Thursday, July 25, 2013

Blogging in My Head

I have been blogging regularly this summer.  Just inside my head.  You know, there are times that are so deep in changes, in thoughts, even in stress... that no words make it to paper.  At least none that make it past the "draft" category to be posted.  Pictures coming soon of Alex's fun birthday party.  But for today, I'd like to share a paraphrase I recently did of a passage from Jeremiah.  When God pulls a passage out and hits me upside the head with it, I try to take it seriously.  Part of the way I do that is after I study it, I put it in my own words to personalize it.   Here's Isaiah 26.



In that day, this song will be sung in Judah:
We have a strong city to run to
One built by God, its defenses are nothing less than Yeshua!
Open the gates, so the righteous may come in and dwell;
The ones that are keepers of the truth.
As they have kept the truth, God will now keep them.
He will keep them perfectly secure as they continue depending on Him,
Believing Him to be faithful to care for them.
He says, “Hang your life on this Rock forever; it will never, ever fail you.”
In the past, He has accomplished the impossible.  Walk around the ruins of the city of your Enemy, and see what God has done. 
Those who were “helpless victims” now walk in triumph over the ruins of their enemy’s fortress.
When You lay out a path for the faithful, it is unmistakable. 
You go before them to roll away all the obstacles and to straighten the crooked sections. 
And while we walk this road behind You, we wait for You with bated breath
Longing for Your voice, Your name, even Your memory
It is with eager hearts we expect to hear from You.
In the darkness of the valley we long for You and we leap up at daybreak expecting You.
Upon hearing Your Word, people learn to live a holy life- they “learn righteousness.”
But when the wicked are given the unmerited favor, the undeserved gift, of hearing the truth,
They still refuse to “learn righteousness,” but persist in their own way.
They do wrong even surrounded by the godly,
And they fail to comprehend the beautiful and dangerous majesty of God.
You are doing great things for Your people, but they cannot see it.
May their eyes be opened, and may they be ashamed and repent before they are destroyed.
For God is going to destroy His enemies; in fact, they will be utterly consumed!
Lord, You will hold us safe and keep us secure in these walls of Yeshua.
You will do this because everything we do is nothing more than Your work in and through us.