God's will

I just heard the best quote today from a program on the radio on the Duggers (not sure how to spell their name!), the family that has 19 children. I simply cannot begin to imagine that! Their youngest child, a little girl, was born many weeks premature and weighed only 22 ounces at birth. It was really touch and go as to whether she would survive, and it was a very stressful, difficult time for the whole family. But the daddy, Jim Bob Dugger, said he got a note from a friend during this uncertain, hard time. He wrote: "God's will is what we would choose if we knew all the facts." Wow. What a reminder that we see only in part; God sees in full, and He sees past, present, and future all at once. He has perfect wisdom, perfect love, perfect judgement, perfect goodness.

In my selfish pride, I often behave as if I think I know what is best. When things don't go the way I planned or hoped, I grumble or grow irritated or worry or attempt to work it out on my own. And the result is invariably frustration and discontentment and joylessness and restlessness.

But Paul said he had "learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phil.4:11-13 This definition of God's will has caused me to look in this verse in a whole new way. If we fully trust that God's will is what we would choose if we knew all the facts, then we can completely trust that whatever His will is for us, right here, right now, that is the best, most perfect situation or plan. It may be abundance; it may be want. It may be smooth sailing; it may be stormy and dark. But we can trust that He knows all the facts, He loves us unconditionally, and His will is exactly what we would choose in every situation if we knew all the facts.

So daily, we need to trust God to such an extent that we can say with Paul, that no matter what we are facing, no matter how uncertain or challenging or hard, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." If it's His will, it is best, and He will strengthen us and enable us to get through it, for our ultimate good and His greater glory. He knows all the facts, and He has all the power. I'm going to trust the Omniscient, Omnipotent One who died for me. Lord I believe; help Thou my unbelief! To Him be the glory.

The Words of Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, led our nation during the perilous days of World War I. What a time of incredible uncertainty, tragedy, and hardship as this nation endured the horrors of the first war to envelop the entire world; and it was a long, bloody, horrific war. I cannot imagine the enormous weight of wars or looming economic disaster or simply the burden of making the right, often unpopular decisions upon our nation's leaders. Right now our nation is embroiled in a crisis of government as we face the looming deadline for raising the debt ceiling. In addition, we are fighting wars on several fronts in the Middle East, fighting terrorism, dealing with record unemployment and on and on. How we need leaders of courage and wisdom and strength who will seek to do, by the grace of God, what is right, not what is popular.

Woodrow Wilson said the following in a speech given in 1911: "America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness, which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scriptures. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a very simple thing to ask of you. I ask of every man and woman in this audience that from this night on, they will realize that part of the destiny of America lies in the their daily perusal of this great Book of Revelations. That if they would see America free and pure they will make their own spirits free and pure by this baptism of the Holy Scripture."

Wow, imagine a president saying that today! We've come a long way, baby. But if ever America needed to be reminded of the true source of wisdom and inspiration and guidance and conviction, it is today. And, as it was 100 years ago in 1911 or 200 years ago or 2000 years ago, so it is true today. We need to pray for our leaders. Stop complaining about them and disparaging them, and start praying for them instead. And we need to do exactly as Wilson urged--engage in the "daily perusal of this great Book," God's Word spoken to each of us in every age. His Word does not change, for He does not change. We may have no answers for the problems facing our nation or facing our families, but He does. Now is not the time to lose heart, for with Christ, there is always always always hope.

He works best in a graveyard. To the God of the empty tomb be the glory forever.

Moses and Fixing your Eyes

"Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the set set before Him, endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you do not grow weary or lose heart." Heb.12:2-3

This passage (along with the first verse in Heb. 12) is one of my very favorites in all of Scripture. Truly, fixing our eyes on Jesus is surely the key to living a life of faithfulness, joy and peace in Christ. The Lord brings me back again and again to this concept of turning my gaze away from all that this world offers and fixing my gaze upon Him. I want to stare at my circumstances, my desires, my problems, and myself. As it's been said so many times, when we are all wrapped up in ourselves, it makes a very small package. And we truly do become that with which we are preoccupied. If our mind's eye focuses on ourselves, our wants, our lacks then we will find ourselves growing more and more selfish, impatient, ungrateful, irritated, worried, and foolish.

But if we fix our eyes on our Saviour, we will discover peace and joy and wisdom and strength no matter what our circumstances. We need to focus not on our gaps but on our God. We will always always always have gaps in our lives: places where we fall short or we don't have enough or we don't measure up. But when we focus on our Almighty Lord who never ever runs out or low or short, then we will find Him transforming us and enabling us to handle all those gaps in His infinite power and ability.

I just read this definition of fixing our eyes on Jesus from Priscilla Shirer: "Turn your attention to Him. There's only one way to do that. Pivot your attention away from that which is bugging you, away from the frustration, away from the seemingly impossible. Turn your attention away from that which so often pulls your attention toward it. Deliberately, consciously turn your attention away. Pivot 180 degrees until your attention if focused on Jesus Christ." She goes on to explain that "The word 'fix' means to intentionally set our gaze upon Him with purpose. If our eyes are 'fixed' on something, they are watching with intent."

Okay, here's the word picture--our good old lab, Moses! He spends his days lounging and resting. He wants to be wherever we are, and if he is near us, then it's naptime--all day long! But, if he hears the slightest sound of food being prepared or consumed or even just the sound of the possibility of food being brought out in any way shape or form, he is suddenly alert... and I mean ALERT! He rushes to wherever the aforesaid food is being consumed or prepared, and he sits up with eyes fixed like a laser upon that person. It's really incredible: he goes from semi-comatose to all ears and eyes and in the active ready position in less than 5 seconds. And he will remain at full alert--eyes fixed, gaze unwavering, ready to move at a moment's notice--until the food is all gone. And then it's back to the resting position.

I couldn't help but think of Moses when I contemplated this verse. That is the kind of fixing my eyes upon Jesus that I want to engage in throughout the day! Sure, it's easy to fix my eyes on Him when I'm peacefully reading my Bible and the house is quiet and all's right with the world. But throw in a houseful of children, or a problem with one of the children's schools or a financial crisis or a medical problem with a loved one or just a too long to do list with a too short time availability, and our focus starts to waiver. Before we know it, we have forgotten all about fixing our gaze on our God and we are fixating on all our gaps.

The solution: simple, just refocus. If we have to do it a thousand times a day, we need to stop and refocus our gaze on the One who holds all the answers and all the power. He is the source of encouragement and joy and strength and peace when we have none. So, like Moses, we need to choose to get up from whenever we are camped out, and fix our eyes on our Master. We need to seek His presence and His food through the Word like our sweet old Lab seeks that spoonful of peanut butter or forkful of scrambled eggs.

He is there and waiting. You are never out of His sight, though He may be out of your sight by your choosing to gaze elsewhere. So stop and choose to fix your eyes on Jesus, and like Moses, keep focusing upon Him intentionally and doggedly (excuse the pun) and wholeheartedly. It's not about the gaps. It's about God. And to Him be the glory.

Our weakness--Christ's Power

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10 Satan came to steal our joy, our witness, and our peace. He wants to kill our love for God and for others. He wants to destroy our families, our dreams, our gifts, and our very lives. And if Peter and Paul are no match for satan, then certainly I am not. But, praise God, we have a Saviour who came to give us life... and not just life, but abundant, supernatural, overflowing, Spirit-empowered life. Indeed, He promises that at my weakest, most frail, most vulnerable, He is strongest. Paul begged God to take away his thorn in the flesh, "But He said, 'My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor. 12:9-10

Wow! Do we really believe that? We've all heard it over and over, and it sounds so good in the abstract, but how about when those hardships and calamities and weaknesses really hit home? How about when it seems there is a bulls eye on our backs for the insults of the world? How about when someone we love struggles desperately with illness, and we feel powerless to help or do anything to alleviate their pain? How about when our hopes are dashed or our finances are destroyed or our hearts are broken? Do we trust enough then to turn to Him and ask that His supernatural power be displayed as never before in our shattered lives or shuttered hearts?

All I know is that every single time when I have been at my wits end and felt utterly drained or discouraged or defeated and turned to Him, He has been abundantly more than enough. And every single time I have failed to look to Him in faith and instead commenced to complain and despair and try desperately to figure it out on my own, I have experienced only my weakness, not His strength. What a tragically lost opportunity to experience the grace and peace and power of God in my weakness! He has promised in His eternal, inerrant Word (straight from His mouth to our ears!) that His infinite power is displayed and experienced in our lives in our weakness. So in those bitter, hard, challenging moments, we have the choice to turn to Him, claim His promise, and experience His power or we can choose self-pity, self-preoccupation, self-reliance, and and self-defeat. O Lord Jesus, like the father of the sick son who longed and hoped for You to bring healing, we believe; Help Thou our unbelief! (Mark 9:24)

How beautiful this is when we see it displayed in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ! And how their faithfulness and the display of God's supernatural power in their weakness encourages, convicts, inspires and strengthens a watching world. I have seen this spectacular display of God's power in the lives of so many of my dear friends as they struggle with seemingly impossible situations. As Priscilla Shirer wrote: "The abundant life is not when no impossible situations occur and you're experiencing peace, joy, and happiness. While that's nice, true abundance is really seen when you're sitting in a prison circumstance, when you're eye to eye with an impossible situation, and right in the heart of your impossible, you experience the fullness of God." Boy, does that ever describe the apostle Paul as he sat in a prison and wrote his epistles overflowing with joy and thanksgiving and praise!

Just this morning, I have seen this displayed as I read the Caring Bridge entry of Todd Gaylor. His wife, Sydney, the daughter of dear friends of ours, is a young mom who is fighting an aggressive brain tumor. They have dealt with unimaginable pain and uncertainty and hardship as she has fought this cruel cancer. So many times over the past months, I have read his entries and wept: "This, too, Lord?" I've cried out. "How much more must they endure? How could it get any harder?"

And yet, through all the pain and doubt and struggle, the weakness of this young family has put the power of God on shimmering, brilliant display for all the world to see. What an unspeakable privilege it has been to gain tiny glimpses into their hard fought journey where we have unquestionably seen God's "severe mercy" and power and love and grace. Just today in his Caring Bridge entry, Todd included this quote from Charles Spurgeon (who suffered all his life from gout, rheumatism, anxiety and severe depression): "I think that health is the greatest blessing that God ever sends us, except sickness, which is far better. I would give anything to be perfectly healthy; but if I had to go over my time again, I could not get on without those sick beds and those bitter pains, and those weary, sleepless nights. Oh, the blessedness that comes to us through smarting."

O Lord, forgive us for complaining and doubting, rather than trusting and entrusting ourselves to You when those times of "smarting" come. Lord, we believe; help Thou our unbelief! Help us to experience and demonstrate Your perfect power in our weakness. To God be the glory.

Snake on the Greenway!

Moses, our 10 year old black lab, and I were on the return trip home on our walk down the greenway this morning, when another walker warned us, "Watch out for the copperhead up ahead! He's on the left side of the trail." Now, for a little background: A few years ago, Moses and I used to run on the greenway, combining exercise with his morning constitutional. Then as age and injuries caught up with both of us, we slowed down to a power walk, covering the greenway at a healthy clip. But the past 6 months, we have slowed to a virtual crawl, with Moses sniffing deeply at every single blessed bush, fallen branch, bridge, and blade of grass. God is clearly teaching me patience and the importance of stopping and smelling the roses (or whatever unmentionables Moses is smelling). We weave back and forth across the path, so that Moses doesn't miss one potential smell target, and as a result, I listen to my ipod and can completely "zone out." We meander along, old Moses and old me, smelling (Moses), listening (me), and greeting the greenway regulars (Moses and me), both canine and human.

This morning, I was listening intently to something from Chuck Swindoll on my ipod, waiting for Moses to smell the 10,000th blade of grass, and paying no attention to anything around me, when I got the warning about the snake. Suddenly, I was on full alert. As we walked home, my eyes scanned back and forth on the path and to the left and the right where Moses tended to sniff. We saw no snake, but I was so struck by the remarkable difference in my attitude. On the trip out, we had been blissfully ignorant of any snakes, but after that warning, on the way back we (well, I) were constantly on the alert and vigilant for any potential dangers. Nothing had changed--the snakes had always been there, lurking in the bushes and deep grasses on the side of the greenway. What had changed was my awareness of their presence.

It reminded me of our trip to Cane River in the mountains last weekend, when we saw black bears on 4 separate occasions. In each of these instances, one of us would be peacefully, contentedly walking along in the woods or in the stream, enjoying the pristine beauty of the unspoiled mountains, when suddenly we spotted a large black bear. My husband saw one so large he said it looked like "Big Foot" as it sauntered across the path in front of him. My sister saw one shoot across the dirt road in front of her. I saw one down the stream, lumbering along the bank. The point: those bears have always been there whether we saw them or not. No telling how many times we have been fishing along unaware that a huge black bear watched us nearby. And I'm sure there's no shortage of snakes and other potentially dangerous creatures all around us out there in the woods, but thankfully, we are happily ignorant of the dangers all around us.

Sometimes it's good to be blissfully ignorant so we aren't consumed by our fears or overwhelmed to the point we are afraid to do anything or go anywhere. But God's Word warns us that "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (I Pet. 5:8) We need to be alert, be watchful, be aware that we have an enemy who desires to destroy our witness, steal our joy, and sow seeds of discouragement and defeat and despair in our lives. If we aren't alert to the danger, how can we be aware when those fiery darts of temptation are fired our way? If we don't know the snake is lurking on the path, how can we protect ourselves or our loved ones?

Again, we are not to live in fear. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:2) And "Greater is He that is in us than he who is in the world." (I John 4:4). But, nonetheless, apart from Christ, we are no match for satan. And we need to be alert and ready for the temptations that are bound to come our way. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to dangers that can take us down--whether temptations of sloth or silver (money) or sex or selfishness.

Here's the good news--Peter encourages us in the very next verse after warning us of that devouring lion, "Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Pet. 5:9-11) He does it all! I just have to stand firm IN HIM and trust that He will strengthen and confirm and restore and establish. The snakes are out there so be alert and stand firm. And watch Him go to work. And to Him be the glory!

Stop, Look, and Listen!

There is so much wisdom in Proverbs. In today's chapter (Prov. 22), this verse really jumped out at me: "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." Prov. 22:3 How often have I played the fool rather than the prudent person in this regard! I might sense danger or God's quiet voice warning me to turn around, change course, or alter my behavior. But all too often, pride, stubbornness, laziness, or selfishness can cause me to "go on and suffer for it." In my pride, I insist that my way is the best way. God's will must be burdensome or hard, I reason, and so I foolishly push ahead in my own agenda. But the voice of truth, God's eternal Word, tells me that His will is "good and acceptable and perfect." (Rom.12:2) Who do I trust? My own ever vacillating emotions or the voice of God?

Or maybe I sense danger but keep pushing on our of sheer stubbornness or laziness. Once we get in a rut, it's just so much easier to keep trudging along in that mindless rut, heedless of danger. Summer can be a prime time when we can go off into the ditch by failing to get alone in His Word or forgetting to seek His will through prayer or missing those moments of truly connecting with our loved ones.

Sadly, I can often be that "simple" foolish woman who, like the energizer bunny, "keeps going and going and going..." despite God's encouragement and warning to turn around, to alter my actions and attitude so that I can enjoy God's best and God's blessing. Even as I was trying to sign in on my computer, I kept typing in my password and the computer kept rejecting it. I was so frustrated! But rather than slow down and think, I just kept stubbornly pushing those keys with the same password, convinced the computer was at fault... until I realized I had typed in the wrong email address! I could have typed that password until Jesus comes back and I would never ever have gained access! Like I said, simple woman and prone to "go on [and on and on] and suffer for it."

So, I know this is elementary and simple, but I guess that's where I am right now--I still need to be reminded of the basics! If the Lord nudges us and warns us of danger or of the need for a course correction, we need to take heed. We need to start following the instructions we all gave to our children when they were little as they prepared to cross the road: "Stop, look, and listen." Stop what we are doing, look into God's Word, and listen and obey what He tells us! And to God be the glory.

The dog days of summer

Webster defines “dog days” as...

1 : the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere;

2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity.

Well, that certainly describes the weather right now--HOT, soggy, stagnant. When you go outside, the stifling temperature nearly takes your breathe away and tends to induce a lazy, slow, sleepy attitude complete with brain fog and the overwhelming desire for inertia! Our sweet old dog, Moses, takes the heat particularly hard: he sleeps the day away and looks at me as if I were the devil incarnate when I rouse him long enough for him to plod outside and quickly use the backyard facilities (if you know what I mean!). When you look up "dog days of summer" in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Moses... resting.

But how easily we can be inexorably drawn into the dog days in our lives. Exhaustion, discouragement, complacency, inertia, apathy, mindless routine, busyness--each of these in it's own way can dull our senses, harden our hearts, and lull us into the sleep of disobedience or disengagement. We lazily fail to read God's Word or to seek to hear His voice. Eventually, we tell ourselves, we'll get back on track. But then one day leads to the next that leads to the next... Or we forget to pursue relationships with those we love, falling into mindless, dulling routines that conspire to drive us farther and farther apart. Or perhaps we just refuse to do that which we know the Lord is calling us to do--just too much effort right now or too much time involved or too uncomfortable to change our cherished routine.

In C.S. Lewis' brilliant book, The Screwtape Letters, the senior tempter, advises the junior tempter on the enormous danger to humans of these kind of dog days that occur in our lives--in a time we call "middle age." Screwtape encourages Wormwood that" The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather. You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere. The routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair (hardly felt as pain) of ever overcoming the chronic temptations with which we have again and again defeated them, the drabness which we create in their lives and the inarticulate resentment with which we teach them to respond to it – all this provides admirable opportunities of wearing out a soul by attrition. If, on the other hand, the middle years prove prosperous, our position is even stronger. Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it’, while really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home in earth, which is just what we want. You will notice that the young are generally less unwilling to die than the middle-aged and the old."

So what is the solution? Well, for one thing, we need to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and refuse to give in to inertia and laziness! We need to remind ourselves of the brevity of life and that God has given us this one short opportunity on this planet to make a difference for all of eternity. "Only one life; twill soon be past. Only what's done for Jesus will last." It sounds so trite, but we need to remind ourselves of it daily! We don't get a do-over in this life--it's now or never. Praise God one day we will have all of eternity, but until He takes us home, we need to be awake and alert and active. We need to counsel our souls and tell ourselves that God did not put us here to lazily play around on a playground but to be engaged in a battle on the battlefield!

Heb. 4:7 declares " again He appoints a certain day, 'Today,'...'Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.'" When He tells us to do something, we need to do it TODAY! How often have I failed to do just that! God whispers His desire that I write a note of encouragement or spend time with a loved one or start of finish some difficult or distasteful task... and I procrastinate or forget or just plain old refuse, thinking "I'll get to that eventually" and eventually never comes. Forgive me Lord! Help us to hear Your voice and when we hear it, to take action today so that our hearts will not be hardened but made softer and more pliable to You and Your will.

2 Cor.6:2 tells us "For God says 'at just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.' Indeed, the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation." God is the eternal I AM. He is always in the present; He is always with us and in us today, right at this moment. So He calls us to respond today. "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. 118:24--one of my very favorite verses). Again, today He calls us to rejoice.

We may be hot. We may be tired. We may discouraged. We may be overwhelmed. But today is the only today we will ever have, and today is the only today we will ever have the opportunity to rejoice in the Lord and give Him thanks, even in the midst of the dog days of our lives.

What is God calling you to do or to pursue today? Whatever it is, He has promised in His Word "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13) He can help us overcome the inertia or busyness or laziness or whatever obstacle our dog days have erected to prevent us from obedient action today. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." It's time to wake up and dream a new dream with the Lord! It's not too late--just start today!

Facebook Friend

Well, my head is spinning: my daughter just set up a facebook account for me (mainly just wanted to keep up with my children and a few friends). I have never in my life! The next thing I knew, I was deluged with emails, and I have absolutely no idea what I am doing! And I must say, I agree with Betty White--it does seem like a colossal waste of time! I want to send out a blanket message to folks to please don't be offended if I don't respond since it is probably due to my ignorance! Whew! I finally learned how to do email and now another whole new incomprehensible world!

This all reminds me of a story I heard about a pastor named Ben Patterson. Many years ago he was ordered by his doctor to spend 6 months on bed rest because of a ruptured disk. He said he felt helpless and terrified. How could he take care of his church and his family? Out of sheer desperation, he decided that since he could nothing else, he would pray. Everyday he would go through the church directory and pray for every single member of his congregation. It took well over 2 hours. At first it was a struggle, but as time went on, Patterson said the prayer times grew sweeter and sweeter.

As Ben neared the end of his time of enforced bed rest, he told the Lord how much he had enjoyed these prolonged times of prayer. He would miss these wonderful long sessions alone with the Lord now that he no longer would have the time as he resumed his busy ministry and life. But God gently replied, "Ben, you have just as much time when you are well as when you are sick in bed. The trouble with you is that when you are well, you think you are in charge. When you are sick, you know you're not."

Ouch. How often does that reflect our attitude--to0 busy for prayer, too preoccupied, too rushed, too important and irreplaceable with all our activities that we cannot get alone with our Heavenly Father to read His Word, "warm from the mouth of God" (in the words of Beth Moore). O Lord forgive me for thinking I am in charge and in control and then hurriedly living each day like my hair is on fire! Help me to pray like my life depends on it--because it does. Help me to delve into and eat Your Word like a starving woman desperate for sustenance--because I am. Help me to trust. Help me to love. Help me to serve. Help me to live to reflect Your glory. If I have time for facebook then I surely cannot claim I do not have time to worship and pray and seek the Creator of the universe! He is one Friend who will never ever "ignore" us! He is "the friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24) To Him be the glory

Cane River

We have just come back from a wonderful weekend in the mountains of NC--an amazing place near the base of Mt. Mitchell called Cane River. We go once a year with all my brothers and sisters and their families and stay in a big old log cabin in the middle of the woods. We spend the days trout fishing in the pristine, gorgeous streams around the cabin and enjoy hearty dinners at night sitting around a huge table, laughing and talking and recalling wonderful old memories. How we all love it! I'm not sure what I enjoy most--hiking and climbing in the gorgeous streams, sitting on the porch and reading and talking, eating and sharing at the dinner table, going to sleep listening to the chorus of the Cane River outside our windows, or simply soaking in the unfathomable beauty of God's creation surrounding us at every turn.

What an extravagant Lord we serve! As my youngest son and I were fishing, we talked about the extraordinary colors of the trout--the brilliant oranges and reds and greens. God didn't have to make fish in so many colors--He could have just made them brown or green or some "useful," multipurpose color! But He is the Creator who loves color and variety and pattern and beauty. The mountains are such an example of His handiwork--a real cornucopia of sounds and smells and sights. The sounds of the stream and the birds and the bugs, the smells of wildflowers and clean air and wet rocks, the sights of glistening stream and verdant green tree-covered hills and brilliant white rhododendron. And 4 of us saw black bears while we were up there! What a magnificent creature! Our God imagined and envisioned and with a word created the furry, powerful, lumbering black bear and the sleek, flashing trout, and the alert, agile deer, and the gentle, bounding rabbit, and the soaring Blue Heron, and the strutting pack of wild turkeys--all creatures we had the privilege to witness in one short weekend!

And He gave us the inestimable gift of family and of memory and of laughter. All our children talk about how much they love sitting around that big old dinner table and listen to my brothers and sisters (their aunts and uncles) tell stories and share wonderful memories of our parents and of Aunt Janie and other relatives and of growing up together. Thank the Lord for families! Thank the Lord that He did not leave us out on our own in this sometimes hard, frightening, perplexing world, but He gave us imperfect but precious families to bring us comfort and solace and encouragement and joy along the journey.

So today, I just thank the Lord for His magnificent creation and for the gift of my family. Even now, I can hear in my heart the gentle song of the stream and the laughter at the table and I am filled with joy. Lord, help us to carry these memories of Your goodness in our hearts and to remember them when our days are dark or uncertain or frightful or lonely. Might we choose to remember and be thankful. And might we choose in our gratitude to trust. To God be the glory.

Bend Low

My daughter just sent me a remarkable blog of a young woman her age named Katie Davis. Katie lives in Uganda and cares for (and is in the process of adopting) 13 girls. Truly remarkable and inspiring. Below is her latest posting: She begins with "Around here, we live bent low."

Tuesday morning ladies from Masese stream through my front door. We have moved our weekly meeting from the slum of Masese to my living room because I have been up all night with new foster baby and can’t imagine getting all 14 of these little people out of the house. Excited about a change of pace and my sweet friends in my home, I enlist the help of darling Tamara and 13 eager little girls to give these ladies pedicures. We wash and we rub and we paint. I rub lotion into old scarred feet and think of the journeys they have traveled. I whisper thanks for the ways they have blessed me and the things they have taught me, and here in a puddle on the hard tile floor, Joy overflows.

It is on this same cold, smooth tile that I kneel hours later, face inches away from the burn on Makerere’s calf. The stench doesn’t even bother me anymore. And while it looks horrific to outside eyes, I remember what it looked like months ago and ever so slowly, I can see the healing. I can see the healing in the blood red life that spills out as I bandage and in the smiling eyes that tell me stories as I work. Laying on my belly with a surgical blade I scrape out the dead and do my best to preserve the new pink tissue that is starting to form around the edges. He laughs and says, “I have told you now all the stories I have! It must be your turn.” And I tell him a story of a Heavenly King born as a pauper and of a Body broken for me and for him and for each one of us. And I don’t even realize but there are tears on the tile and I sit astonished that messy, inadequate, ungraceful me would get to share such a story.

We sit in the dirt, not worried about the red stains and serve 400 plates of food to sponsored children on Saturday. I look into these faces and remember them nearly 4 years ago, destitute and hopeless and starving. Afraid of my funny white skin. We feed them lunch and we feed them God’s Word and we watch them transform. We feel like family now, no one noticing these skin differences. The suns rays beat down the glory of God and covered in mud and chicken broth I know that this is contentment.

Our family sits on the street corner down town sharing ice cream and laughter. My daughter bends low to offer a homeless man her popsicle and as he cries that no one cares about him she looks straight into his face. “We will be your family,” she asserts, and she means it. We kneel on the pavement and we pray and people stop to look but we hardly notice because we were made for this.

We bend.

I bend to sweep crumbs and I bend to wipe vomit and I bend to pick up little ones and wipe away tears. I bend over a big pot of stew and I bend to fold endless laundry and I bend over math books and spelling sentences and history quiz corrections. And at the end of these days I bend next to the bed and I ask only that I could bend more, bend lower.

Because I serve a Savior who came to be a servant. He lived bent low. And bent down here is where I see His face.

He lived, only to die.

Could I?

Die to self and just break open for love.

This Savior, His one purpose to spend Himself on behalf of messy us. Will I spend myself on behalf of those in front of me?

And people say, “Don’t you get tired?” and yes, I do. But I’m face to face with Jesus in the dirt, and the more I bend the harder and better and fuller this life gets. And sure, we are tired, but oh we are happy. Because bent down low is where we find fullness of Joy.

Praying for you as you bend today for whoever is in front of you. He will meet you there.

So inspiring! So convicting! How quick am I to "bend low?" Rather, I want to assert my rights. Defend my cause. Stand up for myself and for those that I love. I desire to be served rather than to serve. How willing are we to spend ourselves on behalf of others--especially others who are unlovely or undeserving or ungrateful? Are we willing to bend low--with our Saviour--in service and love and joy--refusing to count the cost? How stubborn our pride can be! How hard to kill that desire to be elevated and catered to and acknowledged! How hard to die to ourselves.

But, it is in bending low that we experience the abundant life of Christ--for that is where He is, ever bending low, loving, saving, serving, sacrificing, redeeming. So Lord, help us this day to be willing to bend low for You. I am reminded of the story I heard long ago about our minister going to the visit the supposed birth place of Christ in Bethlehem. He explained that because the entrance was so small and so low to the ground, the only way to enter the small space where Christ was born was to bend low, almost on one's knees. And so too, all who want to worship our King, must be willing to humble themselves, humble their pride and bend low to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

What a reminder that this is a daily call of Christ--bend low! Bend low with Him as you love and serve your family. Bend low with Him as you submit and obey and seek the low place. Bend low as you love those He loves and died to save. Bend low and serve. Bend low and love. Bend low and die to selfishness and pride. Bend low and trust. Help us Lord to bend low! And to God be the glory.

Satisfaction in Christ

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desire not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

I heard John Piper the other day talking about this concept which he calls "Christian hedonism." I have heard him talk about it before, but it is so convicting to me, because I tend to fall into the same trap Piper spoke of. We so often tend to think that either God will be glorified OR we will be happy. We assume there must be that conflict between God's passion to be glorified and our passion to be satisfied. And I guess there is in the sense that so often my passion for satisfaction can be selfish and worldly and shallow--like the child making mud pies sitting in the squalor of the slum. We so often seek after things that are fleeting, wrong, low, destructive, demeaning, or second rate. And when we get those things or achieve those goals, they never bring us lasting joy or satisfaction.

But, as Piper as said so many times, "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him." Our problem is not that we are pursuing pleasure, but that we are pursuing the wrong pleasure. We are pursuing the pseudo, inadequate, fake pleasures the world offers. We are sitting in the midst of the slim and muck making those mud pies of pleasure when the glorious holiday at the sea awaits us if we will pursue the God of the universe who is ultimately satisfying and powerful and beautiful and glorious.

Psalm 16:11 puts it this way: "You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there if fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Wow. Do we really believe this? If it is a promise in God's Word, then shouldn't we believe it and bank our lives on it? In His presence is fullness of joy. And at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Sure, in heaven... but if we are in His presence as believers on this earth, then that means right this very minute. Even in the midst of our sorrows and fears and inadequacies and failures. In Him is fullness of joy--even when everything in our lives might seem to be going haywire. I love this psalm! Just the other day I looked at an earlier verse that I love: "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken." (v.8) Again, when we seek Him, when we set our focus upon Him, when He is our source of satisfaction, then we will not be shaken.

As John Piper put it, we need to daily seek to truly see Him and savor Him. It's really that simple. Daily ask Him to enable you to truly see Him in His Word. See His power. See His love. See His grace and glory. See His beauty and kindness and wisdom. And then savor that! And as we see and savor the Saviour, we will find satisfaction in Him and He will be glorified.

I don't know about you, but I want to go for that holiday at the sea rather than the mud pies in the slum. I've been slumming quite long enough! It's time to seek the highest pleasure and satisfaction in the One who made all pleasures. And to Him be the glory.

Wonderful Saviour

As I sit here, a beautiful worship song washes over me:

Wonderful Saviour, my heart belongs to Thee

I will remember always the blood You shed for me

Wonderful Saviour, my heart will know Your worth

So let me embrace You always as I walk beside

Be blessed

Be loved

Be lifted high

Be treasured here

I owe my life to You, My Lord

Here I am

Beautiful Jesus, how may I bless Your heart?

Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are

Beautiful Jesus, You are my only worth

So I will embrace You always as I walk beside

Be blessed

Be loved

Be treasured here

I owe my life to You, My Lord

Here I am. Here I am.

How wonderful our Saviour, how beautiful our Jesus. If we could but know and glimpse His infinite, inestimable worth each and every day, how our lives would be transformed into walking breathing cathedrals of praise. Today, might we truly, even for a moment, see Him. Really see Him in the majesty and glory and power and beauty of His presence. Might we push aside the busyness, the petty concerns and worries, the irritations, the slights and annoyances. What are they in light of HIM? He walks beside us. The Saviour, the Redeemer, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Lion, the Lamb has chosen not only to die for us, but to walk beside us, every moment, every hour, every day. How could perfection and beauty and glory walk beside sin and selfishness? O the love of Christ!

"For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 Never never never ever get over the wonder of that! He walks beside us. He lives within us. He loves us just as we are... but by His Holy Spirit enables us to live and love in a far better, higher, holier way. So might we sing

Be blessed

Be loved

Be lifted high

Be treasured here

Be glorified

I owe my life to You my Lord

Here I am--might my life bring You glory, O most glorious, worthy Savior!

To You be all the glory

Butterfly, Botanist, or Bee

I just recently heard this excellent illustration by J.H. Parker of how we can study and read our Bible: "As I looked out into the garden one day, I saw three things. First, I saw a butterfly. The butterfly was beautiful, and it would alight on a flower and then it would flutter to another flower and then to another, and only for a second or two it would sit and it would move on. It would touch as many lovely blossoms as it could, but derived absolutely no benefit from it. Then I watched a little longer out my window and there came a botanist. And the botanist had a big notebook under his arm and a great big magnifying glass. The botanist would lean over a certain flower and he would look for a long time and then he would write notes in his notebook. He was there for hours writing notes, closed them, stuck them under his arm, tucked his magnifying glass in his pocket and walked away. The third thing I noticed was a bee, just a little bee. But the bee would light on a flower and it would sink down deep into the flower and it would extract all the nectar and pollen that it could carry. It went in empty every time and came out full."

John MacArthur has said, “Some Christians, like that butterfly, flit from Bible study to Bible study, from sermon to sermon, and from commentary to commentary, while gaining little more than a nice feeling and some good ideas. Others, like the botanist, study Scripture carefully and take copious notes. They gain much information but little truth. Others, like the bee, go to the Bible to be taught by God and to grow in knowledge of Him. Also like the bee, they never go away empty.”

How many of us must confess we more often resemble the butterfly or the botanist rather than the bee? But I want to be a bee! We have the Creator's manuel on how to live a joyful, contented, blessed, peaceful life that is pleasing to Him. How frequently do we consult His supernatural manuel, the eternal Word? How often do we just think we can figure it out on our own, muddling through, perhaps, like the butterfly, picking it up every now and then to peruse for some nugget of wisdom?

Or do we go from Bible study to Bible study, reading, learning, but then failing to put what we are learning into practice so we are like that botanist, ever studying, but never truly absorbing and therefore being transformed? When we do that we are like the man or woman described in James, who is a hearer but not a doer of the Word. "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." James 1:23-25

That doer of the Word, described by James, is the bee. Delving in, applying, obeying... day after day. We don't have to be a brilliant theologian or a gifted Bible teacher. We just have to read it and obey it... not just a hearer but "a doer who acts." And the result will be experiencing blessing and fullness like that satiated bumble bee! O Lord help us to be bees! So the question remains: are you a butterfly, a botanist, or a bee? We might appreciate the beauty of the butterfly or the studiousness of the botanist, but it's the bee that ends up with the honey! To God be the glory

This Good Day

I love the simple little song by Fernando Ortega entitled "This Good Day." He speaks of walking to Woodman's Cove and watching the fishing boats leaving, while thru the noisy chorus of the birds, God speaks to him. Even in the midst of a sunny day, he sings:

If rain clouds come or the cold wind blows,

You're the One who goes before me

And in my heart I know that

This good day, it is a gift from You.

The world is turning in it's place

Because You made it to.

I lift my voice to sing a song of praise

On this good day.

Amen, Lord! Forgive me for being so persnickety! How many daily, common blessings I miss on "this good day" because of my selfish busyness and drivenness. Have I stopped to really tell my husband and my children how much I treasure each of them? And that I love them immeasurably--not because of what they do or how they act or what they accomplish, but simply because they are God's gift to me and to the world? Have I slowed down long enough today to thank the Lord for this good day and for allowing me another day to breathe and love and live to His glory?

No, I'm afraid I am too often characterized by striving and unrest rather than peace and joy. But in the words of the Psalmist: "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Ps.16:5-6) Help me, Lord, to translate what I know and believe in my heart into my attitudes and actions and words. Thank You for this good day that You have made and given to each of us. You have given us these 24 irreplaceable hours to walk with and worship You and to love unconditionally those You have placed in our lives as part of our "delightful inheritance." Thank You for Your extravagant grace in assigning me the portion and cup that includes my husband and my five precious children. O Lord, help us to love like Jesus! Never in a hurry. Never irritated at intrusions. Never preoccupied with what He had to do but rather with who He had to heal and teach and encourage.

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure." Ps. 16:8-9 When we choose daily, hourly to set Him before us, then we will rejoice, remain strong, and rest secure. I am so weak, so prone to selfishness and sin that I simply need to refocus on Him every hour of the day... to continually remember to "set the Lord always before me." And when we do that, He will enable us to rejoice and rest and love like Him... in this good day... in this delightful inheritance... in the immeasurably precious people He has lent to us for a short time. On this good day, help us to love like Jesus! To Him be the glory.