Quality friendships

My dear one,

I'm sitting in a coffeeshop right now, celebrating my first quiet evening in two weeks. I  just can't bear to be at home right now, where the quiet is stifling. Life is so busy right now that I can't even imagine being in a relationship. Yet there is still that sweet, secret longing tucked away safely in my heart... I would love to have a good reason to shut down my computer, prepare a nice meal, and show you that you are the most important person in my life.

I am extremely grateful for a new friend I've found in one of my colleagues. She is a single woman 16 years older than I, with a real heart for ministry and an intensely energetic personality that somehow doesn't drain me but rather makes for refreshingly deep conversation. She's the kind of friend who builds me up, motivates me, and makes me feel a little less "alone" in my present circumstances. She is very conscientious of maintaining holiness in her spiritual walk, music pursuits, student mentoring, etc., yet without being dowdy or closed-minded. She always has Scripture ready on her tongue and in her heart, and I find in her an example of the kind of person I want to be in 10 or 20 years.

I pray that you have friends like this that can be an encouragement to you!

Love and prayers,
Your Evenstar

Heidelberg Catechism Week 43

112. Q. What is God's will for you in the ninth commandment? A. God's will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one's words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God's intense anger. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor's good name.

My reflections on the reading from the book...

Spreading gossip has never been one of my personal vices. Yet I do confess to secretly relishing the "juicy truths" that others too freely share. It is incumbent upon me as a child of God to refuse to participate in such, no matter which side of the false testimony or gossip - the sharing OR the receiving - I encounter.

Heidelberg Catechism Week 42

110. Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? A. He forbids not only outright theft and robbery, punishable by law. But in God's sight theft also includes cheating and swindling our neighbor by schemes made to appear legitimate, such as: inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume; fraudulent merchandising; counterfeit money; excessive interest; or any other means forbidden by God. In addition He forbids all greed and pointless squandering of His gifts.

111. Q. What does God require of you in this commandment? A. That I do whatever I can for my neighbor's good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may share with those in need.

My reflections on the reading from the book...

Any means of taking anything that doesn't belong to me, or even of wasting what is given to me, is sin in the eyes of a just God. I cannot serve two masters, God and riches. The Lord invites His people to a life of generosity and wise stewardship.

Reflections on a mountain

My dear one, 

There are very few people who know me well. I am not quick to allow people into my circle of trust, for I have witnessed the hurt and betrayal that my parents and grandparents have endured over the years.

But sometimes this solitude is extremely difficult. I long to share my dreams and passions and fears with a kindred spirit. If you could be that person, I would show you a favorite mountain retreat where I can sit and view my hometown 25 miles away. We could sit at a picnic table at the state park and listen to the tree frogs as we eat our sandwich supper. I'd tell you how much I've always wanted to have a pianist for a best friend (dare I even say husband?) and to enjoy collaborating on a lifetime of recitals together. I'd admit my love of cheesecake, 19th-century poetry, college football, and a good cup of coffee. I'd explain my convictions about music, church, education, and my habits regarding housekeeping, health, and cleanliness. I'd confess my fears of getting cancer, of losing my job, of never have children.

For now though, these letters to you must suffice, shrouded in ambiguity as they are...

Praying for you today, 
Your Evenstar

Heidelberg Catechism Week 41

108. Q. What is God's will for you in the seventh commandment? A. God condemns all unchastity. We should therefore thoroughly detest it and, married or single, live decent and chaste lives.

109. Q. Does God, in this commandment, forbid only such scandalous sins as adultery? A. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, body and soul, and God wants both to be kept clean and holy. That is why He forbids everything which incites unchastity, whether it be actions, looks, talk, thoughts, or desires. 

My reflections on the reading from the book...

The verses that I cling to...

"Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).

"Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor" (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4).

Psalm 34

Verse 1...

I will bless the Lord at all times; 

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

"If all we do may be done to the praise of God [see 1 Cor. 10:31], then certainly all we speak may be spoken to the praise of God; and indeed, seeing He never ceaseth to send forth continually His blessings, with what reason can we cease to set forth continually His praises?" (Sir Richard Baker, 1640)

Verse 2a... 

My soul makes its boast in the Lord.

"My confidence is that He who hath given me the resolution to will it, will give me also the power to perform it; that He who hath begun the work will also finish it." (RB)

Verse 4... 

I sought the Lord, and He answered me 

and delivered me from all my fears.

"To have delivered me from all my troubles had been a great favor, but a far greater to deliver me from all my fears; for where that would have freed me from present evil, this secures me from evil to come; that now I enjoy not only tranquility, but security, a privilege only of the godly." (RB)

Verse 8... 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! 

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

"If you would but taste Him, you would never take pleasure in other meat; if you would but see Him, you would never delight in other object... He that trusteth in God, and he only, is like to be admitted to taste the sweetness and to see the goodness that is in God, which only are  the things that can make us blessed. What is it to trust in God but to depend wholly upon him, and to put all our confidence in him? To trust in the world, is to lean upon a broken reed; to trust in ourselves, is to lean upon a shadow; only to trust in God is the true terra firma where the angels pitch their tents, and where, if we fix ourselves, the gates of hell can never prevail against us." (RB)

Scottish Psalter:

1 God will I bless all times; his praise my mouth shall still express. 2 My soul shall boast in God: the meek shall hear with joyfulness. 3 Extol the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, he heard, and did me from all fears deliver. 5 They looked to him, and lightened were: not shamèd were their faces. 6 This poor man cried, God heard, and saved him from all his distresses. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps, and round encompasseth All those about that do him fear, and them delivereth. 8 O taste and see that God is good: who trusts in him is blessed. 9 Fear God his saints: none that him fear shall be with want oppressed. 10 The lions young may hungry be, and they may lack their food: But they that truly seek the Lord shall not lack any good. 11 O children, hither do ye come, and unto me give ear; I shall you teach to understand how ye the Lord should fear. 12 What man is he that life desires, to see good would live long? 13 Thy lips refrain from speaking guile, and from ill words thy tongue. 14 Depart from ill, do good, seek peace, pursue it earnestly. 15 God's eyes are on the just; his ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of God is set against those that do wickedly, That he may quite out from the earth cut off their memory. 17 The righteous cry unto the Lord, he unto them gives ear; And they out of their troubles all by him delivered are. 18 The Lord is ever nigh to them in heart that broken be; Those who in spirit contrite are he saveth graciously. 19 The troubles that afflict the just in number many be; But yet at length out of them all the Lord doth set him free. 20 He carefully his bones doth keep, whatever can befall; That not so much as one of them can broken be at all. 21 Ill shall the wicked slay; laid waste shall be who hate the just. 22 The Lord redeems his servants' souls; none perish that him trust.

Refreshment for body and soul

Isaiah 40:26-31...

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: 

Who created all these? 

He who brings out the starry host one by one 

and calls forth each of them by name. 

Because of His great power and mighty strength, 

not one of them is missing. 

Why do you complain, Jacob? 

Why do you say, Israel, 

"My way is hidden from the LORD; 

my cause is disregarded by my God"?

Do you not know? Have you not heard? 

The LORD is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He will not grow tired or weary, 

and His understanding no one can fathom. 

He gives strength to the weary 

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, 

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD 

will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint.

These are pictures from last Saturday's excursion - just now getting around to sharing them.

- Your Evenstar

Heidelberg Catechism Week 40

105. Q. What is God's will for you in the sixth commandment? A. I am not to belittle, insult, hate, or kill my neighbor - not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds - and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.

106. Q. Does this commandment refer only to killing? A. By forbidding murder God teaches us that He hates the root of murder: envy, anger, vindictiveness. In God's sight all such are murder.

107. Q. Is it enough then that we do not kill our neighbor in any such way? A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly to them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies. 

My reflections on the reading from the book...

The sanctity of human life is under attack today. Abortion and euthanasia are being held up as "rights," while the right to protect oneself is being stripped away. Violence and terror reigns all throughout the world, while God's authority is denied and His laws ignored. It all boils down to the heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked..." (Jeremiah 17:9). Instead of loving God and loving our neighbor, our sinful flesh seeks merely its own gratification, protection, and exaltation. O Lord, cleanse my heart of envy, anger, bitterness, pride, and selfishness!

Heidelberg Catechism Week 39

104. Q. What is God's will for you in the fifth commandment? A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to my father and mother and all those in authority over me; that I obey and submit to them, as is proper, when they correct and punish me; and also that I be patient with their failings - for through them God choose to rule us. 

My reflections on the reading from the book...

It is incredible to see the myriad instances of "rebellion for the sake of rebellion" in today's generation of young people. It's as if parents expect and accept this as a "rite of passage" for their children. But how contrary to God's law! 

As a child, I was taught and expected to obey my mother and father because they were the authority God placed over me. And though I now live away from my parents , I still honor them, seek their counsel, and consider myself to still be under my father's protection until such a time as I would have a husband to take on that role of protector. And when my parents can no longer provide for and care for themselves, my brothers and I recognize our duty to honor them in those later years of life by supplying that necessary care.

Saturday's stream-of-consciousness ponderings

My dear one, 

What a strange week it has been. Now that I have a chance to sit down and enjoy a quiet evening curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and a college football game, I find myself restless and lonely. Oh how I would love to hold a good long conversation with you... I would tell you how the delightfully cool autumn weather brings back memories of my happy childhood. I would tell you about my brother's spontaneous albeit brief visit and the sporting event I enjoyed with him last night. I would tell you about the music I recorded this week for a conference proposal and the mental and physical strain that such an endeavor causes. I would tell you how I successfully fought off an icky cold with essential oils, despite being exposed to the many students who came sick to their music lessons this week. I would tell you about helping my downstairs neighbors move out and how it spurs me on to pursue minimalism even more intentionally. I would tell you about my experience representing our university music program at a local college fair and how doing so definitely takes me out of my comfort zone. I would ask you about your week's trials and blessings. I would discover how I can help you, pray for you, encourage you. I would learn more about your interests, ideas, and dreams. I have been asking the Lord that He would do whatever is necessary to work Christlikeness in my life and yours... even if that means keeping us apart for more agonizingly long months and years. When I find my heart to be manifesting negativity or selfishness  or impatience in the course of my day-to-day existence, I ask the Lord if this is precisely why I am still alone. Will I ever really be ready for you? Will I ever have something to offer you? No doubt it is good for me to be humbled by such self-examination.

I'm here, dearest... 
- Your Evenstar

Resting and waiting upon God

My dear one, 

I was intentionally looking for something this evening that would be a short edifying quote to post on Facebook. When I happened upon this devotional in the process, I couldn't help wanting to share  it with you, especially since I recently wrote about Psalm 37.

WAITING ON GOD: PATIENTLY - by Andrew Murray

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him, Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land." Ps. 37:7, 9  

"In patience possess your souls." "Ye have need of patience." "Let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire." Such words of the Holy Spirit show us what an important element in the Christian life and character patience is. And nowhere is there a better place for cultivating or displaying it than in waiting on God. There we discover how impatient we are, and what our impatience means. We confess at times that we are impatient with men, and circumstances that hinder us, or with ourselves and our slow progress in the Christian life. If we truly set ourselves to wait upon God, we shall find that it is with Him we are impatient, because He does not at once, or as soon as we could wish, do our bidding. It is in waiting upon God that our eyes are opened to believe in His wise and sovereign will, and to see that the sooner and the more completely we yield absolutely to it, the more surely His blessing can come to us.  

"It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Rom 9:16. We have as little power to increase or strengthen our spiritual life, as we had to originate it. We "were born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God." Even so, our willing and running, our desire and effort, avail nought; all is "of God that sheweth mercy."  

All the exercises of the spiritual life, our reading and praying, our willing and doing, have their very great value. But they can go no farther than this, that they point the way and prepare us in humility to look to and to depend alone upon God Himself, and in patience to wait His good time and mercy. The waiting is to teach us our absolute dependence upon God’s mighty working, and to make us in perfect patience place ourselves at His disposal. They that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land; the promised land and its blessing. The heirs must wait; they can afford to wait.  

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." The margin gives for "Rest in the Lord," "Be silent to the Lord," or R. V., "Be still before the Lord." It is resting in the Lord, in His will, His promise, His faithfulness, and His love, that makes patience easy. And the resting in Him is nothing but being silent unto Him, still before Him. Having our thoughts and wishes, our fears and hopes, hushed into calm and quiet in that great peace of God which passeth all understanding. That peace keeps the heart and mind when we are anxious for anything, because we have made our request known to Him. The rest, the silence, the stillness, and the patient waiting, all find their strength and joy in God Himself.  

The need for patience, and the reasonableness, and the blessedness of patience will be opened up to the waiting soul. Our patience will be seen to be the counterpart of God’s patience. He longs far more to bless us fully than we can desire it. But, as the husbandman has long patience till the fruit be ripe, so God bows Himself to our slowness and bears long with us. Let us remember this, and wait patiently: of each promise and every answer to prayer the word is true: "I the Lord will hasten it in its time." Isa 60:22.  

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." Yes, for HIM. Seek not only the help, the gift, thou needest seek: HIMSELF; wait for HIM. Give God His glory by resting in Him, by trusting him fully, by waiting patiently for Him. This patience honors Him greatly; it leaves Him, as God on the throne, to do His work; it yields self wholly into His hands. It lets God be God. If thy waiting be for some special request, wait patiently. If thy waiting be more the exercise of the spiritual life seeking to know and have more of God, wait patiently. Whether it be in the shorter specific periods of waiting, or as the continuous habit of the souls. Rest in the Lord, be still before the Lord, and wait patiently. "They that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land."

"My soul, wait thou only upon God!" 

May this encourage you as it has me! 
- Your Evenstar

Heidelberg Catechism Week 38

103. Q. What is God's will for you in the fourth commandment? A. First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I regularly attend the assembly of God's people to learn what God's Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to God publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through His Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath. 

My reflections on the reading from the book...

The concept of a Sabbath was present from the very beginning, when God set aside one day in seven, demonstrated in His resting on the seventh day of creation. The Mosaic Law taught God's people that they should turn aside from their regular labors to observe the Lord's Day, demonstrating their trust in God's gracious supply. Christ taught His disciples that the Sabbath was a day of freedom (Luke 13:10-17), a day for healing (Luke 14: 1-6), and a day for doing good (Mark 3:1-6). The fourth commandment points to the eternal rest appointed for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9-10). 

We set aside the first day of the week, as we rest from our daily employment and pursuits, to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and worship the Lord together with fellow believers.

Psalm 35

Verses 19, 24, 27-28...
Let not those rejoice over me 
     who are wrongfully my foes, 
and let not those wink the eye 
     who hate me without cause.
Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, 
     according to Your righteousness, 
and let them not rejoice over me!
Let those who delight in my righteousness 
     shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, 
"Great is the LORD, 
     who delights in the welfare of his servant!" 
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness 
     and of your praise all the day long.

Matthew Henry: 
"David in his afflictions, Christ in his sufferings, the church under persecution, and the Christian in the hour of temptation, all beseech the Almighty to appear in their behalf, and to vindicate their cause."

Make my life an alleluia, a song of praise to You each day. 

To proclaim Your grace and glory, 

Fill my heart with Your praise, I pray. 

When I stand at the mountaintop, or the valley of despair, 

This will be my cry, my song, my prayer, 

Lord, make my life an alleluia. 

Make my life an alleluia, a gift of love to You, my King. 

I will join with all creation in the song that the heavens sing! 

The earth will turn, and the planets spin, 

As the seasons ebb and flow; 

Still, Your grace surrounds me as I go. 

Lord, make my life an alleluia. 

Make my life an alleluia, this offering of myself I give to You. 

I will share Your grace and mercy for as long as I shall live. 

When I come to my journey's end, 

May those left behind be reminded, 

This has been my cry, my song, my prayer: 

Lord, make my life an alleluia. 

(Ruth Elaine Schram)

Cool mountain air

My dear one, 

A Saturday afternoon drive and cool mountain air were just what the doctor ordered. It would only have been lovelier if you had been at my side. The shadows are lengthening - October is almost here! Oh how I wish October could bring you to me...

"I keep watching, I keep hoping, but time keeps us apart. Is there a way I can find you? Is there a sign I should know? Is there a road I could follow, to bring you back home?"

- Your Evenstar

Psalm 36

Verses 7-10... 

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! 

     The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. 

They feast on the abundance of Your house, 

     and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. 

For with You is the fountain of life; 

     in Your light do we see light. 

Oh, continue Your steadfast love to those who know You, 

     and Your righteousness to the upright of heart! 

Matthew Henry:

"God's loving-kindness is precious to the saints. They put themselves under His protection, and then are safe and easy. Gracious souls, though still desiring more of God, never desire more than God. The gifts of Providence so far satisfy them, that they are content with such things as they have. The benefit of holy ordinances is sweet to a sanctified soul, and strengthening to the spiritual and Divine life. But full satisfaction is reserved for the future state. Their joys shall be constant. God not only works in them a gracious desire for these pleasures, but by His Spirit fills their souls with joy and peace in believing. He quickens whom He will; and whoever will, may come, and take from Him the waters of life freely. May we know, and love, and uprightly serve the Lord; then no proud enemy, on earth or from hell, shall separate us from His love."