Category Archives: Five Minute Friday

Five Minute Friday blog posts

Wait, then run…at your pace

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. This is the first verse that came to mind with today’s prompt word and walking with hinds feet in high places. It takes a sure-footed goat and a love of heights to ascend the mountain. Have you ever been high up, looked down, and felt dizzy, then froze with fear?

Sometimes, I get ahead of myself and forget to look where I am going, and lost my way. Some fatherly advice I heard once if you are lost, sit down. God calls me in the morning to be with Him, then walk into the world.

You can find your inner strength when you are at rest. Watchman Nee’s book, Sit, Stand Walk explains the process perfectly. We rest in God’s Word, Stand on His promises, then walk in confidence and speak God’s Truth.

Photo by Frank Cone on Pexels.com
On gradient winds, 
Eagles hitch a ride
matching a clarion call. 
Haiku by RL Brown

3 responses to “Wait, then run…at your pace”

  1. aschmeisser Avatar
    aschmeisser

    An Eagle I don’t want to be,
    odd as that may seem,
    and the reason is, you see,
    that Dallas is America’s Team.
    They have had rough times of late,
    and the end zone is uncharted land,
    but they were once and will be great,
    and we can surely lend a hand.
    An open tryout should be made
    for a shot at glory,
    and those of us who make the grade
    will change the Cowboys’ story
    from sitting back as also-rans
    to being saved by their loyal fans.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Deborah Rutherford Avatar
    Deborah Rutherford

    This is so wonderful. You made me smile. I love this verse too and the fatherly & Fatherly advice.

    Like

    Reply
  3. SimplyCoffeeandJesus;ByPaula Avatar
    SimplyCoffeeandJesus;ByPaula

    Oh, I really love your message today. So moving.
    FMF#22

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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The Easter Song / Denial or Acceptance

His message rings true 
of grace's gift freely given,
yet, honors free will.
Our eternal destination is our own to decide. The gift has been freely offered. We choose to accept or deny.
fmf April 7, 2023
The Troubadour's Song

Overcome by fear
despairing loss, hope gone
Peter denies Him,

Judas walks beside 
the true Messiah, daily
impervious to truth,

ignorance succeeds, 
Pharisees deny their Messiah,
Jerusalem cries,

overwhelmed by grief,
John couldn't contain his tears,
his Messiah dies,

dementia cries out,
darkness envelops the cross
death's grip shakes the earth,

heartbreaking loneliness,
despair descends to hell's depth,
where is my hope?

We walk every day beside 
the true Messiah,
impervious to truth,

YET>



a single voice sings,   
illuminating darkness
with salvation's song,

the morning light hums,
the eternal wrapped in clay,
has set Terra free.

His message rings true 
of grace's gift freely given,
honoring free will.

The song of the church
is the gospel story of
God's eternal plan. 

The harvest complete, 
the church caught up, 
Israel will once again 
have a hand in redeeming
Man. 


Hebrew 4:1 For the word of God is living and active, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 
Matthew 13: 18-32, Parable of the Sower, Tares among the Wheat and the Mustard Seed, denial and faith to overcome.


Denial or Acceptance come from the heart, here is an excerpt from:
https://crossref-it.info/articles/52/seed-sowing
Parable of the Sower/ and the Mustard Seed Parable Excerpt
"Jesus uses the idea of seed metaphorically in a parable to explain how different people receive the word of God. Christ, who sows the word of God in human hearts, scatters the seed, but some falls on stony ground or is choked by weeds. However, those who receive and understand the word of God are like the good soil which nurtures the seed (Matthew 13:3-9). In another parable he compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard-seed, which is ‘the smallest of all seeds' but which, as it grows, develops into a well-established tree (Matthew 13:31-32). (See also Big ideas: Parables.)

Jesus also used the image of a seed to explain how his death and resurrection (see Big ideas: Death and resurrection) would have a significant impact on the world, resulting in the redemption of humankind (see Big ideas: Redemption, salvation). He explained that, just as a seed would not grow unless it was buried, so he had to die and be buried before his word could be spread: ‘unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds' (John 12:24).

Sowing and judgement
The product of a seed is also used symbolically to stand for the natural consequences of one's actions, both positive as well as negative. Paul warned that ‘people reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature … will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life' (Galatians 6:8).

Explore the Fact that Hell is for REAL

Explore Grace. 
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

A gift freely bestowed to all who accept.
Heavenly Destination
Gift of the Holy Spirit
Knowing our Heavenly Father (so much to say here)

Explore the path of rejection
1 Corinthians 2:14 
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

2 Tim 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, they shall heap to themselves teachers in accordance with their own lusts.

Explore the only path for salvation
John 1:14 
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace 
Acts 26:18
To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in
2 Corinthians 3:16 
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Explore the fact that Hell is for real. 
Jesus' favorite name for himself was the Son of Man because He, the eternal, infinite, chose to become finite for a little while. 

People see God's grace every day in His creation. They are awed but they have a veil over their hearts. 
This is what we see here on earth through a veil:

Life and Death
Light and Darkness
Love and Dementia


Now Imagine a place where there is no life, only death and eternal separation from God. Darkness fills the mind with no understanding of your existence or meaning and love is replaced with dementia.

Hell is very real and just like we see glimpses of heaven, we also see the horrors of hell. 

Ignorance is bliss until it bites you in the butt. How can we let our friends, family, neighbors go to hell in ignorance? 

Everyday God reveals His Glory, His Magnitude, His Wonder, so we are without excuse. It is true that pride and arrogance go before the fall; but it does not have to be our pride that keeps us from sharing the gospel. 



NOW:
Let us pray and EXPLORE ways to expose deception wisely in love with one word, one thought, that turns the heart back to Jesus. 
WE must speak the whole truth in love. 
Explore ways to tell God's Truth to your friends/family who delude themselves. 
Speak from love and wisdom with the Holy Spirit as your prompt. 
This was not what I first was writing about. I was making a bucket list. My pastor as of late (I mean more so), has a real concern for the lost and those who are under strong deceptions.
by RL Brown

Morning Coffee

Coffee (or tea) can mean something different to each person. For some people, it is the aroma that wakens the morning senses; for others, it is downing the first cup that kick starts the day. For others, coffee is the elixir necessary for clarity of vision. without it, the newspaper would be useless. With all its sensual clues, one still has to acclimate to coffee’s bitter taste. But once you find the right blend, coffee is your friend.

Morning coffee is a bit like life with all the sweet, savory, bitter, sour bits, and yet when blended with the perfect pairing, satisfying. (Coffee and a donut)

Time to tie that morning coffee with awakening to God. Life is full of flavor, emotion, sight, sound, and meaning. Walking with God in the light of His Word brings a perfect pairing to healing old wounds, finding a grateful attitude, a sense of worth, and blessings during trials. Bitterness, saucy tongues, doubt, and more will be a part of this life but God’s Word is the perfect pairing to counter life’s bitterness.

Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com

Spring Showers

Spring sings,
“Birds, sing your morning song.
Praising Him to whom we belong.
Wind, blow the seeds.
Loam, provide their needs.
Clouds water the flowers.
It’s time for God’s showers.”

We sing the Singer’s gospel message, praising the one who saved us. Holy Spirit is our guide to plant the gospel message in another’s heart. God waters and causes the seed to grow. Spring calls us to sing His gospel message.

I moved my younger brother into a nursing home. He is my brother, but the burden was heavy. It made my heart sad. Yet, he had a remarkable recovery from the time he entered till I left.

The word the last week was easy. It was not easy to pack up his belongings, clean out his home, essentially his life, and store them. Yet, it reminded me not to put store in the things of this world.

We let temporal things measure the sum of our lives. Yet, the sum of how we live has an eternal value.

Carry No More

Tears flow deep,
watered by roots of despair.
Let them grow no more.

Breathe the sunlit air.
Uproot weeds watered by tears.
Heart stirs, plant anew.
(Senryu) 



We plant roots deep in His Word, 
our faith in Jesus, and 
hearts atuned to the Holy Spirit 
then let God carry our burdens.  
Tears flow deep within
nourished by roots of despair.
Breathe the sunlit air
uproots weeds watered by tears
As your soul stirs, plant anew.
(Tanka) 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not [a]fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Pray for Peace

Kentucky’s 101st Airborne on their way to Ukraine. Prayers for all 🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸
We need to wrap them in our prayers! Prayers for all of our men and women going! I didn’t hear this on the news but on Facebook. Update: I heard they were in Poland helping the Ukraine army.

I read a NET in Time post this morning, and she voiced a teenager’s concerns. “What if a mistake happens?”

Whether you believe it or not the 2020 election was stolen by media hook or crooked servers. The western hemisphere is now in a fog of dementia.

Whether biblical timing or a lost populous or the constant bombardment of fake news, the truth is lost in this demented fog. We face so many enemies entrenched in our gov’t and the world in our time. (How can you have a card-carrying communist head of the CIA? Pay for play head of the CDC?)

King Jehoshaphat faced a battle that he could not win. He drew back–to the LORD. His weapon was a heart of praise. When we voice a heart of praise, we are showing God our reliance on HIM. God took care of Jehoshaphat’s battle.

It is time to rely on the most potent weapon of all a heart of praise.

101st Airborne Division

Stretch

Perspicacity
Reach into the world of words,
to find clear insight.
Photo by Tamba Budiarsana on Pexels.com

Time for my morning stretch and run, now walk, oh, it’s too cold today.

Time for my morning quiet time, how about some music today, I forgot too…

Time, oh I have lots of time as an empty-nester- time to clean out those closets, the garage, procrastination…

How do I stretch my time, I used to get more done…My heart is just not in it anymore.

Yard work, now my shoulder is hurting again, should’ve kept up those PT exercises.

When we let things go for other things, sometimes we lose our flexibility, our stretchability. It is not lost, just needs our attention. Faith is the song that calms the restlessness inside of me. (From a song but I changed the words a bit.) Sometimes we get restless, the loss of time with our church family, not as much time with friends and family, the constant bombardment of news, both fake and real.

God is there and ready to stretch me (us) in new ways. It is time to stretch and yet, not forget or let go of God’s foundational Truth.

As I work to maintain my strength and daily walk, God continues to stretch me in new ways. I’ve been writing stories and poems, and every day I see His blessing, his walking beside me as I struggle. I am not a natural writer. I have to work at it. I read the word for today, and as usual, start with a blank slate.

There are things God wants to be said through me, so I stretch my reach into the world of words, meditate, contemplate, scratch out, rewrite, double-check for grammar, (always, hate putting a comma before and. It’s like saying and-and). Then I post.

For me, I need to keep my old faith muscles stretched and active. At the same time, stretch new ones.

Commitment

Commitment comes in all shapes and sizes. Some promises are short-term, some last for a season, and some are life-long. Long before God established the church, He formed the family as the basic unit of society-big or small. Our society grows, values develop, and traditions are passed on from the family.

Author unknown

Commitment does mean everything is perfect. The work to keeping a relationship begins on your wedding day. It is the day you said, I do, to a life-long commitment. Marriage is filled with life and all the happiness and sadness in this world. It is working to keep it alive and going and protect and shield it from the negative impacts of this world.

A Wedding Blessing for my son and new daughter by RL Brown
By RL Brown

Achievements

Setting goals and achieving them definitely build confidence and self-esteem. I have a long list of achievements from learning to ride a back, writing, educational goals to making lifelong friends and instilling a love for God in my family.

But when your heart-felt attempts are rejected and your achievements scorned that’s when you plant your feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. The actions I take for the kingdom of God have eternal value, which is a life-long lesson.

I have set my own goals at times above God’s purposes. Of course, I didn’t always see the truth in the moment, just plowed ahead. Yet, God made me the way I am and knew I would need to plow.

God blesses our achievements to show us that we are wonderfully made. Therefore, the glory is His.

I had nothing to write about this morning, feeling down–amazing how God can comfort your heart with a simple thought once you meditate on it.

My first painting by RL Brown