Relationship… Fellowship Conclusion

     Our Heavenly Father’s delight in our fellowship with Him motivates us to seek Him because His love is “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5).   Love begets love.  Thus, the knowledge that our attention delights Him elicits desire in us to bless His heart by consistent approach to the throne of grace.  “The Lord taketh pleasure in His people” (Psalm 149:4).

    Growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ fosters increasing likeness to His spiritual and moral image (Romans 8:28-29).  The needs and desires of others, beginning with God Himself, become more important to us than our own. "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:4-5).  The realization of God’s love for us in Christ births in us genuine desire to lovingly bless Him in holy response.  As in every relationship, communication serves as the heart of such devotion.  Therefore, when Solomon declares “the prayer of the upright is His delight,” the heart of the trusting believer can only respond as did King David: "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek” (Proverbs 15:8; Psalm 27:8).

     We never cease to be the dependent party in our relationship with God.  “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).  We nevertheless serve as a significant party in the sense that our love for Him is real and freely determined, as led and enabled by the Holy Spirit.  “I will love Thee, o Lord, my strength!” (Psalm 18:1).  Our Heavenly Father values and cherishes such devotion far more than we can possibly imagine.  Recognizing such plainly declared Biblical truth instills in us a far different sensibility than the notion of approaching God merely for the gratification of our own needs and desires.  We please Him.  Such truth may be hard to fathom.  It is not difficult, however, to recognize the Scriptural affirmation that our hearts matter to His heart.  Such truth beckons us to respond in wonder, and in love.

“We love Him because He first loved us.”
(I John 4:19)

Weekly Memory Verse
   Ho, everyone that thirtieth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
(Isaiah 55:1)

“Relationship… Fellowship” Part 2

    As referenced in Part 1, I find the consideration of God's delight in our fellowship with Him much more motivating than focusing on my own need and desire for His realized presence.

   "The prayer of the upright is His delight" (Proverbs 15:8).

  First, how bewilderingly wondrous that the eternal, infinite God should desire our communication to the point of delight.  What could it be that fosters such joy in our Heavenly Father when we approach Him in loving and humble faith?  Perhaps the answer lies in the "upright" reference in Solomon's declaration.  Those who qualify for such a description have not picked themselves up from their fallenness.  Only God can redeem us from our sins.  

   "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings… By faith ye stand" (Psalm 40:2; II Corinthians 1:24).  

    "The upright" thus consist of those redeemed by Christ, and who reflect the glory of His saving presence and grace.  God sees His beloved Son in every believer, shining forth in unique and particular expressions of Christ as revealed in our varied personalities, dispositions, and gifts.  The prayers that delight Him issue forth from the Spirit of the Lord Jesus as He dwells in us - "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).  Accordingly, when we pray in humble sincerity, our words find our Father's ear and heart graced with the living Word, the Lord Jesus.  This brings Him double pleasure, as it were, pleasure in His Son, and in His Son as He uniquely dwells in us.

   Again, this blessed truth stimulates and motivates fellowship with God far more than our personal needs and desires.  We pray in love, that is, in unselfish devotion to our Father's heart.  This does not discount our own sensibilities concerning prayer, of course, but rather puts them in their proper order and significance.  "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).  We must establish this priority in our hearts, praying first for the purpose of God's glory, will, eternal purpose, and heart pleasure.  Upon this basis, we shall find our own needs and desires well considered and accommodated by the Father who so loves us.  Yes, through Christ, we possess the capacity to please the infinite and eternal God with nothing more than a sincere word breathed in His direction.  No other truth about prayer equals this blessed motivation to avail ourselves of such grace, as given by so great a Savior.

"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."

(I Thessalonians 4:1)

Weekly Memory Verse

   Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

(Isaiah 55:1)

   

Bay To Baie June 23, 2014 1,731.7 miles out from Mobile; 225.3 miles to Baie Comeau

Bay To Baie   June 23, 2014    1,731.7 miles out from Mobile; 225.3 miles to Baie Comeau (about 200 miles north of Montreal)

"Southward Toward Home"

(and I ain't just whistlin' Dixie!)

   Ok, here's the scoop.  I'm way down the road from our last posting, regretfully ("regretfully" not because of the walking, but for having written so little along the way).  The walking is going great, but the writing has tanked in recent months.  I'll offer no excuses, save a busy schedule.  We all have that, however, so I offer my apologies, along with a renewed and refined commitment to keep you posted.

   The refinement involves this:  Lord willing, and according to my present regimen, I'll arrive in Baie Comeau in less than a month.  That's about 2 and ½ months ahead of schedule.  So, I'm thinking I'll just turn around and come back, as it were, writing about a lot of the venues I've missed in the Northeastern parts of the U.S.  Doubtless, there's some interesting places about which to write, and more importantly, from which to glean spiritual lessons and analogies.  That's my plan, and I hope to write at least weekly in the months to come.

   For now, I thought I'd bring you up to date on some developments that have taken place along the way (some I may have mentioned in previous posts).  Most importantly, Frances now joins me on most of my walks.  She started back in January, and passed the 700 mile point this past Saturday.  She loves the journeys as much as I do, and having her with me adds a new and wonderful dimension to the endeavor.  I get to see the sights through another pair of eyes, and enjoy the blessings and the challenges with another heart, namely, the one nearest and dearest to me.  Even more, we both perceive that we walk as a trio, namely, the Lord, Frances, and myself, just as we seek to live the rest of our lives.

   Frances joining me has also resulted in a new and fascinating possibility.  For years, I have pondered the remote possibility of someday walking the Appalachian Trail, the nearly 2,200 mile trek between Georgia and Maine that spans 14 states, along with mountains, valleys, forests, and vistas of the Eastern United States.  I never thought such a journey would actually take place.  Frances, however, is now so enthused about the possibility that I think someday it might actually happen.  We'll see, and it will doubtless be down the road a bit, ahem (!) if it is ever to take place.  

  I'm also coping with what I call an "injury of hypocrisy."  Not long after I began "Bay To Baie," I wrote about walking having become my endurance activity of choice.  I mentioned previous eras of running and cycling during my adult life, and the fact that I wisely gave those up due to chronic injuries they fostered.  Not long after the entry, however, I went through a period when I felt so good walking that it seemed to me a little running wouldn't hurt a thing.  It didn't - at first.  However, I can still remember the moment when the tightening and pain of my plantar fascia in my right foot screamed at me.  "Dummy, what do you think you're doing??!!!  This hurts!!"   Since that moment, I've dealt with the usual aches associated with plantar fasciitis, again, my injury of hypocrisy.  If only I had chosen to abide in accordance with my own words…  Dummy!

   We're presently walking through a Mobile, Alabama late spring and summer.  This normally means an excess of heat and humidity.  The season, however, hasn't been too challenging.    We did have an experience the other day, however, when we were caught in a rainstorm about a mile into our walk.  Frances and I enjoy this when it happens, so long as lightning does not accompany the rain.  The system passed pretty quickly,  leaving in its wake the most humid late afternoon we've ever experienced.  We made our way home in a literal haze of the wettest atmosphere imaginable.  Living in the subtropics means that we are accustomed to heavy air.  The humidity of this day, however, took the matter to a new level altogether.  We pretty much swam to our house, feeling all the time that gills would have served us much better than lungs.

   All this to say I'm looking forward to reconnecting with you on this journey.  From the look of the Canadian map, there's not too many towns or outposts between our present location and Baie Comeau.  I'll stay in touch nevertheless, and look forward to the journey southward toward home and far more consistent contact with you.  Thanks for coming along.