Journal 2005 03 31
Frogger
Warm, mild and windy on the prairie today. Ice continues to race down the Missouri. The Indians in an early version of the old video game “Frogger” are able to jump from “ice cake” to “ice cake” in pursuit of the buffalo drowned while crossing the thinning ice upstream. Imagine hopping on chunks ice moving swiftly downstream hoping to somehow latch onto a 2000 pound animal and then dragging your catch to shore! Makes any job seem pretty harmless and simple to perform doesn’t it? And no mention is made if any of the Indians were lost to the river and swept away to their demise.
Again, the prairie on both sides of the river is ablaze as the Indians set fire to the grass that has been under snow all winter. They know that burning the land causes grass to grow that is attractive to buffalo and good for their horses. We mentioned earlier that scientists believe this practice is the reason for the absence of trees on the prairie and the vast expanse of grassland.
The Indians saw opportunity rushing by them with the spring breakup of ice and figured out a way to capture that opportunity.
Do you see opportunity passing by just out of your reach? Is it beyond your grasp because of the personal peril required to catch it? Is it because capturing it requires more skill than you possess? Do you need strength beyond that which is inherent in you?
I can’t stand watching video of the fine rifles and shotguns being destroyed in Australia and England. I want to rescue each one from the saw and smelter. I don’t even like watching a junkyard magnet pick up a vintage car and dump it into the crusher.
When God opens our eyes to humanity and the stream of individuals flowing past us do we have that same sense of lost opportunity that the Indians had when watching buffalo float by?
Somehow we feel like the lost souls in the flowing stream of humanity are beyond our ability to grab hold of and pull to the safety of the shore. And they may be in our current level of vision, strength and skill. Can we ask Jesus, whom we are co-laborers with, to teach us to dance on the “ice cakes” with nimbleness that we didn’t think we possessed so we might rescue some? Can we ask Him to give us strength to step into the power of the mass of humanity and stand against the flow and rescue lost individuals? Can we ask Him to teach us the skills to negotiate the dangers that the press of humanity bring and in so doing rescue lost people?
If the people of the plains could do it to gain the simple prizes of meat and a robe how much more so should we be willing to risk stepping into the river of life that greater treasure would be retrieved?
Inspiration for today from America's Greatest Expedition, the Corps of Discovery!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
River Watch
Journal 2005 03 28
River Watch
The weather greeted the men with the first morning above freezing this spring. Forty degrees at eight a.m. and forty-six at five p.m.
As a result, the river, their source of water and highway, is really on the move. The river is the focus of attention as ice flows dam the river for four hours before once again giving way to the building pressure of the water.
The men of the Corps are watching the river with anticipation of continuing their mission. The local Indians are watching the river for more drowned bison. Do you think catching a bison floating in a river would make you a trophy fisherman? I’ve never heard of 2000-pound test line before!
River watch. Everyone was on it. It must have been fascinating watching life float by at high speed. Winter breaking up and racing downhill to death in the warmth of spring right in front of their eyes.
River watch. Are our eyes on the river of life that sustains us? Probably not. We don’t see it and all that it carries. So we discount it and forget about it.
We are told in scripture that those who drink from the well that is Jesus Christ “shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Are you seeing a river of life flowing from the city of God flowing out of your heart? Is it carrying life from heaven to you? Is it cleansing you as it washes you in His Word? Is it carrying away all the “impurities” of life? It should be.
Let it flow. Don’t allow winter to linger in your life stopping the flow with dams made of ice. Let the river flow. You will see Him satisfying the thirsty through you if you do. Deserts will turn to well-watered gardens in the dry lands inhabited by those who are outside the Kingdom of God if you let the river of life flow out of your life.
Go, drink from His well that your life would fulfill His words to the Samaritan woman and become “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
River Watch
The weather greeted the men with the first morning above freezing this spring. Forty degrees at eight a.m. and forty-six at five p.m.
As a result, the river, their source of water and highway, is really on the move. The river is the focus of attention as ice flows dam the river for four hours before once again giving way to the building pressure of the water.
The men of the Corps are watching the river with anticipation of continuing their mission. The local Indians are watching the river for more drowned bison. Do you think catching a bison floating in a river would make you a trophy fisherman? I’ve never heard of 2000-pound test line before!
River watch. Everyone was on it. It must have been fascinating watching life float by at high speed. Winter breaking up and racing downhill to death in the warmth of spring right in front of their eyes.
River watch. Are our eyes on the river of life that sustains us? Probably not. We don’t see it and all that it carries. So we discount it and forget about it.
We are told in scripture that those who drink from the well that is Jesus Christ “shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Are you seeing a river of life flowing from the city of God flowing out of your heart? Is it carrying life from heaven to you? Is it cleansing you as it washes you in His Word? Is it carrying away all the “impurities” of life? It should be.
Let it flow. Don’t allow winter to linger in your life stopping the flow with dams made of ice. Let the river flow. You will see Him satisfying the thirsty through you if you do. Deserts will turn to well-watered gardens in the dry lands inhabited by those who are outside the Kingdom of God if you let the river of life flow out of your life.
Go, drink from His well that your life would fulfill His words to the Samaritan woman and become “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Celebrate with Anticipation
Journal 2005 03 26
Celebrate with Anticipation
Swans and geese fly north returning from warmer winter refuges to their summer ranges. The precision of their formations and the numbers of birds in the air raised the sense of readiness for the men waiting to move west. The journals don’t record the numbers of birds flying north. However, the Midwest is a huge “flyway” and the numbers of migratory birds is still awe inspiring. In 1805 it was even more so because of the sheer volume of birds following this instinctive highway of air. A sign of changing seasons for the young men about to leave behind the confining life of winter.
All hands are employed in preparing to depart Fort Mandan. Canoes are loaded and moved the mile and a half to the river. Some chiefs come to smoke pipe and visit with the Captains. The men dance nearly every night much to the amusement of the visitors.
Young men anticipating the end of winter and renewed adventure were filled with joy and high spirits. Dancing and celebration is the outward expression of a winter spent waiting to move out and conquer the unknown land to the west.
The ice on the river continues to break up. Watching it becomes almost sport to the men of the Corp. Ice repeatedly jams the river causing it to temporarily rise until the press of water from above breaks it free again. These men know they will go nowhere until the river is flowing cleanly. The flowing ice would destroy their boats and canoes.
Clark records the first significant rain on the 23rd. The temperature reaches 46 today. Spring is coming, yet sub-freezing temperatures still greet every morning.
Anticipation rules the day.
Pastor Norm has been speaking of “hope deferred”, unfulfilled anticipation. What are we anticipating after a long winter? In our civilized, climate controlled world do we even recognize that winter has come, naturally retarding our ability to advance? Have you let the Holy Spirit of God hold back that which He desires you to anticipate? Or are you constantly haranguing Him for not fulfilling your desires, the object of your anticipation?
We have been called to celebrate, much like the men of the Corps of Discovery anticipating the coming of renewed adventure, in anticipation of Godly adventure.
Here we have an example of God-breathed withholding, a building of hope-deferred and the celebration that precedes hope-renewed.
Look up to the skies and see the signs of renewed vision. In the natural world it is embodied in the uncountable numbers of v-formations flown by birds of the air. In the spiritual world, we look to the heavenlies for signs that fuel our anticipation. Pray. Look up. Anticipate the intervention and manifestation of angelic action as signs of hope renewed. Enter into celebration with high anticipation of entering into the unknown with renewed adventure and a real sense of a mission to accomplish in the power of His Holy Spirit.
Celebrate with Anticipation
Swans and geese fly north returning from warmer winter refuges to their summer ranges. The precision of their formations and the numbers of birds in the air raised the sense of readiness for the men waiting to move west. The journals don’t record the numbers of birds flying north. However, the Midwest is a huge “flyway” and the numbers of migratory birds is still awe inspiring. In 1805 it was even more so because of the sheer volume of birds following this instinctive highway of air. A sign of changing seasons for the young men about to leave behind the confining life of winter.
All hands are employed in preparing to depart Fort Mandan. Canoes are loaded and moved the mile and a half to the river. Some chiefs come to smoke pipe and visit with the Captains. The men dance nearly every night much to the amusement of the visitors.
Young men anticipating the end of winter and renewed adventure were filled with joy and high spirits. Dancing and celebration is the outward expression of a winter spent waiting to move out and conquer the unknown land to the west.
The ice on the river continues to break up. Watching it becomes almost sport to the men of the Corp. Ice repeatedly jams the river causing it to temporarily rise until the press of water from above breaks it free again. These men know they will go nowhere until the river is flowing cleanly. The flowing ice would destroy their boats and canoes.
Clark records the first significant rain on the 23rd. The temperature reaches 46 today. Spring is coming, yet sub-freezing temperatures still greet every morning.
Anticipation rules the day.
Pastor Norm has been speaking of “hope deferred”, unfulfilled anticipation. What are we anticipating after a long winter? In our civilized, climate controlled world do we even recognize that winter has come, naturally retarding our ability to advance? Have you let the Holy Spirit of God hold back that which He desires you to anticipate? Or are you constantly haranguing Him for not fulfilling your desires, the object of your anticipation?
We have been called to celebrate, much like the men of the Corps of Discovery anticipating the coming of renewed adventure, in anticipation of Godly adventure.
Here we have an example of God-breathed withholding, a building of hope-deferred and the celebration that precedes hope-renewed.
Look up to the skies and see the signs of renewed vision. In the natural world it is embodied in the uncountable numbers of v-formations flown by birds of the air. In the spiritual world, we look to the heavenlies for signs that fuel our anticipation. Pray. Look up. Anticipate the intervention and manifestation of angelic action as signs of hope renewed. Enter into celebration with high anticipation of entering into the unknown with renewed adventure and a real sense of a mission to accomplish in the power of His Holy Spirit.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Anxious with Anticipation
Journal 2005 03 19
Anxious with Anticipation
A light snow falls last night and the temperature doesn’t rise to freezing today. Winter wind reminds the men it still owns the season. Yet anticipation and preparation for departure drive the men to continued activity. And we should never lose site of the fact that the Corps of Discovery was a military unit on what we would call a recon mission. Although never directly stated, President Jefferson knew that those who established relationships and trade with the Indian tribes would control the west.
Military discipline, good order and drills were still part of their daily life.
Indian visitors tell of war brewing upstream. Many of the local braves have left camp to make war against those who are coming against them. Always better to wage war away from home in my opinion.
An Indian father and mother bring a sick young son to Captain Clark with an ailment. Clark treats him. No diagnosis is recorded.
Today, knowing what challenges lay ahead of them, we wonder what their big hurry was to hit the trail. Ice is still in the river and the Rocky Mountains lay ahead of them. Once they break camp we know at some point snow is likely to be in the mountains for some time obstructing their way. WE know that. They didn’t.
In addition, human nature is always ready to move on. And these men are no different. We will see a year from now that the party leaves the camp at the mouth of the Columbia River one full month before nature will allow passage. Anticipation. We need it. It helps drive us. It fosters dreams. Anticipation needs to be under jurisdiction because it can deceive us in spite of its good intentions.
I anticipate the sparkling eyes, extended arms and warm kiss of my bride as I turn toward home. Anticipation drives me to my destination, the place where she awaits. Powerful stuff anticipation.
Are you anticipating something great? Are you hoping that it will come quickly? Then you are in good company.
The fullness of God’s revelation of Himself in the Scriptures is summed in John’s call to Jesus to “come quickly”. And still we anticipate His coming as we make disciples and occupy until He returns. Like the men of the Corps of Discovery two hundred years ago we are full of anticipation and ready to go. And yet if follow His leadership not our human desires we reach the destination He has chosen.
Is your heart anxious with anticipation? That is good. Is it so anxious that it has moved out from under God’s command and taken its own path to fulfilling its desires? Then stop, find your way back under His command and wait for His command to move out as you follow Him knowing the expedition has only stopped for winter, not forever.
Anxious with Anticipation
A light snow falls last night and the temperature doesn’t rise to freezing today. Winter wind reminds the men it still owns the season. Yet anticipation and preparation for departure drive the men to continued activity. And we should never lose site of the fact that the Corps of Discovery was a military unit on what we would call a recon mission. Although never directly stated, President Jefferson knew that those who established relationships and trade with the Indian tribes would control the west.
Military discipline, good order and drills were still part of their daily life.
Indian visitors tell of war brewing upstream. Many of the local braves have left camp to make war against those who are coming against them. Always better to wage war away from home in my opinion.
An Indian father and mother bring a sick young son to Captain Clark with an ailment. Clark treats him. No diagnosis is recorded.
Today, knowing what challenges lay ahead of them, we wonder what their big hurry was to hit the trail. Ice is still in the river and the Rocky Mountains lay ahead of them. Once they break camp we know at some point snow is likely to be in the mountains for some time obstructing their way. WE know that. They didn’t.
In addition, human nature is always ready to move on. And these men are no different. We will see a year from now that the party leaves the camp at the mouth of the Columbia River one full month before nature will allow passage. Anticipation. We need it. It helps drive us. It fosters dreams. Anticipation needs to be under jurisdiction because it can deceive us in spite of its good intentions.
I anticipate the sparkling eyes, extended arms and warm kiss of my bride as I turn toward home. Anticipation drives me to my destination, the place where she awaits. Powerful stuff anticipation.
Are you anticipating something great? Are you hoping that it will come quickly? Then you are in good company.
The fullness of God’s revelation of Himself in the Scriptures is summed in John’s call to Jesus to “come quickly”. And still we anticipate His coming as we make disciples and occupy until He returns. Like the men of the Corps of Discovery two hundred years ago we are full of anticipation and ready to go. And yet if follow His leadership not our human desires we reach the destination He has chosen.
Is your heart anxious with anticipation? That is good. Is it so anxious that it has moved out from under God’s command and taken its own path to fulfilling its desires? Then stop, find your way back under His command and wait for His command to move out as you follow Him knowing the expedition has only stopped for winter, not forever.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Friends
Journal 2005 03 18
Friends
The warmest day of the year on the prairie at forty-six degrees. Clothes and any article that could use airing out are spread out to air out.
Men are busy hulling and milling corn to carry west with them.
Their Indian friends are fascinated by the corn mills and all the goods airing out.
Charbonneau formally signs on as a civilian employee of the expedition after repenting two days ago and asking the Captains if they would forgive his brash demands and accept his services as previously agreed to. The Captains quickly agree and Charbonneau moves his family and lodge inside the Fort once again.
Six new canoes are finished. Lewis sets about separating loads among the six canoes and two larger pirogues. The basic principle operating here is minimizing exposure to loss. Now if Mr. Murphy, of Murphy’s Law, shows up and a canoe is lost, only one-eighth of the cargo is lost. Before had either of the pirogues been lost half of the cargo would have been lost.
And another interesting human development is emerging in the work of the Captains. I have not written this “daily” journal for several days now. I have had little time to write. I have read. I have worked. I have not written.
Captains Lewis and Clark are rare examples of shared leadership actually working. In reality, human nature rarely allows shared leadership to fully function. Here it did. Although legally Lewis was commissioned as a captain, his request for Clark to be commissioned equally was not granted and Congress commissioned Clark a lieutenant to insure proper command order. This decision by Congress caused Lewis much consternation because of his desire for shared leadership with his most trusted comrade in arms, William Clark. Lewis had promised Clark a captain’s commission and decided that he would treat William Clark as his equal. The matter was settled among them never to be raised again. Clark received lieutenant pay for his enlistment. Lewis received captain pay.
It is a tribute to the friendship of Lewis and Clark that they could accept the decision of those in authority and agree to share leadership for the good of the order as they set into unknown land. Not in rebellion to those in authority, but in trusted friendship, locked in spirit and arms as they risk their lives to fulfill their mission. Each man fully trusting the other with everything he had, including his life! The great historian, Stephen Ambrose, best know for his many works regarding the men who fought and won World War II, was captivated by Lewis and Clark. Their westward exploration became the focus of his young family’s summer vacations. Later, it became a privileged honor for friends and university students to accompany the Ambrose family on their annual summer excursions into territory covered by the Corps of Discovery. Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage” is my favorite account of the journey of the Corps of Discovery. I highly recommend it for those who may only read one book about this epic American exploration.
Ambrose wrote another small book called “Comrades”. In it are a series of essays about great friendships. It was spurred by his own great friendships and his study of some of the great friendships of history. Of course, his affection for Lewis and Clark is illustrated in his retelling of their affection for one another.
I started writing this daily account of the journey after the letters of offer and acceptance were exchanged between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They are an illustration of the mutual respect and affection that can be attained between friends. Their trust was formed in the rigors of military life and in the crucible of combat. Each trusted the other with his life and honor. It is a wonderful story to be emulated by all.
I’m sure we will visit it in detail later in these accounts.
Today, suffice it to say Meriwether Lewis and William Clark appear to be polar opposites in personalities. Lewis was described as “mercurial”, given to great joy and deep somberness. Clark was a man of great steadiness. Unruffled, sober in nature and able to meet any challenge William Clark’s feet were firmly planted on solid ground and his hand was unshaken by circumstances whirling around him. The perfect foil to Lewis’ highs and lows. The success of the journey was found in the perfection of their friendship.
Clark wrote in his journal virtually every day. Lewis did not. I don’t consider myself mercurial. But I certainly am not as steady as William Clark either. As you see my humanness enter into these writings (or lack thereof!), you see a reflection of the humanness of the men in charge of the expedition.
I’m also feeling very short of the perfection of the friendship these two men shared. I have many great friends. Without the life and death of battle testing our lives and nature we cannot easily determine those around us who we are called to be joined with in life and possibly death.
May God slay our human nature, fear of death and need for safety as we obey Him and follow Him into a life of adventure and great exploitations in His Great Kingdom.
“Go and make disciples of all nations!” His common commission to all. May we enter into the exploration required by His commission discovering in the furnace of many dangers, toils and snares the friend who becomes “closer than a brother”.
Friends
The warmest day of the year on the prairie at forty-six degrees. Clothes and any article that could use airing out are spread out to air out.
Men are busy hulling and milling corn to carry west with them.
Their Indian friends are fascinated by the corn mills and all the goods airing out.
Charbonneau formally signs on as a civilian employee of the expedition after repenting two days ago and asking the Captains if they would forgive his brash demands and accept his services as previously agreed to. The Captains quickly agree and Charbonneau moves his family and lodge inside the Fort once again.
Six new canoes are finished. Lewis sets about separating loads among the six canoes and two larger pirogues. The basic principle operating here is minimizing exposure to loss. Now if Mr. Murphy, of Murphy’s Law, shows up and a canoe is lost, only one-eighth of the cargo is lost. Before had either of the pirogues been lost half of the cargo would have been lost.
And another interesting human development is emerging in the work of the Captains. I have not written this “daily” journal for several days now. I have had little time to write. I have read. I have worked. I have not written.
Captains Lewis and Clark are rare examples of shared leadership actually working. In reality, human nature rarely allows shared leadership to fully function. Here it did. Although legally Lewis was commissioned as a captain, his request for Clark to be commissioned equally was not granted and Congress commissioned Clark a lieutenant to insure proper command order. This decision by Congress caused Lewis much consternation because of his desire for shared leadership with his most trusted comrade in arms, William Clark. Lewis had promised Clark a captain’s commission and decided that he would treat William Clark as his equal. The matter was settled among them never to be raised again. Clark received lieutenant pay for his enlistment. Lewis received captain pay.
It is a tribute to the friendship of Lewis and Clark that they could accept the decision of those in authority and agree to share leadership for the good of the order as they set into unknown land. Not in rebellion to those in authority, but in trusted friendship, locked in spirit and arms as they risk their lives to fulfill their mission. Each man fully trusting the other with everything he had, including his life! The great historian, Stephen Ambrose, best know for his many works regarding the men who fought and won World War II, was captivated by Lewis and Clark. Their westward exploration became the focus of his young family’s summer vacations. Later, it became a privileged honor for friends and university students to accompany the Ambrose family on their annual summer excursions into territory covered by the Corps of Discovery. Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage” is my favorite account of the journey of the Corps of Discovery. I highly recommend it for those who may only read one book about this epic American exploration.
Ambrose wrote another small book called “Comrades”. In it are a series of essays about great friendships. It was spurred by his own great friendships and his study of some of the great friendships of history. Of course, his affection for Lewis and Clark is illustrated in his retelling of their affection for one another.
I started writing this daily account of the journey after the letters of offer and acceptance were exchanged between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They are an illustration of the mutual respect and affection that can be attained between friends. Their trust was formed in the rigors of military life and in the crucible of combat. Each trusted the other with his life and honor. It is a wonderful story to be emulated by all.
I’m sure we will visit it in detail later in these accounts.
Today, suffice it to say Meriwether Lewis and William Clark appear to be polar opposites in personalities. Lewis was described as “mercurial”, given to great joy and deep somberness. Clark was a man of great steadiness. Unruffled, sober in nature and able to meet any challenge William Clark’s feet were firmly planted on solid ground and his hand was unshaken by circumstances whirling around him. The perfect foil to Lewis’ highs and lows. The success of the journey was found in the perfection of their friendship.
Clark wrote in his journal virtually every day. Lewis did not. I don’t consider myself mercurial. But I certainly am not as steady as William Clark either. As you see my humanness enter into these writings (or lack thereof!), you see a reflection of the humanness of the men in charge of the expedition.
I’m also feeling very short of the perfection of the friendship these two men shared. I have many great friends. Without the life and death of battle testing our lives and nature we cannot easily determine those around us who we are called to be joined with in life and possibly death.
May God slay our human nature, fear of death and need for safety as we obey Him and follow Him into a life of adventure and great exploitations in His Great Kingdom.
“Go and make disciples of all nations!” His common commission to all. May we enter into the exploration required by His commission discovering in the furnace of many dangers, toils and snares the friend who becomes “closer than a brother”.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Driving Out Rebellion
Journal 2005 03 12
Driving Out Rebellion
The night was chilly. Snowfall greeted the “travelers”. (They hadn’t advanced camp in more than 120 days.) And the chill wind of rebellion that blew through the Fort from the Charbonneau lodge (tipi) carried spiritual snow on its path. Frozen, cold rain in the form of snow is a good analogy to the cold, stiff decisions of foolishness and pride that cause rebellion to fall on a selfish heart.
Charbonneau’s hardened heart is unchanged overnight. The Captains revoke their verbal contract with him and require he move his lodge out of Fort Mandan.
Do you see the spiritual principle at work? The prophet Jeremiah said that God will “drive off rebellion”. And the Captain’s followed this same principled. They required the rebellion to be moved out of their camp. Immediately. So Charbonneau moved his lodge outside the Fort.
Outside the Fort the buffalo hide covered lodge was subject to all the dangers that man, beast and nature could bring. Charbonneau was now solely responsible for all of his family’s welfare.
Inside the wall of Fort Mandan they found safety and a sense of security. Inside the camp were the blessings of community. As a member of the community, or in this case army, Charbonneau was able to partake in the blessings of the community. Community provisions in the form of food, hides and anything else necessary to the completion of the mission were theirs. The community woodpile provided heat for the lodge. The blessings of the community were no longer theirs because of rebellion.
Now they had to gather wood, hunt meat, stand watch and trade for any goods they couldn’t procure. Independence brought about by rebellion. The fruit of getting our own way. Is it worth it?
Am I, are you, living in the fruit of rebellion? Are you feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed with the requirements of life? Do you feel personally responsible for all the requirements of daily life?
Look around you and examine with a Godly eye what you see. Is your “lodge” outside the protective walls of “the Kingdom”? Are you cutting the wood, hunting the meat, making the clothes, tending the garden (if you can keep the animals out of it long enough to harvest) and trying to produce enough extra goods to trade for what you can’t make that you have no time or energy to stand watch throughout night against raiders?
If your life in the modern world is analogous to this rebellious life on the prairie outside the Fort, knock on the gates of the Kingdom and plead for mercy to come back into the sanctuary your Father has prepared for you in His Kingdom. His Name is a fortified fortress with all the accompanying provision that comes from living inside His Kingdom.
Choose to live there. Under His command, under His authority receiving the blessings that exist inside His Kingdom. “…seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Driving Out Rebellion
The night was chilly. Snowfall greeted the “travelers”. (They hadn’t advanced camp in more than 120 days.) And the chill wind of rebellion that blew through the Fort from the Charbonneau lodge (tipi) carried spiritual snow on its path. Frozen, cold rain in the form of snow is a good analogy to the cold, stiff decisions of foolishness and pride that cause rebellion to fall on a selfish heart.
Charbonneau’s hardened heart is unchanged overnight. The Captains revoke their verbal contract with him and require he move his lodge out of Fort Mandan.
Do you see the spiritual principle at work? The prophet Jeremiah said that God will “drive off rebellion”. And the Captain’s followed this same principled. They required the rebellion to be moved out of their camp. Immediately. So Charbonneau moved his lodge outside the Fort.
Outside the Fort the buffalo hide covered lodge was subject to all the dangers that man, beast and nature could bring. Charbonneau was now solely responsible for all of his family’s welfare.
Inside the wall of Fort Mandan they found safety and a sense of security. Inside the camp were the blessings of community. As a member of the community, or in this case army, Charbonneau was able to partake in the blessings of the community. Community provisions in the form of food, hides and anything else necessary to the completion of the mission were theirs. The community woodpile provided heat for the lodge. The blessings of the community were no longer theirs because of rebellion.
Now they had to gather wood, hunt meat, stand watch and trade for any goods they couldn’t procure. Independence brought about by rebellion. The fruit of getting our own way. Is it worth it?
Am I, are you, living in the fruit of rebellion? Are you feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed with the requirements of life? Do you feel personally responsible for all the requirements of daily life?
Look around you and examine with a Godly eye what you see. Is your “lodge” outside the protective walls of “the Kingdom”? Are you cutting the wood, hunting the meat, making the clothes, tending the garden (if you can keep the animals out of it long enough to harvest) and trying to produce enough extra goods to trade for what you can’t make that you have no time or energy to stand watch throughout night against raiders?
If your life in the modern world is analogous to this rebellious life on the prairie outside the Fort, knock on the gates of the Kingdom and plead for mercy to come back into the sanctuary your Father has prepared for you in His Kingdom. His Name is a fortified fortress with all the accompanying provision that comes from living inside His Kingdom.
Choose to live there. Under His command, under His authority receiving the blessings that exist inside His Kingdom. “…seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Friday, March 11, 2005
Just How Special Are You?
Journal 2005 03 11
Just How Special Are You?
“The palace intrigue continues.” One of my favorite lines quoted in response to a series of multi-motivated, self-serving bureaucratic back channel maneuvers by local government employees. And nothing about human nature changes until the intrusion of the Spirit of God puts human nature with all of its unholy desires under His divine government seated in Heaven.
Winter returns to Fort Mandan with a chilling reminder that the sun has not yet made its turn north. A cold wind blows and snow falls late in the day. Another chill wind is blowing and this invisible wind takes form in new demands from Charbonneau, the hired interpreter, that his new demands be met before he would continue with them in the spring.
No guard duty, no labor other than interpreting, as many of the provisions as he wants and the ability to quit and go home at any time. My Dad always called this “getting staky”. Some would call it “getting too big for your britches”. Others would call it rebellion. The Captains called him out and responded with an emphatic, “NO!” and gave him overnight to think over his demands and rescind them.
Have I ever thought I was so important that I deserved to be treated differently than everyone else? Probably most of my life. Pastor Norm Willis calls this entitlement. “I’m so special I’m entitled to whatever I demand.” We are like Charbonneau with God. “I’ll do what you want if…” It is easy to see the foolishness of Charbonneau’s demands. Are we able to recognize our own foolishness? Human nature rationalizes ours into “reasonable and appropriate demands”. Foolishness and rebellion any way you want to measure it.
This is a good time to remember that the Corps of Discovery was a military force on a military mission. In today’s military terms we would say they were on a “recon” mission. “Good order and discipline” rule all military work. Captains Lewis and Clark understood immediately that Charbonneau’s request was far outside their need for good order and discipline. Their denial of his request was easy and instant.
Military government exists for the accomplishment of the mission. Civil government exists for the “common good”. And government in the Kingdom of God exists as a foundational example for all of the rest. Good order, common good, advancement of the kingdom, Godly rule and all the blessings that follow it.
So the question for me, and for all of us, from this two-century-old recording of human history is, “Are you making selfish demands of God because you are so vital to His mission that He can’t succeed without you?”
If you are, repent of rebellion now before He gives you the night to think it over and come into your right mind. We are to be about His mission. In Him, and in His work, we find our purpose and worth. In our selfishness, we find only foolishness and destruction.
Just How Special Are You?
“The palace intrigue continues.” One of my favorite lines quoted in response to a series of multi-motivated, self-serving bureaucratic back channel maneuvers by local government employees. And nothing about human nature changes until the intrusion of the Spirit of God puts human nature with all of its unholy desires under His divine government seated in Heaven.
Winter returns to Fort Mandan with a chilling reminder that the sun has not yet made its turn north. A cold wind blows and snow falls late in the day. Another chill wind is blowing and this invisible wind takes form in new demands from Charbonneau, the hired interpreter, that his new demands be met before he would continue with them in the spring.
No guard duty, no labor other than interpreting, as many of the provisions as he wants and the ability to quit and go home at any time. My Dad always called this “getting staky”. Some would call it “getting too big for your britches”. Others would call it rebellion. The Captains called him out and responded with an emphatic, “NO!” and gave him overnight to think over his demands and rescind them.
Have I ever thought I was so important that I deserved to be treated differently than everyone else? Probably most of my life. Pastor Norm Willis calls this entitlement. “I’m so special I’m entitled to whatever I demand.” We are like Charbonneau with God. “I’ll do what you want if…” It is easy to see the foolishness of Charbonneau’s demands. Are we able to recognize our own foolishness? Human nature rationalizes ours into “reasonable and appropriate demands”. Foolishness and rebellion any way you want to measure it.
This is a good time to remember that the Corps of Discovery was a military force on a military mission. In today’s military terms we would say they were on a “recon” mission. “Good order and discipline” rule all military work. Captains Lewis and Clark understood immediately that Charbonneau’s request was far outside their need for good order and discipline. Their denial of his request was easy and instant.
Military government exists for the accomplishment of the mission. Civil government exists for the “common good”. And government in the Kingdom of God exists as a foundational example for all of the rest. Good order, common good, advancement of the kingdom, Godly rule and all the blessings that follow it.
So the question for me, and for all of us, from this two-century-old recording of human history is, “Are you making selfish demands of God because you are so vital to His mission that He can’t succeed without you?”
If you are, repent of rebellion now before He gives you the night to think it over and come into your right mind. We are to be about His mission. In Him, and in His work, we find our purpose and worth. In our selfishness, we find only foolishness and destruction.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Vulnerable or Safe?
Journal 2005 03 10
Vulnerable or Safe?
Winter returns to the prairie. Minus two for a low and a high of twelve degrees.
Two Hidatsa chiefs visit today and the Captains learn of their history. Their tribal name speaks of “the people who live high on a hill”. (Where that “hill” might be on the prairie who knows?) Sioux and Assiniboine neighbors continually made war on the Hidatsa’s. The Hidatsa’s moved closer to the Mandan’s because the Mandan’s were larger and willing to ally their strength with the Hidatsa’s. There had since been much intermarriage and melding of their tribes and cultures.
Security is one of our primal needs as people. It is even more basic than a human need. When hunting, good habitat for any animal includes water, food and good cover. Good cover is really good security. If animals have a place of cover, a safe hiding place, a refuge, they find security.
In America, we have the blessings of good cover. We have not had to find safety from our enemies because our might has kept them at bay. Imagine being a Christian in Uganda under Idi Amin or in Rwanda as butchers of humans attack. The safety of good cover means life and death.
We nod in assent when the Lord proclaims in Proverbs 18:10 that “the Name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.” Good cover? The best! Have we had need to run to that tower for our lives? Or do most of us just know it is true if we needed it someday? We take the blessings of peace for granted. We shouldn’t.
There is a tension that exists between good and evil. This tension is reflected in predator and prey. Prey is required to expose themselves to the predators during the course of living. Prey tries to be ever on the alert and never be far from safe cover.
Because of the abundance of God’s good cover over our land we have become complacent and unaware of the predator who, like a lion, “prowls about seeking who he can devour”.
We must go about our daily business, understanding our exposure to the predator in the process. We must become alert to the predator and his practice of stealth and deception. He will only attack when he has gained close enough access to judge he can overcome our security measures and ability to defend ourselves and make a retreat to safe cover.
I could write volumes about the wiles of our enemies and their insatiable thirst to devour. My purpose and God’s purpose this morning is to remind us that we need community for safety. Like the Hidatsa’s who were under attack by a superior force, sought out friendly neighbors and found safety, we are to seek out our ‘neighbors”, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and find safety. And we all are to look to the Name of the Lord as our spiritual place of safety and refuge, a strong tower. Under attack? Run to the name of the Lord and enter His strong tower, His fortress. No evil can befall you in His place of refuge.
Vulnerable or Safe?
Winter returns to the prairie. Minus two for a low and a high of twelve degrees.
Two Hidatsa chiefs visit today and the Captains learn of their history. Their tribal name speaks of “the people who live high on a hill”. (Where that “hill” might be on the prairie who knows?) Sioux and Assiniboine neighbors continually made war on the Hidatsa’s. The Hidatsa’s moved closer to the Mandan’s because the Mandan’s were larger and willing to ally their strength with the Hidatsa’s. There had since been much intermarriage and melding of their tribes and cultures.
Security is one of our primal needs as people. It is even more basic than a human need. When hunting, good habitat for any animal includes water, food and good cover. Good cover is really good security. If animals have a place of cover, a safe hiding place, a refuge, they find security.
In America, we have the blessings of good cover. We have not had to find safety from our enemies because our might has kept them at bay. Imagine being a Christian in Uganda under Idi Amin or in Rwanda as butchers of humans attack. The safety of good cover means life and death.
We nod in assent when the Lord proclaims in Proverbs 18:10 that “the Name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.” Good cover? The best! Have we had need to run to that tower for our lives? Or do most of us just know it is true if we needed it someday? We take the blessings of peace for granted. We shouldn’t.
There is a tension that exists between good and evil. This tension is reflected in predator and prey. Prey is required to expose themselves to the predators during the course of living. Prey tries to be ever on the alert and never be far from safe cover.
Because of the abundance of God’s good cover over our land we have become complacent and unaware of the predator who, like a lion, “prowls about seeking who he can devour”.
We must go about our daily business, understanding our exposure to the predator in the process. We must become alert to the predator and his practice of stealth and deception. He will only attack when he has gained close enough access to judge he can overcome our security measures and ability to defend ourselves and make a retreat to safe cover.
I could write volumes about the wiles of our enemies and their insatiable thirst to devour. My purpose and God’s purpose this morning is to remind us that we need community for safety. Like the Hidatsa’s who were under attack by a superior force, sought out friendly neighbors and found safety, we are to seek out our ‘neighbors”, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and find safety. And we all are to look to the Name of the Lord as our spiritual place of safety and refuge, a strong tower. Under attack? Run to the name of the Lord and enter His strong tower, His fortress. No evil can befall you in His place of refuge.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Fire and Ice
Journal 2005 03 09
Fire and Ice
Clark walks five miles up to the canoe building camp to see how the work is progressing. On the way he encounters five Hidatsa’s heading to Fort Mandan. Turns out it is the tyrannical Chief Le Bourgne who has refused to visit Fort Mandan until now. The chief is known to favor the British, but pressure from the rest of the members of his tribe (who are enamored with the American soldiers) forces him to visit. Clark welcomes him, commends him to Captain Lewis and sends his interpreter with the chief to Fort Mandan.
The change in activities in two weeks amazes me. The men move from struggling to free the boats from the ice before they are destroyed to watching the Indians set fire to the prairie to encourage the growth of grass for the buffalo. (Agricultural researchers today think that it was these fires that kept the Great Plains as grasslands with no hardwood growth.) We see similar practices in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Drive I-5 at certain times of the year and smoke fills the air as fields are burned to allow the harvested crop to quickly become food for the next.
One week ice, the next fire. Amazing.
I wanted to talk about hospitality with this morning’s message, because it is obvious that even Chief Le Bourgne, who is described in other writings as a vicious, violent madman, is worn out and won over by the good reputation and warm hospitality exhibited by the young Americans during their winter among the tribes. I can easily imagine the same transformation of prejudices taking place throughout Iraq as the Iraqi people have opportunity to see the children of “the Great Satan” put their lives on the line for them day after day. And although we see little of it on the evening news, we know that young American soldiers are helping to rebuild water, sewer, power and schools throughout their land. Let’s hope and pray that the “Le Bourgne’s” of the Middle East are transformed by the overwhelming good reports of their people and are forced by them to engage the truth about who is living among them.
I am compelled to talk about recognizing the times. We can so insulate ourselves from the impact of the natural world that we can homogenize our existence and lose all identity and sense of purpose in the process. We literally become like white milk. Bland and unchanging. Homogenized.
When we in turn so insulate ourselves from the spiritual world that we can no longer see and feel fire and ice we become homogenized in our spiritual life. We become bland and unchanging. Hot or cold. Fire or ice. That is what Jesus is after in us. Lukewarm milk? Quickly soured, poured out and discarded. Cold drink? Refreshing on a hot day. Hot cup of coffee? Just what the doctor ordered on a cold, crisp morning to warm our being.
Hot or cold. Fire or ice. These are the choices before us every day. Don’t make a choice to be hot or cold. Fine, you get lukewarm eventually. And lukewarm, in the middle, compromised, is the place for those who cannot discern the changing seasons and activities that accompany them.
Lord let us see and feel and respond to the changes He brings on the Winds of the Spirit as you advance His plan of exploration, conquest and acquisition of souls as we march through the unexplored land He has placed before us!
Choose Fire. Choose Ice. Do not wait for either to become lukewarm and useful for nothing.
Fire and Ice
Clark walks five miles up to the canoe building camp to see how the work is progressing. On the way he encounters five Hidatsa’s heading to Fort Mandan. Turns out it is the tyrannical Chief Le Bourgne who has refused to visit Fort Mandan until now. The chief is known to favor the British, but pressure from the rest of the members of his tribe (who are enamored with the American soldiers) forces him to visit. Clark welcomes him, commends him to Captain Lewis and sends his interpreter with the chief to Fort Mandan.
The change in activities in two weeks amazes me. The men move from struggling to free the boats from the ice before they are destroyed to watching the Indians set fire to the prairie to encourage the growth of grass for the buffalo. (Agricultural researchers today think that it was these fires that kept the Great Plains as grasslands with no hardwood growth.) We see similar practices in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Drive I-5 at certain times of the year and smoke fills the air as fields are burned to allow the harvested crop to quickly become food for the next.
One week ice, the next fire. Amazing.
I wanted to talk about hospitality with this morning’s message, because it is obvious that even Chief Le Bourgne, who is described in other writings as a vicious, violent madman, is worn out and won over by the good reputation and warm hospitality exhibited by the young Americans during their winter among the tribes. I can easily imagine the same transformation of prejudices taking place throughout Iraq as the Iraqi people have opportunity to see the children of “the Great Satan” put their lives on the line for them day after day. And although we see little of it on the evening news, we know that young American soldiers are helping to rebuild water, sewer, power and schools throughout their land. Let’s hope and pray that the “Le Bourgne’s” of the Middle East are transformed by the overwhelming good reports of their people and are forced by them to engage the truth about who is living among them.
I am compelled to talk about recognizing the times. We can so insulate ourselves from the impact of the natural world that we can homogenize our existence and lose all identity and sense of purpose in the process. We literally become like white milk. Bland and unchanging. Homogenized.
When we in turn so insulate ourselves from the spiritual world that we can no longer see and feel fire and ice we become homogenized in our spiritual life. We become bland and unchanging. Hot or cold. Fire or ice. That is what Jesus is after in us. Lukewarm milk? Quickly soured, poured out and discarded. Cold drink? Refreshing on a hot day. Hot cup of coffee? Just what the doctor ordered on a cold, crisp morning to warm our being.
Hot or cold. Fire or ice. These are the choices before us every day. Don’t make a choice to be hot or cold. Fine, you get lukewarm eventually. And lukewarm, in the middle, compromised, is the place for those who cannot discern the changing seasons and activities that accompany them.
Lord let us see and feel and respond to the changes He brings on the Winds of the Spirit as you advance His plan of exploration, conquest and acquisition of souls as we march through the unexplored land He has placed before us!
Choose Fire. Choose Ice. Do not wait for either to become lukewarm and useful for nothing.
Friday, March 04, 2005
A Secure Fortress
Journal 2005 03 04
A Secure Fortress
As stirring from a deep winter slumber the people on the prairie are bustling with movement.
The temperature continues to be around forty and a new year is anticipated.
Visitors from the trading companies are out and about meeting with the tribes and the Captains. Tribes seem to send members between themselves for many different reasons. The rumor of the Sioux tribes declaring death to all white men seems to be gaining credibility. The seemingly friendly Assinboine tribe attempts to steal horses from the Mandans but are driven off by gunfire from the primitive muskets wielded by the Mandans.
Not all the work and all effort is honorable. Fort Mandan had a fence to enhance security and provide a residence, a point of living, founded in strength. The word fort is defined by strength. The Indians erected their villages in a manner that enhanced their security. And you’ve heard it said many times, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” Eternal vigilance is also required for some form of security.
Guards are posted on the walls and charged to be on constant alert to any and all attempts to penetrate the strength of the fort. The usual punishment for sleeping while on guard duty is court martial and the death penalty. Why so harsh a penalty? Everyone inside the fort is vulnerable and the guard must be alert.
As we stir from the dormancy of winter, are we vigilant to the increased activity around us? Do we see the attempts of the enemy to steal our “horses”? Have we posted guards to be on alert to the attempts of those who come under the authority of our enemies to weaken and defeat us? Do we understand the simple fact that all who come with open arms are not our friends?
As activity increases around us and we busy ourselves with the work of life, make a renewed effort to examine your “fortress” for sound construction and proper security measures that you may be eternally vigilant in the guarding of that which you are responsible for.
It starts with your own heart, for out of that flow the issues of life. It moves to your immediate physical surroundings. You men are given charge over your family and are responsible for their security. We are responsible for the Kingdom of God taking hold in our church, community and nation “that the people would be blessed.”
Today is a good day to examine, review and allow the Holy Spirit to establish a plan for us to lift up the Name of the Lord as the center of our security, a strong tower where all can run and be safe. Our security, and all security, ultimately rests in Him.
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10
A Secure Fortress
As stirring from a deep winter slumber the people on the prairie are bustling with movement.
The temperature continues to be around forty and a new year is anticipated.
Visitors from the trading companies are out and about meeting with the tribes and the Captains. Tribes seem to send members between themselves for many different reasons. The rumor of the Sioux tribes declaring death to all white men seems to be gaining credibility. The seemingly friendly Assinboine tribe attempts to steal horses from the Mandans but are driven off by gunfire from the primitive muskets wielded by the Mandans.
Not all the work and all effort is honorable. Fort Mandan had a fence to enhance security and provide a residence, a point of living, founded in strength. The word fort is defined by strength. The Indians erected their villages in a manner that enhanced their security. And you’ve heard it said many times, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” Eternal vigilance is also required for some form of security.
Guards are posted on the walls and charged to be on constant alert to any and all attempts to penetrate the strength of the fort. The usual punishment for sleeping while on guard duty is court martial and the death penalty. Why so harsh a penalty? Everyone inside the fort is vulnerable and the guard must be alert.
As we stir from the dormancy of winter, are we vigilant to the increased activity around us? Do we see the attempts of the enemy to steal our “horses”? Have we posted guards to be on alert to the attempts of those who come under the authority of our enemies to weaken and defeat us? Do we understand the simple fact that all who come with open arms are not our friends?
As activity increases around us and we busy ourselves with the work of life, make a renewed effort to examine your “fortress” for sound construction and proper security measures that you may be eternally vigilant in the guarding of that which you are responsible for.
It starts with your own heart, for out of that flow the issues of life. It moves to your immediate physical surroundings. You men are given charge over your family and are responsible for their security. We are responsible for the Kingdom of God taking hold in our church, community and nation “that the people would be blessed.”
Today is a good day to examine, review and allow the Holy Spirit to establish a plan for us to lift up the Name of the Lord as the center of our security, a strong tower where all can run and be safe. Our security, and all security, ultimately rests in Him.
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Anticipating a Change of Seasons
Journal 2005 03 03
Anticipating a Change of Seasons
A flock of geese flies overhead. North. Weather in the high thirties and the ice in the Missouri River is breaking up. Spring approaches. This small troop of soldiers is anxious to get moving west.
Preparations for the upcoming journey are in full swing. Fort Mandan bustles with activity. The forge is in constant use making tools to trade, hides are twisted into ropes, piroques (oar and sail driven river boats) prepared, canoes carved and the Captains receive visitors from the British trading companies every day as the winter blanket of snow, ice and chilling air is anticipated to give way to the warming currents that blow unimpeded across the prairie.
No prairie grass is growing, snow and ice still cover the ground and Indians watch the now running river for bison that have fallen through the thinning ice and drown. Easier than hunting!
Is it spring yet? No. Is winter over yet? No. Are signs of spring in the air? Yes. Geese fly north. The river changes from ice to water. And the spirits of the people are lifting from the stillness the cold covering of winter bunkered over them.
Do we see the signs of the change that mark a change of season in our lives?
Jesus told His disciples that like the signs given by the color of the sunset, they would see signs signaling His return. He expects that we know how to see and understands signs, or signals, of change. Have we learned to read these signs? Are we looking for them? They emerge from patterns. If we don’t know the patterns we won’t see the differences that indicate a change is imminent.
In winter, the sun sets deep in the south on the horizon. In the summer, the sun sets to the far north. In the course of a year, it traverses the length of the Olympic Mountains for those of us who live in Seattle. A sign. But only for those who can, and do, read it.
Have you heard birds chirping in the early morning for about a week now? Can you see the thin branches of last year’s growth beginning to “thicken” against the bright background of the sky as buds begin to sprout new life? Is this pattern similar to last year, or the year before, or a decade of transitions from winter to spring? If you are not watching and observing you cannot know.
God would have us to watch and know how He operates through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Emmanuel, God with us. Indwelling those who have become His church. His expression, His body on this earth. We are to see signs and know them. Signs of changing seasons. Are we preparing ourselves for the change? Are we anticipating them? Or do we march forward in the same cadence that has marked our journey uninterrupted since our salvation?
Let the Holy Spirit blow winds of change as a natural part of seasons changing in our lives. See the pattern, the change and prepare yourself for the upcoming spring. It brings new life and refreshment. Look for it today and live!
Anticipating a Change of Seasons
A flock of geese flies overhead. North. Weather in the high thirties and the ice in the Missouri River is breaking up. Spring approaches. This small troop of soldiers is anxious to get moving west.
Preparations for the upcoming journey are in full swing. Fort Mandan bustles with activity. The forge is in constant use making tools to trade, hides are twisted into ropes, piroques (oar and sail driven river boats) prepared, canoes carved and the Captains receive visitors from the British trading companies every day as the winter blanket of snow, ice and chilling air is anticipated to give way to the warming currents that blow unimpeded across the prairie.
No prairie grass is growing, snow and ice still cover the ground and Indians watch the now running river for bison that have fallen through the thinning ice and drown. Easier than hunting!
Is it spring yet? No. Is winter over yet? No. Are signs of spring in the air? Yes. Geese fly north. The river changes from ice to water. And the spirits of the people are lifting from the stillness the cold covering of winter bunkered over them.
Do we see the signs of the change that mark a change of season in our lives?
Jesus told His disciples that like the signs given by the color of the sunset, they would see signs signaling His return. He expects that we know how to see and understands signs, or signals, of change. Have we learned to read these signs? Are we looking for them? They emerge from patterns. If we don’t know the patterns we won’t see the differences that indicate a change is imminent.
In winter, the sun sets deep in the south on the horizon. In the summer, the sun sets to the far north. In the course of a year, it traverses the length of the Olympic Mountains for those of us who live in Seattle. A sign. But only for those who can, and do, read it.
Have you heard birds chirping in the early morning for about a week now? Can you see the thin branches of last year’s growth beginning to “thicken” against the bright background of the sky as buds begin to sprout new life? Is this pattern similar to last year, or the year before, or a decade of transitions from winter to spring? If you are not watching and observing you cannot know.
God would have us to watch and know how He operates through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Emmanuel, God with us. Indwelling those who have become His church. His expression, His body on this earth. We are to see signs and know them. Signs of changing seasons. Are we preparing ourselves for the change? Are we anticipating them? Or do we march forward in the same cadence that has marked our journey uninterrupted since our salvation?
Let the Holy Spirit blow winds of change as a natural part of seasons changing in our lives. See the pattern, the change and prepare yourself for the upcoming spring. It brings new life and refreshment. Look for it today and live!
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