"His Words will take you to your finish line".

 "His Words will take you to your finish line"    Out of the gate - to the end of the race"

'Ktiva'  said Max (the young Jewish man in hiding) to young Liesel Meminger (played by Sophie NElisse), in "The Book Thief". "Write". He wanted Sophie to write. That would become her tool of survival, her means to endure, her mental and emotional means of escape. Words and books became everything to her, and as the story unfolds, she risks it all for these words. As Max, the Jew hiding in the basement of Sophie's foster parents home, hands the young girl a book he made with blank pages, he wants her to Ktiva (write) her words, on these pages. This is Hitler's Germany, and as dark as the times are, what shines is the courage of this young girl, who risks everything, to read, to dream and to hope. The sweet relationship between the foster father Hans, (played by Geoffrey Rush), and the orphaned girl he and his wife take in in this World War 11 drama is worth seeing. A good movie or book shows us the power that words can impart.

 There is a picture that I had made for my husband when he was stationed overseas. It perfectly stated what had happened to us both in six months time. The words are from the poet/writer John Donne, and they are: "More than kisses, letters mingle souls". I put those words against a picture of a harvest, a man tilling the soil, facing the sun. That little framed picture traveled everywhere we lived, and hung up in every bedroom. It said it all, and still hangs on the bedroom wall. It was really words that bound us together, more than dreams, more than hopes, more than plans. It was the words we shared that told us who we were, and what we might become. Words have power. They can impart life or death, hope or defeat. Words can create out of nothing. God's words created everything from nothing, and we are made in His image. If we only knew how powerful a tool a carefully spoken word can be, we might be more careful to choose them wisely.

 We know God takes words very seriously. It was His words which made covenants with people, it was His words which declared blessings over His creation.(Genesis 1).  It was His words that instilled identity in a people, and carved out boundaries and geographies for them. It was His words which encouraged, taught and instructed His Kings, His prophets, and His sages.(Matthew 4:4).  It was His words which lifted the lowly, gave strength to the weak, and gave hope to the dying. It was His words which called His Son's body out of a grave and made Him the first-fruit of all who would believe they too could live forever in glory. (1st Corinthians 15:20). Now, if we can only believe that our words can have that Dunamis power of God, what might we see happen in our lifetime. Referencing again the movie above, the young girl Liesel found a strength in words, both written and spoken, that was greater than what she could see with her eyes. Although it is our five senses that take in what we know to be true of this world; there is so much we would know if we could live deeper than the nose on our face and the eyes in our socket. What if, just what if, we listen to the voice of God within, when He speaks with words, into our spirit, and believe for what we do not see, and cannot perceive with the naked eye? Isn't this what Jesus (Yeshua) was referring to when He said "the Kingdom (all that is possible and good and true) is within"? (Luke 17:21). When Jesus said "if you would only believe" (Mark 9:23)...just what was it, and is it, that He is asking us to believe? I believe He is asking us to believe what the Spirit of God is speaking to our spirit today. He is not asking you to believe for someone else ability to hear God for you, or someone else to show God to to you, He is asking you to believe that He can and does and will reveal Himself to you, if you will only believe.

  In my years walking this terra-firma, I have come to accept and have made peace with who and what I am, and what I am not. I know my strengths as well as my weaknesses, and trust me, it's good to be well- acquainted with both. It will keep you grounded and balanced. You will not think too highly or too badly of yourself when you see what you really are. You will have a honest understanding of the fabric of your soul, and you will really know what you are, because God will show you who you are.  When you have nothing to lose, you lose the fear of saving face. I know when I was a young woman in college,  I couldn't decide on which man to marry (I decided to wait), which career path to take (I had quite a few), or which road to take. I always seemed to take the road that was harder or longer, and often I was on that path by myself.  I paid for my life and education by no less than several part-time jobs at once: but the best job I ever had which taught me more about people than anything else was waiting tables. I learned more about life by taking care of peoples basic needs (hunger and thirst and loneliness) than any other job. If you can handle a busy restaurant and can put up with the good, the bad and the ugly, you can handle life. I learned more by feeding hungry people than I ever did on a stage.All in all, when I look back on those years, I almost have to laugh. Could have saved a lot of time and money, and it might have been easier, had I just done it God's way the first time. But I was stubborn. God is used to dealing with stubborn and impetuous people, and He has a way of drawing them to Himself like no one else can. Those who have a strong will that needs to be bent are God's ace in the hole for troubled times. God specializes in taming wild stallions and filly's just as He can tame a wild soul. You can say that the Lord tamed and trained this race horse, and now I can run the race for God with speed and strength, because His bit and his reigns have been stronger than mine. How much time do we need to really believe all of God's words to us? The time left for this world is shorter than when I grew up. It isn't just your life or my life at stake anymore, there will be those who God will join alongside of us, those who may come after us, who need what we have been through, so they can finish their race. That's the purpose of the struggle, not only to shape us, but to leave something behind for others. I know all this because of words. His Words to me. Spoken in private. Whispered to my spirit. His words trained and broke me, and then they healed me and rebuilt me. This is the power of God's words. Never forget what He says to you. It will be the one true thing that keeps you going and will take to your finish line.