Not Alone

There is no cute picture to grab your attention today.  No funny or pithy story to pique your interest.  I just don't have it in me.  All I can give you is a truth: life is hard.  Some weeks are harder than others and some live lives that are perpetually more difficult than others.

I will be the first to say that I am blessed.  I have a house to live in, I am able to stay at home and care for my husband and children, we have more than we need and God had provided for us over and over again.  I KNOW this, but today I am just not feeling it.  Ever have day(s) like that?

My AC on our family van went out.  No biggie as we have been without it before and will probably be without it again.  Then a bearing on the AC unit froze up rendering our primary transportation down for the count....at least until parts come in and the weather cooperates so that my mechanic (aka my husband) can fix it.  Still, not a huge problem, as it means I can focus on lesson plans for the upcoming year and relaxing with the kids.

Then, my computer up and died in the middle of working on a project.  Out of nowhere the motherboard fried and a few of the things I was working on had not yet been backed up.  One of those files was a necessity for a training I was to lead this week.  So, I had to postpone it, order a hard drive case and hope that I could pull my files from it.  Again, not the end of the world, but my stress level increased.

Next, a family member that I dearly love who is battling addiction relapsed.  She was in a treatment program and while out on a day pass made the wrong choice.  I spoke to her the night that it happened (I had suspicions but she denied them) and was heartbroken at the pain I heard in her voice, the desperation and the loneliness.  I was helpless to do more than pray and offer encouragement to her.  The next day she admitted what she had done and confessed to staff in the program.  Her consequences are a major setback and while justified, I am concerned for her, both mentally and spiritually.  (Please pray for her!)

And finally I received some unsettling news about a spiritual battle that another family member is facing.  And when this person needed me(for an unrelated matter), I was unable to assist due to our lack of transportation.   I was helpless to help and now, I have reached the end of me.  All of these are beyond my control.  I can not change the situations.  I can not make things better. And that is difficult for me.

And yet, perhaps this is exactly where God wants me.  At the end of my rope unable to see where the bottom is.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness...
~2 Corinthians 12:9

 This verse was written by Paul, the man who wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament.  He is a man that understands trials.  He was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, and persecuted after he gave up his life as a respected pharisee.  (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)  Paul speaks of his own difficulties in life, and in the verse preceding this he admits that he requested three times that God remove "a thorn" from him. We are never told what this thorn is, but it is obviously something that Paul found very difficult.  And yet God tells him no. 

God's grace is sufficient for us; His power made perfect in our weakness.  One of the commentaries I read states that, "troubles are sent to us to teach us to pray."  They are used to draw us closer to Him.  I have no control over what is going on right now, but He does.  That doesn't mean that He will swoop down and instantly affect the changes I would love to see.  Sometimes, out of His love for us, His answer must be, "no." 

No, He will not force my loved ones to turn to Him for help, for strength.  He may not relieve the stress I am currently feeling in my life right now.  But that is okay.  You see, I can pour out my heart to Him, tell Him that I am struggling, that I am worried, that I am concerned, that I am uncomfortable.  I can talk with Him....and He can comfort me.  He can remind me that I am not the one in control.  He can remind me that I must rely on Him for everything from the breath in my lungs to the care of my loved ones.  And while I may never understand why these things are happening, I can trust that He has a plan; I can trust Him.  And that is what I choose to do. 

It isn't an easy choice, and some days it can be the hardest thing in the world to do.  But I KNOW that it is the right choice.  I know that His heart breaks with mine to see my loved ones struggle and hurt.  I know that while He desires a happy ending as much as I do, He loves us to much to force us into submission.  I trust that He continues to organize situations to help us find the good path, His path and that like a GPS, He can recalibrate when we go off course.  So I choose to trust in the One who CAN do something.

So maybe there is a picture in this for us, for me.  A reminder that we (I) do not walk this path alone and that it is absolutely okay to be weak, because He truly is strong enough for us to lean on!

In THIS is love...

 

It was an errand day for us.  That means several stops and more time in the car than we usually spend on any given day.  So my grand-daughter and my 7 year old were buckled in the back seat and my teen was in the navigator position for the trip.  Every time we came to a stoplight the 20 month old grand-daughter yelled out, "GO!  GO! GO NOW!" and the 7 year old began to giggle.  What in the world?

As we exited the interstate and came to the light I watched it turn yellow with one car ahead of me.  The baby was grouchy and hungry by this time and the 7 year old needed a bathroom break and we were SOOO close to our destination.... until the car in front hit their breaks and chose to stop for the yellow light rather than proceed through.  "Seriously?!  Go!" I called out.  And a light bulb went off!

Oh my gosh!  It was me, my grand-daughter was imitating me, and my daughter not only recognized it but thought it was funny.  What kind of example was I setting?  This certainly wasn't behavior I wanted them displaying, nor was it behavior I wanted to be displaying.  It wasn't love.

1 John 4 tells us that we ought to love one another.  Sounds like a wonderful suggestion doesn't it?  One we should all strive to follow.  But when you read this in context, it becomes so much more than a suggestion....

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ~1 John 4:7

First John makes a point of reminding us where love comes from-God.  It is impossible to truly love without first knowing and surrendering to Him.  The love that is talked about in this verse is the same love that God feels for Jesus and that Jesus feels for us.  It is the love that caused Jesus to sacrifice Himself to pay for all of our wrongs.  It is a full, all-consuming complete love.  

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ~1 John 4:8

Love is a symptom of knowing God.  If someone doesn't love, John says he doesn't know God.  Cut and dry, can't put it any plainer than that.  Now before you start questioning your relationship with God, remember that we all fall short.  It doesn't say, "anyone who does not love EVERYONE doesn't know God," or "anyone who does not love ALL THE TIME does not know God."  We are still being perfected.  But if you find that you are less loving and more grumpy, hateful, and unloving then maybe you should take a few minutes and re-evaluate your relationship with Him.  

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ~1 John 4:9

 God sets the example for us in what love really is - a willingness to sacrifice self for someone else.   He doesn't ask us to do more than He has done already.  And for most of us, He won't even ask for that much.  Few are ever called to sacrifice their own life for another.  We are more likely to be asked to sacrifice some personal time (like waiting at a yellow light rather than pushing on through!), perhaps some money (and what would it hurt to make a cup of coffee at home rather than stop at Starbucks this week so that we can give a little more), or maybe to open our eyes a little wider so that we recognize the opportunities to love those around us.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ~1 John 4:10

See what I mean about God setting the example for us?

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ~1 John 4:11

This is a statement of both trust and truth.  If God loves us enough to send Jesus to die as propitiation for all we have done wrong (and He did - Jesus' life and His death are historical facts) then we ought to love one another.  Do you trust that Jesus' purpose in His life and death was an atoning sacrifice (that is what propitiation means)?  If you do, then the truth of the matter is that you ought to love one another.  Kind of changes they way you view that word, ought, doesn't it?

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. ~1 John 4:12

 Here is where it gets real.  We can't see God, no one ever has, but we can show Him to others through our actions.  We can love one another for Him.  And over time we display more and more godly, true love and less of the shadow of love that the world is accustomed to.  Not only will this help us personally to see Him in our own lives, but it helps others to see Him as well.  And isn't that what we want, to see and feel Him in our own lives and to share Him with others?

All I can say is that I have a way to go in having God's love perfected in me, but fortunately I have a patient Father who is carefully shaping and molding me.  He isn't done with me yet, and He isn't done with you either.  So keep pressing forward to the goal (Philippians 3:14) and start loving one another in both word and deed.  You never know who is watching, but I know the message I want them to see:  Jesus loves you!  How about you?

An interesting side note - the word love appears in 1 John twenty-three (23) times.  Only two other books of the Bible talk about love this much and they are Psalms (which was written to focus our thoughts on praise and adoration towards God) and Song of Solomon (which is about love-Solomon for his wife and God's love for us). 

Here I am...

Have you ever played Marco Polo?  My children love to play it while we are at the pool every year (even the teenagers!).  It is a simple game in which one person closes their eyes -the seeker- while everyone else scatters.  After the seeker waits a set period of time he/she begins looking for everyone else while keeping his/her eyes closed.  Every so often the seeker can call out, "Marco."  At that time everyone else must respond, "Polo."  There are no rules as to how loud you have to respond, only that you DO respond.  The game continues until the seeker locates someone, and that person becomes the new seeker.  Admittedly this has lead to some funny family stories when the seeker, in their self-induced blindness, mistakenly grabs other people at the pool that aren't playing.

Sometimes I wonder if God ever feels like He is playing a game of Marco Polo.  Now, I know He isn't blindfolded, that He sees all of us, (after all El Roi, the name that Hagar gave God, means "the God who sees me") and we can't exactly hide from Him.  (Genesis 16:13, Jeremiah 23:24)  I wonder though, how many of us whisper, "Here I am" as quietly as possible when we hear Him call us for fear that He will require more of us than we are willing to give.

The Bible has several stories of individuals that stepped up and responded, "Here I am," when they heard His voice.  Abraham in Genesis 22 when God called upon him to sacrifice his only son, the son God had promised to give him for years; the son that God had declared would carry His blessing to the world.  Abraham didn't questions, didn't whisper his response.  He didn't hide.  Instead he listened to God's voice, did as he was directed, and as a result we have all been blessed as a result.

Jacob was a man who stole his brother's birthright and blessing.  He was forced to leave his home for fear of his brother's retaliation.  And yet, God still saw him.  God watched as he served another for many years after being tricked into marrying a woman he didn't love.  He served faithfully and honestly and as a result, God called to him....and Jacob answered, "Here I am." (Genesis 31:11)  God used Jacob to father a nation that would be set apart for Him. 

Raised as an Egyptian prince, Moses had been sheltered from the horrible life that most Jews had been forced to lead.  When he discovered his heritage, he jumped to defend one of his own and ended up murdering an Egyptian soldier.  His people turned their back on him and Moses fled in fear.  Years later, God called this speech impaired outsider to return to Egypt, confront the pharaoh, and demand the release of His people.  Moses response?  "Here I am."  Not only were the Israelites freed, but they were led to the promised land.

A young boy who had been greatly desired by his mother was raised to serve in the temple, his name was Samuel.  During his training he heard a strange voice call his name in the night.  After he repeatedly went to his master, Eli, upon being summoned only to be told he had not been summoned it dawned upon Eli what was happening:  God was calling to Samuel.  Once the call was recognized, Samuel replied, "Here I am," and went on to turn the nation back to the one, true God.  (Samuel 4)

I could go on and on with examples from the Bible, but I want to assure you that God's call didn't stop at Revelation 22:21.  He still calls out to us today - each of us.  Your task may not have a world wide effect, but remember that none of those I have shared with you knew the result of their acceptance when they accepted His call.  Neither will we.  What we do know is that God's plan is best.  (Psalm 147:5, Proverbs 19:24, and of course Jeremiah 29:11)  And if we believe that, then we shouldn't be the ones hiding and whispering, "Polo," when He calls.  Instead we should be standing up and loudly proclaiming, "Here I am!" 

What are the things that are keeping you from answering, "here I am," when you hear God calling you?  Share them in the comments and Stacie and I will pray for God's strength for each and every one of you.

Sing a New Song...

Sing a new song to the Lord, for He has performed wonders...

Psalm 98:1

I grew up in the 80's listening to power ballads as I skated around the local roller rink pining over "that" boy.  One of my favorites was Broken Wings by Mr. Mister.  I belted the lyrics at the top of my voice while the disco lights illuminated all of the couple skaters.  

Fast forward 20+ years to my house and a vaguely familiar tune coming from my teen son's room.  I couldn't quite place it because, although the lyrics sounded familiar, the music was all wrong.  Imagine my surprise when my son informed me that the song was Broken Wings!  It seems that another band had remade the song and rather than  a power ballad, it now had a rock/metal feel to it.  I found it funny that while my son would never listen to my "oldies", he was rocking out to this song.

The words hadn't changed, the meaning hadn't changed, but the tune had; it was now a new song.  Honestly, that was the last I thought about it for some time.  It wasn't the last time that I found my children listening to a familiar song with a new twist.  It wasn't until I sat down one day, in the middle of a rut, that God brought it back to me.

You see, God doesn't change. (Malachi 3:6)  His word doesn't change. (Revelation 22:18-19, Isaiah 40:8) His character doesn't change (James 1:17).  But sometimes, just sometimes, our tune needs to change, we need to sing a new song to the Lord.

Sometimes we need a change of tune to shake things up, to open our eyes and help us to refocus on the beauty of our Father.  I had gotten so used to doing the same thing every day: wake up, drink coffee, open my Bible and read, school the kids, take care of the baby, fix lunch, do the household chores, fix dinner, clean up, tuck the little kids in bed, spend time with the hubby, go to bed and start again the next day.  It was the same old song over and over and over again and I lost the beauty, the truth, the excitement of the lyrics.  I had allowed myself to let my song, my unique calling from God, my joy in serving, to fade into the background.  

Psalm 91:1 reminds us that He has performed wonders in our world.  Many of them in our lives and just for us.  And yet they slip into obscurity as we go about our daily living.  I found that I had stopped looking for them, recognizing them.  THIS is why we are told to sing a new song.  The words don't have to change, our calling may stay the same and we may spend the rest of our lives doing exactly what we are doing now.   But change the tune, just a little bit, open ourselves up to really SEE what is going on around us, and what had been ho-hum becomes new and invigorating again!

How do we change the tune?  Find our new song?  First, ask God to renew you.  Get in His word and pray for Him to speak to your heart, to encourage you.  Second, open your eyes and really look for the wonders He is doing around you.  It can be as simple as recognizing the gift of a parking space close to the door in a downpour, or the beautiful sunset outside your window.  When you see one, stop and thank Him.  And third, look for opportunities to give back.  He has placed you where you are for a purpose.  In your church, in your neighborhood, in your job, you have been placed there to glorify God.  Are you looking for ways to do that?  

Do these things and your song will change.  Your life will change, even if nothing you do in your life changes. Are you ready to find your new song? 

Sometimes you have to dig...

If you have known me for any length of time, you know that some of my favorite verses are about controlling my tongue.  My father was a sailor and had the mouth to match.  I grew up on naval military bases, which translates to a lot of sailor's children.  I can remember being in 5th grade on the playground with some of my friends who endeavored to "teach" me the proper way to swear.  Having come to know Jesus much later in life, overcoming my mouth has been an ongoing task. 

Recently I was studying Psalm 19.  Last year, Psalm 19:14 was my verse: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.  I said a prayer before studying for the Spirit to speak to me as I read and I totally expected another message on my mouth.  But God is good and gives us what we need.

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. ~Psalm 19:12-13

 You see, life has been throwing some pretty big curve balls at me.  And some of those curve balls revealed some long buried forgiveness issues.  Issues that I thought had been dealt with and that I had moved on from.  The Spirit, however, made sure to show me that I was mistaken, which caused me to examine myself and start addressing my heart condition....again.

Now I am not saying that every one of you reading this has some hidden sin buried way down deep.  But I do want you to ask yourself, when is the last time you asked God to reveal any hidden faults to you?  Honestly, it isn't something that I often do.  It hurts.  It reveals an ugliness that I would rather not see.  It reminds me that I still have a lot of areas that God needs to reform in my life.  But if we don't take the time to examine ourselves, we miss the blessing of blamelessness.

Noah was blameless (Genesis 6:9) in the midst of a world that had turned against God.  That doesn't mean he lived a perfect life, only that he made every effort to follow God.  David, who wrote this particular Psalm, was a favorite of God.  That is astonishing when you remember that he committed adultery and murder.  God isn't asking for perfection.  Instead, He requires us to be honest, both with ourselves and with Him, so that we can be shaped, molded and perfected.  This is why we must address our hidden faults, and doing so leads to living a blameless life innocent of great transgressions.  And that is what I want, even if it means facing the buried ugliness in my heart.   Sometimes, you just have to dig....

Are you living the Dollar Store life?

I ran in a dollar store to pick up a few items for my daughter's scout troop meeting, my 7-year-old in tow.  I don't know if you have ever taken a child who has money in her pocket into the Dollar Tree before, but just let me tell you THAT it is an experience! 

The toy aisle was unavoidable.  It might as well have had bright, flashing neon arrows above it with the Pied Piper playing his tune within it.  My children have always been drawn by the lure of inexpensive play things that they could purchase for themselves.  I, however, despise that aisle.  All I could see was what lay ahead - broken toys, pieces that didn't quite go together correctly, and ultimately tears and disappointment.  I try to avoid bringing my children to that tempting aisle of dismay.

And yet, how often do we choose the metaphorical dollar store toy?   Our world is full of these tempting opportunities to satisfy ourselves with the quick thing that appears to bring pleasure and costs us the least amount of effort.  But the truth is, things that last - things of value - are rarely the things that cost us little. 

Think about it, Satan offered Jesus the world, literally.  (Matthew 4:8-9) And in a sense, that is what Jesus came for.  Accepting the offer meant He didn't have to face the cross and the excruciating pain it would entail.  Not only physical pain, but the pain of separation from His Father as well.  And it was Satan's to give.  (2 Corinthians 4:4)  But Jesus declines, choosing the hard path, the one that led to His ultimate victory, and ours.  Jesus turned down the dollar store toy.

And like a good parent, God's desire is that we avoid those tempting, inexpensive choices as well.  The choice to tell a little white lie rather than face the consequences of our actions.  The choice to sacrifice time with our family in order to have a larger bank account than we truly need.  The choice to turn a blind eye to our neighbor in need rather than give of ourselves to help him or her.  The choice to sleep in on Sunday morning because we are tired rather than join with our brothers and sisters to worship our Creator.  And so many more choices that appear to do little harm, that cost us (seemingly) nothing. That appear to do no harm, while bringing immediate pleasure or relief.

And like many dollar store toys, our choice is pleasurable...for a time.  Inevitably, though, what we thought was going to be an inexpensive joy becomes a lackluster, disappointing or even painful experience.  Trust that your Father knows what is best, (Jeremiah 29:11)  listen to His counsel, (Psalm 32:8) and let Him lead. (Proverbs 3:5-6)  I promise His reward is better than you can imagine!

Are You Anchored?

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard,

so that we do not drift away.  ~Hebrews 2:1

 Some day it is easier than others to have faith.  Some days everything is coming up roses, you get all the green lights, and you get an unexpected check in the mail.  Others, it's a little harder.  You find out that doctors still haven't found an answer to a medical problem, discover that you need to replace a porch due to rotting support beams and the money isn't in the budget, and due to circumstances beyond your control your grand-daughter is coming to live with you while her mother deals with an addiction.  Those days it can be hard to hold on to faith and trust God is in control.

And then God prompts you to resume your chronological Bible study and you just happen to read Hebrews 2:1.  I love that we serve such a personal God; one that reaches out and reminds you that you are not alone.  You see, the Hebrews were wavering in their faith, wondering if their choice to follow Jesus was the right one.  And then God crafted a letter to them to encourage them, to strengthen them.

The author of Hebrews (possibly Paul) spent all of chapter 1 remind us who Jesus is - the heir of all things, the creator of the world, the radience of God's glory, the exact imprint of God's nature, the upholder of the universe, superior to angels, God's Son, God's firstborn who sits at His right hand.  What a mighty God we serve!  Yet we still forget.  

We let the drudgery of this life overshadow the Truth.  We let our momentary hardships rule our thoughts rather than the knowledge that the battle has already been won.  We forget the love Jesus has for us, the sacrifice He made for us.  And instead we focus on the lie of the world - we are unloved, we are unwanted, we are alone.

When we forget the truth of Jesus it causes us to drift away, we are in effect cutting our anchor, setting ourselves adrift to be tossed about by the world.  This leads to wavering, a loss of faith, and a divided loyalty.  That leads to destruction.  

And this, my friends, is why we are called to encourage each other (1 Thessalonians 5:11), to gather together with fellow believers (Hebrews 10:24-25), to spend time with Jesus (Matthew 12:30) and to renew our mind daily (Romans 12:2).  Doing these things cause us to pay careful attention to the works of, and our relationship with, Jesus.  And when we are focused on Him, we can't drift away into confusion and despair.

What verse(s) brings you the most comfort when you find yourself wavering?

Abba, I thank you for the wisdom and forethought of including encouragement for every aspect of our lives in Your word.  I ask that you forgive me for my waverings, for weakening my bond to You, my anchor.  Help me to pay careful attention to Your word in the future so that I may stand strong.  Amen.

*originally published on Coffee with Christ