Forged By Faith

Jeremiah 17:10 NIV The response And alas it’s one of those proverbial “uh-oh” realizations in that we somewhat start to realize the need for our to be ever careful as to all we ask for. Especially from a God known for responding in what are ways that seem, at times, quite well outside our version of what we like to call ‘logic’. Indeed, there’s this now longstanding misunderstanding between God and man, one defined by man thanks to the desires of man, that has been vastly proven to come at the very undoing of not only all the man has done, planned to do, has become, but indeed everything also in between. Yes, when we ask God to have His way in our lives and thus for His will to be done, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when His will both proves us wrong, leaves us feeling horrible about it, and yet somehow seems to plant this light that becomes this hope that just might inspire us to seek out the other ways we’re walking and the other things that we’re doing that aren’t quite leading us...

Psalm 139:23 NIV The request It’s one that few ever make and barely more even dare listen to, live by, walk in or crawl toward. And why? Because of the subject of yesterday’s verse as is considered inside offensive ways found in our lives as are then lived in a blatant if not in fact blanket opposition unto He who will do as we request so long as said desire does align with the heart of Him and thus His will for us. Indeed, He’s told us that should we seek Him will all our hearts then He shall give us all our hearts desire. Seeming to say that should our hearts desire Him we’ll be given both all of who He is, thus all of what this means, and, from that, the new hearts He’s promised elsewhere. As in both elsewhere in Scripture and too not here where we live as if it was never written. Or at least all of us do for a time in what’s then a life given unto being of that common kind that is here common amongst man in which man is the goal, the aim for all pleasure and thus our being pleased ...

Psalm 139:24 NIV Patience on purpose And that on His part on our behalf so that we can end with our own, both purpose and path as have been lived at best in part of heart as half has been held as if hostage here where it seems that the vast majority of us both want to stay and thus plan the same. Which is precisely why our plans must change! It’s because, despite however good, fun, lavish or enjoyable our lives may have seemed to us, or how much better our plans for them would make them, losing our ability to believe in even better is what got us here. Where? Nowhere we should want to be living as they who are people nobody should want to stay in what is now a place that is nothing we should wish to keep thanks to all we’ve done to sink down this deep into the doing of all these things that we’ve done for so long now that our greatest worry seems not doing them anymore. Indeed, we’re such a people of trends and traditions that we can’t bear the idea of losing them, leaving them behind,...

Psalm 119:37 NIV Waiting for worth It’s something that seems somehow increasingly hard to do in what remains a world in which so much seems to be worth so much to so many. And as we walk daily alongside those many who are seeming to find this wealth in all they believe to have worth, we eventually start wondering both where ours might be and why we’ve not found it yet. After all, whenever everyone else seems to barely even struggle to find even such things as joy and purpose, well, after a while you just can’t help but wonder what you’re doing wrong. Or maybe that’s just me. Which is indeed something that I find I don’t struggle to imagine anymore. And that’s because I sit here on the floor every single morning, eyes all but bugging and often stinging as I try to convince myself I’m a morning person despite the aching inside saying always otherwise. And because I sit here writing what are posts that I can easily imagine almost nobody reads as the numbers don’t lie. And because I don’t ...

1 Thessalonians 4:7 NIV A life apart When boiled down to its inevitable simplicity, I really do have to say that I truly believe that this is the very purpose of God’s heart for we who are meant to be His as opposed to here where it so often feels as if He isn’t. And it’s not because He really isn’t here as He is rather omnipotent which defines then His ability to be omnipresent which allows Him to be everywhere, in everyone in fact. It’s just that the problem’s that we’re in a world in which most continue to refuse that offer, that outcome for what are an as of yet untold number of others. And what often makes it all that much harder, heavier, heartbreaking in fact is that these same many do indeed look like us, talk like us, walk like us and perhaps even seem to love like us. But this is where things tend to get murky as, well, since both looks and language can be used to deceive, unfortunately then so too might the same be said of love. Not that it should be that way as it most cert...