With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD;

in the great throng I will praise him.

For he stands at the right hand side of the needy one,

to save his life from those who condemn him.

Psalm 109:30-31

Today many of us will worship our God, “extol the LORD,” at a church service. We will be in “the great throng” to praise and thank our God.

May each of us recognize His nearness as His needy ones—each one of of us is just as desperate for God as are all others. And may we have joy and great peace in the knowledge that as children saved by our God—by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus—no one can condemn us…not even our own sins. We are saved! Our God is with us!

May we each greatly extol the LORD and praise Him always—both in “the great throng” at church and in “the great throng” of people with whom we share this world each and every day of our lives!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Happy 1st Day of Spring!!!

In my little corner of this world (Princeton, NJ) it is an astoundingly beautiful day—more like the first day of Summer than Spring! The sky is bright blue, the air is clear, the temperature is to reach the mid-70′s, and there is a sweet and gentle breeze.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Creator of all that exists! Thank You, for these days that stir our hearts to recognize Your love and the beauty You have provided for us through Your power of creation!

My heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing and make music with all my soul.

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, higher than the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

and let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 108: 1-5

God is God. And God’s Love and Faithfulness are always present with us…God is always the Exalted One whose Glory is always over the heavens, over the earth, and over all of creation even on the darkest, gloomiest of days—both weather-wise and in our circumstances.

May God make each of our hearts steadfast so we will sing and make music every day to our Lord…and very loudly on beautiful days like today when it’s easy to do so!!!

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

No one can serve two masters.

Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Matthew 6:22-24

Sometimes we can be so blind. So blind to ourselves…to our way of seeing, to our way of perceiving, that even we who have Jesus as our Savior don’t truly know Him—or allow Him—to be Lord and Master of our lives.

Maybe it is Money—the pursuit of it, the worry about it, the pride of having it, the plan and energy to obtain and keep it, the fear of losing it—that your eyes, the eyes of your heart and your perception, focus on and rule over your thoughts and behavior instead of Jesus as Lord. Maybe the Master of your eyes and, therefore, your whole being is Money…and all things Material. 

OR…maybe you don’t struggle with Money being your Master. So, what is it that keeps Jesus from truly being the Lord of your life?

Maybe it’s Your sense of Yourself and the Control you want and believe you have. Your way of thinking and behaving—Your perception that You are always right, that You have done everything You can, that people would all be better off if they would just do things according to Your plan—has become your Master. Your eyes, the eyes of your heart and your perception, focus on yourself and your apparently superior way of thinking and doing as the worthy Master of your life rather than humbly allowing God to be God and Lord of your life. You may even be sincerely thankful for your salvation, that comes from Jesus alone and will bring you into the presence of God when you die to this earth. But in the meantime, you’ll stay focused on maintaining the position of being Your own Master of Your life on this side of Heaven. Thank you, very much.

No matter what we look to as the Master and Lord of our life—Money, Self, Whatever—if the eyes of our heart focus on anything else rather than Jesus, we are living in and filled with darkness. Jesus alone is the True Light and the True Lord of the world. Not us. Not our stuff. Not our thinking. Not our doing. Jesus is the One and Only Eternal Master of all there is. Jesus is the Name above all names. Jesus is the Only One to whom our eyes should look and in whom we should place our trust as Master of our lives.

Good eyes look to trust and obey One True Master, our Lord Jesus Christ.

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

There is a series of commercials that list the price of all kinds of things, e.g.:

Cruise for 2: $2300; Snorkeling Excursion: $150; Rental Snorkel Gear for the Excursion: $75…then, the punch line: Pictures of each other in Snorkel Gear: Priceless!

It seems that it is always about the Relationship Factor—no matter what the commercial is about—that the word Priceless is unltimately used.

And that is true of our God’s love. Not only is it PRICELESS, God’s love is also available to all people…no matter what our station in life may be…or what state any of our other circumstances and relationships may be in at the time.

How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 36:7

God’s love is unfailing when so much around us and within us fails. And that is Priceless!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Top o’ the morning to ye!

Yes! It is St. Patrick’s Day! And, like so many others, I’m enjoying a bit of fun, wearing some green and claiming every ounce of Irish heritage that’s within me!

After all, the Irish blood flowing from my husband Timothy (whose beautiful silver hair was once a deep red!) and me can be clearly seen in our two daughters: Erin (her name couldn’t be more Irish!) with her green-hazel eyes, auburn-tinted wavy hair, music in her heart and the wisdom of one much older; and Julia with her bright blue eyes, crazy red curls, fiery spirit and beautiful singing voice. Yes, the bit o’ Irish blood within us cannot be denied! 

What about ”the luck of the Irish?” Oh! It’s a fun thought, but luck is all about chance and not certainty. We will, instead, depend on the certainty of our God’s Word of grace and truth, love and peace.

We do not know what each day will hold for us, but we can be certain that we are always held by our Faithful God! And we will hold onto that truth everyday of our lives!

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…Let us hold on unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:22-23

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

May 1, 2010—Rachel Mack will be speaking at Trinity Bible Church in Bristol, PA for their Mother/Daughter Brunch on Saturday, May 1 at 10:00 am. Rachel will be sharing “Bad Hair Days, Bloating, Bathing Suit Shopping and Other Things that Affect my Attitude,” in which she discusses with humor some of the causes of our bad attitudes, as well as the remedy – to P.R.A.I.S.E

This is the day the LORD has made let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

For the last five days Tim and I were in Florida with Mom and Dad Mack at Grandma’s Grove RV park where they live from early fall to early summer in a community made up almost entirely of retired, senior citizen,  snow birds.

Our normal pace slowed down considerably as we entered intimately into Mom and Dad’s world. Most of our time was spent enjoying each other as we sat and talked together, shared meals, snacks and tea together (okay, mostly strong coffee for me).

We met up with a number of their friends for their traditional Friday Fried-Fish Dinner (Tim and I chose the broiled version) at a local restaurant where they all knew the owner, chef and waitresses by name. On Saturday, after helping Mom and Dad out with chores that our younger (though still AARP card-carrying) bodies could more easily do, we joined up with their more intimate group of friends for their Saturday Game Night. 

On Sunday we worshipped together at their local church enjoying the music, the message from God’s Word and the caring community that surrounds them…and takes the time to share in each others’ joys and each others’ heart-breaks. After the service Mom, Dad, Tim and I traveled a little over an hour so that we could visit with three of our teenage nephews (their grandsons!) over lunch and ice-cream. 

Nothing that we did was out of the ordinary during those five days. But what we did was so important for our bodies and souls and our relationships with those we love so very much.

We slowed down to fully embrace this precious time with Mom and Dad…and they did with us. All of us took time to recognize the gift of each moment we had been given by our God to share with each other. We took time to give thanks for the day…for the days…that the LORD had made for us. And we rejoiced. And were glad in it…in every single one of them!!! 

And today I am rejoicing with and for Mom and Dad Mack as they celebrate 58 years of marriage—which have been made up of approximately 21,184 days, leap year days included—all given to them by the LORD! 

None of us really know how many days the LORD will give to us or to those we love. So, I pray that today we each will choose to be thankful and choose to love on someone a little better, a little more fully in this day…for this is the day the LORD has made!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

With all that is within me I want every single person in this world to know the love of God. I want every single person to realize that we all need God…that we all need His mercy, His peace, His hope, His gift of salvation and eternal life that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ alone. 

With all that is within me I want every single person to know that God gives full life and full freedom right now…that God heals and transforms hearts and minds and lives right now…by His unfailing love and unlimited power.

If I, who am frail, flawed and finite—and sometimes just so darn self-focused, stubborn-hearted and hard-headed—desire this for all people, how much more must our Holy, Eternal, Loving LORD want this for all of us!!?

For those of us who already know the saving grace and eternal love of our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you and I will choose to live in such a way that declares God’s heart towards all people…I pray that you and I will choose to be better ambassadors of Christ to all those around us.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,

as though God where making his appeal through us.

2 Corinthians 5:20 

—————————-

God is patient with you [with all of us], not wanting anyone to perish,

but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

May each of us choose to reveal God’s loving, merciful, welcoming heart for all people…at all times…in all circumstances!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Yesterday I wrote of our tender and tenuous responsibility to judge our brothers and sisters (and ourselves) in the household of faith—for the LORD and with the LORD (2 Chronicles 19:4-7)—as representatives of our Holy God.

It is just as important for every one of us who claim to be a Christian to offer the FULL grace of Jesus Christ to those who have humbled themselves before our God and repented of their sins. We must no longer make anyone feel like an outcast or a failure. Because every single one of us needs the FULL sacrifice that cost Jesus His life in order to pay for our sins.

To offer the FULL grace of Jesus Christ, we can no longer malign any person for what they have done. In the FULL grace of Jesus Christ we can no longer hold anyone in bondage by our judgment or disappointment. In the FULL grace of Jesus Christ we can no longer point out anyone’s past sins or continue to point them out or discuss them with others.

The FULL grace of Jesus Christ puts an end to all condemnation in the heart of our Holy God towards each of us who receive His forgiveness and renewal. How much more should we, who are also sinners, put an end to all condemnation towards our brothers and sisters in Christ!! 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life

set me free from the law of sin and death…

God did this by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man,

to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,

in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us…

Romans 8:1-4

 God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us,

so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Full life, full freedom from accusation and condemnation, full redemption, full forgiveness, full transformation of our standing with our Holy God happens only in the FULL grace of Jesus Christ! May we offer no less than this to our brothers and sisters in Christ!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Throughout the history of Israel, Scriptures tell us of kings who either acted wickedly and turned from serving the LORD and, thereby, also turned the people from God’s ways OR about other kings who humbled themselves and served as the LORD’s representative to the people—in both civic matters and spiritual matters. These kings understood that for them to truly be God’s representative there should be no difference in how they dealt with issues of legality and spirituality as the leader of God’s people. The LORD was to be the ruler of every aspect and area of the lives of His people!

Jehoshaphat (such a fun name to say!) was one of Judah’s kings who understood this all-encompassing authority of God. And as king he actively and intimately chose to enter into the lives of his people in order to establish them as God’s people in all their civic and spiritual matters.

Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man, but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

2 Chronicles 19:4-7

This established manner of judgment was for those who belonged to the household of God. And we need to let this be our practice of judgment with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Unfortunately, we know that our way of judging others can often come from a critical, self-focused, prideful place which has nothing to do with the righteous and wise judgment we are to make regarding the circumstances and behaviors—our own included—that do not honor the LORD our God.

As the people of God, we need to hold true to God’s Word—His Word of Grace and Truth in Jesus Christ—as we regard others in the household of God and make judgments as to right and wrong. First, we are to always recognize that we ourselves are just as desperate for God’s mercies as is even the person whose wrongs we consider most heinous and evil. This is the truth of God’s grace that is offered to all.

We are also to always recognize that our judgments against another person’s sinful acts must not be denied or ignored or played-down because of our close relationship with them—especially if they are in the Body of Christ as a believer. Sin is sin. Even if we don’t want to upset anyone by confronting them about the sin. Yet, this confrontation—done in humility and love—is how we are to care for our brothers and sisters. Jesus died because of the destructive nature of sin. His death was God’s holy judgment against all sin…so that we may live. This is the grace of God’s truth that is offered to all.

Yet, to judge another—by God’s grace and truth—is tenuous and tender work which requires that we must only make our judgments “for the LORD” and “with the LORD.” 

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane