I cannot control.  I pray for healing; it is a great thing.  I pray for employment for my fellow travelers so there will be food on the table; good stuff and is sorely needed. I pray for church growth; cool beans, I like to be associated with something that is growing. But as I pray these things which I cannot control they seem to weigh upon me. I like control.  It is hard to “let go and let God.”

The uncontrollability of each situation speaks of my inability to do something about that situation. These uncontrollable things steal my temporary and fleeting happiness.  They make me sad. Prayer requests do not make me happy. Never-the-less, in the hope of joy, that innermost peace that only comes with God’s presence, I pray. I pray to bask in joy, the very evidence of God.  Until then I will pray without stopping.

What shall we call Him? Jesus the hearer of my prayers.

Just Larry.

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How was your hike!

John 15:16 You did not choose me, bit I chose you and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

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I grew up in the late 1950’s in a little town pushed up against the Pacific Ocean. Occasionally in the summer as the fog began to lift, I would walk the mile or so down to the beach. Across the dunes I would go. As my shoes would fill with sand, I threw stones into the ocean surges. An occasional starfish would wash up and I would throw it back in. I would walk the beach looking for sand dollars and castaway junk thinking I would find something of great value. Sometimes I simply did nothing but stare at the constantly breaking waves. Time seemed to stop and yet pass by quickly.  At the end of my walks was the realization I had to get back home. The urge of return was complicated because of two paths.

One path was a retracing of my steps back to home and probably chores. The other was to go over the dunes, along the school yard and cross a four-lane highway and show up at my fathers’ workplace.  He was a mechanic at a small local shop. “Hi dad, I hiked over to see how you are doing.” With a smile he pulled out a slightly greasy three wheeled stool, sat me down and gave me a soda. “How was the hike?”, he would ask. And I would respond with my usual, “good”.  He acted like he expected me. Not an overly emotional man, but I could tell he was glad I was there. To share a moment of quiet between father and son.

I am expected in another place someday.  And my heavenly father is expecting me. He may not have a greasy stool and a coke, and He may well ask me, “How was your hike?”. There will be a smile on his face because will be glad to see me.

What shall we call Him.  Jesus our expectant and emotional greeter.

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May is MERCY Month, INOGAM –“In Need Of Grace And Mercy”

Matthew 25:35-40,45.

I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. … Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’”

When I was 7 one of fondest memories was the seesaw.  We had four of them in the “little kids” playground at Marina Del Mar Elementary school.  Each was set in concrete in a dirty, sandy area. Each recess included running to this simple lever-based plaything.  The excitement was not in the contraption itself, but having someone to share the experience. It was a gleeful thrill to be raised up in the air with a little push.  Then came the dependency and the assurance of an equal push of your companion would bring me back down. Up and down, up and down, it was wonderful.  But the bell would ring and inevitably either I or my partner in joy would stepped off when at the bottom.  Down you would come with a great thump. We all have all felt the disappointment and pain of the bottom. Mercy is someone always willing to balance you.  Balance, that is mercy.

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May is MERCY Month, Day 5 INOGAM –“In Need Of Grace And Mercy”

Psalm 86: 1

You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.

I look at my hands and see the years of use and abuse they have endured. Quite a few years back I was a meat cutter.  And I have the hands to prove it.  Scars of knife wounds and arthritis both point to the years of heavy and physically demanding work.  When I grab a rope to pull a tarp tight on my truck, one of my finger’s lock in a closed position of pain.   I am tired of the scars and injuries of the past dictating to my present. The pain of life is part of the mortal experience. Please Oh God grant me mercy for this day, to carry on, to be an example of perseverance.  Show me mercy and I will follow it all the days of my life.

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April is ASSURANCE Month, Day 29

God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10*

May a sweet feeling of assurance fill our hearts for a moment with a sweet glow. For a twinkling of an eye, we let that experience wash over us.  There have been events of blessing in my life.  They have happened in good time and in some not so good times. In these occasions I have given God all the glory.  But what about the in-between times? The very experience of God’s presence is not enough to keep me all the time.  I have discovered it is the assurance of faith that is the best of all.  It endures whether I am blessed or not. Assurance is the benefit of faith.  I live and breathe in the constancy of assurance. It is held on the level of perfection because it is bound on a promise of God who never changes.    

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28th day of assurance

April is ASSURANCE Month, Day 28When you were dead in your sins and in in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

Why was Jesus destined for the cross? Why would he submit his head to be crowned with thorns and his back bloodied? Why would a blameless and a perfectly loving person have to die? He submitted to it for me. It was so I can have my own personal shortcomings and willful disobedience separated from me. All that would weigh me down and slow me are rolled away. It is only at the cross where I can see the light of forgiveness and assurance.

Devotions

April is ASSURANCE Month, Day 27

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

April has been a month of revelation of the importance of assurance in my life.  To be well grounded in the Word of God, to accept God’s promises, to walk in the light as He is in the light.  Not because of anything I have done or even deserve.  I live in the assurance of God loving me. It is God dwelling in me as I realize this presence and know to whom I belong. One is salvation the other the assurance of it.

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April is ASSURANCE Month, Day 18 – Romans 5:6-8

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Joy is a completed, accepted, and settled assurance of God.  Joy comes from knowing that God is still in control.  Joy comes from a quiet confidence of our forgiven past, current care and resignation to God in my tomorrows. Joy is the assurance that everything, everything, everything is going to be alright. And in that joy of assurance, I am determined to give all praise and credit to God in everything.

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April is ASSURANCE Month

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:22-23

When it is the darkest does the smallest light becomes most noticeable. I acknowledge life can be tough. Aches and pains, financial distress, strained relationships, and a pandemic, all seem to overshadow life. In the darkest spots where you may find yourself huddling from the cold of worldly reality; God is still there. God loves you in the middle of your darkest nights. He is the still small candle that brightens with each looming cloud. He will give you a path to follow. He will give you a solution to your problems. He will give you relief from your darkness. God never disappoints those who place trust in Him.

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Holy Week Sunday – It is empty

Matthew 28:5-7

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Wasn’t the life and teachings of Jesus sufficient for the foundation of a great and profound religion? Yes it was.  Never-the-less Easter tells us there was more than examples, miracles, teachings and even sacrifice.  I see gold crosses are displayed around the necks of believers.  Yet no matter how important the cross is, there is a much more compelling symbol.  And empty tomb. Without that chiseled grotto and the accompanied rolled back stone all that could result would be a works based and piety driven religion.  Without the empty tomb there is only head and no heart.  It is the empty tomb that points us to the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  That tomb, no matter how well sealed and guarded, is empty.  Death could not hold Him.  And because of that empty tomb, I can look forward to my own resurrection.  The tomb without an occupant demonstrates death is not the end of our journey.  There is much more to come.