Do It

I Chronicles 28:19-20 ~ "All this the Lord made me understand by the writing by His hand upon me, all the work to be done according to the plan.  Also David told Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous, and do it.  Fear not, be not dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.'"

He caused me to understand through "the writing by His hand upon me."  His hand writing upon me and causing me to understand and know His plan.

His hand writing on the lives of His people is poetry in its purest form, form of perfection and language of love poured from the heavens above.  Some of us labor under language, attempt to worship with our words and yet a poetry of perfection was already written on the days of my existence.  A language of love that can not be improved upon nor duplicated, it was penned to completion at the foundation of time and I have only to live and breathe under this poetry of perfection.

But, Who can read these words written by the hand of God upon me?  Who can know these words?  None, save the Spirit of God.  In pursuit of this poetry of perfection I read the lines written by the Spirit on my spirit only through the Spirit.

vs 19 ~ ". . . the plans of the Spirit were with him, under the direction of the Lord . . . " (NLT)

To those that would ask how to know the lines of perfect poetry etched onto their days ~ read this alternate rendering of verse 19 with care.  Under.  Under the direction of the Lord.

Obedience ~ in the Greek New Testament ~ hupakoe ~ translates into hupo - under, akouo - to hear.  In literal translation ~ to hear under.  Obedience in the original Greek ~ to hear under.

It was understood by the original reader, the ancient audiences ~ hupakoe, obedience ~ was to them a place of "surrendered listening."  A submitted spirit, a surrendered soul, quietly listening to their Father's words.  Our spirits are to be always under the Spirit, thoughts of self are surrendered.  The instructions we hear, we obey because we have no concerns for our own rights.  Rights.  Entitlements.  Deserved.  We find these as popular words today, highly important to most of us, even in the church.  Yet, Christ Who did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, to He Who being in the form of God did the unthinkable ~ "but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of bond servant, and coming in the likeliness of man.  And being in the appearance of man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross." (Philippians 2:6-9)

God Himself demanded no rights.  No entitlements.  Nothing deserved.  He demanded nothing.  Born into the small, born into humble, born into the stable.  And He was born in obedience, lived in obedience, died in obedience and then lived again and lives on and on in obedience.  And we too live to the degree that we are obedient. 

So, we beg for strength from on high to mirror our Model.  We plead He strips us of pride and then we cry for the grace to withstand the stripping.  For the stripping away will run deep into the inner core of all that you are and it will burn and you will hurt but to those who submit to the stripping away of ugly self find that there is Beauty buried in the pain.  For under the self is Spirit ~ Beauty buried.

And by His hand He writes upon us, He writes words of love and power, words of restoration and anointing, words of forgiveness and wholeness and words of commissioning.  The very hand of God, this moment writes words upon you ~ do you have the courage to sit "under the direction of the Lord?"  Are you ready for "surrendered listening?"

If so, then listen to words of father spoken in counsel to son ~ "Be courageous and strong, and do it.  Fear not, do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you." (vs 20)


Do you trust Creator to be more beautiful than creation?

I certainly do, I have lived too many years with ugly self to think anything different.

Surrendered listening gives Light to Beauty buried within.

Do you crave buried Beauty?  Then, be courageous and strong and do it.

Depraved David and Our Prodigal Hearts

Psalm 51:10-13 ~
        "Create in me a clean heart, O God,
            and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
          Do not cast me away from your presence
            and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
          Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
            and uphold me by your generous Spirit.
          Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
            and sinners shall be converted to You."

Depraved David had slipped and tumbled deep into depths of depravity that even we, we in our immorally crazed society, cast a judgmental eye I upon.

Adultery ~ well, yes, we must admit that is quite common and readily accessible.  But, murder, oh my! And murder of a loyal and faithful friend and warrior.  And the man who had known betrayal from friend and king now dove head first into depravity of the disloyal.  Disloyal to friend and disloyal to God.

And depraved David laments over his sin-sick soul and pens Psalm 51 and the heavens part and merciful God beholds repentant sinner and depraved David is transformed into "a man after His own heart" once again.

And in verse 10 depraved David cries forth words that this depraved heart has whispered and whimpered to the throne of God hundreds, nay, thousands of times.

A depraved heart transformed into clean heart and feeble spirit is grafted into a steadfast Spirit.

A steadfast spirit ~ regardless of circumstances, trails or tribulations, regardless of stresses or difficulties, regardless of all that this world may throw at us our spirits are steady and sure.  Steadfast.  And this is not a thing that we can manufacture or muster, no this steadfast spirit is heavenly gift.  And ALL the saints said amen, for steadfast without Christ we surely are not!

And as promise of Presence and Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit gifted to depraved David and to depraved me, is re-remembered and rejoiced over, then this "man after God's own heart," pens a startling revelation.

"Then I will teach transgressors Your way, and sinners will be converted to You."  (verse 13)

We with previously depraved hearts of stone tell tale of mercy and grace and others are converted, converted to You.

I have some transgressors milling about, certainly a few sinners (which I am the chief) and those whom I love dearly and I worry wildly for.  Worry is a sin I tell myself, but eternity and the thought of some prodigal sons and daughters I know being separated from Him forever living in torment for all of time with no reprieve ~ well, that thought makes me ill and causes me to rise early to plead on their behalf and to forgo a few morsels of bread to beg God to cause them to forgo their sin.

But . . . sinners shall be converted and returned to You.

Oh dear prodigal sons and daughters, you ran from the glory of your Father and now wallow in the muck; what has this world given you?  What has this temporal temptress offered you but fleeting pleasures followed swiftly by loss and pain?

Prodigals, you have not seen the tears I weep over you, and yet my concern does not even touch the degree to which your Father aches for you.

Sons and daughters who have walked away, do you wonder with trepidation what your return would entail?

We with new hearts and gifted steadfast spirits are given this terribly awful privilege, so to prodigals and transgressors I pen my own version of this glorious Gospel we live ~

I tell you emphatically and with absolute certainty that no concern is necessary, for your homecoming promises to show Father so sweet.
For Father grabs robes about His feet,
and gleefully dashes to you to meet.
The Word tells us of one moment true,
when our Father runs, and He runs to you!
You have spent years far from His path,
for temporal, temptress lied, yes, she surely hath.
But now, you must stop your selfish roam,
and return to your Father's home.
Leave the muck and the mire,
do you not of the pigs finally tire?
A grudge, our Father does not hold,
and after all these years, you, He will gladly mold,
into the image of the One,
Jesus Christ, God's only Son.