The most beautiful works of God are the reconstructed … the renovated … the recycled … the restored … the repurposed and I guess, since I’m on a roll with the metaphor here … the re-strung.   Artists like Steve, and our old buddy Paul Craig, know all about that.  Beautiful stuff can come from discarded stuff right out of the trash bin.  Just give it to an artist … give him or her time … then you’ll see something emerge … or resurrect … something NEW and both RENEWED.  My son Jeremy does that with branches and scraps from his wood shop.  My daughters do that with junk they find in a thrift store.  My wife has done that with me.

Artists know how it works.  And now YOU need to know.  You are a work of HIS artistry … HIS genius … HIS design … you are a demonstration of the handiwork of the Living God, repurposing the broken.

Whatever is left of your life … put all the pieces in the scarred hands of the artist … Jesus Christ … and let Him work His wonders.  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand, that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10

Let God redeem … repurpose … renew … restring you.  Then sing out a new song to the glory of God.

Thanks Steve for helping me see it.

Grace & Peace

Bill (Repurposed for His Purpose)

God’s will…that will…God’s personal heart desire was always that we would be sanctified, or separated from the condemned masses of humanity & restored to relationship with Him.

God’s will…that once…just once…one offering…one perfect, effective offering would be presented for all. In order to restore all people to that one, most essential of all relationships – our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Jesus said it…”I have come to do Your will O Father”. Not His own apparently but the Father’s. What was the difference? Jesus even prayed “Not My will but Yours”. Jesus has become susceptible to all human passions, desires & distractions. Though He resisted evil, He felt the pressure, and the temptations to indulge. But the Father’s will won out over those desires. The result? We are saved – sanctified by the will of the Father. Finally home.

Father, thank You for accomplishing Your will and saving me…us…for building Your family through that one perfect offering. Thank You for making us Yours. By the blood.

Jesus’ death and resurrection means I can walk tall, as I am no longer a slave to sin. ­

Jesus’ death and resurrection means LIFE and that more abundantly!!!!

“Jesus’ death & resurrection means we have something and someone to live for something other then ourselves”

“Jesus’ death & resurrection means that God Himself has paid the debt of our sins and has provided the way to eternal life and that all the senselessness and anguish that can be experienced in life right now is just a momentary, light affliction not worthy to be compared with the glory that is eventually to be ours who believe”

Jesus’ death & resurrection means HOPE (i.e.- confident expectation)!!!

Jesus’ death and resurrection means that God remembered us.  He came for us.   He saved us. (Galatians 4:4-7)

What Does Jesus’ Resurrection Mean To You?

Nothing has changed in the nature of man. Still evil in the imaginations of the heart. From coast to coast – pole to pole – we fill the earth with violence and the fruit of rebellion against God’s will. Genesis 6:15 says God saw that man’s wickedness was great and every intent of the heart was ONLY EVIL continually. Noah too…but he had set his heart to seek God…to walk with God…which made him, according to God, BLAMELESS. In fact, the Bible says “Perfect”.

Noah’s first action after emerging from the boat was not to go for a run, do a little fishing, build a shelter – he built an altar and began to give to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. There is no record of God instructing Noah on how to offer animals, how to build an altar, or even how to pray. This was just the response of a survivor of God’s wrath – a thankful man. Thankful to be out of the zoo boat. Thankful to be back on dry land. Thankful above all to be alive and to have found grace in God’s eyes. So he resumed his walk with God with a significant offering. And though man’s heart (there were only 8 alive now) was still evil…from youth…God was gracious. He would allow and invite us to seek Him and walk with Him as He prepared the Savior for the world. What grace. What love.

Father, help me to walk with You today. Offering a sacrifice of praise to You for all You’ve done in allowing me to escape Your judgment. You abound in mercy.

“Be angry and do not sin – meditate within your heart on your bed and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord.” Ps. 4:4-5

Jacob, the schemer is at it again. Only now he’s striking deals and playing games with God. God has just revealed His plan to Jacob. God will honor Jacob as the one to carry out the plan of God which leads toward redemption and blessing for all nations under heaven. How amazing that doesn’t nullify the ill-gotten blessing – but He extends a validation of the birth-right on Jacob the Heal-Catcher…”TRIPPER”.

But Jacob has unparalleled audacity and tells God, in so many words, “Okay God, I’m gonna put You on probation – let’s see how You do. Let’s take a trial run – I’ll give You a chance to prove Yourself. If You perform up to my expectations and make me rich (garments and food) then I just might let You be my God…If You’re real good to me. And I’ll even cut You in on a 10% portion DEAL?!”

God’s answer? Silence. No response. Maybe a heavenly sigh? But God still remains faithful to Heal Catcher. Still blesses Jacob even though He has a lot of learning to do and a lot of unlearning about how things work in God’s kingdom.

It’s time for all the games to stop – to just take God at His word. To meditate on His Word…even on my bed…and to offer sacrifices of righteousness to God – a life laid on and lived on the altar. It’s time to just trust God.

Father, help me to be done with all my role playing – scheming – deal cutting and gaming with You and with others. All I want to do is love You – trust You – follow You and serve You until I see Your face.

Note: This devo was done “leaning on my bed” in the guest room at Dominic and Danielle Dingon’s in St. Cloud, Minnesota. God set me up to hear this loud and clear. God’s schemes are so well planned and executed. May I only and always play His game by His rules.

The Spirit which regenerates us and places us in the Body of Christ, also indwells us to perfect us and convicts us of both righteousness and unrighteousness. Does anything good come to us as a result of our sheer determination? When it comes to our walk with the Lord we begin and continue both in and by the Spirit. We are not perfected by the flesh because we were not saved by flesh. And when it comes to our involvement in the miraculous that also is not a work of the flesh. I take that to mean that we are not rewarded with a miracle because were good little boys and girls. The work of the Holy Spirit in the performing of miracles and healings is not a result of our works or keeping of the law – but merely by the hearing of faith.

Hearing of faith? Yes! God speaks and faith hears what God speaks then responds or rests in what God has said. Perhaps God is saying we should stop trying to earn his favor and his favors. Maybe God is telling us just to trust His wisdom when it comes to the working of miracles and healings.

Honestly that somewhat frustrates me because it would be so much easier if you could work toward a miracle like saving for a snack from a vending machine when I was boy. Or like Emi & Mia (my grand daughters) save up marbles for being good – losing one when they misbehave. It seems so random at times, the way God moves – we pray hard for someone to recover but they don’t. Others disappear from our circle of fellowship for a year and we find out they have been battling cancer but have recovered, snatched, as they say, from death’s door. Then the questions flood our minds. Did I pray enough? Should I have fasted? Was there sin in my life that blocked the delivery of the miracle? Were there conditions that were unmet for this to happen?

I know there are promises that come with conditions.

If you . . . then He.

But it all comes down to faith doesn’t it? Faith in His word. Faith in His integrity. Faith in His character.

I have a brother. I talk to him sometimes, but he never talks back. He’s out of reach at the moment. Has been for 43 years, 4 months & 4 days. I know where he is. At least I’m pretty sure he’s in heaven. That day changed a lot of things in a handful of lives. It was my first encounter with real loss. Grief. Inner pain that no medication could heal. It was 2 years, 1 month, 11 days later that Jesus began to heal that wound.

But may it never be said of me, “He finally got over the loss of his brother, Kevin”. For if I did I would then fail to feel the pain of those who daily enroll in this fraternity of suffering. Though we adapt to a new reality of living with less, we also live with the vivid reminder that another rich and robust soul once walked with us, fought with us, sang with us, walked to the school bus with us, protected us (my big mouth and small stature called for much intervention from the giant named Kevin), and tried to help us get serious about God. There was once another friend who listened to our dreams and tried to argue sense into our love-struck hearts. A brother, sister, parent, grandparent, best friend who left with a piece of us, but left a large piece of themselves behind. The Welsh boys… we were a pair. He played drums. I played guitar. He was sensible. I was wild and foolish.

Though I have moved forward, and hopefully grown beyond and because of the temporary loss, may I never “fully recover.” I treasure every thought of him. I treasure every tear as if it were a liquid diamond. He made me strive for more. He kept me grounded. Anything I am is partly because of him. When and IF I ever grow up … on my way to becoming like Jesus, the Healer of the Broken Heart, I hope to become more like Kevin Michael Welsh, mom’s Little Drummer Boy.

Still love you and miss you Kevin. Sorry I was too lazy to get out of bed and ride with you and mom to the bus station the day you took the Greyhound back to Linda in Ohio. You beat me to heaven bro.

I have a big brother and 3 awesome little sisters. And a tribe of my own now. I am a rich man.

Billy

Mt. Seir, in Edom lived with an ancient hatred. Known as a bloodthirsty people. Never willing to make peace. Ready to shed blood. Unwilling to bury the hatchet. That ancient hatred would destroy them. Their vengeance, their ruthlessness would backfire and bring them down.

There is always a “good reason” to feud and fight and force retribution. It’s even in our nature to return evil for evil, punch for punch, poke for poke until we are all bruised and broken. Some grudges seem to last forever with not even a time for healing. Ancient hatred…we grow up with passed down, generational hatred. Racial tension. Class distinction. Social segregation. But in Christ all those divisions find resolution to the point where I am even called to love my enemy and find ways to bless him/her. In other words, to take God’s side rather than standing against Him and to become a peacemaker.

Oh Father – help me to bury all my hatchets and follow You in peace and peace-making. Help me reflect Your love.

“I will raise up from them a prophet like you from among the brethren”

Deut. 18:15 & 18

This was certainly a comforting, encouraging word for the nation of pilgrims who were on the threshold of the promised land. They had learned to trust and follow Moses, even though they had lapsed at times in fear and doubt and blatant rebellion. Now Moses is leaving. But first a promise, another prophet. When? Not immediately. More than a thousand years in the future. But he would come. And he would speak God’s words. All of them. He would speak all that God had commanded, and those who don’t heed those words would give account for their refusal to yield.

But this prophet would be from among them, one of their own, living among them. How humble of God to come and walk among us, taking on so many roles…Teacher, Prophet, Priest, King, Healer, Savior, Defender, Shepherd, Father, Counselor. How wise of God to make our Savior, the sacrificial Lamb just like us, fully human, without somehow, sacrificing deity. More than they experienced in this prophet. What a surprise!

Father, thank You for walking among us. For speaking Your truth so powerfully. May I take it to heart.

Everyone has a “text” they follow. A code, written or not. Systematic or random. Inherited from our parents or adopted from our generation or that gang we run with. We all have a standard we live by. Israel’s standard was spoken by God and delivered by prophets and leaders. The words of God were not to be a religious icon but rather the tracks for life. So they were told “memorize, teach, speak, write and above all…keep these words”. Why? Because they will lead you to the treasure…The Lord Himself. Love Him, walk with Him, cling to Him. The purpose of God’s instruction has always been to cause us to “Love the Lord with all our heart. Knowledge will puff us up, but love edifies”.

May I never be content with mere accurate Bible knowledge that stops short of a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. That sweet voice draws us in.

Oh Father, thank You for speaking to us in Your Word and by those words drawing us to Your heart. Your voice draws us near to You, the foundation of truth and life. Continue to speak Lord and cause my heart to always listen. Amen