“Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”
Psalm 77:20
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Take my hand, Lord,
and guide me through this weary time.
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Gently lift and gently lead,
my eyes are tired,
the path is dim.
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Take my hand, Lord,
a grasp of friendship,
a grasp of love,
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Father to child,
child to father,
trusting,
secure,
warm.
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Take my hand, Lord,
that I might be healed,
and capable soon,
to reach my hand,
back to another.
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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV
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I’m strong – I have power,
You’re weak – you’re nothing.
I could hit you – I could stab you,
You’re weak – you’re nothing.
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These streets are mine – I need nothing,
I don’t need food – I don’t need a room.
I can do anything – I can do everything,
You’re weak – you’re nothing.
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I could kill you – I could take your money,
I could destroy everything you have.
I am strong – nothing can touch me,
You’re weak – you’re nothing.
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What’s wrong with you, man?
Don’t you see me, don’t you hear me?
You are at my mercy –
You are a bug in the palm of my hand,
You’re weak – you’re nothing.
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Don’t you hear me – can’t you see what I am.
I am strong – I am tough – nothing can hurt me.
I need nothing – I need no one –
The streets are mine,
You’re weak – you’re nothing.
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You’re different, man – you’re different.
You don’t fear me – but you’re not tough.
You sort of glow, man – are you high,
What are you on, man?
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You’re different, man – you’re different.
I’m tough – I’m mean – but – you’re different.
What’s in you, man – I don’t get it.
I’m mean – but you’re looking at me like –
Like – we’re old friends, or something.
But – I don’t have friends –
There are no friends on the street,
NO – you’re weak – you’re nothing.
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I don’t need you – I don’t need nobody,
The streets are mine – I live through fear,
No one messes with me.
But, you’re different, man – Who are you?
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Don’t touch me, man,
No one touches me – Nothing touches me.
I’m mean – the streets are mine,
I’m – – strong – – I’m – –
Who are you?
What are you?
—-
Sit down, man – over here,
Where no one can see.
Tell me again why you aren’t afraid.
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There’s no way You could have been like Me,
No way, man – You’re weak – you’re – – different – – you’re – –
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I don’t want to change,
I don’t need food – I don’t need nobody,
People are bad news, man –
People are no good,
Out here I’m king, man,
These are my streets – I’m mean . . .
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Don’t hold me, man -don’t touch me – don’t . . . .
Why did you do that –
Why do you care about me.
There’s nothing in your world for me,
There’s no hope – I’m not like you –
You’re not like me,
I can’t be like you.
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Who are you, man – look at me cry,
I don’t cry – I’m mean – I’m tough – I’m . . .
Who are you?
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Ok, man – Ok.
Tell me again,
Tell me again about this Jesus guy.
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And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Luke 15:31-32 KJV
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Where is my heart, Lord,
The heart You can see.
Has it wandered much too far,
From where it ought to be?
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I rest in Your presence
And wonder where I am.
Have I gone too far?
Have I given up too soon?
You have set a path for me,
Charted by Grace,
Out of bondage,
Through the Wilderness,
Into the Promised Land.
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How often do I cast a glance
At the familiar security of bondage?
My memories, sweetened with time,
Draw me back across the Wilderness
That I have already overcome.
My promise of tomorrow,
Looses distance,
By my own temptations.
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Yet, at the end of my daily journey,
As I cry out,
You rest with me.
Words of encouragement urge me forward,
The reality of temptation, once again,
Becomes clear.
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There is no anger in your voice,
There is no disappointment,
Only tears of joy,
Fatherly pride,
As I step, once again,
Toward the promise.
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Callous my heart, Lord,
To sweetened memories,
To familiarity.
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Tender my hear, Lord, toward You.
Let me see Your path with certainty.
Harness my mind and confusion.
Touch the greatest depths of my soul,
That when we meet again,
In the cool of the day,
That I might hear You,
With a perfect heart.
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Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Ephesians 6:6-7 (KJV)
We live in a rural community, a small town with lots of space. In the area I live, all the homes are on 1-acre lots, or larger. It isn’t unusual to see horses and goats wandering in yards – keeping the vegetation under control. It’s a very comforting sight. Roosters announce the sun, and passing car headlights in the middle of the night. Even the occasional donkey bray, louder that I ever expected, piercing the morning quiet, is comforting. Always makes me chuckle.
We’ve had several years of drought and the lots aren’t scattered with wild flowers, as in years past, but after a monsoon rain, the valley turns immediately green and delightful. Times come when people are unable to care for animals, for health or financial reasons. You often see animals for sale or given away to good homes. Lots overgrow and become fire hazards when the growth becomes dry. Many people commute a long distance to find a good job and their lots suffer.
Not long ago our lot was to the point where we had to do something. Even with three healthy boys in the house, between work, school, church and after-school activities, no one had time. One day I decided enough was enough and created a parental ordinance – all activities were hereby cancelled until the weeds were mowed.
Out came the mower and about 1/16th of an acre later, the wheel busted right off. Good Grief! The wheel was a special order, replaced the year before, and just not what we needed to replace right now. Grumble, Grumble, Grumble! Been there?
Later in the day I needed to head into town. Along a side street I noticed an empty motorized wheelchair. I slowed down to be sure the owner hadn’t fallen out. There he was, on a metal crutch, legs painfully misshaped, weed-eating the front of his lot. Oh, my goodness.
Weeds and dust flew around him, but his smile never diminished. You see, against all odds, and doctor’s reports, he could still do something. He could get out of the wheelchair he had been sentenced to and make his overgrown lot look beautiful. No goat, no horse – just a hobbled man on a crutch with a weed-eater.
So many times I have seen my ministry dreams and visions put on hold and I think – I’m getting old, how can I ever see this come to pass. I read my Bible and pray and wonder, with a shadowing of doubt, whether the ministry that God has burning inside of me will ever get past pen and paper and into reality. I sit in my self-imposed “wheelchair” and cry out for solutions when God is telling me to get out on shaky legs and lean on the “crutch” of the dream that He’s given me and make something beautiful happen; even if I can only go forward a few feet at a time – like my weed-eating friend.
How many of us sit in “wheelchairs” of doubt, fear, shame, and “I can’ts,” never allowing God to use the gifts He’s birthed inside of us. God, stop the wheels on the chair I rest in and push me forward toward the goals You have placed in front of me. Encourage me to take the small steps, every day, toward the finish line that grows nearer with every moment. Prove to me “I Can.”
“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand
shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall
bow down before thee.” Genesis 49:8 KJV
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Judah is rising up,
As the Phoenix Bird from her ashes,
Reborn and Refreshed,
To take His place in the line of war.
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His dead are walking forth from the tombs,
where they have been wrapped,
In the works of this world.
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The scales are being removed from His blinded eyes,
Falling to His feet of bronze.
His tongue is being loosed,
To bring the message of God.
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Judah is rising up to take His place in the line of war.
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With the blessing of Jacob,
And the prayer of Moses,
He prepares Himself,
Ready to battle,
In the Armor of Light.
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The belt of truth glistens in the light of the sun,
Making a way,
Distilling the darkness.
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Righteousness adorns His breast,
Truth, Grace, Justice.
Peace from the written Word,
Which was God and is God,
Steadies and guides His feet.
Cloaked with faith,
Which no evil can penetrate.
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Covering His head with the Anointing oil,
A Spiritual helmet,
Cleansing the mind,
Clearing the confusion,
Making salvation clear.
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Stepping forth in the strength of the Spirit,
Both violent and tender,
Judging in Love,
He begins the walk.
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Judah has risen,
He is taking His place,
In this Spiritual War.
The singers march first,
To anoint the field,
Causing demons to flee.
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The Levites remain, interceding,
Protecting, lighting the way,
With prayers unceasing.
Those that have fallen,
Those that have strayed,
Hear His call.
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The Lion roars in the tribe of Judah,
The Root of David gains strength.
The songs of Angels’ tongues break forth,
Screams and gnashing echo in the darkness.
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Judah has risen, He has taken His place.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto
them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Ezekiel 37:4 KJV
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Could I have bore the pain you carried.
Would you have tread where I once walked.
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Had we been given each other trials,
Would I or you have chosen different paths,
Or could I have carried the burden for which I have judged you?
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The ravens of gossip and deceit,
Help me to strip the smallest,
Most hidden and covered areas of your being.
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With a critical tongue and thoughtless sighs,
I chew away your life, bite by bite.
Stripping away the beauty that was you,
Leaving dry parched bones,
Cast into the wasteland.
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What have I done?
Can these bones live again?
Can what was stolen ever be returned?
Will you be able to hear Jesus call,
With the cleansing blood of truth,
That can breathe life back into these bones.
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Will you let another hear that can love
and nurture your brokenness back to health,
Or have the words of my mouth caused walls of stone,
So tall and deep, that none may penetrate.
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Could I have carried the burdens for which I have judged you?
Could I have carried the burden of the pain which I have caused you?
If I had only taken the time to see life through your walk,
If . . .
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30 KJV
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Born of sacrifice,
Birthed in grace,
Bone of man’s bone,
Blood of man’s blood.
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Chosen to serve,
Cleaving to the covenant,
The promise of Adam,
The promise of Abraham.
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Grace to bring forth,
The children of promise,
Destined to call,
Destined to serve.
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Grace to pray truth,
Into the nation,
Grace to endure,
Intercession by day,
Intercession by night.
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Unwaivering love,
Unmerited favor,
To see past the pain,
Of sin’s temporal hand,
To the promise of life,
This side of the cross.
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Faith in the truth,
Abounding with love,
To believe in the birth,
To believe in the death,
Of life and of Sin,
Of spirit, of soul.
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Grace to bloom forth,
As the rose in the desert,
With fragrance and velvet,
From the thorns,
Rigid arms.
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Rising to God,
In manifest witness,
Of grace and of mercy,
In truth from above.
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Matthew 17:20 “ . . . If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
While enjoying a moment of prayer and being enveloped in the blessing of anointed music, I was touched by the greatness of God. The God that brought the children of promise out of Egypt; the God that parted the Red Sea; the God that brought life to the womb of a virgin Israelite girl; the God who created life and set the sun, moon and stars in their orbit. The God that give life to the grass, flowers, animals and man – no two alike. The God that holds every thought and every emotion of each of His children close to His heart, and turns His head toward the broken, sincere prayer. What a Mighty God We Serve!!!
As I sat in thanksgiving of how great He is, I rejoiced in how He loves us so much that He has packaged all of His power into a faith that would fit inside the tiny mustard seed. A seed so small, that I could hold hundreds in the palm of my hand. That thought fills me with such joy. The faith of Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Peter and Paul would fit into five tiny seeds that rest in the crease of my palm. The faith to lead a nation, to speak life into dying people. The faith to perplex natural events and raise the dead back to new life. The faith to stand, and when they were weary and no longer had the strength to stand, by faith they stood.
Jesus, I pray that I will be content enough with myself that I will want to abundantly bless another in my smallness. I don’t want to feel that I must be well known and in frontline ministry to be able to make a difference. Help me to remember that I can rest in prayer, and with the faith the size of a mustard seed, send up the sweet savor of a miracle to be birthed in another, half a world away.
“And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.” Mark 6:7-9 (KJV)
Seeing the commercials for Back-to-School clothing and taking notice of the clothing that people are wearing, almost always seemingly new, brought back memories of being a kid in the 50’sand a teen in the 60’s. My clearest memories are in my junior high school, where everyone had such a strong opinion of what was “cool” and what was not.
There were five kids in my household and money was tight. In grade school my mom made a lot of our clothing, some from flour sacks with tiny colorful flowers printed on them. In junior high school I was allowed to have 5 skirts and 5 blouses which we bought at the discount store. Sometimes I had a thing or two that fit from the year before, so those were subtracted from the items I was allowed to choose that year.
We were allowed to have one pair of shoes a year, which were always bought a thumb-width too long so you had room to grow into them during the year. By the end of summer you had to stuff cardboard inside so the rocks didn’t bruise your feet through the holes that had worn through the soles on the bottom. Plus, the stitching always wore through around the toe so the sole would flap as you walked. Sometimes epoxy helped, sometimes it didn’t. On the weekends were hand-me-down jeans and hand-me-down t-shirts and old gym shoes from the school year before. That’s just the way it was.
Then was an era when you took the time to put things back together – the handle on a coffee cup broke off, glue it on – the plate was dropped and broke in half, glue it back together – the handle on the rake broke, bailing wire and screws – the broom handle broke, tape and screws or use it short! Things had value because resources were few. We learned to cherish the things we had.
Today we live in a microwave society with an abundance of cheap, poorly made products designed to fail after a year’s use. We live in a society of debt and over extension so that “we” can have everything that “others” expect us to have to be normal. How did that happen? How do we get people back to “necessity” and out of “want”?
When Jesus sent the disciples out He told them to only take what they wore and two coats. He knew that carrying more would burden them and slow them down, keeping them from reaching the people He needed them to reaching in a timely manner. The disciples depended on God and the people of faith to provide for their needs as they did His work.
The children of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness, but their clothing never ripped and their sandals never broke or wore through. What a miracle, I had a hard time getting 9 month’s wear out of my saddle oxfords!
Have we lost sight of why we are here? Have we sacrificed simplicity for a life of attractive complications? Jesus sent us with a simple yet powerful assignment, share the gospel with all people, care for the widows, the orphans and the homeless; comfort the hurting, pray for all.
I can do that. I am aware that the few things I give up each week can make a huge difference to a person in need. I can set a few extra plates at my table and invite folks over that need a break, a homemade meal and a time of encouragement. I can put together small packages of items and deliver them to the shelters. I can pray for the hurting, whether near or far, knowing that Jesus takes those prayers straight to the Father and a miracle will come soon. I can, I will.
Jesus, help me to always be aware of Your kingdom and Your children. Help me to walk past selfishness and always into Your will. Amen
By Linda J. Humes
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5 – 6 KJV
Trust. An interesting concept. What is trust? Trust is traveling down a highway at 65 MPH with another vehicle bearing down on you from the opposite direction at the same speed – knowing that they won’t cross the double yellow line that separates you. Trust is running 75 MPH up a mountain grade, zipping past the big rigs struggling at 30 MPH to make the grade and knowing they aren’t going to cross that dotted white line and pull in front of you.
Every day we stand on that trust, even though we’ve seen the evidence of betrayed trust along the way – figure eight skid-marks, pieces of vehicles and flares along the road, even one retaining wall in Phoenix which had been scrapped black from an impact and someone had painted a red cross in the center. Momentary diversions. If we dwell on the betrayed trust we wouldn’t be able to function in transportation – fear would overwhelm us and we would remain paralyzed. We MUST remain in trust.
If I can trust completely in strangers in my everyday travels – why do I struggle in trusting that God will honor His word?
Recently our family had gone through critical medical and financial crisis. I knew in my heart that God could provide for our needs – for healing – for the medical expenses – for our food and shelter. But in my mind it was too big. How could I help make it happen – ever been there??
I looked around for extra work, there wasn’t any. I tried putting things out in front of our home to sell – a car hit the items and they were ruined. We called everywhere we could think of for assistance – we didn’t qualify. Every door closed around us – God wanted us to know that He was in control. He WAS! Healing came. Food boxes and grocery gift cards came. Every bill has been paid to date. Praise God! I don’t know how He did it; I only know that He did. I trust that he will continue until this crisis has ended.
Trust. Interesting concept. What is it? It’s knowing that if I walk humbly and faithfully in His ways, He will be there to meet my needs. It’s knowing that no matter how much I try, I can’t. It’s knowing that my Heavenly Father loves me more than I could ever fathom and wants His perfect plan for my life. It’s knowing that all I have to do is call His Name and He will be there beside me.
In that I trust.
Linda J. Humes 