What Are YOU Waiting For?

“Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.” Acts 9:8-9

We probably know the story.
Saul was a Pharisee, who lived out his religious convictions by punishing members of “The Way”. He was a devout Jew, and was very popular amongst his peers. He did what he thought was right…he did what he perceived to be God’s will. But he was wrong. On his to Damascus, God intervened. His truth was the light that blinded Saul but it also seared his heart. A divine course correction took place, and the person known as Saul died on that road. No, he didn’t die physically, but the road marked out the conclusion of that identity, that mission, that chapter. To many of his devout followers, he would be dead in their eyes for he was set on a new path by God, that of which they could neither follow or believe in.

Those with whom Saul traveled with led this now blind man into the city of Damascus where we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Whole sermons and sermon series’ have been preached on with this story – mostly focused on that road and God’s intervention and even Ananias when he arrives…but what about the waiting period between the two chapters? What happened within the span of those three days? I believe the soul searching that took place with this blind man once named Saul is just as important and has a lot to teach us. This is not necessarily reading between the lines of the text, this is merely speculating, extrapolating and mulling over this human metamorphosis. A blind man named Saul – Christian persecutor and sometimes executor went into Damascus, a transformed man on a mission named Paul exited that city with divine purpose, intent and a new found passion in life.

BUT…
What happened in those 3 days between blindness and commission?
What changes transpired there?
Is there something teachable in this narrative for you and for me?
I believe there is, so please allow me to share this with you now.

“METAMORPHOSIS”
3 Lessons from 3 Days of Blindness

1st Lesson: Sometimes Spiritual Correction Hurts and We Must Do Some Deep Soul Searching
Saul thought he was doing what God wanted him to do.
He was fighting for and defending his faith…but he was, in fact, persecuting Christ. He had passionately taken up his cause with vim and vigor and knew he was in the right…then God turned his whole world upside down. He was confronted with his own failures…he was confronted with his own mistakes, and it must have hurt. Saul spends three days of blindness not eating and drinking. It is a sobering response to the Theophany he had just experienced. Within the words of Jesus, there was a course correction and for three days Saul had to have replayed that scene over and over in his head. He must have prayed and fasted. He must have explored every action that had led him to this place, like a movie playing in his head for three long days.

I find it interesting that 3 days pass.
3 Days that seem like a real death and a real resurrection.
3 days of emotional and philosophical death until God’s messenger arrives to offer new life again. In a very real sense, Saul is in his chrysalis transforming and arriving at a new physical place.

Do we have chapters like this in our lives?
Has there ever been spiritual correction in your life that has hurt?
God doesn’t enjoy hurting us, it is more for our benefit and growth that these corrections take place. There’s an old phrase – “no pain, no gain” and I think it applies here. If we don’t experience some discomfort in life from time to time we might remain stagnant and planted in incorrect spiritual patterns. God doesn’t want us to remain there, He sees in us the potential for something better, greater and far more substantive that what we have settled for now. He wishes to adjust our paths, and help us grow into maturity within our faith. But we have to be willing to accept these corrections which, hurt, but are meant to help us grow…and sometimes set us on a new, more holy path than what we have settled on.

2nd Lesson: There is Growth that Takes Place that Only Happens in Our Waiting on The Lord
Abraham was an old man before God’s promise of being the father to many nations was actually fulfilled, and certainly Abraham tried to speed up the process with his wife’s handmaiden Hagar. But the waiting was necessary.

David was anointed as king and successor to king Saul, but he did not become king right away, he had to endure hurts, the loss of his best friend when he had ran for his life. But he did not stop being faithful to God – he persisted and eventually the waiting produced the crown in God’s appointed time.

Waiting on the Lord can be tiring and frustrating, and we may sometimes question if God will really show up in our lives and our situations, but in those moments of waiting we grow. These times of waiting produces in us perseverance, endurance and fortitude. You might not believe that you can wait on the Lord. You may question your own strength, but rest assured you are not alone – the Holy Spirit is with you giving you the strength that you need. When we wait, we must recognize our finite while we wait for the Infinite to enter our stories. Saul waited for the appointed time. He wasn’t told how long it would be. He wasn’t told who would show up as God’s ambassador…he just simply waited.

Are you waiting right now for God to show up?
Are you growing frustrated with the “waiting game”?
Maybe we will someday declare as David did in Psalm 40:
“I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
²He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him…”

Maybe we can declare this today!

3rd Lesson: There is a New Chapter in the Future to Embrace, but First We must Embrace the Present.
Have you ever visited a doctor’s office?
I am sure that you have.
Most of the time there are two places that you find yourself waiting. First, you have to wait to be seen by the nurse on duty at the front desk as they take your insurance card and all of your vital information. Sometimes they even take your blood pressure. Then they call your name and the nurse takes you through the waiting room door into a hallway which leads to another, more intimate waiting room. Sometimes the nurse asks you to take off your clothes and put on a gown…and then wait. This is sometimes the longest wait that you may have at the doctor’s office. That uncomfortable time dressed only in a thin paper gown, sitting on an examination table while some elevator music is droning on and on in the background. But we cannot speed up that time. We have to simply wait, even when it’s not comfortable or the most desirable thing to do – we still wait. Finally the doctor in a white coat comes in and then we get down to business and the present can then be moved into the future.

If we believe that God sent Jesus to die for us, that Jesus resurrected and went to prepare a place for us, then we already understand what it means to wait. We aren’t in some doctor’s waiting room or anything but we must acknowledge that Jesus promised to return one day – and so His people anxiously wait for his return

But what about the little things of life?
What about the prayers we utter in the hope that God will answer them?
What happens in the in between time of God encounter and fulfillment?
We wait.
Sometimes we wait and wait.
Saul didn’t eat or drink for 3 days.
This parched, blind man waited for God’s fulfillment.
He didn’t know when it would happen, but it WAS going to happen.
He didn’t know WHO God was sending, but in the present moment he waited.

Many times we might feel stuck in the present while we wait for God.
We might grow frustrated and even weary in our waiting, but let me encourage you today: The present waiting room of your life IS where God meets us.
We might not yet know it yet, but He is already present and with you right here and now. We do not need to pine for the future in a “some day” mindset when we understand that God is sitting with us in our present waiting rooms.

Saul met God, then we he had to wait, then when God’s appointed ambassador arrived the commission was given and a much transformed Paul emerged to do the will of God.

Are you waiting right now for God?
Remember this while you wait:
-Sometimes Spiritual Correction Hurts and We Must Do Some Deep Soul Searching.
-There is Growth that Takes Place that Only Happens in Our Waiting on The Lord.
-There is a New Chapter in the Future to Embrace, but First We must Embrace the Present.

Something more to ponder today.
God Bless you!

October 26, 2017 0

Walking at Midnight on the path of restlessness.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

I have another confession to make – I am restless…like pit of my stomach-aching restlessness. Some days I can put my finger on it, while other days it is as elusive as an honest thief. I am usually successful at pushing it back down, repacking that box that it lives in and stowing it away in that shadowy corner that I seldom travel to. Still, I know it’s there…and it weighs on me as if an elephant had decided to perch its rotund bottom on my chest.

I wonder if you feel this way sometimes?
Do you have to push it back down as well?
Do you have to re-tape that worn-out box and pretend that dark corner doesn’t even exist? Does it keep you up at night – blinking at the ceiling fan, counting the rotation of its blades as shadows dance off reflections of streetlights lit only for 3rd shift workers and insomniacs out for a stroll? I repress the urge to join them, to open the front door and walk barefooted down the now cooled, uneven sidewalks as I imagine myself trying to avoid the spiny round pods that fall haphazardly from the large gum tree in our front yard. I have stepped on these awful spiky seeds a time or two while walking barefoot down our path and even in the cool darkness of the night thoughts of the surprise pain causes me to recoil my feet from the lower spaces of my bed.

I wonder if David ever felt this way? The pre-murder and adulterous David…the one that tended sheep and slew predators to the flock. I wonder if he ever felt restless in his heart? I am sure he did when, later he was being pursued by jealous King Saul and his men. As David hid from cave to cave and village to village, I imagine him laying down on an uncomfortable uneven floor hoping to rest his weary head. I can picture his deep sadness as he yearned for his best friend Jonathan. Yet David trusted in God…but I would venture a guess that there were moments in which he was restless and he too had to push it back down and re-tape his box.

It is said that there is a season for everything…and yet Jesus told the people of his day not to worry about anything, yet I can’t help but find myself in the season of worry from time to time. Doe that mean that I am not heeding His words? That, despite my best efforts, I am not trusting in Him? Perhaps you have thought this also> I worry, but Jesus said not to, and here I am still worrying.< What do we do with these seasons? How do we find the glimmers and glints of hope in the mess of our minds? Sometimes we do believe the lie. What lie you ask? The lie that Jesus wasn’t really talking to us when He said those things, that it was just for the disciples and people around Him right then and there… The lie that we are broken people beyond fixing, and that the restlessness that we feel in the pits of our stomachs and the weight of our hearts is what we deserve for being fallen, sinful people.

Don’t live there.
Don’t wallow in that muck and believe that damning lie.
The son who turned his back on his father and spent his entire inheritance on partying, prostitutes and comfort found himself feeding muddy, fetid pigs. Day in and day out he was covered in mud and pig excrement. He definitely smelled as bad as they did. He had lost everything – squandered a small fortune on foolish, regrettable things, and the stink of his life went much deeper than clothes and skin. He lived there. He wallowed there. That pen of stench became his home for a period of time, until he came to senses. As Jesus told this story of prodigal son, I imagine some who were listening felt that he was telling their story. The prodigal son came to his senses, got up and devised a plan to return to his father. He formulated a plan in his mind, he believed he would be unwelcome to return as a son, but maybe, just maybe his father would let him return as a servant. Can you imagine that restless journey home; The endless loop of things he would finally say to his father in order to stave off the reprisals and chastisements? As each dusty step led him closer and closer to the home he once knew, thoughts of doubt and fear must have crept in. “Master, just let me work for you.” (For surely he would never be worthy to call him father after what he did).

And when this beaten-by-life man, who had squandered everything and had hit absolute rock-bottom crested that last hill, and his home was in view…he saw someone running towards him. Perhaps it was a servant instructed to chase him off. Perhaps it was a warning not to come any closer…he would have deserved such a welcome. Instead, it wasn’t any of those things…it was his father that he had wished were dead, running to embrace the son he thought he had lost.

Don’t live in the home of restlessness.
Don’t believe the lie of shame and guilt.
Be forgiven, let your Father embrace you and welcome you home…and when you are finally hope, re-tape that box and then throw it away.

The prodigal son is me.
The prodigal son is you.
But once we have been embraced,
once we have witness our Father running to us,
Once we have been forgiven and returned to our home (where we belong)
don’t even entertain the lie or the box any longer.

But sometimes…we still walk at midnight, say hello, I’ll be waving.

Something more to ponder today.

September 29, 2017 0

Eclipsed by the Son

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

This coming Monday there will be a much anticipated global event – the solar eclipse of 2017. The last time a solar eclipse of this magnitude occurred was 1918…we’re talking a coast to coast (United States that is) total eclipse of the sun. (cue the song – total eclipse of the heart…) Many cities, like mine, have sold out of glasses. My son stood in line for three hours today in order to buy a couple of pairs, there were people in lawn chairs. It’s simply astounding.

Isaiah, standing in line for solar eclipse glasses

People are excited.
Schools are giving parents the option to keep their children home this Monday so families can watch the eclipse together.
There are of course the doomsdayers out there who are calling for the end of the world, or an alien invasion…there’s always a few crackpots out there.

I don’t know about you, but I am in awe of God’s creation.
He spoke our world into existence.
He formed us out of clay and dirt.
God breathed life into our lungs…and here we are attempting to take in the majesty of God’s amazing artistry. The Universe is vast, and yet in the tremendously immense expanse, God comes down to our level and wishes to fellowship with us. He loves His creation, despite our fallen nature and sin that permeates us on a molecular level. His love extends to us all the way to a cross with His only Son dying in our place.
This.
Is.
What.
Love.
Looks.
Like!

Jesus, God’s Son – faced death on a cross so that we could be made worthy of standing in the very presence of God once more; for the purpose of fellowship and restoration! Salvation is found in Christ alone!

Then this Jewish zealot, by the name of Saul perceived the Christ-followers to be blasphemous and heretical, so he sought to cleanse the Hebrew world of them. He began to seek them out and bring them to his perceived understanding of godly justice. He looked on with approval when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death. He pressed onward, in the hopes of exposing them all in his righteous religious cleansing campaign… but God had other plans for Saul.

On his way to Damascus, Christ showed up in all of His glory – pouring so much light into the eyes of this zealot that it seared him blind. Saul was then confronted by Christ himself. He was forced to answer the question of why he had been persecuting God’s Son – the Messiah. Only later, when the scales had fallen from his eyes and he began a new mission – to preach Christ to the world, did he truly begin to live. He had been eclipsed you see (pun intended). Paul – had been eclipsed by the Son and he would never be the same again. From that point on he had one purpose, one mission, one life and that life was Christ’s alone! He would pour out himself upon others as a fragrant offering to God. He would invest himself in the lives of new believers…even from a prison cell hundreds of miles away.

He declare in Galatians 2:20 “For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Paul was eclipsed by the Son of God, and his life became a vessel that enabled the world to be changed!!

How about us?
Has the Son Eclipsed our lives? This is what Holiness looks like – us dying to our old sinful selves and living for Christ alone – through the amazing power of the Holy Spirit!!

Let me ask you, have YOU allowed Him access to the very fiber of your existence, or are you holding back a portion just for yourself? Can you make this bold claim as Paul once did, “I have been crucified WITH Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.”

A total solar eclipse may only arrive once every 90 years or so, but on a daily basis – Christ comes to us and longs to shine His mercy and love in and through us. How is your relationship with Him today? Has your light gone out? Are you in need of more of His grace? Call out to Him, He is never far from you. Begin to live for Him again and be willing to be eclipsed by the Son so that others might find Him!

Something more to ponder today!

August 18, 2017 0

The Art of Letting Go…

I must confess that I am not very good at this yet.
I still clutch with white knuckles and cling with all my might as if this is what God has called me to do. Embarrassingly, I sometimes internally kick and scream when I don’t get my way like a rageful, tantrum seeking kindergartner. I am no good at letting go.

I have become a professional “holder-on”.
A legacy protector…I have become too good at preserving that which is dead instead of believing in resurrection, a new way and innovation. (it takes pain and awareness to realize that, like the disciples staring up into the clouds at an ascended Jesus, I too must get on with life and mission)

Words echo in my brain like “Be still and know that I am God…” when all along I am anything but still. I am a turbulent storm, a freakishly fast flowing river. I am a cacophony of thought and ceaseless effort. Could it be that in my many ventures and efforts I have become effortless? (and not the good kind of ‘effortless’) Ineffective? Static? Something about beating a dead horse or the definition of insanity…could this sum up my effortless-efforts? Is this just evidence of works without faith? Is this what preserving legacies instead blazing trails looks like? After all, the disciples didn’t build a monument marking the exact location of Christ’s ascension into heaven; They didn’t remain in that place for the rest of their lives; They didn’t build this ‘holy shrine of ascension’ and preserved His memory… No! They had to let go of that place. They were reminded by two white robed figures, who suddenly appeared before them: “As they were straining their eyes for another glimpse, suddenly two white-robed men were standing there among them, ¹¹and said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has gone away to heaven, and some day, just as he went, he will return!” Acts 1:10-11

This reminder sparked action in the disciples – forward movement while at the same time they had to let go of the Jesus they had walked with and studied under. They had to let go of the laughter and the tears of their past journey, because the present road was waiting for them. It was their time to move forward, but they had to first let go – of their former identities, of their former disciple status. They had to let go.

The old phrase, which I have made fun of, it is posterized, monetized, and placed on car bumper stickers…yet in my present context the truth is no less poignant. What phrase you ask? “Let go and let God”…before you toss that phrase away and chalk it up to one more Christianese marketing ploy, let me expound:
In order for us to exercise faith with our actions…we have to let go.
-We have to let go of our own academic efforts.
-We have to let go of our own ingrained realizations and understandings.
-We have to let go of our presuppositions and some of our Sunday school lessons.
-We have to let go of our “I’ll go in my own strength” – I got this, and I don’t need anyone else’s help.
-We have to let go of our own understanding…and in all our ways acknowledge Him. (Proverbs 3:6)

~~We have to~~…I have to let go…and yet sometimes I imagine myself being that lowly disciples still staring at the clouds despite the words of the alien-angelic figures who visited us. I am still plodding on into life with the old ways when God has given me a new means of life, a new mission, a new purpose…and I’m still trying to do it in my own strength. I still need to let go, and yes, let God lead instead of me…how about you?
Do you still have a dead-grip on the reins of your life? Do you have trouble putting feet to your faith? It’s time stop staring up at an ascended Christ and time to live for Him.

So…I’m letting go.

July 28, 2017 3

A Fallen Tree…is it me?

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving…” Colossians 2:6-7

Last month a giant tree, strong-stout and regal, fell behind our backyard. We were very fortunate that it fell away from our property, the garage and family investment known as our ugly rolling turd (the RV). It appears that the cause of death of this might oak was soil erosion. Weeks leading up to its demise, we had a seven day span of unending rain. As it continued to rain, flooding occurred which led to the weakening of this mighty tree’s root system…there was simply nothing to hold onto anymore. With a sudden thud, the tree fell and that wonderful shady spot where Moms and Dads came to watch their children play soccer, became the grave of something that had once been so mighty and tall.

I am sure we will miss that tree this summer, when the sweltering heat cascades in waves around that High School Soccer field. We will miss the chirping birds who nested there and have now been displaced. The tree removal service has since come and gone, chopping that once majestic oak into fire wood and mulch, all because its roots couldn’t find anything to hold onto any longer.

This real-life tale reminded me of how easy it is for mighty oak trees to fall…and for the holiest of believers as well. We are all susceptible to the trappings of sin, and many a tear has been shed for a saint who has fallen from grace. The names, at times seem to be many…and it causes a wave of exhaled breath when each one falls. Like a punch to the gut, we feel our hearts sink as the shock of it all can be felt like the sudden thud of a felled two ton oak.

It can be very tempting to think of this “root” problem as someone else’s burden to carry, but the very real threat is all around us. We cannot pity the fallen saint while we look from afar thinking that this could never happen to me. Beware of this trap dear friends!
Pay attention to the soil in which you sink your roots. Make sure they go down deep into the dark, rich soil of Christ himself. Because there will be rainy days again…there could also be floods that come and attempt to uproot you. Be mindful that what is done in secret is known to God, and that He longs for your integrity and honesty just as much as the world around you is clambering for truth.

I will miss that great oak, but I also am more sober; I am more consciously aware of the soil that my roots are currently in…and I long for them to become more profoundly rooted in the Holiness of Christ. How are your roots today?

-Just a thought.

May 30, 2017 4

The Kitten, The Lion and Me…

Recently my family adopted a small kitten.
We thought it would be good for our eight year old twins.
By that I mean we made the mistake of driving past a pet store, and then walking by the little kitty jails they have at those establishments…and the rest as they say, is history.

So we now have this newly adopted kitten in our home.
He is a wild and crazy kitten, I suspect like most kittens his age.
Recently he has taken to attacking our legs as we walk by, and in the morning it is now routine for him to perch in an opened, yet screened in, window and maliciously listen to the birds chirping in the nearby trees. This kitten is domesticated, yet there is still a wildness about him. He would most likely attack, kill and consume a bird if opportunity were to strike in his favor. It is in his nature to be this way – with claws flared and crouched in a stance ready to pounce.

I recently read a news story (it literally happened today) about a mountain lion that had gotten into a family home through an open patio door. When the mother and daughter awoke in their bed at 3am to the loud barking of their small dog, they saw the shadow of an unknown animal lurking in their home. In a matter of moments, the mountain lion had left the foot of the bed with the family dog in its jaws. Isn’t nature truly wild? It is in the nature of wild things like that. Call it instinct or something in their DNA, but it is how these creatures innately are – predators by nature.

It made me wonder about our humanity as people.
More importantly, how we are made up.
It is in our DNA.
We have a nature too.
In Genesis it says that we were created in God’s image…though it is marred because of sin, that image is still there, within us. More importantly, our spirits are naturally drawn to our Creator…many don’t know it, but this is why we question, why we seek, why we search our world for answers to all of life’s questions. We were made this way. Just as that kitten is instinctually drawn to pouncing on its prey, we are instinctively drawn to truth…and the Chief truth is found in the author of truth – God himself.

I am drawn to the children’s story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and when one of the children asks if Aslan is safe they get this reply – “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” God isn’t safe and sin cannot stand in the presence of God without being vanquished. Without getting too theological, His goodness quickly overpowers and kills sin and darkness. Hence this search for truth in our lives – we long to be reunited with the Author of Truth and Goodness. It is in our DNA to seek Him out. Some will blatantly reject Him for various reasons in life, but in general, we all long to rid ourselves of guilt, shame, sin, sickness and death – Christ is the answer, and He is the One we have been searching for in this life. Is following Him safe in this life? No, many perils and dangers will come because of this choice to follow Him. The path may, in fact, become harder for us, but the journey will provide hope, joy and peace despite the circumstances or bumps along the way.

Sure, that kitten maybe a handful, he may even wreck havoc on the bird population in our neighborhood, but this is in his DNA, this is what he was born to do…and purring as goes…what is in your DNA? Let me reassure you that how you were made is no accident. We the created intrinsically long for our Creator…and we have been created for so much more than this.
-Just a thought.

April 19, 2017 0

Losing the Forest for the Tree?…

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24

What do you do when all of your strength seems to fail you?
What do you do when it seems to be sucked from your body through trying or exhausting tasks? Have you been discouraged recently or perhaps even right now?

Perhaps it is time to take a step back from your troubles and those things that sap your energies.

The other day I was looking for my keys and I couldn’t find them.
I had searched high and low, even looking underneath the cushions on the couch.
I was getting frustrated and anxious, because I had to be somewhere and my vehicle key is rather important. So finally I sit down, trying not to allow the momentary panic of potentially missing a meeting bother me. I took a couple of deep breaths and then thought about where I had last seen or placed my keys. Finally, after stepping back from the problem at hand, I was able to see the solution, and I recalled where they were…sure enough I found my keys.

In the midst of the frustration and worry, I had to take a step back. I had gotten so close to the problem that I couldn’t see the broader perspective or possible solutions. I think we’re all like that – we stand too closely to the problem, when problems arise. We try to micromanage situations and problem-solve and trouble-shoot and sometimes we are successful, but other times we become overwhelmed by the insurmountable tasks ahead of us. So we put our heads down, we plod on through trying to take on the world and address all of our problems and stressors, all the while we are so close to the problem(s) that we have lost the forest for the bark of one tree.

God has come to me many times when I get like this to remind me to “Be still and know that I am God…” (Ps. 46:10) It is only when I pause and take a step back do I finally understand this. God longs to lead us out of the forest of our worries. He desires for us to seek the long-term perspective: that we are Kingdom people called by Him, and we are called Sons and Daughters! Although these current problems and sufferings might still continue, isn’t it helpful to know that these are all temporary? Yes, we will probably continue to feel suffering, pain, sadness (all of the above), but this will not last, it never does. Stepping back from the tree, we will have a broader perspective and a longer range vision on our future as Kingdom people.

Be encouraged today, joy comes in the morning! Put your whole trust in the Lord, he will give you strength and endurance for the problems at hand, also know that this is all temporary!

Something more to ponder today!

April 11, 2017 0

Drowning In The Waters?

I have this memory.
Do you know the kind? It’s the kind that embeds those moments in your life, those moments of great fear or panic, and they etch themselves so deeply into the recesses of your brain that you will never forget?

Do you have memories like this?
I’m sure you do.

My memory?
I am a small boy, in a swimming pool at Gene Epply camp.
I don’t remember hardly anything from that time…but I remember that pool.
I remember how I stepped off of the edge and into reflective waters. Perhaps it was a hot day, I do not recall, but I do recall my little legs straining to touch the bottom and just finding more water. Panic set in. The sounds of the laughing and playing children around me faded in and out as I struggled to stay afloat while my vision and my ears were precariously between the two plains – Water and air.

I can only imagine what my face looked like in those brief but terrifying moments. Others might have seen a small toe-headed boy with wild panicked eyes flailing around in aqua blue waters. I knew, without help, I would drown. I hadn’t learned to swim yet, and I was going under.

All of this probably lasted only mere seconds, but to a drowning boy who was taking water into his lungs like it was air, this moment seemed to take an eternity! Finally, large hands grabbed me with great strength, and I was hoisted out of the depths of those waters and into safety once again.

It’s funny what you remember when you are young. Those odd things that stand the test of time and come calling into our recollection from time to time. Memories are a funny thing. They flutter about, and come to life when certain scents waft in the air, or through certain songs…or in this instance, when I visit a swimming pool.

That moment still lingers in me even after all of these years.
I believe it was my father that pulled me out of those waters – me, a little terrified boy who had yet to learn to swim.

I think there is a very real spiritual parallel here to grasp.
Many people in our communities are struggling to stay afloat in life.
Some have waded out too far from the safety of the shores.
Some have terrified looks in their eyes as they suddenly realize their predicaments.
Others have simply given up trying to stay afloat and are about to go under for the last time.

My son became a lifeguard last summer.
His time as a lifeguard taught him to remain vigilant during his shift at the waters edge.
Every now and then he and the rest of the lifeguards had to come to someone’s rescue and pull them back to safety. The job of a lifeguard seems glamorous with awesome opportunities for tanning, but in reality it is a job of ever watchfulness.

In the same way, a follower of Christ ought to be a lifeguard who is deeply committed to watchfulness. The water’s edge, the place of safety is the Church…where firm ground and restored hope surrounds all that are rescued. The problem I see in the Church today is that there are far too few lifeguards willing to risk it all and venture into the depths of the waters when they see hapless people drowning in its depths. There are far too many comfortable lifeguards who are more preoccupied with casting judgments like “it serves them right” or “they are just getting what they deserve!”

I am glad Jesus didn’t say that about us!
We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…it doesn’t say all (except for ________(insert our names here), no ALL…everyone of us have fallen short. (Romans 3:23) Instead it says, “for while we were sinners (while we were drowning in the depths…while we were going under for the last time) Jesus died for us. (Romans 5:8)

I still have that memory forever etched in my mind.
The day I almost drowned, was also the day I was rescued.

Perhaps, dear Church, we should get back to lifeguarding, because there are still so many falling below those dangerous waters…and who will help them? Who will come to their rescue? We are called out

April 6, 2017 0

Devotional Pondering: The Lifter of your head.

“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.” Psalm 3:3

Have you been to the place of darkness?
The moment when you have felt hopeless, alone and perhaps afraid?
It is a lonely place…sometimes even when you are surrounded by people.
There are seasons of restlessness, unhappiness and perhaps hopelessness too.
But allow me to reassure you today with a word of encouragement – No matter the difficulty you might be facing, or the circumstances that seem to loom in on you, you are not alone. You are being strengthened by the Most High even if you do not immediately feel this way. He is the lifter of our heads when we are downcast. He provides shelter to us when we are standing in the heart of the storm.

I have felt the winds of these storms recently.
I too have encountered the weight of a heavy heart.
Sometimes seasons come and the darkness threatens us…but the sliver of light that does remain gives me hope. I know that He is with me even in the heart of the storm.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for lifting my head when all I want to do is hang it in discouragement. Be with me today, thank you for your joy which shines even when the storms of life swirl around me. Help me to be content in you, no matter the circumstances of life around me. “In you, Lord, I have taken refuge” (Psalm 31:1) Thank you for being there for me and lifting my head when I was downtrodden. Shine in me today so others might see your glory. -Amen.

March 14, 2017 0

Devotional: A Love That Never Fails

Have you ever heard the old phrase: ‘Nothing lasts forever‘.
It’s usually said to bring comfort to those who have lost a loved ones, a relationship, a treasured item like a cell phone or car…but I know at least one instance in which this phrase is flat out wrong.

God’s love is not temporal and does not have an expiration date on it.
He wants to lavish us with His provisions and love and the only thing that stands in the way of that at times is…us, and our old sinful nature. Sin has a way of convincing us that the temporal, fleeting things are most important, and yet they pass away, they expire and are no more. Yet, there God stands from everlasting to everlasting with something far beyond sometime finite – because He is infinite as is His love for you and for me.

Psalm 136:1,2 says: “Praise the Lord! He is good. God’s love never fails…”
So why do we put our trust in the things that are fading and passing away instead in putting them in the Eternal, Infinite love of God? It seems like such a wasted investment, doesn’t it? I don’t know about you, but I do not want to come to the end of my life and realize that I have squandered by time, talent and treasures on things that didn’t last. Instead, I want to deeply invest in the Eternal and never ending love of God. How about you?

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to know you more fully. Help me to see your beauty in the world around me and to know that you love and desire my love in return. Thank you for the many blessings that you have given to me today. Help me to not take these blessings for granted. Help me to love others as you have loved me. Be with me today. In your name I pray all of these things. -Amen.

March 10, 2017 0

Category: devotional