Wonderful Saviour

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

Wonderful Saviour, my heart belongs to Thee

I will remember always the blood You shed for me

Wonderful Saviour, my heart will know Your worth

So let me embrace You always as I walk beside

Be blessed

Be loved

Be lifted high

Be treasured here

I owe my life to You, My Lord

Here I am

Beautiful Jesus, how may I bless Your heart?

Knees to the earth I bow down to everything You are

Beautiful Jesus, You are my only worth

So I will embrace You always as I walk beside

Be blessed

Be loved

Be treasured here

I owe my life to You, My Lord

Here I am. Here I am.

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

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

Be blessed

Be loved

Be lifted high

Be treasured here

Be glorified

I owe my life to You my Lord

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

To You be all the glory

Butterfly, Botanist, or Bee

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

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

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

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

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

This Good Day

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

If rain clouds come or the cold wind blows,

You're the One who goes before me

And in my heart I know that

This good day, it is a gift from You.

The world is turning in it's place

Because You made it to.

I lift my voice to sing a song of praise

On this good day.

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

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

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

Windshield Wipers!

Very early yesterday morning, while it was still pitch black out, I drove home from Pinehurst in my son's car. My husband and I had gone down there for a parent dinner for the players in a golf tournament, but I had to leave really early (as in 4:45 a.m.!) to get home in time to take care of our younger two boys and get them where they needed to go. I learned a hard lesson in the wee hours: always determine where the windshield wipers are located on a car before you drive it! Yesterday morning as I drove home, I noticed it was a little damp outside, but nothing major--I figured it had rained the night before. The road, a fairly narrow one with almost no shoulder, was extremely dark. After driving for about 15 minutes, it started to rain. I felt around for the windshield wipers, but everything I pushed or pulled had no effect, and I couldn't find anywhere to turn off the road. No big deal, though, since I could still see through the rain, though it was growing increasingly difficult.

I soldiered on, squinting through the rain covered windshield, but I remained pretty calm, assuming the rain would stop any minute.

It didn't. In fact, it got heavier and heavier until it was a downpour, and I could see nothing except the faint red glow of the car's taillights in front of me. I honestly have never felt such terror--I could see virtually nothing, I was completely unfamiliar with the road, and I had no where to pull over or turn off. I was creeping along on the narrow highway and cars were speeding by as I prayed over and over, "Help me Lord. Help me Lord. Help me Lord."

Finally I faintly saw a sign for an exit, and I slowly eased off the road. I could just glimpse the neon lights of a gas station through the darkness and the rain shrouded windshield. I pulled in and within a moment or two, I figured out how to turn on the windshield wipers. Glory hallelujah!! Who knew windshield wipers were such wonderful, fabulous, life-saving devices?! Not me... until now! What a mundane, boring, unappreciated little piece of equipment that no one ever thinks much about on their car--until they really need it.

I couldn't help but think of Zechariah 4:10 "Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel." The Lord is telling His people that He will enable them to rebuild the temple out of the rubble of Jerusalem, and no detail is too small or too insignificant. Though it seemed impossible, the Lord reminds them "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty." (Zech. 4:6)

How thankful I am that we serve a God who does not "despise the day of small things." Small jobs, small people, small accomplishments, small annoyances, small obstacles, small tasks. He sees all; He knows all; He can do all by His power and not by our might. He created the tiniest cell and the farthest star. He loves the greatest and the lowliest. He sees the biggest and the most insignificant of our challenges and accomplishments. And He enables us to face and conquer the highest mountain and the littlest molehill. It may seem insignificant and mundane to others, but not to our Lord.

And who is to say that in the end, what we often view as the most significant will be, in the eyes of God, of far less importance. And what is the least will be the greatest. All I know is that I will never underestimate the importance and benefit of windshield wipers again! As I go about my small, everyday tasks, might I recall that if God does not despise them, then neither should I. And when I do them for His glory and in His power, they are imbued with eternal significance. So thank You Lord for windshield wipers and for all the small things in our lives that we so often take for granted! To God be the glory.

Keep trying!

Whew, the lazy days of summer are upon us... and it's been a struggle to make myself sit down and write something. Distractions, detours, busyness, exhaustion all conspire to get us off our schedule and our priorities. I feel a bit like our dog, Moses, who likes to spend his days in quiet comfort, lying around, eating, resting, eating, taking ever shorter and shorter walks, eating, resting. How quickly I get lulled into frittering away my days. Lord, as the Psalmist declares, help us to number our days aright that we might gain a heart of wisdom. (Ps. 90:12)

I read a quote I loved from a book I am reading right now, Chesapeake. One of the characters, a strong, intelligent, and wonderful woman named Rosalind Steed, lived in the hard days of the early 18th century in the wilds of the colony of Maryland. She and her nephew, Mark, are talking when she alludes to something from one of Shakespeare's plays. "'I couldn't understand Shakespeare,' Mark said honestly." Rosalind responds: "'Nor could I... the first two times. Character consists in what you do on the third and fourth tries." Amen!

As we approach the July 4th celebration, we should remember we owe the birth and building of this nation to men and women who displayed their character by what they did on the third and fourth and fifth tries after failure and unimaginable hardship and toil. Help us, Lord, to be men and women of character who don't give up and keep trying, in the power of the Holy Spirit, on the fourth and fifth and sixth tries. Heb. 6:11-12 put it this way: "And we desire that each of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promise." Put away sluggishness and put on perseverance and diligence! We have such incredible role models to imitate-- from the great saints of the Bible to the founders of our nation to, of course, the Lord Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. So Lord, when our feelings say give up or give in, help us to push on and keep trying. And to God be the glory.

Little things

Today is the first official day of summer, and so far it has been a pretty eventful one for our family. Our 14 year old son, while out of town playing in a golf tournament, broke his foot--on the 2nd full day of his summer vacation! He and his buddies were playing a little basketball while waiting for a ride to the golf course driving range. When he came down from getting a rebound, he landed on a piece of firewood, and dramatically changed his plans for the next month and a half of summer. Forget about all the golf tournaments he had signed up to play. Forget about Carolina golf camp with his friends. Forget about swimming at the pool, fishing in the trout stream, hiking in the mountains... well, you get the idea. But I have to say, he has been an incredibly good sport about it, and aside from copious hours of X-Box games (which his mama hates!), he has certainly made the best of it. I couldn't help but think of Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

While we know God is ultimately in control of our lives, we tend to live as if we established our every step. At least, I know I do. I have a plan in my mind of how today and tomorrow and next week should go (or how I want them to go), and when things don't go according to my plans and my dreams, I can quickly grow discouraged or frustrated. Disappointed expectations are ultimately behind most of our conflicts with people and with God. We say we trust God, but, O brother, throw a curveball to our expectations and we tend to panic or become despondent or angry or start to doubt and question God.

And that's why we need to make those deposits in our faith accounts today and every day. We don't know when the bottom will drop out or that unanticipated and unwanted bend in the road will come, so we need to get ready now, today. We can't specifically prepare for a broken foot or a wayward child or a serious illness, but we can daily seek to know and love God through His Word a little better every single day. It's as if we deposit a little more every single day into our spiritual bank accounts when we choose to spend time with Him. It's not a matter of checking it off our to do list; it's a matter of knowing Him a little better and seeing Him a little more clearly in His Word. It's a matter of allowing His Holy Spirit to speak to us and strengthen us a little bit more every day.

I love this quote from the great basketball coach, John Wooden: "Now you're not going to make great improvement in one day. But if you miss out one day, you've lost a little bit. You've got to build up a little each day. It's little things that eventually become big things and make big things happen." We tend to belittle the small things, the little tasks, the seemingly everyday, commonplace chores, the "one" little day, but it's all the "little things that eventually become big things...." It's so true in every area of our lives: whether training for some athletic endeavor, or cleaning out the clutter, or learning to cook, or growing in godliness--each day we choose whether we will grow closer to our ultimate goal or farther away.

Isn't it so easy to miss a day here or there in God's Word? Nobody dies, the sky doesn't fall, and we think "well, that's just no big deal. God is a God of grace." And He is, but when we skip a day with Him, we forfeit the blessings He wanted to share with us on that day. And then each day we miss, we grow an imperceptibly bit further away from Him, until we wake up and wonder how on earth we got so far away from the Lord. We wonder why we have no peace and no joy. We wonder why we lack the strength to get through some sudden unexpected crisis.

God never ever abandons us, but sometimes we, one tiny little choice at a time, abandon Him.

But here's the good news--He is ready and waiting for us to return! Like the Father waiting with open arms for the prodigal son, He is ready to run to us if we will simply turn to Him. Just confess and repent and seek Him who is always always always diligently, urgently, lovingly, seeking us. Start today. No matter what is going on--for there will ALWAYS be something going on!--stop and determine to take time to seek Him in His Word.

Hebrews refers to those who mature in their faith, because they "have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (Heb. 5:14) Practice makes perfect! My sons love golf, and they have to practice daily and hit ball after ball after ball to become better golfers. Musicians practice daily if they want to excel, and they must play countless boring scales and drills day after day if they want to improve. Our children become better readers by reading (and moms nagging them to death). And if we want to grow in godliness, if we want to be prepared to meet the storms of life with the peace and power of the Lord, then we better start getting "trained by constant practice" in God's Word.

Starting today. No matter what. Spending a little time alone with Him. Until one day, we will see the Lord using all those "little things" to "make big things happen." Because He is a God who loves to use little things and little people with little abilities to do "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us..." (Eph. 3:20) So to Him be all the glory!

Perseverance

Recently I have read through the books of Amos and Isaiah and Jeremiah, and I have been so struck by their faithfulness to the Lord in the midst of a culture that defiantly rejected the Lord and turned with enthusiasm to idolatry. All of these prophets were misunderstood and abused and persecuted. Every one of God's faithful prophets experienced such rejection and persecution; many were martyred; all knew what it was to be lonely and hated and mocked. Most were poor or seemingly inconsequential--none would have been featured on the covers of magazines for their successful careers or stunning good looks or powerful popularity.

Yet despite the hardship and suffering and loneliness, they kept on giving out God's Word, in season and out of season. They persevered... even when they desperately wanted to quit. From where does such strength of character and faithfulness come? If I had to pick out things that develops our perseverance they would be: having an eternal perspective; focusing upon Christ; and developing godly daily habits.

An eternal perspective teaches us that time is so short and eternity is so long. I'll never forget Peter praying shortly before his birthday last year: "Lord, help the days before my birthday to be very fast but help my birthday to be very long." We can get so engrossed in this life, in all that we have to do, in all our worries and work, that we forget this life is incredibly short. This world is passing away and our lives truly are a breath! It helps to remind ourselves when we get all worked up and upset over something, to ask ourselves, "Will this matter in 50 years? Will this be important in 100 years?" If not, maybe we need to calm down and take it to Jesus and let Him worry about it! O how I love Ps. 90:12 "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Teach us, Lord, to remember the brevity of this life and then to focus upon that which will last forever and ever.

But secondly, I think those prophets, and all who develop godly perseverance, have learned the secret of Heb. 12:2-3: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith... Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." You know, I really think this is the secret to the Christian life (and to joy and to perseverance)--fixing our eyes on Jesus, considering Him--daily, hourly, consistently throughout our days. When we fix our eyes on Him, we are changed increasingly into His likeness. When we consider Him, we cannot help but worship Him and be filled with joy and gratitude.

And thirdly, we need to establish godly habits. Habits of reading His Word daily, no matter what. Habits of taking thoughts of irritation or anger or discouragement and surrendering them moment by moment to Him. Habits of speaking words of encouragement and love and not words of bitterness or frustration or gossip. Habits of choosing to fix our eyes upon Him and not upon the world. Habits of focusing upon the eternal and not the temporal.

You know, habits are so habitual! Rarely do we set out to create a habit. It just happens one small choice, one small decision at a time. No alcoholic ever sets out to become addicted to alcohol. Rarely does a person decide they want to go out and have an affair. No, these things just "happen" one tiny choice at a time. Each little decision seems inconsequential, but it leads to the next and then the next and suddenly a habit is formed, for good or for ill. I loved this statement from Nancy Leigh Demoss: "Every act, every choice, sows a seed. And it will reap a harvest. The challenging thing is that the harvest isn't usually immediate.... You are what you have been becoming. You are today the sum total of what you have been becoming. And you will be down the road what you are becoming now."

That's all to say, we need to start today to become the person we pray we would be at the end of our lives as we face eternity. We get easily intimidated when we think we have to be a spiritual giant by the day after tomorrow, so we just throw up our hands and give up. But it's a matter of starting daily by making that small choice to put God first. Make the little decision not to give in to your emotions and instead ask God to enable you to respond in love. Make that tiny choice to read His Word rather than flip through that magazine. We can establish those habits of godliness one tiny little choice at a time, and before we know it, God establishes in us godly perseverance and faithfulness. And for all those wrong choices that have created bad habits--hit the reset button! Confess, repent and by God's grace start over again, one choice at a time.

Eternal perspective. Focus on Christ. Godly habits. Help us Lord... today, one choice at a time. And to You be the glory.