Category Archives: Plan “Be”

Confident and Competent

Posted on November 13, 2016 | Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

I’ve spent a good share of my Christian life learning about the “new covenant.” This is what I’ve learned: There’s a difference between confident and competent. Those two words are metaphors for “letters and Spirit.”

The “letter” does have power. It has the power to make you confident in what you know and that’s a good thing but not the whole story. That confidence can become a dangerous thing if you begin to believe that’s where the power of the letter lies.

The “Spirit” can use your confidence “—not of the letter but of the Spirit;” to build life-giving power into what you know. That makes you confident and “competent as ministers of a new covenant.”

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Challenge and Perspective

Posted on November 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

The Presidential election is finally over! I suspect everyone can honestly say “that’s one for the books” and that’s true. It’s now become the reality of recorded history. Imagine future generations of high school students sitting in history class trying their best to stay awake as they are forced to study this one year in politics that kept us glued to the TV and up half the night.

Romans 13:1 is my challenge to accept another reality of an even older history that’s now the cutting edge of Plan Be.

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

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Nourishment

Posted on November 6, 2016 | Leave a comment

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The image of that sharp, double-edged sword makes being changed by the word of God sound so brutal…and painful. Here’s an idea to consider about how that sword might be working in you as you read.

Have you ever read a familiar part of Scripture and been surprised to find you see something new and meaningful you’d never seen before?

I think that’s the sword at work cutting up the Word of God into smaller, easier-to-digest pieces for you. Thats how it becomes the nourishment needed to reunite your soul and your spirit. That’s complete renewal that penetrates your bones, your heart and your mind.  That’s God’s Plan Be.

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“Instead”

Posted on November 2, 2016 | Leave a comment

Ephesians 5:18b-20 Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don’t be tempted to skip right over that seemingly insignificant word “Instead.” It may surprise you to consider how important just that one word is when it becomes stand-alone Scripture.  “Instead” is a word of promise that God’s options and really good advice are available.

Here’s the key.  “Instead” is a very simple “word of God” with the power to separate circumstances from outcome.

“Instead” is Scripture that’s easy to memorize too!   It’s not a rule or an ultimatum.  It’s God’s reminder when the right choice counts,  he’s provided an “Instead.”

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Waiting, not Wasting

Posted on October 30, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
• Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. KJV

Verse 14 was the designated one to read but on the way to it I read verse 4. I’ve been waiting for the neon sign from the Lord to say “this is what you should be reading every day.” I thought reading the Verse of the Day was just a good fall-back plan to avoid wasting my time while I waited. I missed the whole point! It’s not “what” I’m reading but “that” I’m reading.

Realizing that about waiting not being wasting time was a lightbulb moment but it was verse 4 that turned out to be a personal reminder. God is always working his Plan Be. Nothing is wasted. There was a period in the ’90s when it was popular to take a verse of Scripture and put it to music as a way of memorizing it. That’s how I learned verse 4 of this Psalm. I was surprised to find I could still sing the song after all this time.

It was God at work through this technique called a Mnemonic device; a memory technique to help your brain encode and recall important information…Scripture set to music.

Click to hear song:

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The Key to a Willing Spirit – Plan Be

Posted on October 23, 2016 | Leave a comment

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

It’s interesting the Psalmist doesn’t presume to call it “my” salvation. He knows about that salvation. He remembers there was joy but that’s not his to claim right now either. There’s baggage here to be sure.

He’s been confronted with his sin of adultery. Nathan’s words have penetrated his mind. He’s finally come to understand his heart has fooled him into accepting his freedom to sin as a substitute for the support of that salvation. That changed heart prompts him to write one of his most beautiful prayers:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

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Plan Be – Faith and Laundry

Posted on October 19, 2016 | Leave a comment

Romans 12:2
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Laundry! That’s what came to my mind when I read this. Remember, this blog is about finding faith in “daily” life. Laundry is a basic activity we all go through to “renew” a piece of soiled clothing and transform it into something presentable we’re happy to be seen in. Daily use takes it’s toll on laundry…and on our minds.

That’s why keeping up with laundry stains becomes a pretty good analogy for the renewing of the mind. It’s a before and after thing.
Is it just slightly soiled or badly stained?
Have you got the necessary stain treater?
Does it need pre-treating and soaking?
Does it need more treatment before going in the dryer?

Let your mind run with those few ideas…but remember this…Spiritual laundry is the mental image of your own before and after. Your proof of God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will” is that he’s changed your mind to be able to see him.  You’re looking better than just presentable. You’re looking more like what he’s created you to Be.

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B or Be?

Posted on October 16, 2016 | Leave a comment

Jeremiah 29:11, 13b & 14
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

• I read, think, study and write each day. My goal is to come up with a thoughtful idea…AND…to keep the posts short. I’m just a couple of multiple Verse of the Day posts into the idea of Plan Be and I already need a plan B. That’s the nature of human plan-making; there’s almost always a need for a plan B.

The Lord’s planning is different. He covers A-Z. He knows every flaw and every detail of your life and still he’s got “plans to give you hope and a future.” “13b…when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you.”

I’m not sure where I first read the prayer below or who the author is. The quotes are to honor the inspirational idea and wisdom because I think it’s the perfect “Plan Be” prayer.

“Lord, give me the Grace to not need to be anything other than what I am, and the wisdom to not settle for anything less than you can make me.”

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Working on “Be”

Posted on October 12, 2016 | Leave a comment

Monday: Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:20-21

• The first two phrases in that Verse of the Day are important but that little conjunction, “and” is critical. The real wisdom for those of us who suffer bouts of “know it all” and “control” issues may come down to this: Your life in Christ will still happen even while you’re busy making many plans. Finding that little connection between listening “and” accepting what the Lord has to say though his Word and his people is the challenge. That’s what will prove” at the end you will be counted among the wise.” I wish it didn’t take that long.

Tuesday: Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1
• If you’ve ever been restless you know it feels like sitting in a running car that’s in neutral gear, and flooring the accelerator. There’s a lot of noise but no matter how hard you push you don’t go anywhere. The Psalmist has found the answer for a restless soul. It’s getting out of neutral and – “in God.”

Wednesday: Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9
• I read the same verse in The Living Bible. “Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.”

I not sure how this works if you get bad instruction and teaching. I guess one way or another you are learning something that can be of value to you; either what to imitate or what to avoid.

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Plan “Be”

Posted on October 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

I’m surprised how much I miss the continuity of reading parts of that long Psalm 119 day after day. I don’t know what to do next. My original plan was to use someone else’s reading plan. Instead I’m borrowing my title from my Pastor, Greg Long. Plan “Be” is going to be using Verse of the Day thoughts from BibleGateway.com to discover how they impact my thoughts and mesh with the experiences of my daily life.

Thursday: Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4
• It must have been that phrase about the Rock that triggered my thoughts.  I heard that Chevy jingle in my head.  Advertising slogans can shape our daily life more than God’s word if we’re not careful. Believing the ad-men can leave you between a “Rock” and a hard place.
Apple: Think Different
L’Oréal: Because You’re Worth It
Coca Cola: “It’s the real thing
Chevy: Like a rock
So I’m repurposing these slogans into a new song: Think different because you’re worth it. The Lord is the real thing, “the Rock eternal.”

Friday: You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1
• The Psalmist paints a verbal picture I can identify with. This summer we saw what a dry and parched land can produce. We watched the lawn go from a lush green carpet to a dried up imitation of itself that completely stopped growing. Nobody wants to be a dried up imitation of a Christian do they?

Saturday: I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
Isaiah 43:11-12
• I’m a witness for the defense…that was my first thought, but the question of context was my next so I read the chapter and found something even better.

Have you thought about why God would bother with the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into after his perfect setup at creation? Why would he care enough to forgive and forget our sins and offer redemption at all? Realizing how much we’ve been given, despite ourselves, is how we come to recognize the magnificence of Grace, isn’t it? But wait, there’s more….

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. 26 Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.

This is Grace in action: It matters to God that your sins are blotted out as much as it does to you! He’s willing to review at all the details and argue the “why’s” and “how’s” of your innocence with you. Take him at his Word!

Stand Alone Sunday: It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
Deuteronomy 13:4

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