Monday cleansing and grace

       Sunset last evening.  Wow.  God quietly painting His beautiful peace over the skies.  I couldn't help but think of the words from a great old hymn: "Even so, it is well with my soul."
       Yes, Lord, because of what Christ did for me on the cross, it is well with my soul.
       And so it is with all who love You and are called according to Your purpose...magnificently well.        Not because of ideal circumstances or perfect health or enormous bank accounts or tremendous intelligence or great beauty or amazing success or stellar reputations or Southern Living homes.
       Nope, none of that razzle dazzle the world applauds brings us ultimate peace, true contentment, and lasting joy.  It's Christ in me, the hope of glory (Col.1:27)  It's His gift of salvation purchased for us upon the cross--"But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed." (Isa.53:5)
       Christ is our righteousness.  He is our grace.  He is our forgiveness.  He is our peace.  He is our hope.  He is our joy.  He is our glory.
       Forgive us, Father, for how quickly our gratitude fades for all that Christ does for us and through us.  Forgive us for how easily we slide into indifference...grumbling and complaining...shallow materialism...empty vanity.
       Today is Monday of Holy Week.  On this day the Lord Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree and cleansed the Jerusalem temple of the greedy money changers.  As He defended the honor of His Father's house, Jesus declared, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." (Mt.21:13)
       And I'm thinking--Show me, Jesus.  Please reveal to me those places where I'm like that barren fig tree--all wordy profession but no true fruit.  And please put Your righteous, but gracious finger, upon those ugly sins in my life--whether of commission or omission, of thought, word, or attitude.  I don't want to be like those money changers--all smoke and mirrors but hiding a sin-darkened and selfish heart.
       In Your mercy, forgive me, Lord.  Help my actions and attitudes, my mouth and mind, to line up with what I say I believe and with Your perfect, beautiful Truth.  I ask this boldly, Father, not because of anything I've done or deserve, but solely based upon the blood-bought grace of my Savior, Jesus Christ. 
       On this Monday of Holy Week, might we all look to our hearts and confess those areas where we have fallen short of the glory of God.  Ask for forgiveness, repent, and then bathe in the glorious, spacious grace of your Savior.  For in His grace is the peace, joy, contentment, and love your soul craves.  In Him and by His grace, you will find that it is, indeed, "well with my soul."  So, so well.
       As the old Puritan prayer puts it,
           "If I sin willfully, grievously, tormentedly,
            in grace take away my mourning and give me music;
            remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty;
            still my sighs and fill my mouth with a song,
            then give me summer weather as a Christian."
      Amen, Lord, amen!  Thank You for the cross.  Thank You for forgiveness.  Thank You for Jesus.
      Thank You for Monday cleansing and grace.    
      To God be the glory.
       

Palm Sunday Hosannas!

       Palm Sunday.  The first day of Holy Week, a time for remembering...for reflection...and ultimately for rejoicing that our King has come.  He has come for us and for our redemption.
       On this Palm Sunday we recall Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt while the Passover crowds yelled their joyful "Hosannas"--
       "Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once.'  This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying, 'Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'  The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.  They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on them.  Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him were shouting 'Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!' And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, 'Who is this?'" (Matt.21:1-10)
      Yet we all know that many of these very folks shouting "Hosanna," would in a few short days, be hollering "Crucify Him!"  

      Christ was not quite who they had in mind--the conquering, thundering Messiah.  And Jesus didn't quite do what they desired--defeat their Roman oppressors.  And so they turned on Him. Their joyful Hosannas changed into jeers and hatred.  And why?  Because Jesus had confused them, disappointed them, and failed to meet their superficial expectations for a rescuer of their nation.  
       Ah, but He had come for so, so much more.  He came to rescue not just their nation, but the nations of the world.  He came not just to conquer their enemy of Rome, but to annihilate and destroy all mankind's ultimate enemy of sin and death.  He came not to free them from Roman oppression, but to liberate all who are enslaved by fear, pride, shame, sinful habits, destructive addictions.  
       Jesus came not just to win a skirmish or two...but to victoriously and completely win the War.            But wars can be long, protracted affairs where victory is never secured after a battle...or two..or three. No, wars slog along with battles won here and lost there.  With ground gained and lost.  With successes achieved and failures suffered.  Until finally, finally the ultimate victory is won.       
      So the question is--are we willing to wait out the war--that is, willing to trust Him in the midst of all the battles as we anticipate His final, ultimate victory?  Will we trust Him in that gap between our hopes and our disappointments?  When we can't fully understand what He's up to, will we continue to praise Him with our Hosannas or will we degenerate into "Crucify Him?" 
      As I contemplate this Palm Sunday, I couldn't help but ask myself: what would I have been shouting?  Oh Father, forgive me for how often I'm unwilling to wait and to trust in those gaps when I don't see or understand what You are doing.  Forgive us, Lord, when our praises too quickly turn into complaining, whining, and doubting. 
       For You are always moving, working, transforming, restoring, and redeeming.  Even in the disappointments...and the waiting...and the wondering.  So we place our trust in You.  Eternal Hosannas to our King!  To God be the glory.

Taste and see!

       This is a little taste of heaven.  Crooks Mt. Airy Chocolate Soufflé cake.
       There are no words...but when has that ever stopped me?
       Seriously,  I could end this blog right here, right now, while we contemplate the glories of chocolate cake in all it's varied, wondrous forms....
       Nah.  Since happiness shared is doubled, why don't about we rejoice together for a moment or two over the gift of chocolate cake.  Because, honestly, I don't think I've ever met a piece of chocolate cake I didn't like...well, okay, love.
       So while we're contemplating this happy and endlessly fascinating subject, let me tell you about the latest installment in chocolate cake nirvana.  The other day I came home after to Bible study to find two mighty sweet and encouraging things--sweet Mr.Bingley (you can't beat a dog for the joyous welcome they give you every time you walk through the door!) and a piece of chocolate cake from my wonderful friend, Pamela.  She has so many gifts, but one of her many is the gift of encouragement.  She's an endlessly thoughtful and relentless encourager.  Thank You Lord for such friends!
       Where was I?  Oh yes, the cake...Crooks, your Mt. Airy cake has a serious rival!  I wish I had a picture of Pamela's cake, as it was lovely to behold...but it didn't last long enough for me to get out the camera.  So just trust me on this--it was a slice of happiness on a plate.
       Can I just say that when God made chocolate, He surely could have declared that "it was very, very, very good."
       And then, you just gotta love this:  Pamela's note included a quote from Julia Child--who obviously was one extraordinarily bright woman.  Here's how I know that: Julia declared that "A meal without cake is just a meeting."  Amen!--my thoughts exactly.
       If you're wondering where on earth I'm going with this, I have just two comments.  First, what a reminder that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17)              
      Bottom line--it's all, all, all due to the mercy, goodness, and grace of our ever-faithful, infinitely glorious God.  Whether its's chocolate cake, good health, dear friends, beautiful sunsets, steaming tea, warm sun, or fun ball games it's all from Him, by Him. Let the joy or the beauty or the flavor all point you back to the glorious Source and Creator.  All the gifts reflect the Giver, and the Giver is the ultimate and perfect Prize.
       Be grateful for the gifts...but treasure the Giver.
       Secondly, cake always reminds me of one of my favorite verses: "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." (Ps.34:8)  Taste.  Taste means get in there and take a bite, eat, enjoy.  Don't just look at that cake. Taste it, savor it!
       Sure, food can look appetizing, but it won't do us a lick of good if we just stare at it.  If we want the nourishment, the vitamins, the strength that food can give us, we've got to taste and eat it.  And if we want to enjoy the flavors and textures--and if we want to savor the wonders of chocolate--we've got to take a bite!
       So taste and see, taste of discover how glorious and good and faithful our great God is!  That means digging into His Word and eating of His nourishing, satisfying, filling, fortifying words each day.  The prophet Jeremiah wrote that "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear Your name, Lord God Almighty." (Jer.15:16)
        Eating His words will bring you joy and will be your heart's delight. What are you waiting for?!
        And tasting of God's goodness also means talking with Him, trusting Him, walking with Him daily so we discover how good and great He is. The more we taste of God--spending time with Him in His Word, in worship, in prayer--the more we'll enjoy Him, savor Him, love Him.
       But we can't just glance at Him...we've got to taste.  We can't just look...we've got to eat.
      Yep, a meal without cake is just a meeting, and a day without tasting of God's goodness is just plain wearisome.  Might we this day taste and see how deliciously awesome, glorious, and ever-satisfying our great God is!
       To God be the glory.
     

The unseen work of God

       Yeah sure, it doesn't look like much.  But oh my, it is...and right outside our kitchen door!
        I'd just returned home after taking Peter to school and was preoccupied--thinking of all that needed to be done on a busy Monday.  Bingley ran ahead of me, dropping his stick in favor of a bigger one--we have quite the impressive collection, if you need any firewood, by the way.  When I glanced down to see his latest acquisition, I suddenly spotted these hopeful little sprouts of green poking up through the brown, barren soil of our pitiful looking garden.
        Who would've thought such a tiny, seemingly insignificant thing could deliver such a flash of joy?  I think C.S.Lewis calls it being "surprised by joy."  But it did.  Quite literally a bolt of joy that stopped me in my tracks.
       After all the waiting and waiting...thinking winter would never end; that numb fingers, frigid toes, heavy down coats, and monochromatic brown, barren gardens would seemingly be here forever...But no!  These first sprouts of spring remind us--it's coming!  "For lo the winter is past..." (Song of Sol.2:11)
        Yet here's the thing--it's been happening all along...just hidden from our eyes.  Just because we can't see something, doesn't mean it's not happening.  All those months of waiting, and just a few weeks back it looked all seemed so hopelessly far away.  Our garden--oh mercy, what a discouraging mess.  The trees--unforgivingly bare.  The greenway--ice, mud, brown (which, in case you haven't noticed, is not my favorite color).  Yuck.  The world seemed stuck in winter-neutral.
       We were all waiting...waiting...waiting.
       And it all reminded me once again, that as long we live on this planet, we will always be waiting on something.  Waiting to finish school.  Waiting to get married.  Waiting to have a child.  Waiting for the children to go to school.  Waiting on college admissions.  Waiting on a job.  Waiting on that medical test result. Waiting for restoration of a relationship.  Waiting and waiting.
       But while we wait, God works!
       Spring reminds us afresh--while you wait and think nothing is happening...something is happening.  Only you can't see it.
       A few weeks back, when the ground was frozen and brown, the trees bare, the landscape bleak, we all assumed we were stuck in winter and spring had decided to enjoy an extended vacation somewhere in south Florida. After all, that's all our eyes could see, right?  
Yet deep beneath the ground, roots were growing and preparing to send forth shoots of new life.  Buds were slowly forming within those barren-looking branches. Beneath that brown, lifeless surface that we could see, God was moving and working and bringing forth all kinds of new life in amazing ways we couldn’t see.
       And at just the right moment, after all our waiting when it appeared nothing was happening, suddenly bright green leaves, buds, sprouts begin to spring forth!  New life, new scents, new beauty are being birthed right before our eyes.  Yeah sure, now we can begin to see it.  But here’s the thing--God was working all along.  That new life was teeming just beneath the surface--only none of it was visible with our eyes.
        "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb.11:1)
        "So we fix our eyes not what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor.4:18) 
That’s exactly what the Lord is doing in your waiting times as well.  Almighty God is always moving and working behind the scenes in powerful ways you cannot see and do not imagine.   Even now, He is preparing a new song for you to sing and birthing new hopes. new plans, new dreams.
        While we wait, God works...and He is working and moving tirelessly and will not quit until that which He has begun in you has been completed.  All for your good.  All for His glory.
        So whatever waiting time you might feel yourself stuck in right now--trust Him. Trust Him.                 Trust that He is working. Trust that He is fulfilling His every promise. Trust that He will finish all that He's begun in you. Trust that nothing, nothing, nothing will thwart His perfect will for your life.
         Look to the signs of spring and be reminded that God was working and preparing rebirth in His world all along, even when you couldn't see it with your eyes.  And He is doing that very thing in your life as well.
        To God be the glory.      

Strengthen yourself in the Lord!

       Geez, another gray, rainy, dreary, and increasingly cold day.  How long, oh Lord?
       Now to be fair, yesterday was spectacular.  Warm, sunny, truly magnificent.  Thank You, Father.        Today, however, it's a whole different story...started off warm, but the temperature is dropping by the minute.  By tonight it will be in the 20's again...with more of that wintry mess falling. I can't even bring myself to name it!  Ugh, I sound like a whining meteorologist.  
       You know, I don't think this would be bothering me except that discouragement is dogging my heart right now.  Some challenges and difficulties, some disappointments and setbacks that have me jagged and worn. Yes, in the big scheme of things, they really are all minor little troubles, but still they are making me feel a bit like the way our garden looks right now--bare, brown, and dispirited.
       So here's my choice: Sit here focusing on all those little troubles that life's been throwing our way and wallow in discouragement (which, I must say, is mighty tempting), or choose to strengthen myself in the Lord.
       I can look to my circumstances or look to my Savior.
       I can grow increasingly discouraged by rehearsing my woes...or I can draw strength from the Word and Almighty God.
       That's what David did when he and his little rag tag group of buddies were fleeing from the mighty army of King Saul.  His city had been raided, all the women and children captured and carried away, and now his utterly distraught and bitter friends were ready to stone him.  A pretty dire situation.
       So what did David do?  Glad you asked: "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." (I Sam.30:6)
       And that made all the difference...not just for David but for everyone around him.  One man chose to strengthen himself in the Lord and then act based not upon his feelings but upon his faith in the One who had strengthened him.  And the result of David's choice was quite literally that everything turned around for him and for his men.  Which tells me that choosing to strengthen yourself in the Lord rather than giving in to despair or cynicism or frustration is both powerfully transformative and contagious.
        The prophet Jeremiah did the same thing.  He wrote at a particularly low, dark point in his life: "My soul is downcast within me.  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning." (Lam.3:20-23)  Now that's a mighty good word. Thank You, Father.  I so needed to hear that.
       How about one more. Hope you'll forgive me paraphrasing this one a bit (and feel free to do the same for yourself!).  From 2 Cor.4:16-18--
       "Therefore, Lord, I will NOT lose heart.  Though outwardly we are all wasting away [ain't that the truth?], yet inwardly, praise God, we are being renewed and and revived each and every day.  For our light and momentary troubles--from broken foot struggles to school struggles to life's general struggles that are common to man--are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory [Wow!] that far, far, far outweighs them all.  So no matter what I'm feeling, I'm gonna  fix my eyes--choose to turn my focus hour by hour, moment by moment, beginning right this minute--not on what I can see and feel but on what is unseen.  Because what I see is temporary and ultimately won't matter a hill of beans, but all that is unseen is what God is powerfully and perfectly doing right now and it is eternal, glorious, and what really, really matters."
       Sometimes you need to put on your hundred year glasses and ask yourself: will I be worried about this in a hundred years?  Will this be troubling me in a hundred years?
       I think not.  Nope, not in glory.  Rather, in heaven all that is now unseen will be gloriously seen and realized and beautiful.
       So thank You, Father, for reminding me of what's real, what's true, what's right, and what's eternal.  Thank You for strengthening and reviving me.  Your mercies truly are new every morning.          And Abba, I pray that if there is someone reading these words right now who is feeling discouraged and downhearted, might they, too, be encouraged to strengthen themselves in You and Your Word.  Your Word of Life.  Renew and revive them, Father, as they focus their eyes upon You and fix their hope not in their circumstances but upon You, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
       To God be the glory.
     

"The rest is not our business"

       A cold, grey, drizzly day outside...but warm here by the fire.  Thank You, Father.  Spring is coming.  Spring is coming.  Winter's trying her best to hold out to the bitter end, but God's gift of rebirth, renewal, and resurrection is coming.
       Just thought I would share something I read recently that really stuck with me.  I think we need to be reminded--and not just every now and then but continuously--of the indefatigable Hope we have in Christ.  Because, as John Piper once said, we "leak."  Even after spending time with the Lord in the early morning, as soon as the day hits, we begin to leak--leak joy...leak energy...leak patience...leak love...leak grace.
       And because we leak, we all need to be continually reminded especially of two things: Who is in control--the Lord who is working all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Rom.8:28).  And Whose we are--we are sons and daughters of the King. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  That's our Abba, our Daddy, who loves us infinitely and who does all, all, all things well.
       Just in case you've been leaking a bit this dreary afternoon, can I be the one to remind you--God's on the throne and He's got you and He's got your loved ones and He's got this whole, crazy world in His omnipotent, nail-scarred hands.  And I don't care how it looks right now, God will win the war.  Spring will come.  Hope will prevail.  Because Christ has risen, we can know victory is assured.
      I loved these words from the late Richard John Newhouse: "But we have not the right to despair for despair is a sin. And we have not the reason to despair, quite simply Christ has risen...Optimism is not a Christian virtue. Optimism is simply a matter of optics, of seeing what you want to see and opting not to see what you don't want to see.
We are hopeful, filled with hope, which is a very different thing. Hope is a virtue of having looked unblinkingly into all the reasons for despair, into all of the reasons that would seem to falsify hope, and to say, 'Nonetheless Christ is Lord. Nonetheless this is the story of the world. Nonetheless this is a story to which I will surrender myself day by day.' Not simply on one altar call, but as the entirety of one's life, in which every day is a laying of your life on the altar of the Lord Jesus Christ being offered up in perfect sacrifice to the Father.
       And will we overcome? Will we prevail? We have overcome and have prevailed ultimately because He has overcome and He has prevailed. There are days in which you and I get discouraged. On those days I tell myself — I suppose almost every day I tell myself, sometimes several times a day — those marvelous lines from T. S. Eliot's "East Coker," where Eliot says, 'For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.'

        For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business. Some people read those lines as lines of resignation, kind of shrugging your shoulders and saying, "What can you do?" But I read them as lines of vibrant hope. The rest is not our business. The rest is God's business.  Thank God, we are not God. Thank God, God is God." 

       Amen.  Thank You Father that You simply call us to try and to walk each day with You, as best we can.  Yes, often times faltering, sometimes failing, to be sure. But with our eyes on You and our hearts grateful for Your never-failing, always sufficient grace.  Thank You that "the rest is not our business"--but it is Yours.  And You've so totally, perfectly got it.
       To God be the glory.
     

   

Winter must give way

       Another day of winter.  Sigh.
       Freezing rain.  Grey, foreboding skies.  Wetness and cold that seeps down to your very bones.  Father, I am so tired of this.  I'm so weary with winter.
       Just this morning, I shoved on my way over-used snow boots yet again, put on multiple layers in a futile attempt to keep my old bones warm, and drudged down to the snowy, icy greenway with Mr. Bingley.  As usual, he seemed to delight in the freezing rain, miserably cold temperatures and mud.  Oh my, so much mud interspersed between snow, ice and a few patches of pavement peeking through.
       For the record, the greenway was definitely NOT beautiful this morning.  In fact, as I gingerly walked along, trying desperately not to hit an icy patch and wipe out, I looked around and thought--this looks horrible.  Seriously.  Dark, soaking wet, dirty snow, muddy, bare pathetic-looking trees, branches strewn everywhere.  Lord, I silently prayed, we can't stand this much longer.  We are all so weary of winter.  The world just seems so depressingly dark, cold, and messy.
       And it suddenly hit me.  One day--even in the not too distant future--we will be walking along that same greenway and green will be everywhere.  Those muddy, ugly fields will be sprouting with bright yellow dandelions--creating a beautiful carpet of happy color.  The trees will be dancing in the breezes, clothed with that lovely new spring green color that speaks of rebirth.  The scents of spring will waft upon the air.
        This will happen. Spring will come.
        Winter will have to give way to God's inevitable gift of spring...and new life...and fresh hope.  I walked along, cold and wet, surrounded by bleakness, yet suddenly buoyed by the clear knowledge and certain hope that this deadness all around me was passing away.  Every bit of it would one day soon be gone.  Warmth and Easter and resurrection were coming.  Spring is coming, despite how it appears today.
       Sure, I couldn't see it yet...but I knew, I absolutely knew--it's coming.  "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb.11:1)  Just because we cannot see the evidences of spring, doesn't mean that they are not sure and absolute reality.  Sometimes the truest, realest things in life are those things we cannot see.  Love.  Hope.  Joy.  Kindness.  Faith.
       And I thought of something I read from Beth Moore: "This may be the worst winter of your life, but make no mistake, your Spring is coming and that cold dead ground beneath your feet will sprout."         Yes, yes it will.  Because God is more powerful than your greatest fear, your deepest pit, your hardest sorrow.  He is the Resurrection and the Life.  (John 11:25)  Our most intractable enemies of sin and death have already been decimated at the cross.  Jesus has won the victory on your behalf.
       So make no mistake about it--spring is coming.
       No matter what might be going on in your world right now, be encouraged in the certain hope and sure conviction that Jesus has won and will win the victory.  Aslan is on the move.  No matter how you feel or what you see, know that winter is receding, spring is coming, and rebirth and renewal will happen.  Hope will be revitalized.
       Even now, that cold dead ground is sprouting.  Praise God.  Thank You, Lord Jesus.
       To God be the glory.