Isn't it invariably true--great joys are often accompanied by great responsibilities? God gives us gift upon gift upon gift...but along with enjoying and thanking Him for each of those gifts, He also gives us stewardship responsibilities.
"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Lk12:48)
God has entrusted us with the incomparable riches of the Gospel. How dare we keep it to ourselves? He has given His Word--oh what a priceless gift!--to comfort, convict, guide, equip, and strengthen us along life's journey. With whom have we shared of it's gems to encourage them on their way? He has blessed us with the gift of a nation where we can worship freely, travel freely, live freely. And He has lavished upon us the gifts of homes where we are safe and dry and warm...schools where our children--whether girls or boys--have the opportunity to learn and grow in freedom...abundant food not only to meet our families basic needs of hunger, but even to savor and enjoy with those that we love (one of God's choicest gifts, if you ask me)....beds where we can go to sleep in peace and safety and comfort...friends and families to cherish and to serve...and on and on and on...
Thank You Lord for Your relentless gift-giving to us. Oh Father, keep us grateful for that which You give, contented with what You choose to withhold, and joyful with Your timing and Your plans. Might we be quick to share of that which You have given us and ready to serve those You've placed in our paths.
Lord, You alone know our tendency to indolence and ingratitude. To seeking the easy, comfortable path rather than the way of self-sacrificial, sometimes hard service. To simply give in to our feelings rather than push through based upon our faith. Keep us strong in You, Lord, to do that which You've called us to do, even when we don't feel like it.
What made me think of all this? Well, the other day, our youngest son, Peter learned about one of the responsibilities that goes along with the joy of owning a puppy. And trust me, this is not a fun responsibility. In fact, it's downright disgusting. It involves a pooper scooper, a large trash bag and, in Peter's case, a face mask. Not that it helped much.
Yes, after all the bad weather we'd been having, it was a lovely day...which meant the time had finally come to attack the back yard and rid it of...well...I'm betting you catch the drift. I had the "privilege" of this responsibility back before the weather turned so wintry (I corrected myself--not "bad" weather but "wintry" weather! "Rejoice in the Lord always"). My dear husband stood at the kitchen window and laughed at me gagging my way around the yard. Awful. Not that I'm bitter or anything...I'm just saying I'll never, ever forget him standing there, grinning like this was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. But I digress.
So sweet Peter had the job yesterday...only he got paid for it. I'm still waiting for my combat pay. He put on a face mask (maybe that was my problem--I neglected to use that crucial bit of battle gear) and my rubber rain boots and armed with a large gatorade for strength and sustenance and the trusty pooper scooper, he was ready for war. And war it was.
Yes, with great joys--like Bingley--come great, and sometimes very grave and unpleasant, responsibilities. But it's worth it in the end. Especially after you stop gagging...which generally takes about 24 hours.
I'm learning--it's only taken me a half a century to figure this out--that when it comes to the doing part of life, we just need to push aside our tendency to delay and dilly dally and begin. We can't wait for some magical feeling (there's that word again) to take over our wills and propel us excitedly forward in doing some hard task. Nope, sometimes...well, oftentimes...actually, almost all of the time, we simply have to grab our wills by the collar and tell ourselves, "Time to start. Now! Forget the feelings. Forge ahead in the faith that this is what God's calling you to do so now do it to the best of your ability and do it to His glory. Start now and go!"
Because here's the great news: anything He's given us to do--whether it's folding laundry, washing dishes, peeling potatoes, driving to work, typing a paper, disciplining a child, or even, horrors, working with a pooper scooper--can be done with a grateful heart that seeks the glory of God in all things. And in the end, if God is glorified, alleluia! Well done, good and faithful servant!
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (I Cor.10:31)
Thank You Lord for Your gifts. And thank You for our responsibilities and the opportunities they provide to serve others and to glorify You...even in the seemingly smallest of ways. Help us to forge ahead and do whatever You've called us to do based upon our faith rather than waiting for our vacillating feelings. Might You be lifted high and glorified in all, all, all we do.
To God be the glory.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Stop, drop, and replace!
I’ve had a number of folks ask about something I talked about a few weeks back when we were studying Philippians 4. I apologize if you’re tired of hearing it, but, good night, there’s some mighty fine truth in that little “epistle of joy,” so it’s worth going back to again and again...at least for those of us who are “good forgetters” (that would be yours truly).
I don’t know about you, but I have to continue consistently renewing my mind in the Word--and that means daily, sometimes even hourly!--so I will live out the truth of what I believe. Healthy attitudes and right actions all spring from healthy and right thinking...one thought at a time. And we’ve got to choose to act based not upon our ever-vacillating feelings but upon our faith-infused, biblically directed thinking. We choose--think and act based upon our up and down emotions or think and act based upon rock-solid Truth.
Sometimes it helps to see this practically lived out, don’t you think? We all need living, breathing examples. Well, one of my heroes of the faith is Joni Eareckson Tada--paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident when she was a teenager. She’s recently battled aggressive breast cancer and has endured almost wrenching pain and difficulty for nearly 50 years, but Joni radiates the love and joy of Christ. I recently heard her share something, however, that I’ve never forgotten and that relates directly to this very truth. Here are her words:
“Jesus says, ‘Any man who would come after Me must take up his cross daily and follow Me.‘ And frankly, I’ll confess, every morning when I wake up, especially now that I’m in my 60’s and deal with chronic pain, it is so hard...I will wake up in the morning, and I will be lying there with my eyes closed. You know how you can set your attitude for the day right in those few seconds when your eyes are closed and your head’s on the pillow? You’re just thinking about the day and all the appointments and things you’ve got to do, and you are kind of like setting your attitude for the day.
Well, I will tell you, I’m fighting a cosmic battle, because I just don’t know how I’m going to make it to lunchtime. ‘God, I can’t stand this routine. I’ve girlfriends coming in here in a few minutes, and they are going to give me a bed bath. They are going to do my toileting routines. They are going to cinch on my corset. They’re going to pull up my pants. They’re going to get me dressed, sling me in wheelchair, push me to the bathroom, brush my teeth, blow my nose. Oh God, I am so tired of this. I don’t think I can go on. I have no strength left for this. I cannot do quadriplegia. But I can do all things through Jesus Christ as You strengthen me. So give me Your strength. Would You please get me up this morning Jesus? Live through me.”
And Jesus does. Oh boy, does His light shine through Joni! She’s a woman of such courageous faith and contagious joy. But for her, just like for each of us, it all begins every day with a choice--how we will think? Every morning is a fresh opportunity to set our minds and our attitudes--either based on our faith or on our feelings, either for good or for ill.
And when those destructive, negative thoughts come into our minds--which invariably they will--we have the choice! You’ve heard of “stop, drop and roll,” when your clothes are on fire? Well, we have the choice to “stop, drop and replace” when our mind is on fire! Stop and evaluate that thought: “Is this from You, Lord Jesus? And if it isn’t, drop it! Choose to reject it and replace it with another thought! Replace it with prayer, or with a promise from God’s Word or with a praise song or with a list of things for which you’re thankful.
Philippians 4:8-9 even gives us suggestions as to what to replace that negative or destructive thought with--”whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
You choose. You choose. You choose! But choose wisely...for one choice leads to worry, bitterness, or dissatisfaction. The other leads to peace, contentment, and joy--even in the midst of life’s fiercest storms.
But never forget--behind it all, enabling us to think and do the impossible is the infinite, perfect power of Almighty God. He’s promised that we can do all things--ALL THINGS!--through Christ who strengthens us (Phil.4:13--the promise that never fails!).
We choose...but Christ enables.
We choose to think rightly and stop, drop, and replace...but Christ does what we can’t with His infinite strength, love, provision, power, and grace.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). “Everything” is translated as “everything!”
That means it’s high time we go out there...and think it...and then He’ll enable us to do it!
To God be the glory.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Grace for leash-breakers!
Okay, it's time to come clean. You may want to stop reading this when you learn the ugly truth that yours truly is a criminal. Yes, yes, confession is good for the soul, so there it is.
And worse still, not only have I succumbed to a life of crime...Oh my, this hurts to admit...but I have dragged our defenseless, innocent little puppy into the netherworld of delinquency and lawbreaking. I guess I need to elaborate, but it's a tale of villainy and woe, so be prepared.
Yesterday, Bingley and I got a ticket for not just one crime, but two. And let me be right up front here--I was totally in the wrong. One hundred percent. So I have absolutely no defense, no excuses. I got a ticket for walking Bingley without a leash on the greenway. And then, to add insult to injury, I got another ticket for failing to have his rabies tag on his collar. Geez, I'd never even heard of that law before...but I'm a retired lawyer, so I should know that "ignorance of the law is no excuse."
Before you blast me--yes, yes, yes, I've already admitted we were wrong. But in our pitiful defense, I always have a leash with me, and Bingley's trained to stop and sit when we tell him and to come when we call him. (Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, most of the time he comes when called...unless there's a squirrel or a particularly alluring smell involved.) And whenever we spot anyone else coming on the greenway--whether walker or jogger or biker or dog--we always immediately put his leash on him so he won't bother anyone.
But we've missed someone coming up ahead a couple of times. One of those "misses" was when we rounded a curve yesterday morning, and there were the animal control officers in all their glory. Bingley, bless his heart, ran up to them and gave them both a big, happy greeting. Great. Meanwhile, I felt like a very bad, terrible, awful, horrible person. Sigh.
The officers were absolutely as nice as can be...as they gave me two tickets totaling $100. O my stars! Just what we needed after spending every last dime on a wedding--a $100 early morning walk with our puppy. Not a great way to throw away your money. And all this time, I'd been rejoicing that the best things in life--as in, enjoying the great outdoors and walking with your dog--are free. Well, not necessarily.
Let me hasten to add: as soon as I got home, we found the rabies tag and put it on Bingley tout suite! And just in case you, too, were ignorant of this law, well now you know! Go find that rabies tag right now before you read another word and put it on your beloved pooch...
Now, if you're back with me after locating fido's rabies tag, can I say that, like all things, the Lord has been using this in my life to convict and teach me. Boy, I have a long way to go.
First of all, I'm reminded that the laws are the laws, and we need to obey them. That includes not just man's laws, of course, but also God's commands. Aren't we so prone to assume things like--"Well that really doesn't apply to me." Or "Yeah...but..." and we fill in the blank with our excuses. Whether it's passing along gossip...worrying and fretting rather than worshipping and trusting Jesus...indulging in pity-parties rather than choosing gratitude...or seeking excuses for our disobedience rather than simply confessing and repenting of our sin.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
And secondly, I'm remembering, once again, to thank the Lord for grace! Praise God for the immeasurably wonderful, cleansing gift of forgiveness. Praise God for fresh starts and new mercies--all because of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. The divine exchange--our sin for His righteousness; our failures for His faultlessness; our guilt for His grace.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." (Ps.51:10-12)
Let me be honest here--I felt crummy after that ticket. Seriously--it wasn't just the money..though that made my husband feel pretty awful! No, it was that horrible feeling of having done something wrong. Of being a lawbreaker. A humbling sense of having messed up...and dragging our puppy along with me into the mess!!
No doubt about it: Bingley felt bad about it...real bad. He went into the laundry room when we got home, looking dejected and defeated--
Yep, me too, Mr. B.
What a pair--Mr. Bingley and me--guilty, humble, discouraged lawbreakers.
But Christ! But Christ! But Christ!
Oh the joy of forgiveness!
Yeah, sure, this is one silly example...but still, it's just as true for the guilty liar as the guilty leash-breaker. For the guilty murderer as the guilty complainer--
It's only due to His forgiveness.
It's all by His grace.
And it's all for His glory.
So thank You, Father, for the reminder, once again, of the incredible riches we enjoy in the Lord Jesus. Thank You for grace--"God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Free to us...but immeasurably, infinitely costly to Him. Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord.
To God be the glory.
And worse still, not only have I succumbed to a life of crime...Oh my, this hurts to admit...but I have dragged our defenseless, innocent little puppy into the netherworld of delinquency and lawbreaking. I guess I need to elaborate, but it's a tale of villainy and woe, so be prepared.
Yesterday, Bingley and I got a ticket for not just one crime, but two. And let me be right up front here--I was totally in the wrong. One hundred percent. So I have absolutely no defense, no excuses. I got a ticket for walking Bingley without a leash on the greenway. And then, to add insult to injury, I got another ticket for failing to have his rabies tag on his collar. Geez, I'd never even heard of that law before...but I'm a retired lawyer, so I should know that "ignorance of the law is no excuse."
Before you blast me--yes, yes, yes, I've already admitted we were wrong. But in our pitiful defense, I always have a leash with me, and Bingley's trained to stop and sit when we tell him and to come when we call him. (Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, most of the time he comes when called...unless there's a squirrel or a particularly alluring smell involved.) And whenever we spot anyone else coming on the greenway--whether walker or jogger or biker or dog--we always immediately put his leash on him so he won't bother anyone.
But we've missed someone coming up ahead a couple of times. One of those "misses" was when we rounded a curve yesterday morning, and there were the animal control officers in all their glory. Bingley, bless his heart, ran up to them and gave them both a big, happy greeting. Great. Meanwhile, I felt like a very bad, terrible, awful, horrible person. Sigh.
The officers were absolutely as nice as can be...as they gave me two tickets totaling $100. O my stars! Just what we needed after spending every last dime on a wedding--a $100 early morning walk with our puppy. Not a great way to throw away your money. And all this time, I'd been rejoicing that the best things in life--as in, enjoying the great outdoors and walking with your dog--are free. Well, not necessarily.
Let me hasten to add: as soon as I got home, we found the rabies tag and put it on Bingley tout suite! And just in case you, too, were ignorant of this law, well now you know! Go find that rabies tag right now before you read another word and put it on your beloved pooch...
Now, if you're back with me after locating fido's rabies tag, can I say that, like all things, the Lord has been using this in my life to convict and teach me. Boy, I have a long way to go.
First of all, I'm reminded that the laws are the laws, and we need to obey them. That includes not just man's laws, of course, but also God's commands. Aren't we so prone to assume things like--"Well that really doesn't apply to me." Or "Yeah...but..." and we fill in the blank with our excuses. Whether it's passing along gossip...worrying and fretting rather than worshipping and trusting Jesus...indulging in pity-parties rather than choosing gratitude...or seeking excuses for our disobedience rather than simply confessing and repenting of our sin.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
And secondly, I'm remembering, once again, to thank the Lord for grace! Praise God for the immeasurably wonderful, cleansing gift of forgiveness. Praise God for fresh starts and new mercies--all because of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. The divine exchange--our sin for His righteousness; our failures for His faultlessness; our guilt for His grace.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." (Ps.51:10-12)
Let me be honest here--I felt crummy after that ticket. Seriously--it wasn't just the money..though that made my husband feel pretty awful! No, it was that horrible feeling of having done something wrong. Of being a lawbreaker. A humbling sense of having messed up...and dragging our puppy along with me into the mess!!
No doubt about it: Bingley felt bad about it...real bad. He went into the laundry room when we got home, looking dejected and defeated--
What a pair--Mr. Bingley and me--guilty, humble, discouraged lawbreakers.
But Christ! But Christ! But Christ!
Oh the joy of forgiveness!
Yeah, sure, this is one silly example...but still, it's just as true for the guilty liar as the guilty leash-breaker. For the guilty murderer as the guilty complainer--
It's only due to His forgiveness.
It's all by His grace.
And it's all for His glory.
So thank You, Father, for the reminder, once again, of the incredible riches we enjoy in the Lord Jesus. Thank You for grace--"God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Free to us...but immeasurably, infinitely costly to Him. Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord.
To God be the glory.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
This too shall pass
What a difference a week makes. From this--
To this...all in a mere seven days time--
You gotta love living in North Carolina where such wild gyrations in weather and temperature are always possible! One week ago, we enjoyed a cold but peaceful evening walk on the greenway with Bingley. It was after 8:00 p.m. so it should have been pitch black dark. Yet the reflection of the snow all about us lighted the path so that we were able to walk as if it were broad daylight. Remarkable. Here's Mr. Bingley that night. This was around 8:30p.m.!
Remarkable the power of the snow's reflection, isn't it?
But at about the same time exactly one week later, we saw folks eating outside at a local restaurant and enjoying the balmy spring-like temperatures. From winter, snow, and ice all the way to spring, sun, and warmth--all in one short week! Maybe I'm just a goofball, but, wow, that really struck me.
In the midst of winter, it helps to remember that spring is coming. That winter will not last forever...even when we feel like it will. Winter has it's day...but spring will inevitably have hers as well. Sure, it's a simple truth, but in the midst of the relentless cold and mess, the boots and coats, the runny noses and cold hands, couldn't you sometimes use a little reminding? No matter what it looks like, no matter how it seems at the moment, no matter how you might feel...winter's nearly over and spring is on it's happy way.
Why is it that when we're slogging through a tough or challenging season of life, we tend to forget that? Our feelings shout: she'll never change; he'll never get better; I'll never feel differently; this will never get easier; we'll never...you fill in the blank.
But the truth is, everything changes. Everything, that is, except our Almighty God and His infinite, relentless love for us. No matter what we're enduring today, it's not going to last forever...and somehow, someway, we're going to come out on the other side. And God will be with us through it all--in every season, with every challenge, through every mountain and valley.
So just in case you needed a little reminding--no matter how you might feel, no matter what "winter" you might be enduring, this too shall pass. And spring is coming. Sometimes we need to preach ourselves a little sermon. Exhorting ourselves to hang on and hold on to God and trust that spring's coming...and it might be just around the corner.
And God will be there too. "But the great thing to remember," C.S.Lewis wrote, "if that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not."
The hard times will end...but God's love never will. Now that's reason to celebrate.
To God be the glory.
But at about the same time exactly one week later, we saw folks eating outside at a local restaurant and enjoying the balmy spring-like temperatures. From winter, snow, and ice all the way to spring, sun, and warmth--all in one short week! Maybe I'm just a goofball, but, wow, that really struck me.
In the midst of winter, it helps to remember that spring is coming. That winter will not last forever...even when we feel like it will. Winter has it's day...but spring will inevitably have hers as well. Sure, it's a simple truth, but in the midst of the relentless cold and mess, the boots and coats, the runny noses and cold hands, couldn't you sometimes use a little reminding? No matter what it looks like, no matter how it seems at the moment, no matter how you might feel...winter's nearly over and spring is on it's happy way.
Why is it that when we're slogging through a tough or challenging season of life, we tend to forget that? Our feelings shout: she'll never change; he'll never get better; I'll never feel differently; this will never get easier; we'll never...you fill in the blank.
But the truth is, everything changes. Everything, that is, except our Almighty God and His infinite, relentless love for us. No matter what we're enduring today, it's not going to last forever...and somehow, someway, we're going to come out on the other side. And God will be with us through it all--in every season, with every challenge, through every mountain and valley.
So just in case you needed a little reminding--no matter how you might feel, no matter what "winter" you might be enduring, this too shall pass. And spring is coming. Sometimes we need to preach ourselves a little sermon. Exhorting ourselves to hang on and hold on to God and trust that spring's coming...and it might be just around the corner.
And God will be there too. "But the great thing to remember," C.S.Lewis wrote, "if that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not."
The hard times will end...but God's love never will. Now that's reason to celebrate.
To God be the glory.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Once more unto the breach!
Truly one of the great lines of all time...and an old Preyer family favorite. Let me explain--
When my family was growing up, our daddy would often quote these words: "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more." It's a line from one of the finest speeches in all of literature--from Shakespeare's play, "Henry V." In the play (based on history, of course), the English army held the French city of Harfleur under siege. The French, however, had repulsed every the English attack and refused to yield. So in this speech, Henry urges on his exhausted, discouraged troops to charge the gap in the wall once more "or close the wall up with our English dead."
Maybe that's more information than you needed. Oh well.
But here's the point (or at least, here will eventually be the point): my sweet sister, Mary Norris, and her daughter just returned from a wonderful trip to England and Scotland. When they visited the Globe Theatre in London, they looked for some quotes on plaques or postcards to bring home as gifts. But there were no quotes to be found. Now imagine that! We're talking Shakespeare, people! How could they not have lots and lots of quotes from one of the world's greatest writers and in his own theatre? Good night.
Oh mercy, too much information again. Okay back to the point--
So they searched and searched, but no quotes--except this one. That's a picture of it up above. My sister gave it to me yesterday, and as soon as I opened it, I started to cry. Because, of course, I immediately remembered and thought of the very thing I'm sure my sister--and every one of my siblings--would have:
Our daddy.
I doubt a week went by without Daddy at some point declaring, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends!" As I was growing up, I didn't have a clue what it meant...but because my dear Daddy said it (and because of the way he said it), I loved it! Even before I'd ever read a single word of Shakespeare, Daddy's expression and life had already explained it to me: somehow it meant to fight on! Don't quit! Don't give up or give in but give it one more try!
We would hear him say it when we were way down in a tennis match...or when the trout weren't biting in those cold North Carolina streams...or when we'd failed in some endeavor....or when school had become a long, hard struggle...or whenever life just seemed to be bearing down on us and exhaustion and discouragement threatened to swamp our little boats.
Oh, I can hear him saying it right now--in his soft southern voice and with that gentle, little grin on his lips. Oh, Abba Father, I miss my dear daddy. What a treasure he was in our lives.
My sister had attached a little post-it with the quote when she gave it to me--"The only quote they had! Can you believe it?--Daddy's favorite!"
Yes, actually I can believe it. And you know why? Because we serve a God who is sovereign and in control of all, all, all things. Even small, silly things like quotations and postcards and the stock carried by some little store on the other side of the world.
And somehow the Lord knew we might need a few reminders. A reminder, first of all, of the preciousness, the pricelessness of those we love. Thank You Father for our fathers...and our sisters...and our brothers...and our husbands and wives...and our children...and our friends. Oh, to have the joy of loving and being loved...just as we are. Even with all our eccentricities and foibles. Thank You, Lord, for the treasure of those we love in our lives. Might we never ever take them for granted.
But also a reminder to keep trying! A reminder that no matter what any of us might be going through, it's always too soon to quit. Always too soon to give in to discouragement or despair.
Always too soon to quit and never too late to try...not with our Lord.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." (Heb.12:1-3)
Many of us are fighting hard, protracted battles right now. I have prayed for so many just today. And then this morning, I learned of another friend who lost her son...and my heart breaks for her and her family. O Lord Jesus, I know You are holding them closely...but might they feel it and know it. Give them strength, give them peace, give them a glimpse of You and enable them to experience as never before Your persevering, sustaining love.
And so a little postcard from the Father for all who feel weary in the battle--"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more."
The God of all grace and glory and power and wisdom and might and love is right there with you. He will not fail you now or ever. Keep fighting. Keep running. Keep persevering .Keep looking unto Him. He is mighty--not only to save but to sustain even in the fiercest fight.
To God be the glory.
Friday, February 14, 2014
The Smiling Providence!
Okay, here's what I should be doing--working on a lecture for Bible study. After all, it's coming up on Tuesday morning, and so far, I have.....uhhh....not a whole lot. Well, actually, that would be nothing. As in, nada.
Not that I haven't loved studying Esther 1. I have. It's terrific--the whole book of Esther is such a wonderful portrait of God's amazing providence. The Lord's name is never mentioned in the book of Esther...not even once. Yet His fingerprints quite literally cover its pages, front and back...and all over and in between every single line as well. I love it! Isn't that so often how God does His most amazing work--silently, quietly, hidden, yet inexorably in complete control and bringing all things into conformity with His perfect plans?
Miracles are marvelous, no doubt about it. But I sometimes find it even more powerful when God moves and works behind the scenes, through the mundane and ordinary and commonplace. We think He's not there. We see no evidence that He cares or that He's at work...until suddenly, we glimpse the completed masterpiece of His handiwork and realize He'd been at it all along. Only we couldn't see Him or feel Him.
When you can't feel Him with your feelings, feel Him with your faith. And trust that He who controls the spinning planets, the flight of the bumble bee, the rise and fall of nations, and the cardinal on the bird-feeder, well, He's got your life--and the lives of those you love--perfectly in His loving, gracious, merciful control as well.
O how thankful I am for the providence of God!
And so I'm reminding myself that God is sovereign and providentially in control of all this snow and cold and sleet as well. Because here's the thing--my sin-prone, complaint-prone heart is tiring of all this muck and mess with all it's disruptions to normal life. It was beautiful, spectacular really, but now...well, now, I thinking, "Okay Lord, it's time for kids to be able to go back to school...and get back on a schedule...and have a moderately clean house again (i.e.without coats and hats and mittens and boots strewn everywhere)...and try, try, try to get going on a lecture...and restock groceries (not that I don't love multiple permeations of milk and bread and chocolate)...and allow our boys to get back out and play golf since they have school tryouts and tournaments next week and..."
Well, you get the picture. I bet I'm not alone--we're all pretty much over this snow stuff and ready to move on to crocuses, spring sunshine, and the sound of birds singing...rather than snow plows scraping!
But the Lord reminded me, once again, He who is sovereign and providentially in control of ALL things, well, He controls the weather...and all our times of waiting too. So help us Father to trust You in this waiting, or in any kind of hard waiting we might be enduring. Teach us to trust that through it all, every single last bit of whatever any of might be going through right now, You are working and moving and making everything beautiful in Your time. Maybe not always on our timetable, but on Yours...which we know and believe is always ultimately best.
After all, You're the God of joy--even in the midst of the unexpected or the unwanted. We just received this picture--it's a little reminder that when things get tough, God enables His children to get a bit tougher and stronger too!
That's Richard and his Davidson teammates practicing to get ready for their tournament in Alabama on Monday! You gotta love it. They may not end up with the lowest scores as a result of their inability to play and prepare, but they will have the toughness factor down pat! Somehow, I think God is smiling.
Thank You for Your providence, Father. Help us to see and trust You in all the gaps and spaces in our lives where we tend to doubt and worry. You've got it...and we are Yours.
To God be the glory.
Not that I haven't loved studying Esther 1. I have. It's terrific--the whole book of Esther is such a wonderful portrait of God's amazing providence. The Lord's name is never mentioned in the book of Esther...not even once. Yet His fingerprints quite literally cover its pages, front and back...and all over and in between every single line as well. I love it! Isn't that so often how God does His most amazing work--silently, quietly, hidden, yet inexorably in complete control and bringing all things into conformity with His perfect plans?
Miracles are marvelous, no doubt about it. But I sometimes find it even more powerful when God moves and works behind the scenes, through the mundane and ordinary and commonplace. We think He's not there. We see no evidence that He cares or that He's at work...until suddenly, we glimpse the completed masterpiece of His handiwork and realize He'd been at it all along. Only we couldn't see Him or feel Him.
When you can't feel Him with your feelings, feel Him with your faith. And trust that He who controls the spinning planets, the flight of the bumble bee, the rise and fall of nations, and the cardinal on the bird-feeder, well, He's got your life--and the lives of those you love--perfectly in His loving, gracious, merciful control as well.
O how thankful I am for the providence of God!
And so I'm reminding myself that God is sovereign and providentially in control of all this snow and cold and sleet as well. Because here's the thing--my sin-prone, complaint-prone heart is tiring of all this muck and mess with all it's disruptions to normal life. It was beautiful, spectacular really, but now...well, now, I thinking, "Okay Lord, it's time for kids to be able to go back to school...and get back on a schedule...and have a moderately clean house again (i.e.without coats and hats and mittens and boots strewn everywhere)...and try, try, try to get going on a lecture...and restock groceries (not that I don't love multiple permeations of milk and bread and chocolate)...and allow our boys to get back out and play golf since they have school tryouts and tournaments next week and..."
Well, you get the picture. I bet I'm not alone--we're all pretty much over this snow stuff and ready to move on to crocuses, spring sunshine, and the sound of birds singing...rather than snow plows scraping!
But the Lord reminded me, once again, He who is sovereign and providentially in control of ALL things, well, He controls the weather...and all our times of waiting too. So help us Father to trust You in this waiting, or in any kind of hard waiting we might be enduring. Teach us to trust that through it all, every single last bit of whatever any of might be going through right now, You are working and moving and making everything beautiful in Your time. Maybe not always on our timetable, but on Yours...which we know and believe is always ultimately best.
After all, You're the God of joy--even in the midst of the unexpected or the unwanted. We just received this picture--it's a little reminder that when things get tough, God enables His children to get a bit tougher and stronger too!
Thank You for Your providence, Father. Help us to see and trust You in all the gaps and spaces in our lives where we tend to doubt and worry. You've got it...and we are Yours.
To God be the glory.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Snowing...
Wow. All I can say is Wow! God is putting on a snow show and reminding us Who's really in charge!...and it's not us. Here's how it all started around noon or so--
Snowing to beat the band and so beautiful...but still not amounting to too much. But it kept on coming and just a half an hour later, it looked like this--
And then a mere thirty minutes later--
Good night! Hard to believe it could accumulate so quickly! And then about a half hour later--
It's dark outside now, but trust me, there's a LOT of snow...and now it's sleeting. Ugh. Not that I have anything against sleet and freezing rain...except the potential for POWER LOSS!!!
So, in addition to praying earnestly that the sleet stops and the power doesn't, I'm trying to put into practice what we've been learning in Philippians...and "Rejoicing in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice." (Phil.4:4--maybe the best verse ever). Even if that means rejoicing in the Lord along with cold feet and hands, candles and flashlights (which, truth be told, are actually kind of fun), no hot baths (now that will be painful--but trying to "Count it all joy!"), multiple meals involving bread and milk since we have loads of both, a continuously running dryer..or at least till the power goes out, children in school till about mid-July, and trudging through snow and sleet with an energetic puppy who thinks snow is a grand idea.
And don't tell anyone...but deep down, I have to agree. Because despite all the aggravation and interruptions to our plans, how can you not stand amazed at the astounding beauty and serenity of a blanket of snow. Seriously, think about it: the same drops of water that form April showers and create May flowers also can be formed into countless tiny, lacy white masterpieces. Each one utterly unique, each individual. Yet each perfectly different snowflake joins together with all it's buddies to create a soft, pure white covering on the earth.
Wow.
You truly are amazing God.
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose; and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isa.55:10-11)
God will fulfill His plans and purposes. Every single one of them. And all His plans are good. Can you stop the snow? Or the sleet? Or the rain? How about the sun from setting? Didn't think so. Nor can you or I or any of us thwart the perfect plans and purposes of Almighty God.
Sometimes it's just good to be reminded of Who's really in control. And to remember that He who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-sovereign is also all-loving, all-forgiving, and all-gracious.
So maybe it's time to just relax in His embrace. If He can keep the earth turning on it's axis while blanketing it with snow, I think He's got you covered in His love too. So maybe just curl up and rejoice in His love on a cold winter's night. Or maybe like Bingley, you can settle down in some warm laundry fresh out of the dryer--
Ahhh. Our Savior's got us. To God be the glory.
So, in addition to praying earnestly that the sleet stops and the power doesn't, I'm trying to put into practice what we've been learning in Philippians...and "Rejoicing in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice." (Phil.4:4--maybe the best verse ever). Even if that means rejoicing in the Lord along with cold feet and hands, candles and flashlights (which, truth be told, are actually kind of fun), no hot baths (now that will be painful--but trying to "Count it all joy!"), multiple meals involving bread and milk since we have loads of both, a continuously running dryer..or at least till the power goes out, children in school till about mid-July, and trudging through snow and sleet with an energetic puppy who thinks snow is a grand idea.
And don't tell anyone...but deep down, I have to agree. Because despite all the aggravation and interruptions to our plans, how can you not stand amazed at the astounding beauty and serenity of a blanket of snow. Seriously, think about it: the same drops of water that form April showers and create May flowers also can be formed into countless tiny, lacy white masterpieces. Each one utterly unique, each individual. Yet each perfectly different snowflake joins together with all it's buddies to create a soft, pure white covering on the earth.
Wow.
You truly are amazing God.
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose; and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isa.55:10-11)
God will fulfill His plans and purposes. Every single one of them. And all His plans are good. Can you stop the snow? Or the sleet? Or the rain? How about the sun from setting? Didn't think so. Nor can you or I or any of us thwart the perfect plans and purposes of Almighty God.
Sometimes it's just good to be reminded of Who's really in control. And to remember that He who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-sovereign is also all-loving, all-forgiving, and all-gracious.
So maybe it's time to just relax in His embrace. If He can keep the earth turning on it's axis while blanketing it with snow, I think He's got you covered in His love too. So maybe just curl up and rejoice in His love on a cold winter's night. Or maybe like Bingley, you can settle down in some warm laundry fresh out of the dryer--
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monologue into dialogue
Have I mentioned recently that I love, love, love the book of Philippians? Yeah, yeah, sorry that I'm pretty much a broken record on this subject. So I'll just be quiet and move on to something else....
Oh, I can't stand it!! Never mind--I can't move on...not just yet! How can you resist bragging on Almighty God and the life-changing power of His glorious Word? So just for the record, can I say one more time that Paul's joyful love letter to the Philippians and to the Lord, well, it's gold. In fact, forget the Olympics. Philippians is the real gold, baby. Pure gold.
Seriously, if you want to rediscover joy, relearn gratitude and recall why and how to be deeply, truly contented in any and all circumstances (and who on earth doesn't want that?), then look no further than this little four chapter jewel.
We finished the last chapter today in Bible study, and boy, I will miss delving into it's treasures on a daily basis. Of course, the good news is that Philippians isn't going anywhere, so we can keep returning over and over again to mine it's riches, but it's time to say goodbye for a little while since we're on to the Old Testament book of Esther. Which, in case anyone is wondering, is also some mighty fine stuff. So we're all good.
But before I move on, I thought I'd include a little excerpt from what we talked about today, since it has profoundly affected me and the way--Lord willing--I transfer worry into prayer. God's Word has a way of forever changing us if we'll let it soak into our hearts and minds and then choose to live out what we're learning (it's called "obedience"--not that any of us really like that word, but shoot, that's how we're changed more and more into His image). So without further adieu, a tiny taste of why I love Philippians! (This is a bit long--feel free to stop reading!)--
Oh, I can't stand it!! Never mind--I can't move on...not just yet! How can you resist bragging on Almighty God and the life-changing power of His glorious Word? So just for the record, can I say one more time that Paul's joyful love letter to the Philippians and to the Lord, well, it's gold. In fact, forget the Olympics. Philippians is the real gold, baby. Pure gold.
Seriously, if you want to rediscover joy, relearn gratitude and recall why and how to be deeply, truly contented in any and all circumstances (and who on earth doesn't want that?), then look no further than this little four chapter jewel.
We finished the last chapter today in Bible study, and boy, I will miss delving into it's treasures on a daily basis. Of course, the good news is that Philippians isn't going anywhere, so we can keep returning over and over again to mine it's riches, but it's time to say goodbye for a little while since we're on to the Old Testament book of Esther. Which, in case anyone is wondering, is also some mighty fine stuff. So we're all good.
But before I move on, I thought I'd include a little excerpt from what we talked about today, since it has profoundly affected me and the way--Lord willing--I transfer worry into prayer. God's Word has a way of forever changing us if we'll let it soak into our hearts and minds and then choose to live out what we're learning (it's called "obedience"--not that any of us really like that word, but shoot, that's how we're changed more and more into His image). So without further adieu, a tiny taste of why I love Philippians! (This is a bit long--feel free to stop reading!)--
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
This command not to be anxious about anything is really just the opposite side of the coin from rejoicing. You cannot rejoice and worry at the same time. It’s one or the other. And notice: we’re not advised “Don’t be anxious most of the time” or “Don’t be anxious...except in extreme emergencies” but Don’t. Be. Anxious. About. Anything.
Yeah, I know that’s hard. In fact, you might be arguing to yourself, “But you don’t know how impossible my circumstances are. You don’t know the tragedy that has befallen us. You don’t know how terribly stressful my life is. It’s ridiculous to tell me not to be anxious about anything.” And you’re absolutely right. I have some very dear friends who are enduring unimaginable suffering right now. I’ve prayed for them, for their children, for their marriages, for their health, often with tears streaming down my face.
But as I once heard a minister say, “Many things are understandable that are not excusable.” Yes, it’s absolutely understandable that we worry about some things...but according to God’s Word, it’s not excusable. We’re told not to be anxious. And we’re told this because God adores us and doesn’t want us to live our one brief life on this planet plagued by worry and overcome by sorrow. No, He wants us to live it with joy and peace even in the midst of whatever ups and downs we’re going through.
Did you know that the Greek word Paul uses for “anxiety” means “to be pulled in different directions?” Our hopes pull us in one direction but our fears pull us in another, and we’re torn apart. When has your anxiety torn you apart, pulling you away from being fully present and engaged with the people you love, because you’re fretting in your heart? Or when has anxiety pulled you apart from restful sleep, because your mind is torn up with worry in the wee hours of the night?
Moreover, the Old English word from which we get our word “worry” means “to strangle.” Isn’t that just a picture of what worry and anxiety do to us? We can feel strangled and suffocated by gut-twisting anxiety over the unknown and the uncontrollable in our lives.
But God’s Word says, “Do not be anxious about ANYTHING.” And here’s the really great news--the Lord doesn’t just tell us what not to do. Rather, He goes on to tell us what to do instead! It’s not enough to just repeatedly recite some mantra to ourselves, “Don’t worry. Don’t worry. Don’t worry.” No, we need to replace those strangling, destructive thoughts with something positive.
Praise God, here’s what we’re told to do instead: Rather than worrying about anything, we’re commanded “in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
In other words: Worry about nothing. Pray and praise over everything. What a formula! Even with my crummy memory I can remember that!
We’ve got to choose to convert our inner monologue of worry into a dialogue with God in prayer. Transform your worries into prayer! I love Henri Nouwen’s words on this:
“Our minds are always active. We analyze, reflect, daydream, or dream. There is not a moment during the day or night when we are not thinking. You might say our thinking is "unceasing." Sometimes we wish that we could stop thinking for a while; that would save us from many worries, guilt feelings, and fears. Our ability to think is our greatest gift, but it is also the source of our greatest pain. Do we have to become victims of our unceasing thoughts? No, we can convert our unceasing thinking into unceasing prayer by making our inner monologue into a continuing dialogue with our God, who is the source of all love. Let's break out of our isolation and realize that Someone who dwells in the center of our beings wants to listen with love to all that occupies and preoccupies our minds.”
Okay, I bet you’re thinking, “Well, that sounds both simplistic but also terribly challenging to put into practice in real life.” But I can tell you from firsthand experience, whenever you give in to worry and fretting, you always plunge deeper and deeper into a pit of despair. But whenever you choose, by faith, despite your feelings, to convert that worry into prayer and praise, even if your praise is being thankful about the littlest of things, it will change the atmosphere around you and God will give you that peace that passes understanding.
I’m reminded of the words of James McDonald: “The decision to be worried is the decision to refuse to trust Jesus in this.” Ugh--we either trust Jesus and His plans and show it by praying and praising or we trust in our fretting and fears and doubts.
And the more you’re praying, the less you’ll find yourself worrying. But the reverse is also true: Less prayer--more worry. Ask yourself right now: Where am I on the prayer/worry scale?
We’ve got to make the conscious choice--the choice--to reject those thoughts of worry when they assail our hearts and instead choose, by faith, to convert that inner anxious monologue into a dialogue of prayer and praise. Hand it to God so He can deal with it and you can then experience “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.”
Okay, that’s it for today since I’ve probably already annoyed you by the length of this blog. Sorry! But can I encourage and challenge us all here (including yours truly) to choose this day to think rightly....because what we think inevitably leads to what we do. So let’s decide now that when those thoughts of worry and those fearful “what if's?” assail us, we’ll immediately take that anxious inner monologue and convert it into a dialogue of prayer with the Almighty One. After all, when we worship, worry flees.
He’s waiting and listening and loving...so let’s take it to our Father. He’s totally got it...He’s promised. To God be the glory.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Enjoy the creation--exalt the Creator!
A little food for weekend thought--
A number of years ago, I read something John Piper shared that I've never forgotten. Piper explained that these were the concluding words in a lecture given in 1976 by Clyde Kilby--his favorite professor from Wheaton College. I've saved Clyde Kilby's poetic and piercing wisdom on my computer, and I like to reread it every so often...when I start to forget the wonder, mystery, and beauty of my Lord and His glorious creation. Praying that it encourages you as well!
Clyde Kilby's "10 Resolutions for Mental Health"--
1.At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.
A number of years ago, I read something John Piper shared that I've never forgotten. Piper explained that these were the concluding words in a lecture given in 1976 by Clyde Kilby--his favorite professor from Wheaton College. I've saved Clyde Kilby's poetic and piercing wisdom on my computer, and I like to reread it every so often...when I start to forget the wonder, mystery, and beauty of my Lord and His glorious creation. Praying that it encourages you as well!
Clyde Kilby's "10 Resolutions for Mental Health"--
1.At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.
2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end.
I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death when he said: "There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing."
3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities.
I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.
4. I shall not turn my life into a thin, straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.
5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.
6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.
7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."
8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.
9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.
10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the vast, astounding, glory of Your creation. Remind us that the spectacular beauty of this world is "empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing You, my Lord." Thank You for fashioning this teeming blue and green planet and for creating us to enjoy it...but most of all thank You for the treasure of knowing Christ, this world's Redeemer and Sustainer. Might we enjoy the creation...and exalt the Creator.
To God be the glory.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
A Moment
Sometimes God gives you one of those little moments--a tiny gem of a gift where time stands still--just for a wee millisecond--and you suddenly see the wonder and joy of this everyday life, this regular-old, but remarkable moment. And the only response? Gratitude. Overwhelming gratitude.
Funny how these moments where God suddenly breaks through the dust and grind of everyday life occur in such ordinary places and times. When we're least expecting it, God sends us little gift-wrapped packages of His love and grace...in a moment. How easy it is to miss them, because often we're in too much of a hurry...or too preoccupied...or too prone to walk through life with eyes focused only on the seen and the temporal rather than the unseen and the eternal.
But not this day. Not this brief moment--
We were crammed on the bus, standing room only as we clung to the overhead bars to keep from falling. Preyer, Peter and I were riding the bus that delivers you to the "Dean Dome" in Chapel Hill. We had tickets in the upper rafters to go watch our beloved tar heels play basketball. Chatting away, trying not to tumble over, daydreaming about what kind of food they might have at the game and whether I'd brought enough money...I was not exactly "in the moment."
But then I suddenly looked up and realized where we were. The very route we had taken to the hospital, day after day, week after week, when Janie was in the ICU with her brain injury. Just like that, it all flooded back to me--all that fear and sorrow and waiting...and yet also all that love and support from family and friends and all that never-failing strength and solace from the Lord. But make no mistake: it was a hard, hard time.
I suddenly leaned over to the boys and whispered, "This is the same way we always drove to be with Janie in the hospital."
At that very moment, a text unexpectedly came through...from Janie, wouldn't you know it. And it was a picture. She had waited with her friends for over 4 hours to get 4th row seats in the student section to watch the heels. This was her view, and she was some kind of fired up!
And all I could think was: Thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus. Gratitude spilled over as I my eyes filled with tears. Who would have thought? Who would have dared dream all those months ago, when we were driving back and forth, long day after long day, that we would now be here. That she would now be there. That she could recover from that seemingly life-altering injury and go to college and live life again. Couldn't have imagined it in my wildest dreams.
And the only response is--to God be all the glory and praise.
Sometimes we all need to remember the depths from which God has rescued us. Sometimes we need to be reminded that God has glorious plans for us--no matter how it might look right now--and He will get us from here to there. "'For I know the plans, I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jer.29:11)
And here we were, up in the rafters, eating cotton candy and hot dogs and having a big time with my wonderful sister Jane (Janie's namesake!)--
I share all this only because I know there are plenty of folks right now who are in desperate situations similar to where we were all those months ago. Sure, the circumstances differ...but the feelings of fear, isolation, uncertainty, and sadness are the same. We've all been there. And we will all be there again. Such is the human condition.
But this little moment was God's postcard, reminding me that each moment of our brief journey on this planet is to be noticed, treasured, and entrusted to the hands of the One who loves us infinitely and perfectly. And He will get us through to the other side of our every moment--good and bad.
Some moments will be hard and long and mystifying. Others hopeful and joyous and magical. But every moment is a gift from His hand, a gem to be savored, and an opportunity to trust even when we cannot fully understand.
If you are in the midst of a storm right now, hang on and know that the One who led you in, will lead you out again. Never doubt that there are good and glorious moments ahead...He's promised. And not one of His promises has ever failed.
To God be the glory.
Funny how these moments where God suddenly breaks through the dust and grind of everyday life occur in such ordinary places and times. When we're least expecting it, God sends us little gift-wrapped packages of His love and grace...in a moment. How easy it is to miss them, because often we're in too much of a hurry...or too preoccupied...or too prone to walk through life with eyes focused only on the seen and the temporal rather than the unseen and the eternal.
But not this day. Not this brief moment--
We were crammed on the bus, standing room only as we clung to the overhead bars to keep from falling. Preyer, Peter and I were riding the bus that delivers you to the "Dean Dome" in Chapel Hill. We had tickets in the upper rafters to go watch our beloved tar heels play basketball. Chatting away, trying not to tumble over, daydreaming about what kind of food they might have at the game and whether I'd brought enough money...I was not exactly "in the moment."
But then I suddenly looked up and realized where we were. The very route we had taken to the hospital, day after day, week after week, when Janie was in the ICU with her brain injury. Just like that, it all flooded back to me--all that fear and sorrow and waiting...and yet also all that love and support from family and friends and all that never-failing strength and solace from the Lord. But make no mistake: it was a hard, hard time.
I suddenly leaned over to the boys and whispered, "This is the same way we always drove to be with Janie in the hospital."
At that very moment, a text unexpectedly came through...from Janie, wouldn't you know it. And it was a picture. She had waited with her friends for over 4 hours to get 4th row seats in the student section to watch the heels. This was her view, and she was some kind of fired up!
And all I could think was: Thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus. Gratitude spilled over as I my eyes filled with tears. Who would have thought? Who would have dared dream all those months ago, when we were driving back and forth, long day after long day, that we would now be here. That she would now be there. That she could recover from that seemingly life-altering injury and go to college and live life again. Couldn't have imagined it in my wildest dreams.
And the only response is--to God be all the glory and praise.
Sometimes we all need to remember the depths from which God has rescued us. Sometimes we need to be reminded that God has glorious plans for us--no matter how it might look right now--and He will get us from here to there. "'For I know the plans, I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jer.29:11)
And here we were, up in the rafters, eating cotton candy and hot dogs and having a big time with my wonderful sister Jane (Janie's namesake!)--
But this little moment was God's postcard, reminding me that each moment of our brief journey on this planet is to be noticed, treasured, and entrusted to the hands of the One who loves us infinitely and perfectly. And He will get us through to the other side of our every moment--good and bad.
Some moments will be hard and long and mystifying. Others hopeful and joyous and magical. But every moment is a gift from His hand, a gem to be savored, and an opportunity to trust even when we cannot fully understand.
If you are in the midst of a storm right now, hang on and know that the One who led you in, will lead you out again. Never doubt that there are good and glorious moments ahead...He's promised. And not one of His promises has ever failed.
To God be the glory.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Lay it down
O how I wish I'd had my cell phone with me to capture the moment.
By the way, this is, once again, about Bingley. Sorry, but what can I say? Just as God coaches and reveals Himself to us through our children--far more than we train them, I might add--right now the good Lord keeps teaching me through our little black lab puppy. Our Heavenly Father uses all kinds of things, doesn't He, to come alongside us, His sometimes slow, thick-headed learners.
(The sticks Bingley brought home from our walks just the last couple of days. If I kept them from every walk, we could build a massive log cabin.)
So back to the moment. It was--where else?--on the greenway. Bingley, the consummate stick aficionado, found the ultimate--and I mean ultimate--stick. Or maybe I should call it a branch. Well, maybe a log. Here he is, running freely and happily, sniffing and darting and generally having a big old time…until he's simply got to pick up and carry this thick, heavy, long branch.
"Bingley," I yelled, "that's simply too much. Drop that stick!"
All to no avail. Bingley insisted on dragging that log down the greenway…only now he wasn't running and skipping. He was just barely trudging along. Doggedly (no pun intended) and determinedly, he kept on dragging it slowly down the path. His head was tilted straight up in the air--the only way he could heft all that bulk off the ground. His neck was wrenched uncomfortably around to the right, pulled by the weight of his burden. But, boy, he kept going…determined to carry his unwieldy load all the way home.
But after a minute or two, he starting crying. Seriously, he looked at me with dejected eyes--even while still trudging along--and started whimpering. Such a sad, pathetic sound. I could almost hear him whisper, "This is too much."
And I simply looked at him and said, "Bingley, drop it! Lay that down!"
Lay that burden down.
That's what immediately came to mind--almost as if the Lord was speaking right then. Compassionately, lovingly, but strongly commanding us to lay our burdens down.
For that's why He came--to bear our burdens. The burden of our sin. The burden of our shame. The burden of our worry. The burden of our failures. The burden of all our "what if's" and "why didn't I's" and "they shouldn't have's" and "if only I could do it over again's" and "that can't be forgiven's." All the terrible, depressing, joy-stealing, strength-sapping burdens we try to shoulder.
And here's what He would say to you, to me. "Lay it down. Lay that burden down. Let me carry it for you, my child, so that you might live the abundant, joyful, eternal life I died to give you."
Lay that burden down. "Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." (I Pet.5:7)
Lay that burden down. "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." (Ps.55:22)
Lay that burden down. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Phil.4:6)
Lay that burden down. "And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil.4:19)
Lay that burden down. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt.11:28-30)
No one told you to pick it up, did they? No one commanded you to carry it…weighing you down like an albatross about your neck. The unbearable weight of all that bitterness. That fretting. That refusal to forgive--not just others, but yourself. That selfishness and pride. That stifling worry. That strangling regret.
Lay
that
burden
down.
And when you forget…or your faith stumbles…or your flesh fails and you pick up that ugly old burden again, just go back to the Savior. Go back to the cross and lay it down again…and…again...and again at His nail pierced feet. He bids you come, hand it to Him and find rest and refreshment and redemption.
"Here it is, once more, Lord Jesus. It's too much for me…but it's not mine to carry. I give it to You. Thank You for always bearing our every burden…and bearing it in the victory You won at the cross. And thank You for the divine exchange. We hand You our sins; You give us Your salvation. We hand You our failures; You give us Your forgiveness. We hand You our burdens--You give us Your rest, Your peace, Your joy, Your hope."
But we have to choose to lay those burdens down.
And Mr. Bingley? Well, he listened to my command. He lay that unbearable burden down…and ran happily down the path. Joyfully sniffing and jumping and trotting and barking as God meant him to do. As God created him to do.
Might we this day lay our burdens down...and discover the freedom, grace, and joy only Christ can give. He's waiting.
To God be the glory.
By the way, this is, once again, about Bingley. Sorry, but what can I say? Just as God coaches and reveals Himself to us through our children--far more than we train them, I might add--right now the good Lord keeps teaching me through our little black lab puppy. Our Heavenly Father uses all kinds of things, doesn't He, to come alongside us, His sometimes slow, thick-headed learners.
So back to the moment. It was--where else?--on the greenway. Bingley, the consummate stick aficionado, found the ultimate--and I mean ultimate--stick. Or maybe I should call it a branch. Well, maybe a log. Here he is, running freely and happily, sniffing and darting and generally having a big old time…until he's simply got to pick up and carry this thick, heavy, long branch.
"Bingley," I yelled, "that's simply too much. Drop that stick!"
All to no avail. Bingley insisted on dragging that log down the greenway…only now he wasn't running and skipping. He was just barely trudging along. Doggedly (no pun intended) and determinedly, he kept on dragging it slowly down the path. His head was tilted straight up in the air--the only way he could heft all that bulk off the ground. His neck was wrenched uncomfortably around to the right, pulled by the weight of his burden. But, boy, he kept going…determined to carry his unwieldy load all the way home.
But after a minute or two, he starting crying. Seriously, he looked at me with dejected eyes--even while still trudging along--and started whimpering. Such a sad, pathetic sound. I could almost hear him whisper, "This is too much."
And I simply looked at him and said, "Bingley, drop it! Lay that down!"
Lay that burden down.
That's what immediately came to mind--almost as if the Lord was speaking right then. Compassionately, lovingly, but strongly commanding us to lay our burdens down.
For that's why He came--to bear our burdens. The burden of our sin. The burden of our shame. The burden of our worry. The burden of our failures. The burden of all our "what if's" and "why didn't I's" and "they shouldn't have's" and "if only I could do it over again's" and "that can't be forgiven's." All the terrible, depressing, joy-stealing, strength-sapping burdens we try to shoulder.
And here's what He would say to you, to me. "Lay it down. Lay that burden down. Let me carry it for you, my child, so that you might live the abundant, joyful, eternal life I died to give you."
Lay that burden down. "Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." (I Pet.5:7)
Lay that burden down. "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." (Ps.55:22)
Lay that burden down. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Phil.4:6)
Lay that burden down. "And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil.4:19)
Lay that burden down. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt.11:28-30)
No one told you to pick it up, did they? No one commanded you to carry it…weighing you down like an albatross about your neck. The unbearable weight of all that bitterness. That fretting. That refusal to forgive--not just others, but yourself. That selfishness and pride. That stifling worry. That strangling regret.
Lay
that
burden
down.
And when you forget…or your faith stumbles…or your flesh fails and you pick up that ugly old burden again, just go back to the Savior. Go back to the cross and lay it down again…and…again...and again at His nail pierced feet. He bids you come, hand it to Him and find rest and refreshment and redemption.
"Here it is, once more, Lord Jesus. It's too much for me…but it's not mine to carry. I give it to You. Thank You for always bearing our every burden…and bearing it in the victory You won at the cross. And thank You for the divine exchange. We hand You our sins; You give us Your salvation. We hand You our failures; You give us Your forgiveness. We hand You our burdens--You give us Your rest, Your peace, Your joy, Your hope."
But we have to choose to lay those burdens down.
And Mr. Bingley? Well, he listened to my command. He lay that unbearable burden down…and ran happily down the path. Joyfully sniffing and jumping and trotting and barking as God meant him to do. As God created him to do.
Might we this day lay our burdens down...and discover the freedom, grace, and joy only Christ can give. He's waiting.
To God be the glory.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Reminders to rejoice and return!
Sometimes you just have to remind yourself of what you already know--
That God loves you with an everlasting love and wants you to have His best (Rom.8:32, 38-9).
That He is always, always, always enough (Ps.23:1)
That God's grace is forever and always sufficient for our every need (2Cor.12:9)
That God and His Word can be fully trusted (Isa.28:16)
That He makes no mistakes...no, not ever! (Isa.46:10)
(and so much more...thank You, Father, for the incredible, infinite riches we possess in Christ!)
I've been marinating in the wondrous book of Philippians. Honestly, I think I could read and reread this little treasure and never begin to exhaust it's great, satisfying, and life-changing truths! So just a couple of it's gems for a little weekend thought:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice." (Phil.4:4) Paul repeats this admonition again and again throughout this book--rejoice in the Lord! Why all this repetition?--so many times in four brief chapters. Geez, don't you think we've got the message, Paul?
No! We need to hear it over and over! Here's what, just perhaps, Paul might have been contemplating as he wrote and rewrote those words: "I know you will forget. Because that's what we humans tend to do. Yes, we know...but then in the muck and mire and daily grind of life, we forget. We forget what we know, and when we forget, we flounder and fall. So let me remind you again...and again to daily, hourly, make the choice to rejoice. It won't come naturally--not often, anyway--so choose now to rejoice. And then in an hour, when perhaps the bottom has dropped out of your hopes or your plans, make the choice to rejoice again.
Rejoice not in your ideal circumstances. Rejoice not in perfect children or perfect marriages or perfect grades in school or perfect homes or perfect anything! Nope, on this earth there's no perfect anything...save the perfect Savior. So, instead, make the choice to rejoice in your ever-faithful, ever-loving, ever-forgiving, ever-redeeming Lord."
So let's do it. Let's don't just write it down as a nice idea. Or a noble goal. Let's simply choose to do it. Starting now--no matter how messy your house or your life is, no matter how many reasons you can think of for discouragement or even despair, no matter how overly busy--or terribly lonely--you might feel, let's make the choice to rejoice in the Lord. Let's dare to obey Him and His Word and watch what He will do. What He will do in us and through us when we choose to obey that one simple, little command to rejoice in the Lord.
Even Mr. Bingley needed a little reminder last night! We all need reminding, don't we? He was feeling pretty low after being severely reprimanded for a new project he had taken on--reworking the straw seats on our kitchen chairs--
(This picture doesn't begin to do his handiwork justice. The whole floor was covered with straw from his determined chewing of a number of the kitchen chairs.)
Yep, Bingley felt pretty ashamed of himself in the aftermath of his chewing extravaganza--
Here's how this went down: My husband, Richard texted me while I was at a basketball game with our boys. It read: "I had to spank Bingley. I left the mess so you could see it and so he will know it was a bad thing. He feels very badly and I am holding him now to reassure him that I still love him."
I had to laugh. Couldn't even muster up any anger over the kitchen chairs, since I could see Bingley's obvious remorse. After all, I love that little guy a lot more than a couple of rickety, old wooden chairs. And I couldn't help but get tickled over how quickly my husband replaced disciplining with devotion. Richard couldn't stay mad long...not even for a few minutes!
And I just thought--isn't that just the way God is with us? Ever ready to forgive us, hold us, lavish us with His love and remind us that, after all, we--warts and all--are the apple of His eye. He's not mad at us...He loves us with an everlasting love. His is a love that died for us. Oh, if only we could get that through out thick skulls!
And so He tells us to start afresh. Start now. Confess the mess up, repent and come to the One who died for all those mistakes and missed opportunities...and then move on, press on, to swim in the river of His grace. "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil.3:13-14)
So today, thank You Lord, for reminding us of Your great truths again and again. Thank You for the glorious and joy-filling command to rejoice in You. Help us to make the choice to rejoice. Finally, Father, thank You for the priceless gift of forgiveness and grace and fresh starts. All free to us...but so terribly costly to You. Might we return to You--diving in--and swim and splash this day in the refreshing, restoring river of Your grace.
To God be the glory.
That God loves you with an everlasting love and wants you to have His best (Rom.8:32, 38-9).
That He is always, always, always enough (Ps.23:1)
That God's grace is forever and always sufficient for our every need (2Cor.12:9)
That God and His Word can be fully trusted (Isa.28:16)
That He makes no mistakes...no, not ever! (Isa.46:10)
(and so much more...thank You, Father, for the incredible, infinite riches we possess in Christ!)
I've been marinating in the wondrous book of Philippians. Honestly, I think I could read and reread this little treasure and never begin to exhaust it's great, satisfying, and life-changing truths! So just a couple of it's gems for a little weekend thought:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice." (Phil.4:4) Paul repeats this admonition again and again throughout this book--rejoice in the Lord! Why all this repetition?--so many times in four brief chapters. Geez, don't you think we've got the message, Paul?
No! We need to hear it over and over! Here's what, just perhaps, Paul might have been contemplating as he wrote and rewrote those words: "I know you will forget. Because that's what we humans tend to do. Yes, we know...but then in the muck and mire and daily grind of life, we forget. We forget what we know, and when we forget, we flounder and fall. So let me remind you again...and again to daily, hourly, make the choice to rejoice. It won't come naturally--not often, anyway--so choose now to rejoice. And then in an hour, when perhaps the bottom has dropped out of your hopes or your plans, make the choice to rejoice again.
Rejoice not in your ideal circumstances. Rejoice not in perfect children or perfect marriages or perfect grades in school or perfect homes or perfect anything! Nope, on this earth there's no perfect anything...save the perfect Savior. So, instead, make the choice to rejoice in your ever-faithful, ever-loving, ever-forgiving, ever-redeeming Lord."
So let's do it. Let's don't just write it down as a nice idea. Or a noble goal. Let's simply choose to do it. Starting now--no matter how messy your house or your life is, no matter how many reasons you can think of for discouragement or even despair, no matter how overly busy--or terribly lonely--you might feel, let's make the choice to rejoice in the Lord. Let's dare to obey Him and His Word and watch what He will do. What He will do in us and through us when we choose to obey that one simple, little command to rejoice in the Lord.
Even Mr. Bingley needed a little reminder last night! We all need reminding, don't we? He was feeling pretty low after being severely reprimanded for a new project he had taken on--reworking the straw seats on our kitchen chairs--
Yep, Bingley felt pretty ashamed of himself in the aftermath of his chewing extravaganza--
Here's how this went down: My husband, Richard texted me while I was at a basketball game with our boys. It read: "I had to spank Bingley. I left the mess so you could see it and so he will know it was a bad thing. He feels very badly and I am holding him now to reassure him that I still love him."
I had to laugh. Couldn't even muster up any anger over the kitchen chairs, since I could see Bingley's obvious remorse. After all, I love that little guy a lot more than a couple of rickety, old wooden chairs. And I couldn't help but get tickled over how quickly my husband replaced disciplining with devotion. Richard couldn't stay mad long...not even for a few minutes!
And I just thought--isn't that just the way God is with us? Ever ready to forgive us, hold us, lavish us with His love and remind us that, after all, we--warts and all--are the apple of His eye. He's not mad at us...He loves us with an everlasting love. His is a love that died for us. Oh, if only we could get that through out thick skulls!
And so He tells us to start afresh. Start now. Confess the mess up, repent and come to the One who died for all those mistakes and missed opportunities...and then move on, press on, to swim in the river of His grace. "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil.3:13-14)
So today, thank You Lord, for reminding us of Your great truths again and again. Thank You for the glorious and joy-filling command to rejoice in You. Help us to make the choice to rejoice. Finally, Father, thank You for the priceless gift of forgiveness and grace and fresh starts. All free to us...but so terribly costly to You. Might we return to You--diving in--and swim and splash this day in the refreshing, restoring river of Your grace.
To God be the glory.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)