Praise to the Lord who has carried us!

 "The LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this point." Deut.1:31

"Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you." Isa. 46:4

"Thus far the LORD has helped us." I Sam. 7:12

What wonderful verses from Daily Light to close this old year...this year full of both challenging burdens and yet also unexpected blessings. As I think back over this year, how apparent the Lord's sustaining care has been. He truly has "carried" us through some hard, dark places. I can remember many mornings where I wept as I read His beautiful life-giving Word and cried out to Him in prayer. And He was there--carrying, sustaining, encouraging, guiding. How I thank and praise Him for His tender care and grace.

But He also carried us through spacious places of joy and celebration,  New life, new dreams, new hopes. And it was all Him--"every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17) How can we not praise and thank Him who not only carries and sustains us through difficulty and sorrow, but who also blesses us with every good gift, large and small?  

Charles Spurgeon writes of these verses in Isaiah: "When we grow old, our God will still be the I AM, abiding evermore the same. Hoar hairs tell of our decay, but He decays not. When we cannot carry a burden and can hardly carry ourselves, the Lord will carry us. He made us, and He will care for us. When we become a burden to our friends and a burden to ourselves, the Lord will not shake us off, rather He will take us up and carry and deliver us more fully than ever. Let us not dread old age. Let us grow old graciously, since the Lord Himself is with us in fullness of grace." 

I still have a little black rock that my dear friend, Beth Page, gave us ten years ago when Janie was unconscious in the hospital. Beth had written on it the words of I Sam.7:12, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." What a reminder of God's faithfulness and sustaining care--not just in that frightening time but in all the intervening days, months, and years since then. Oh how He has been faithful...and good...and true!  If He has "helped us thus far"--and He has!--He will continue to help us--and, of course, He will!  He always keeps all His promises!

I don't know what this new year holds for any of us. But I do know we are called not to fear but to faith, for our God has promised He will carry us through it all. We can look to 2023 with hopeful anticipation and joy, for He who has been so extraordinarily faithful to us this past year, does not change, so He will be faithful, forgiving, loving, sustaining, gracious, and mighty in the year ahead. His faithful love endures forever and ever. 

May you spend a few minutes pondering how God has carried you through this past year--with all its joys and sorrows, successes and setbacks--and then give Him praise and glory for His extraordinary faithfulness and goodness throughout 2022. Thank Him that "thus far He has helped" you. Then, look ahead to 2023 with hope and joy, knowing that He has so much more for you to see and experience of His faithfulness and goodness in the days ahead. For we know that, no matter what, the Lord will carry us all the way till He delivers us to our perfect, glorious heavenly home. 

To God, the forever faithful One, be all the glory. 

Fountain Christmas Letter 2022

 Merry Christmas from all the Fountains!  

“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”                                                   Charles Dickens,  A Christmas Carol

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-4,14) 

In this season, we celebrate the coming of that Word, of the Word, Jesus.  I will never get over the wonder of it all: that Almighty God would determine to redeem this broken planet by choosing to become one of us. That divinity, as Eugene Peterson expressed it in The Message,"became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood."  A tiny, helpless infant who was also the incarnate, infinite God. The long-promised, mighty Messiah who would save His people from their sins, yet born in a humble manger. Who can grasp that? Who can even begin to comprehend the wonder and glory of the incarnation?  Fully God and fully man. 

I did some research on—what else—google. Here are just a couple of facts to consider: 

-The nearest major galaxy is 2.5 million lights years away.

-One light year is equal to 5.88 trillion miles.

-Conservatively, our Milky Way galaxy has about 100 billion stars and could have as many as 400 billion stars. 

-We are only one of at least two trillion galaxies...and we're merely an average-sized galaxy. 

-There are likely ten times more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the earth (which, by the way, is estimated at 7.5 quintillion--contemplate that the next time you're building a sand castle). We're talking an unimaginable number of stars. 

Now ponder these verses: 

"He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names." (Ps.147:4) 

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." (Ps.19:1) 

“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Col.1:17

Think back to John 1:2—“All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” 

We share all this as a reminder of just who that baby born in the manger truly was and is.  As the apostle John reiterates, Jesus, Emmanuel, is also the omniscient and omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the universe. There is nothing that He cannot do. Nothing that He does not know. Nothing that can thwart His plans or His hand. If He can fashion such awesome enormity as we glimpse in the heavens, what are our problems to Him?  Sure, our difficulties and challenges can feel overwhelming and huge to us...but not to Him. Look at who He is and what He has done. He spoke the vast universe into being. He created every individual on the face of the earth. He knows and loves each of us, not merely collectively, but individually and intimately. And He chose to enter His own creation in order to redeem and save those He created and loved. He lived the perfect life none of us could live, died the death we each deserved for our sins, and rose again to new life so that we, too, might enjoy eternal, resurrection life.  

Be encouraged that whatever sorrows or setbacks you might be enduring right now, whatever difficulties or disappointments you might be facing, Jesus can handle it. All of it. Nothing is too big or too challenging for Him, the Word, through whom all things were made. And never forget, no darkness has, or will ever, overcome Him. He is the Light of the world. 

May your Christmas this year be filled with His unstoppable light and His unconquerable love.  Joy to the world, the Lord is come! 

Merry Christmas and much love,  All the Fountains

(p.s. In case you are interested in a brief update on our crew, here it is below:                   Mary Norris and Matt Tilmes live in Charlotte and welcomed Eleanor Jane (Ella) on November 23, 2021. She joins big sister, Emily, who is now three years old. Needless to say, they are our joy and delight, and grand-parenting truly cannot be oversold. It is the best!  Casey and Richard, who also live in Charlotte, are expecting their first baby in March, and we're all mighty excited!  Janie really enjoys working and living in, where else, Charlotte!  What can I say? I can't get anyone to move to Raleigh despite my relentless Chamber of Commerce-worthy plugs for our city. But it's always pure joy to go to Charlotte and get to see grand-babies and three of our five children. So for the record, the "Queen City" is growing on us! Preyer lives in Washington, D.C. and will be marrying Maddie Grace Hough in March.  We are all thrilled!  Finally, Peter, a junior at UNC-CH, continues to love being at Carolina and playing golf for the Tar Heels. Go Heels! We're also incredibly thankful that all my siblings and their spouses, as well as Richard's 94 year old daddy (who is remarkable!), are all doing well. It's always such a gift to be with them! Oh, and we can't forget our beloved lab, Mr. Bingley (who, despite his incredible good looks, inexplicably failed to make the card this year. A major faux pas).  Bingley continues to love hauling huge sticks down the greenway, chasing after deer, and having any of the children come home. Merry Christmas!)

Morning--the gate of the day

 

 "Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go for to You, I lift up my soul." Ps.143:8

"The morning is the gate of the day, and should be well guarded with prayer. It is one end of the thread on which the day's actions are strung, and should be well knotted with devotion. It we felt more the majesty of life we should be more careful of its mornings. He who rushes from his bed to his business and without worship is as foolish as though he had not put on his clothes, or washed his face, and as unwise as though he had dashed into battle without arms or armor."  Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"We are silent in the early hours of each day, because God is supposed to have the first word, and we are silent before going to sleep, because to God also belongs the last word. We are silent solely for the sake of the word, not in order to show dishonor to the word but in order to honor and receive it properly. Silence ultimately means nothing but waiting for God's word and coming away blessed by God's word...Silence before the word, however, will have its effect on the whole day."  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

How I love the early mornings! Now granted, I'm a "morning person," but all of us have the choice what we will do with our mornings upon first awakening. Will we waste those early, quiet minutes with busyness and chores? Will we fritter away those precious moments in mindless scrolling?  Will we fill them up with noise--the noise of TV's or phones or computers? I've always loved (and been convicted by) C.S. Lewis' quote in Screwtape Letters, where the "senior demon" Screwtape advises his mignon, Wormwood, on the great value of nonstop noise to distract and drive humans away from God:

 "Music and silence–how I detest them both!….[Hell] has been occupied by Noise–Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile–Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end….The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end."

During these pre-dawn mornings during Advent, in particular, I've been encouraged afresh of the wonder and beauty of our Savior. Of the life-giving, attitude-altering, wisdom-filling importance of spending time each morning with Him first by reading His Word before any other reading or listening or "doing." Allowing Him to imprint our day with His Spirit and His Word rather than allowing the multitude of other voices overwhelm us. It really is true: what we read or hear first truly can have a profound effect on our whole day. 

On this third Sunday in Advent, might we be determined anew in this coming year to make His voice the first thing we listen to and heed each morning. Let Him and His Word imprint our days with hope, wisdom, and joy.  May we, like the psalmist, wait upon the Lord and put our hope in His Word. (Ps.130:5) 

To God be the glory.

First Day of Fall--Time for a Gratitude Reset!

Today is a day for a mini celebration, because...it's the first day of fall!  Today inaugurates what is surely one of the best seasons of the year--brisk refreshing air, brilliantly colored leaves, trick or treaters, Halloween blowups (which I now love because our granddaughter ADORES them), pumpkin anything and everything, pilgrims, thanksgiving, family gatherings...and on and on. 

Oh my, thank You, Lord, for the beauty and glory of autumn, and thank You for the gift of a season dedicated to being thankful. Don't we all need it? In a sense, fall provides us with a gratitude reset. In case we've grown complacent or callous or  plain old complaint-prone, here comes the time of year where we can and must purposely notice the wonder all around us and the grace showered upon us, and pause to give thanks to the Maker, the Giver, and the Sustainer of any and all good gifts in our lives and in our world.

But in honor of the start to this season of gratitude, here are a few thoughts on Psalm 103.  May this psalm jumpstart our praise and thanksgiving to our good and gracious Heavenly Father: 

We've just started reading Malachi for our Bible study. The prophet begins in ch.1 with the Lord’s declaration of “I have loved you.” Yet the people sneeringly respond, “How have you loved us?” What a picture of stunning ingratitude, insolence, and pride.  Think of all God had done for His chosen people, but it’s as if they’ve forgotten everything.  “What have you done for us lately,” they seem to demand. 

I can’t tell you how convicted I’ve been by their sinful attitude, especially their complete ingratitude for all the ways the Lord has blessed them so richly and undeservedly.  Because isn’t that just like us?  How quickly I can morph from worshiping to grumbling or from trusting faith to fearful anxiety.  As Paul David Tripp often says, I am all too often a victim of spiritual amnesia: forgetting WHO God is and what He has done for me.  Fixating only on what I lack rather than focusing on the stunning riches the Lord has graciously and undeservedly lavished on me in Christ!  Forgive me Lord!

But just the other day, I was reading a familiar but wonderful Psalm in my time with the Lord, and the Holy Spirit suddenly pierced my heart with the beauty and truth of God’s words and how they are an antidote for my/our monstrous ingratitude, selfishness and pride. I encourage you to take the first few verses of the psalm and ponder them. Personalize them. Pray them back to God.

“Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits"--what are some of His benefits?  His grace, His forgiveness, His love, His power, His mercy, His wisdom, His Word, His Holy Spirit…Innumerable benefits!  Thank You Lord!

“Who forgives all your iniquities”—name them!  My pride, my selfishness, my envy, my ingratitude, my worry... Name and confess those sins, and then remember, they are forgiven and forgotten because of Christ. 

“Who heals all your diseases”—How has He been healing you or those you love? Sure, write down the big ones: healing my friend Caroline, healing our daughter's brain injury, healing Allie Dyer's cancer. But also how about the countless times He’s healed our colds, our flus, our cuts and scrapes, our broken bones, our toothaches, our bouts with covid and on and on? Oh my, He truly is the Great Physician, but when was the last time you thanked Him for healing a headache or a bruise?  Thank Him!

“Who redeems your life from the pit”—praise You, Jesus, for healing our times of deep sorrow, discouragement, depression, anxiety, not to mention the greatest pit of all—redeeming us from all our sin and giving us eternal life! 

“Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy”—think about that.   Do we deserve His steadfast, never-ending, perfect love and mercy?  No, a thousand times no, but that’s what He showers upon us!

“Who satisfies you with good things’—Oh boy, I loved this one! Thank You Father for good food, for friends, for laughter, for hot baths, for big mugs of tea, for loyal dogs, for grand babies, for autumn’s beauty.  Thank You for the State Fair and exercise buddies and Bible study with wonderful women. Thank You for fall sprinkles on yummy pumpkin cake. Goodness, how about a hot shower?  When you took your shower this morning, did you pause to consider what an amazing, what a “good thing,” it is to have an abundance of clean, fresh water pouring over you with a mere turn of a handle…and you can enjoy that water as hot you’d like?  WOW! He satisfies us with SUCH good things!  So THANK HIM!

“So that your youth is renewed like an eagles.”  He does this for me every morning. I can’t tell you how many mornings, I've come to Him many a time feeling discouraged, frustrated, wearied, or plain old distracted. Yet lo and behold, He comes to me in His Word and in His astounding grace, He truly does renew my mind and restore my joy.  His mercies are, indeed, new every single morning!  I might start off feeling like a slug, but but by the end of my time with Him, I’m soaring like an eagle!  Because that’s who He is and what He does. He is the Great Renewer and Restorer!

So today, can I simply encourage you to go to God's Word this week—in particular go to Ps.103--and pray it back to Him. Thank Him. Delight in Him. Like the old song says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” 

What a Lord we have.  Might we all “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” To God be the glory.

 

As far as the east is from the west

 

"As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us." Ps.103:12

"He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19

As I sit here on the deck of our rented house, I gaze over the vastness of an ocean that stretches off into the horizon, far beyond not only my vision, but my imagination. I've always been a mountain girl, but goodness gracious, what a glorious gift the Lord has also given us in the beach and sea. What an extravagant, gift-giving Father we have. Thank You, Lord. 

But my thankfulness for the beauty of His creation pales today as I consider the boundless depths of His salvation. And sitting here on this deck, gazing at the pounding waves and reading a wonderful book by Levi Lusko (The Last Supper on the Moon), I am staggered to silent and tearful awe at the stunning gift Jesus' forgiveness on the cross. 

The first of Jesus' seven last statements on the cross was "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do." (Luke 22:34) As Levi points out, "The first time He spoke, it was to pray." In fact, three of His seven last statements were all prayer...meaning nearly half of His words at the very end of His life were praying to His Father. Is that how we begin our days? On the most horrific day in the history of mankind with the most momentous work ever to be accomplished riding on His bloody, beaten shoulders, Jesus prayed..and prayed.  Oh Father, help us to pray. Teach us to pray. Thank You for the gift of prayer.

But here's the thing--He didn't pray for Himself. I certainly would have. No, He prayed for those who had betrayed Him, beaten Him, tried Him, stripped Him,  shouted insults at Him, rejected Him, mocked Him. No, not just the soldiers...or Pilate...or Herod...or the screaming crowd. He prayed that God would forgive you, forgive me, as well. Forgive us of the monstrous, seemingly infinite load of sin and selfishness and pride and envy and ingratitude and gossip that we bear, but He took. Oftentimes we fail to see it. We paint our sins with muted colors of gray and sepia--all our excuses our rebranding (e.g. not gossip but giving helpful information, not selfishness but being my authentic self and on and on) our minimizing. 

But our sin really is that bad, that hideous. If you doubt that, look at the price that was paid for your forgiveness. Revisit the cross in all its horror, cruelty, injustice. And remember that on those crossbeams, we crucified Perfection Himself...perfect love, grace, joy, hope, forgiveness, justice. 

And remember, as Lusko points out--"At the cross, He was actually paying for what He was praying for."The only One who could truly pay for our forgiveness, also prayed for our forgiveness. In full. "It is finished."

"As far as the east is from the west. "

"Cast into the depths of the sea." 

So here's my question: if we have been forgiven of such an infinite, unfathomable amount, how on earth can we not forgive the relatively infinitesimal amount of sin against us?  I say this to my shame, because put me right up there with the best when it comes to holding onto unforgiveness when a person has hurt someone I love. Yeah sure, you can hurt me, but heaven help you if you hurt one of my loved ones! I can greedily clutch my forgiveness tighter to my heart than Scrooge with his beloved money (before his redemption!). "Nope, you devastated my child...my sister...my best friend. No forgiveness for you ever! As in NEVER!" 

News flash--wrong answer! 

Because here's the truth: as Jesus shared with Peter, we are to forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven! In other words, never ever, ever will you get to the end of the amount of times you are to forgive, because your Savior has forgiven you "as far as the east is from the west"--i.e. endless!  We are to forgive...and forgive...and forgive...again...and again...and again. Because that's what Jesus did for you, for me...literally to infinity and beyond.

So today, will you pause to truly consider the riches of the love of God that would go to such depths and heights to purchase your forgiveness. He offers you the treasure of infinite forgiveness and glorious grace. If you've never accepted this gift of all gifts, please do it today. Today is the day of salvations, and oh my what a wondrous day it will be!

And for all who are reading this, please take time right now to ponder anew the wonder, the stunning extent of Christ's forgiveness. The oceans depths cannot even begin to contain the breadth of His forgiveness. 

Thank You, thank You, thank You Lord Jesus. You are worthy of all praise and glory and honor. Please show each of us today where the infection of unforgiveness hides in the recesses of our heart. Help us to focus on Your cross, to fix our eyes on You so that as we remember all You have done for us, we will be enabled to forgive the relatively minuscule amount of offense against us. How dare we who have been forgiven so, so much, be unwilling to forgive so, so little. 

To God be the glory.

A new season...a new start...a reminder of old Truth!

 Happy summer!  Oh my, how I love the warmth, the pace, the beauty of summer.  Thank You Lord!  And with this new season, I'm also incredibly grateful for fresh starts--including getting back to this blog. Your mercies are new every morning, Father; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam.3:21-24--one of my very favorite passages).  Aren't you thankful we serve a God of second and third and fourth and on and on chances? 

In light of that, here is one of my very favorite quotes from Paul David Tripp. I love it, because I need this reminder every single day. I truly am a spiritual amnesiac. I know the Truth...but I forget...again and again.  And remembering--and remembering the Truth, not the lies the world or our own flesh feed us--is absolutely critical.  So here it is--

"We just never stop talking to ourselves. We never stop preaching some kind of gospel to ourselves. It's a gospel of aloneness, partiality, poverty, inability--of functional hopelessness--or it's the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of hope, mercy, forgiveness, rescue, love, transformation; of never being alone, of never being without help; of One who is near, of One who cares; of a beautiful forever awash in victory. We're always listening to what we're preaching. 

Today, what kind of gospel will you preach to you, and what effect will it have on how you live?"

Yes, we are all always talking and preaching to ourselves. James reminds us that there is great power in the tongue--our tongues can be used for great good or terrible evil. And this applies just as much to the way we speak to ourselves, our inner monologues, as it does to the way we speak to and about other people. 

Today, will you ask yourself: what kinds of words am I speaking to myself? What kind of gospel am I preaching?  Am I repeating the world's gospel of lies--the gospel of inadequacy and aloneness and hopelessness and fear?  Or am I rehearsing the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ--the gospel of redemption and steadfast love and grace and mercy and hope. His mercies are new every morning, noon, and evening. He is forever faithful and His steadfast love never, ever ceases or even diminishes. It's a new season and time for a new reminder to do what we know, but tend to forget.  So today, right now, let's be sure we're preaching the Truth to ourselves. His gospel is glorious, and it is gloriously good news for our hearts and our lives--let's preach it! 

To God be the glory. 

Maundy Thursday thoughts

"And He came the third time and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."

Maundy Thursday. It is Thursday of Holy Week, and finally, the hour has come. As David Mathis writes in his magnificent book, Rich Wounds, "All history hinges on this hour...His dying began long before this hour, but now in Gethsemane, He must face the death to self that comes before the death at Calvary. Never has a soul been in such anguish. Never has a human been so undeserving of death. Never has anyone else faced such horror: to be made sin on behalf of others--to put Himself forward in our place." 

Think of all the times Jesus has said, "My hour has not yet come"--because He awaited God's appointed time and plan for our salvation. A plan that would demand not just painful betrayal and abandonment, horrific suffering and death, but surely infinitely worse--that He, the perfect, sinless Lord would bear all sin, for all mankind, for all time. And He would, for the first time ever in uncreated time and history, be separated from perfect, loving, glorious fellowship with His Father. Instead, Jesus would bear God's full righteous wrath against all sin, all evil. Jesus bore that unbearable punishment for you, for me...for His hour had come. 

The hour of His ultimate suffering. Our hour of utterly undeserved salvation. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You for choosing to bear the unbearable in order to give us the unimaginably glorious gift of redemption and eternal life. 

There is so much to see on this day, this Maundy Thursday, that should make us fall to our knees and worship in stunned adoration. Might we all spend time today pondering all that happened on this day and then immediately lift it up to God in praise and worship. But as a tiny place to begin, here are just two--

First, one of the most stunning statements to me in Scripture occurs on the evening of this very day. We're told that after Jesus has revealed that one of his disciples will betray Him, after washing His disciples dirty feet, after sharing the last supper with them and giving them the bread and wine that symbolized His body and blood which He would shed for them (and us), we're told in Mark 14:26, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." 

Oh please don't miss this--in the midst of facing imminent horror and suffering beyond anything any of us ever have or ever will be able to imagine, Jesus joined His disciples in singing a hymn. How could He sing?  

Such defiant joy. Such trust in His Heavenly Father and His Father's plan. Such beauty in the midst of overwhelming ugliness. Singing because He saw the joy set before Him--completing His work of our redemption and bringing us to glory. He sang, because He loved us so much that He rejoiced in what His suffering, death and resurrection would accomplish--our presence with Him forever and ever. 

It's possible Jesus and the disciples were singing Psalm 118 as it is part of the Hallel (Pslams 113 through 118 which are sung or recited on every Jewish holy day). And just as a reminder, here are a few of the verses they may have been singing from that climatic psalm in the Hallel: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice, and be glad in it." (118:22-24)

Jesus is the Stone rejected by the builders. Jesus is the capstone of creation and salvation. And what Jesus has done for us is indeed, marvelous, glorious, wondrous beyond all imagining in our eyes!  Praise You, Lord Jesus! 

But consider that "this is the day the Lord has made" refers to that very day, that very hour when Jesus would suffer and die for our sins to bring His beloved children to glory. Jesus was singing and rejoicing over that day--that horrific, terrible day that He was facing. Again, He was singing for our salvation. How can we not sing? No matter what suffering we might be enduring right now, how can we not sing?  

Yes, Lord, no matter what, we praise You and thank You for this day we are living right now. This day today, with all its challenges and victories, sorrows and joys, disappointments and blessings. But we also rejoice and praise You for that day over two thousand years ago on Calvary. Thank You is woefully inadequate, but praise You, praise You, praise You. 

And secondly, a brief thought about the meaning of the word Maundy. It's Latin for "command." Specifically this relates to Jesus' command to His disciples to love one another. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that You are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) 

I've always thought of this solely in terms of our love--how we're commanded to love one another. And, of course, that is absolutely true. But at a deeper level, notice Whose love this is all based upon--"just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." This is about the stunning, infinite, beautiful love of Jesus. What can possibly compare to His love?  He would love to the uttermost by bearing our sins, by dying for us on the cross, and by being raised to new life so that we could enjoy abundant eternal life. We're commanded to love, but it's all, all, all about Jesus' love.

Again, David Mathis' words, "Having been loved like this, how can we not love one another? How can we not, as the beneficiaries of Christ's irreplaceable sacrifice, ache to empty our own selves for another's good? Having tasted such fullness from Him, how can we not gladly pour ourselves our to meet the needs of others? 

Yes, we will love as He commanded. But Maundy Thursday does not turn on our love. This is a night to marvel at what Jesus embraced for us. To be astounded at the uniqueness of His sacrificial love. To wonder that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom.5:8)."

Please don't let this day pass without worshiping the wonderful Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. Praise Him for His infinite love and His terrible, beautiful sacrifice. Praise Him for providing The Way for our salvation but also the way for us to love others--not in our own paltry, puny strength, but in His. We can love others only because He--the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah--first loved us. And for such love, we simply fall to our knees and worship. 

To Jesus--the Lion and the Lamb--be all the glory.

Who are you listening to in this New Year?

A simple question to ask yourself for the New Year: what voices are you listening to on a consistent basis? 

In our Bible study, we've been examining the book of Joshua (which I highly recommend!), and last week we saw the Israelites being deceived by the Gibeonites. I won't go into the details here (it's in Joshua ch.9), but suffice it to say, I was challenged by the way the Israelites listened to the Gibeonites tall tale, asked them questions, listened to their answers, and even examined some of the physical evidence the Gibeonites produced to bolster their fib. 

But here's what the Israelites categorically failed to do--they never took it to their Heavenly Father in prayer. Joshua 9:14 starkly declares, they "did not ask counsel of the Lord." Hmm. Think about it. The Israelites entered into conversation with the Gibeonites, asking questions and listening to explanations. Yet they never paused to go to the ONLY One who knew everything, who fully understood the truth, who already had a track record of giving His people perfect plans for conquering the first two cities in the promised land, who loved them and who always provided for them. They listened to all those Gibeonite voices but never sought to listen to the voice of God, the voice of truth. Houston, we have a problem. 

But what does God’s Word say?  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Prov.3:5-6  When we need His wisdom—which, of course, each of us does every day of our lives!—He promises to give it to us.  For instance, we’re promised in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”  Or as Mt.7:7 puts it: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” When we’re burdened and discouraged, He tells us to “COME TO ME, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” Mt.11:28-29  

When the way ahead seems incredibly dark and confusing, Jesus promises us that “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the Light of Life.” (John8:12)  When we feel weak and unable, the psalmist tells us to “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Ps.55:22) When we’re overcome with fear and anxiety, He assures us in His Word, “Fear not, for I AM with you; be not dismayed, for I AM your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isa.41:10). We all suffer from spiritual amnesia, so we need to go to His Word to listen to HIS voice and be reminded once again of who He is and all He can do.

Sadly, that’s not what the Israelites did. They evaluated the Gibeonites’ claims based not upon the perfect all-seeing wisdom of God but based upon the very limited amount their eyes could see and their common sense could supply. That’s called walking by sight.  When we start walking by sight rather than by faith, we will inevitably stumble and fall.

So what's the antidote for deception and listening to the wrong voices?  Well, duh--listen to THE voice: the voice of truth!  Listen to God's voice. And how do we do that? By abiding in His Word. That means we read it, study it, ponder it, maybe pause for little moments during our day to read a verse or two from it. 

Let me ask you: how often do you check your phone during the day?  hmm. When you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, for instance, do you tend to pull out your phone and start perusing instagram or Facebook or whatever social media's latest fad might be?  You do know, right, that the geniuses in Silicon Valley spend gobs of money and effort to make sure their stuff is addictive in order to keep us on it as much as possible. Don’t let all their voices drown out the voice of truth!  

Here’s an idea: let’s replace some of that scrolling with scripture!  Get a Scripture app on your phone and the next time you’re standing in line, read some Scripture instead! 

Be deliberate and discerning about what voices you allow into your ears and heart on a daily basis. As we’ve seen, the Israelites listened to the voices of the Gibeonites but failed to listen to the voice of God. Make sure, no matter what, that God’s voice in God’s Word is the voice you listen to every day. Even if it’s only a couple of minutes—God’s Word is supernatural, and He can do amazing things even with a few moments. 

Ask yourself if there are some voices you’ve been listening to that are not reflective of beauty, goodness, and truth?  For example, are you listening to certain podcasts or watching certain programs that you know are untruthful, unwise, God-rejecting or that are somehow discouraging you? We need to be discerning about what voices we allow to fill our ears and minds on a regular basis. 

And I've shared this before, but that’s because I believe it can be so life-changing! So here it is again!: Try to make God’s voice the first thing you listen to in the morning. Don’t open your phone or computer or pick up anything else to read until after you’ve spent time a few minutes reading and listening to God’s voice in His Word. 

So a simple but profoundly important encouragement for this New Year--be discerning regarding the voices you are listening to on a consistent basis and be deliberate in daily listening to and heeding the life-giving, truth-telling, destiny-altering, hope-restoring, peace-instilling voice of Almighty God. 

Thank You, Father, for choosing to reveal Yourself to us in Your written Word. Thank You for the power of Your Word to change hearts and lives. And thank You for the gift of all gifts: Jesus, the Living Word How thankful we are for Your written and Your Living Word!

To God be the glory.