THE WHOLE STORY
In my reading today, God showed me how my ugly human side acts just like those in scripture at times in my life. But, my faithful and loving God, always offers a life lesson to learn which will turn the ugliness into Godliness.
     Let's begin with Joshua 21:43, "So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there." Joshua then tells the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh that they have done all that Moses and himself commanded of them and their reward was rest as the Lord had promised. So now go and enjoy it, "but be careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul." Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way.
     The three groups were now released to start their new homes with the blessing of Joshua. Total excitement was in the air and they were grateful for their promised land. In their gratefulness, they built an altar to remind them and future generation that they served and honored the Lord, God of Israel. But, here comes that ugly human side of us all. News about this altar traveled fast among the rest of the Israelites who riled the nation of Israel with information that they had assumed. A questioning squad was formed and sent to get the scoop on this newly erected altar. 
     The questioning squad was fired up ready to deal with this disobedient group and, boy, were they in trouble. The squad arrives and immediately they blasts out, how could you, what were you thinking, why did you do this to us, now all of us are ruined. You rebelled against the Lord or against us by building an altar for your own glory and dishonored our Lord. Thanks a lot!!! 
     Say what, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in astonishment! What are you thinking, we wouldn't do such a thing and if we did do what you say we did, may The Mighty One, God, the Lord, the One who knows, spare us not! No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? We built it to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at His sanctuary. This is a testimony of our faithfulness not of our rebellion. 
     Oh, why didn't you say that in the first place? Well, why did you assume and accuse without knowing the whole story? Oh, how many times have I done that. Way too many times! In this case, the questioning squad got the whole story and they were glad and praised God and the altar was named: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.

     Too many times, I have plowed in without knowing the details completely, assumed and accused with the results not so pleasant, the ending not so pretty. God's lesson in Joshua 22, is not to assume or accuse without complete details of a situation. Things aren't always what they appear to be. Most times there is a history behind a situation that needs to be understood first. Once again, my faithful and loving God showed me a better way. Find out what The Whole Story is first and then comment. 
Father, the Mighty One, God the Lord, the One who knows all, grant me wisdom and understanding of Your ways, Your truths and Your love. Grant me the compassion you showed to me so that I might have that compassion for others. Let me be that witness for the future generation that  You, my Lord, You are God!

LEGACY
A day that should have been dedicated to accomplishing a very long list of things that needed to be done, immediately was changed by the prompting of the Lord.
     Last night I missed viewing the memorial service of Pastor Chuck Smith, the founding Pastor of Calvary Chapel.  Though I missed the viewing the service, I received so many treasured blessings as the night was well spent visiting with some dear friends, sharing the Lord through tears and rejoicing in His awesome love for us. I knew that I could get on my computer and watch the service via internet when time would allow. Well, as the morning began, so did the mental list of things that needed be done, some of utmost urgency, but God had a different plan for me this morning. I prepared things to begin my days work, turned on the computer to start and prayed, "Lord begin my day with You." Little did I know that it would be through Pastor Chuck Smith. Directed to listen to those who were near and dear to the Pastor, God was specking volumes to me.  I soon began to feel like I was in the mist of  Mary and Martha with work to be done, but a message to be heard. I chose to be Mary and sat at the feet of Jesus.
    Several years ago, a wise man shared some wisdom that has spoken to me several times and here it was brought to mind once again.  This man said, "Each one of us should leave a legacy behind to be shared with others, so what will yours be?"  Recently, I have signed up for and I'm taking a writing class to learn to write my memoir and today  I was prompt to watch a three hour memorial about one mans legacy. Nothing is by coincidence, but all is by a divine plan. Legacy - Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past. While watching the memorial service, this thought came to mind, "Look at what Pastor Chuck has left behind for millions of people throughout the world, what is it that I am leaving behind?" Not that I will impact millions, but is my life impacting anyone? 
     Here are some of the things that I picked up as I listened to those paying tribute to this special man.

• "Take time to read, Jesus took time to bleed."
• Just yesterday, my pastor, Pastor Kenny emphasized in church, Mark 9:7, "This is my Son, whom I love, LISTEN to Him!"  I even circled it in my Bible. This was quoted again in the tribute to Pastor Chuck. God's confirmation!!!!
• In a song, these words spoke volumes, sung by Malcoml & Alwyn, "Fools Wisdom"  "I got myself some wisdom from a leather-backed book, I got myself a Savior when I took a second look".
• Here is the link to hear the song  http://youtu.be/0WpFvsQc0qM
• "Simply preach the Word, SIMPLY!"
• In an illustration of a cassette tape (if you know what those are) which has a recording of Pastor Chuck's teaching, it was pointed out that he would preach and pause and preach and pause. This pastor shared that Pastor's Chuck's passing is just a pause for us here on earth until we meet again. That is a beautiful picture of our loved ones who passed on before us. This is just a pause until we meet again.
• The final impact of the memorial service to me is this, in telling my legacy to those who will listen, I pray that my life has, is and will be telling about the Love of Jesus and that He loves us all.

We all have a story to tell about the life we live, a legacy to leave behind. So Lord, this life I am living, I pray that I am found living it for You and that others will see Your Glory.

GREETINGS
      Have you thought about your first greetings of the day, what expressions are first seen, what words first come from your mouth, what is seen by the first person you meet in your day? This morning in my quiet time, I was greeted by Peter in 2 Peter in his opening words.
"May grace and peace be yours in full measure through your knowledge of  God and of Jesus our Lord. God's divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the one who called us to share in his own glory and goodness.  In this way he has given us the very great and precious gifts he promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature." 2 Peter 1:1-4
      Those words were my first greeting of my day which put a smile on my face and touched my heart with joy. Needless to say, my day began with peace, joy and love. I had to ask myself, how often do I offer warm and inviting greetings to those I see first thing in my day.  Well, it didn't take long to see that I fell short just yesterday morning. I had been up for a bit and was sipping on a delicious warm cup of coffee when my front door opened up, In no time flat, there was a clatter of tools being lined up for the days construction, the radio turned on with some rather ambitious eye opening music and the noise of some electrical tool buzzing loudly. Now mind you, I was ready for this knowing that work was ready to begin, but I still had to make my sarcastic fun loving remark and yelled down the stairs, "Let's keep the noise down, I'm trying to enjoy my morning coffee." Of course I was trying to joke a little here, but was that what was heard on the receiving end? I don't really know for sure, but knowing the person I said it to, he knew I was kidding around.  But what if his day didn't start off well, or what if he didn't get a good night sleep and was tired or what if he wasn't up to hearing my sarcastic words first thing in the morning. God has such a way of showing me His way. A lesson to be learned and He shared the lesson with me in 2 Peter. I am far from having it all together, but if I am willing to listen to what God has for me and humble myself enough to know that I can learn from my mistakes, He will show me a better way through His word. I have been given everything I need to live a righteous life as He shares His glory and goodness in the promises He has given me. They are found in His word and the only way I can know them is by reading them. 
     My goal is to do that which is pleasing in His sight. So, after reading this morning, praying and repenting, I had a much different greeting to share with those I met today. I want others to see a smile on my face that will fill their hearts with joy just as Peter shared in his letter. I will be more aware of how I greet those God puts in my path each day. The best part of my day today, was that it began with a smile of joy and it lasted all day long. 
Lord, I pray that my days will begin with peace, joy and love which is  expressed on the outside and felt from the inside.

WARMTH FOR THE DAY
     There is a definite chill of Fall in the air this morning. As I look out my window watching the sun melt the glistening layer of a mild frost off the hillside, I think it might be time to turn the heater on to warm up my studio in the early hours of the morning. There is one place where true warmth can be found that will warm my inner most being any hour, any season and that is in the midst of God's Word.
     My faithful body alarm went off at the usual time this morning and the thought of removing myself from the toasty warm feeling of my covers and stepping out onto a cool floor, just wasn't how I wanted to begin my day.  But the thought of the needful things that were on my agenda, forced me to make that initial chilling venture into the "today" mode. Once out and ready to settle into the warmest spot in my world, I opened my quiet "spot" and entered into the warmth of my Lord. Turning to 1 Peter, I read, "Grace and peace be yours in abundance." My chilled body immediately began warming up with those greeting words and continued through verses three through five. I praise my God, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, for He has given me great mercy of a new birth with a living hope and an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade away and it is waiting for me in heaven. Now if that isn't something that will warm anyone's heart, I don't know what will! Just those few sentences will keep me warm through out this Fallish day, for sure.
     Thank you Lord for Your mercies that are new every morning, for Your promises that are written in Your love letter to me, for the preparation of grandeur that awaits my arrival, for Your love that warms my inner most being, which is summarized into, "WARMTH FOR THE DAY".