On The Palms of His Hands

"...I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...."
Isaiah 49:15-16

My husband has a funny way of remembering important appointments or names of people. He actually writes them on top of his hand as a reminder. It may be an initial or two or perhaps a particular time of day. That way whenever he looks at his hand he is reminded of what or whom he needs to remember that day.

Ever been forgotten? Maybe someone you care about forgot your birthday or your anniversary? Maybe someone you were counting on pretty much "left you in the dust"? Been disappointed so often that you hesistate to trust anymore? Hold on--don't turn away just yet. The Lord understands. And more importantly, He cares. In fact, He cares so much that the scripture says that He has engraved us on the palms of his hands! That's even better than writing a reminder in ink on the top. Ink washes off pretty easily. The last time I checked, engraving is pretty permanent! And this engraving is done on the palms of His hands. That's a pretty safe place--nothing (and no one) is going to pry His hands open and scratch your name off. It's there to stay.

Imagine that--your name on the palms of His hands! I needed to hear that, didn't you?

Human Plans

"Human plans, no matter how wise or well advised, cannot stand against the Lord." Proverbs 21:30

How does that grab you? I guess it depends on who you are. If you're the one making the plans then you've just been reminded that you are human. If so, then don't bother to make plans that try to stand against the Lord, right? You'll basically be wasting your time.

If you love the Lord and happen to be the one having "not so good" plans formulated against you--don't worry. He's got you covered. Just stay under His umbrella, watch and pray. Pray for yourself and for the "plan maker".

Whew! That's a relief.

Where's Your Treasure?

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21

The stock market is climbing and falling like that monster of a roller coaster you were terrified of when you were a kid (if you were a "chicken" like me!). If our treasure is in the markets, investments, 401k's or even our bank accounts, we're on pretty shakey ground about now.

On my walk this morning I ran into a little guy about 6 years old. He had the biggest grin across his face as he unashamedly showed me his shoebox rock collection. One rock in particular brought a special gleam to his eye, "This one", he said, "This one has sparkles in it--I'm going to sell it!" "Wow", I said, "You're one lucky guy. That's pretty neat!" As I walked away I remembered my "rock collecting" days. I, too thought that the ones with sparkles were going to make me rich. As I got older I guess I moved on from rocks, to other treasures. None of them were bad but none of them ever gave me the satisfaction that I thought they would. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."

Jesus knew just the right way to say things. In so many words he was saying in Matthew 6 that if you feel like you've misplaced your heart, you might want to check what your treasuring--you're heart is probably somewhere nearby.

Time for a heart check up?

Guard Your Heart!

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." Proverbs 4:23

Thought about guarding your heart lately? I know I don't think about it nearly as often as I should. Maybe we should as the Lord for a "spiritual filter" to sift out what is allowed to enter our hearts. Wait a minute--we already have one of those don't we? Isn't He called the Holy Spirit?

Let's make it a daily discipline to ask the Holy Spirit to filter what goes into and comes out of our hearts.

"Lord, please forgive us for not being more conscious and sensitive to the things that are flowing into and out of our hearts. Give us hearts that have a passion for the things that please you and hearts that break when your heart is broken" --Amen