Christmas Present

I love the holiday season. I love all the things about Christmas that many people consider a hassle. I love shopping for the perfect gift for my loved ones. I love to decorate my house. I love to bake, to entertain and to sit on the couch and admire my beautiful Christmas tree. 

We have a lot of traditions in our family that accompany the Christmas season.  We pick our Christmas tree on the weekend following Thanksgiving and have a tree decorating party with our family. With mom being gone this year, the tradition was carried on at my sister’s house.  We host a few annual parties, we celebrate Christmas Eve first at church, and then at dinner with friends. On Christmas Eve everyone gets to open one special present-always new pajamas- so that you look good in the pictures the next morning! We have Christmas day with family; this year at our house. We exchange Christmas presents; a show of our love for each other and joy of being together to celebrate Jesus’ birth. 

With all of these traditions, I sometimes have to remind myself, in the midst of all the fun and preparation, to remain Christmas Present.  I want my heart and mind to be focused on the real reason that we celebrate at Christmas.

I want to be Christmas present. I want to be present in this moment of celebrating Jesus’ birth. I want my traditions to be built around something with more foundation than boxes, bows and shining lights.

Luke 2:11  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” 

We celebrate because He is Present.

Love Story

 

I was thinking about the plot of a basic love story: girl meets boy, relationship ensues, huge obstacle gets in the way of love, until finally, love triumphs in the end. 

The love story that is told in scripture about Jesus’ birth is not simply about a boy and a girl. It is a love story for every person, and every generation.  It is not just for a beautiful girl and a misguided man-it is for every girl and every boy-for the beautiful, and the not so beautiful. It is for those who are wayward, and those who are filled with integrity. It has made the cover of magazines, topped the best seller list and has been read at bedtime for countless generations. It never becomes dated or out of style. Why would this story live on in the hearts of mankind?

We have seen countless movies with the same story line, and we see it in the book of Matthew. Mary (nice girl) meets Joseph (man with integrity), and a betrothal is arranged.  Enter the huge obstacle:  Mary is pregnant, by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, while deciding what in the world to do, is greeted by an angel.  When writing down these events, Matthew gives very few details. However, he is big into labels as a way of identifying the major players in the story: An angel visits Joseph, but it isn’t just any angel, it is an “angel of the Lord”. There is no doubt that this meeting was God ordained. Joseph is addressed as “son of David”. There is no question of Joseph’s lineage. Mary is labeled as a virgin. There is no question of her sexual purity.  As readers of the story, we take these facts for granted.  As players in the story, these facts add up to fulfilled prophesy. Joseph and Mary would have known the story as it was passed down. They would have known that the Messiah was to be born of a virgin and come from the line of David.  They became part of the greatest love story of all time.

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.” Isaiah 7:14

The story lives on because God’s promises and plan never fail.  This love story is now a part of each of us who believe. It lives on because our very own Savior, Jesus Christ, lives on. Immanuel, God with us, is still with us today. It is a telling of God’s love for us. His love story for humanity is what we celebrate this Christmas.

Losing an "I"

One of my favorite phrases from childhood is, “Someone is going to lose an eye.” My husband is the perfect example of this phrase.  While playing soldiers with his brother, with the requisite long pointy sticks for guns, he was charging forward while Dave was turning to retreat, and Garth got poked in the eye.  It is all fun and games until someone loses an eye. While we shout that reminder to our kids, sometimes in truth and sometimes in jest, in the Christian walk we are not supposed to stop until someone does lose an ‘I”.  Do you put others first or do you need to stop and lose an “I”?

I confess I am very often selfish. I consider myself before others frequently.  Sometimes I am tired of doing good. Sometimes I want to think about me. Sometimes I get tired of being responsible.  When is it going to be my turn to stay home and huddle under the covers instead of being the one to keep things going?

The world tells us many things about ourselves, most of them having to do with putting ourselves first: “I’m worth it”, “Care begins with me”, “You deserve a break today” are just a few.

Philippians 2:3 tell us, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves”.

The truth is, I think about myself plenty.   But as a Christian I am called to “lose an I”. It’s just that the “I” is me, or my absorption with self.  When I strive to put others before myself there is a subtle shift in the way I look at the world. I begin to see the whole person standing in front of me, not just their exterior.  I begin to see their needs and their gifts. I begin to see that they are God’s beloved child, just as I am.  I begin to see their worth through my Fathers eyes, and hopefully, the way I view myself has changed as well.

Never Stop Praying

There is a book by Bill Hybels entitled, Too Busy Not to Pray.  I have not read it. If I am too busy to pray I am certainly too busy to read the book!  Sometimes it feels like I am too busy or too crabby or too worried to pray.  God knows I feel that way and He wants me to pray anyway. I get it. He wants to know about the sometimes meaningful and sometimes ridiculous things that consume my thoughts and therefore, my time and my life.  I wish that I could say I was one of those people who always immediately stop to pray when she is disgruntled, crabby or upset. Sometimes I see those things as the circumstances of life instead of as things that should be entrusted in prayer to the Lord.

There are a lot of tools that people use for prayer: journals in which they log every prayer concern and then pray over them daily, weekly, or monthly; or prayer photo albums in which loved ones are displayed and prayed over. Some people make lists and some pray while they drive.  Some people pray in bed, and some pray every morning before they start their day.  No matter where, when or how you like to pray, one thing is perfectly clear.  God wants us to pray.  He craves time with us in this way. 

Are you and I really too busy to pray? Maybe we should stop thinking of prayer as a set activity and think of it as a lifestyle. After all, it is what God tells us in 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 

This scripture is a “sandwich cookie” communication: the cream in the middle surrounded by cookies on the outside.  My son used to take sandwich cookies, eat the center and throw the cookies away.  In this scripture the outside of the sandwich cookie is joy and thanksgiving.  God says that we should never stop praying, but he is concerned with what you are wrapping your prayer in. Don’t discard the joy and thanksgiving like an unwanted cookie! I think this is an important message for daily living from a father to his children:  “Always be joyful, never stop praying, and in every situation, be thankful.  This is what I want for you my child.” 

When we are focused on joy and thanksgiving it changes the tone of our prayers. It causes us to focus on the one we are praying to instead of the one we are praying for (usually ourselves). It causes us to see the blessings and great things that God has already done in our lives, reminding us that all our concerns are safe in our Father’s keeping.  “Never stop praying” means that each day, all day, I can communicate with Him. It is an ongoing conversation in which He is always listening and available.

Today and everyday: never stop praying.

Out of the Vault

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this something must be attained.” Madame Curie

It is true that we are gifted for something special and that is our responsibility to use that gift wisely.  Our confidence in using the gift comes through knowing who made us, and that the gift was specially selected for each one of us.

In the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, Harry goes to Gringott’s, the wizard’s bank to access his money.  He travels into the depths of the earth beneath the bank to get to his vault. The money and possessions stored in the bank are guarded by a huge dragon and strong magic. A lot of effort is put behind the idea of keeping people out of the vault. God’s vault of gifts is accessible to each one of us who put our faith and trust in Him. Our gift isn’t meant to be hidden away and protected. It is meant to be shared.

God, in his great wisdom and creativity, gives gifts generously and freely, from his own hand. 1 Peter 4:10 tells us that “God has given each of you a gift from his great vault of spiritual gifts.”  This scripture draws an amazing picture in my mind of a great heavenly vault, covered in gold, lavish in its design, overflowing with gifts: God, reaching inside, carefully selecting the perfect gift, and bestowing it on you or me to be used for his glory. This is serious stuff; more important than money, and more valuable than worldly possessions.  This giftedness is intended to be used with confidence-confidence that we find in Him, the giver of the gift.

God shows his love for us over and over again; displayed in such creative ways. We could all have the same gifts and skills. Instead, my gift and yours have been selected from his special vault, created for and gifted to each of us with care.  God allows us and equips us to use these gifts in service to Him and to others.  This day, choose to use your gift to serve others.

Fixed on Christ

It is easy to hyper focus on a lot of things: your child’s grades, the things about your spouse that lovingly drive you mad, a clean house, an organized life, work, holidays…the list is endless. I can easily be distracted and consumed by many things around me. It is easy to waste a day, a week or month and have nothing of substance to show for my time.

However, we are not called to wend our way aimlessly through life. We are called to focus, to fix our eyes on only one thing. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.” What is FOCUS? It is US, with our eyes, Fixed On Christ.

Binoculars are used to block out everything to the left and right of what you are looking at, creating a tunnel vision effect. You only see the thing you are focusing on. Life with Christ isn’t quiet that easy. While we, as Christians, are supposed to focus our attention on Christ, we are also expected to see what is going on around us. With tunnel vision you can see the goal but you will miss everything else on the journey. And what is life but a journey?

Part of the journey is the process of sanctification: me becoming more like Christ. The journey allows me to be in meaningful relationships with others, through which I can share His love. Hebrews tells us to “keep our eyes fixed on Christ”. Meaning, once your eyes are on Him, keep them there. Do not be moved from your focus. Don’t veer away, and don’t cast your eyes downward to avoid seeing truth and what really matters.

The good journey is fought for and a stake is claimed standing on the promises of God. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 tells us to “pursue righteousness and a godly life, fight the good fight and hold tightly to the eternal life which God has called you to”. Pursuing righteousness and godliness, not giving up on what is true and clinging tightly to the promise of eternal life are all steps in the journey that help keep our FOCUS on Him.

Us, with our eyes fixed on Christ means we are serious about the journey. Don’t be content to pull the brim of your hat over your eyes, binoculars pointed at the finish line; engage in the journey. FOCUS on Christ and enjoy His goodness in your life.

Leaves of Fall

It is fall; my favorite time of year. For me fall is marked by a few things: the change in weather signals cozy sweaters, an excuse to drink coffee or tea all day, pumpkin baked goods, fall festivals and changing leaves.  The leaves are probably my favorite feature of fall.  I like to go tree shaking-find a scrawny tree trunk with great fall leaves and shake. When my son was little we would rake all the leaves into a huge pile and throw him in; destroy the pile, and do it all over again.

Lately I have been thinking about how fall is a time we begin new things: new sports seasons, new school year, new programs. Yet, fall as a season is really about decay.  The plants and trees that have thrived over the spring and summer are winding down. The blooms have faded and look a little desolate and the leaves on the trees are changing to reveal amazing color. With a burst of glory they are preparing to die.

Life for the believer is a little different.  At the end of life we face decay. It is too often a slow and painful process. It is marked by the loss of all we hold dear. It is the ultimate step of faith into the unknown.  While the fall leaves have their burst of glory before they flutter unheeded to the ground, the believer gets a different reception. We are not left to flutter to nothingness. We are not scooped up and put into the discard pile. Our burst of glory comes not with death and decay, but as we step into the presence of Christ, carried there by His hand. 

Psalm 16:9-11 “No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

Just a Spectator

Have you noticed that so often in the Bible there is action required? I can’t recall any place in scripture where there is a call to laziness.  I imagine it would go something like this:   “Go therefore and sittith down.  Doeth nothing and thou will reapeth all the benefits of the gifts thou hast been giveneth by me, sayeth the Lord.”  Instead, we are told to do things like: be strong, stand firm, resist, walk, put on…, be kind, love one another….  Life in Christ is an active thing. It is not a spectator sport. 

When I go to my son’s football games I am a definite spectator. I am an enthusiastic spectator, but still, just a spectator.  I jump up and down, yell at the refs and for our team.  I am sad when we lose and ecstatic when we win.  I encourage the players and tell them they have done a good job.  Still, I am just a spectator. I never actually think to myself, “Today is the day I will play the game.  I’m going to suit up, go out there, and give it my all.”  If you are really going to play the game, you can’t just sit on the sidelines.  No matter how enthusiastic you are, you are still just watching the game.

When you consider your life, are you a participant or are you sitting on the side lines watching life go by?  As a follower of Christ we can take off the old uniform for the team that didn’t fit (life outside of Christ) and put on the new one given to us when we became part of the family of God.  And as we put on this new life, our new uniform, we are renewed and we learn to “know our creator and become like Him” (Colossians 3:10).  Becoming like Christ also requires action. It isn’t just that we get the new uniform that says” I play for Team Jesus”.  As we seek Christ through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers, we become more like Him.

A friend and I were having lunch and she was saying how she just couldn’t tell if she was really saved. Where was the proof? The proof in her life and mine is in the transforming work of God.  Are you becoming more Christ-like? If you belong to Jesus and examine your life you can see him at work through your attitudes and decisions and priorities. Sometimes we see transformation in the corners of our lives we hide from others and sometimes we see it like a beacon: there He is, working, moving, changing and ever active.  Want to know Him more?  Join the team.  Really join it. Stop yelling on the side lines, suit up and give it your all.

Colossians 3:6, 10 “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like him.”

Ephesians 4:23, 24 “Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.”

Comforter

The other day I received one of “those” emails. The ones that people forward, the ones sometimes viewed as “junk”, the ones I usually don’t even open before deleting! This email reminded me that today and every day, God is my comforter.

 “A four-year-old child had a next door neighbor who was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old Gentleman's' yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.  When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'” (author unknown)

God knows our heartaches and our hurts. He knows the cry of our hearts.  We can absolutely climb onto the lap of our Savior. He will comfort us, and he will understand our deepest hurts and longings. He will hear our cry.  Psalm 56:8 tells us, ”You keep track of all my sorrows, you have collected my tears in your bottle, you have recorded each one in your book.”  Like sea glass or shells collected on the shore as a treasure, God collects my tears. My tears and sorrows have meaning to him. 

Psalm 10:17 says, “O Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear.”  When all else is failing me, when I can’t stand alone, I can rely on God to strengthen my heart.

Our heavenly father knows your heart. He hears the desires of those who seek Him.  He strengthens our hearts, and he listens to our hurts.  Such a blessing.

Herding Ducks

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.

I have never thought of having “ducks in a row” as a bad thing.  I admit it. I value a good plan.  It is good to have a plan, to know the purpose of the plan, and to know where, how and when the plan will be executed.

To do this, you need skills with ducks.  It sounds crazy, but when anyone says "my ducks are all in a row", I think of little yellow ducks lined up on the side of the bathtub. Just as the ducks are finished lining up plans go awry. Life keeps moving regardless of the plan. Catastrophe somehow over takes the ducks.  In the bathtub of life large waves, mounds of bubbles, and squirt guns take out them out. One by one ducks are snatched away, lost at sea, wander off, and drown in the dailiness of life.

Good News!  Never once in scripture does God tell us to go forth and herd ducks. Instead, He tells us that we should be sheep yielding to the care & direction of the Good Shepherd.  He doesn’t tell us to go forth and plan, he tells us to allow him to direct our paths.  What about the sheep? Sheep are stupid! Sheep may be known for being stupid, but what God values about the sheep is their ability to recognize and follow the shepherd.

John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

I think God loves a good plan. But what he values is his plan. All through scripture his perfect plan is written out and woven through history for us to see. In regard to our plans,

Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.” 

My plans must fall into alignment with His plan. I should be actively seeking his will for my life. When I am doing this, my plans will naturally fall into line with what He desires me to do.  This doesn’t mean that my ducks will cease to succumb to the catastrophes of life. It does mean that I will be able to see God’s purpose for me and know that His plan is perfect. It will help me to remember that he will accomplish the plans that he has set before me. 

Trust

Fear comes in many forms: heart-stopping, terrifying, or a nagging worry.  The fear that we imagine can be so much worse than the reality before us. Our theme for Summer Blitz (VBS) is “Facing Fear, Trusting God”, and in KIDs Church we have been memorizing Matthew 10:31 “So don’t be afraid, you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”  I am surrounded by reminders that God is in control and that he is trustworthy.

This week in particular God has been reminding me to trust him for the intangibles.

A devotion I was reading earlier today put it like this: “When I (God) look upon you, I do not see a victim of circumstances. I expect you to be victorious. When I look upon you, I do not think, “Oh, what a poor and pathetic thing we have here.” I think “There is My child called by My name to trust Me.” I keep you in perfect peace when your mind is fixed solidly on Me, unmovable and in total harmony with My thoughts.”

Trust in the One who has called you by name.

(quote from His Thoughts Toward Me, by Marie Chapian)

Are you an Elephant?

One of my all time favorite children’s books is “Horton the Elephant Hatches an Egg”, by Dr. Seuss.  It is awesome. It rhymes. It is silly.  It is a beautiful picture of faithfulness. 

In the story Horton the elephant is tricked into sitting on an egg in a nest for Mazie the lazy bird who runs off to have adventures and fun. Horton endures ridicule, rain storms, and captivity, all while staying true to his promise to sit on this egg and reciting his mantra, “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent”.

Are you an elephant? Are you “faithful, 100%”?   Faithfulness is not easy. Like Horton, we experience difficult times that seem to take precedence over a previous commitment.  Duty can begin to blur when life gets too busy or too hard.  People sometimes ridicule your choices. Storms and captivity to the time constraints of life can all pull us away from being an elephant; if we let them.

What does faithfulness look like?  One of my favorite stories of faithfulness in the Bible is that of Noah. He spent years of his life building a giant boat where there was no water.  He gathered animals where there was no zoo. He proclaimed God’s declaration of destruction where there was no belief in God.  Talk about ridicule!  I am sure he was considered as crazy by the people of his day as Horton was by the animals in the jungle! An elephant sitting on an egg and an old guy building a boat for God = faithful, 100%. 

Is your faithfulness situational? Are you faithful to commitments and friends as long as it is convenient? Do bad weather and unforeseen circumstances cause you to walk away from the egg you agreed to sit upon? Do hardship and difficult times cause you to abandon the boat God called you to build?

Our God is faithful. What he has called us to He has equipped us for.  For the rainstorms of life he has gifted us with the emotional umbrella of his care and mercy. He gives us shelter from the storm but doesn’t always remove us from its path.  During the busyness of life he provides times of rest and refreshment in His word.  And in the midst of serving Him, our families, and others, he equips us with strength for the journey.

Really, Horton had it right. Our faithfulness hinges on our willingness to trust in God’s faithfulness. “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, My God is faithful, one hundred percent”. 

The Most Wonderful Time of Year

It’s that time of year when I begin to feel a little overwhelmed.  School is almost out and graduation party announcements have begun coming to my door and my email; where did this entire year go? Registration for summer events and fall activities all need to be filled out and paid for. Summer Sunday school classes loom with their need for teachers, interns need to be hired, and can there really be just over two months left before Summer Blitz (our church's version of VBS)? Are we ready? These are the times when I stop and ask myself, “What were you thinking? Why would you be on a board, a steering committee, and say that we would take every kid who wants to come to Summer Blitz? Who gave the teachers the summer off, was that really a good idea?”

At times like this I am reminded to stop and think of the one who has called me. The one who said these were all good things. The one who said, He would provide all that was needed.

If you were to come into my office today and snoop around you would find several reminders of God’s faithfulness: a circle drawn on a chalkboard to remind me of missionary Gypsy Smith’s prayer for revival, a verse about confident hope on the sticky note on my computer monitor, and a sign reminding me that “it is easy to be happy”, because happiness comes from God not my circumstances.

I know I am not the only one with teetering piles of responsibility surrounding me on this Monday morning, and so I remind you as God has reminded me, “So know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He will keep his agreement of love for a thousand lifetimes for people who love him and obey his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9

Today, rest in the assurance that the God who loves you has called you, He has strengthened you, and He is faithful.

Beauty of Life

I taught preschool for years. One of the things that we covered every year was the life cycle of a butterfly.  Butterflies have a very easy life cycle to follow and clearly illustrate the circle of life: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and at last:  butterfly. 

In preschool you never talk about the fact that the beautiful butterfly that you have loved, possibly named, and set free will also die.  It’s a part of the circle of life that we ignore if we can.  It just isn’t very friendly to say to a group of 4 year olds:  “Well, we have set the butterfly free.  Maybe it is strong enough to survive.  Maybe it will get eaten by a bird. Maybe another little kid will catch it and rip its wings off”.  We say, “Look!  The beautiful butterfly is free!” We focus on the amazing transformation of an ugly caterpillar into a butterfly.  We focus on the beauty of a transformed life.

God’s word has a wonderful life cycle as well: creation, man-kind, failure, restoration, more failure and restoration; then miraculous life, death, atonement, redemption, and eternity. The true beauty of life is presented through the ugliest death and triumphant resurrection, bringing with it the reality of true transformation to all who believe.

Sometimes the weight of the world and the dailiness of life make me feel as if my wings have been ripped off, but I know that in Christ I am truly free. I have been transformed from the ugliness of sin to one that can stand before God blameless because of Jesus Christ’s great love for me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Running With Scissors

There are some great phrases associated with childhood. One of those is, “Don’t run with scissors!”  Can’t you see it? Cute kid, excited about an art project, grabbing the scissors and waving them overhead as he runs without a care in the world to work on his masterpiece! “I’ve got the scissors! I am ready to create!”

The phrase “Don’t run with scissors” could easily be changed to “Be careful how you live”.  It’s not about the running or the scissors, it is about the combination.  Running with scissors implies carelessness and a lack of attention to the things going on around you.  People do this all the time. They do things in their car that make you think that they believe they are in the privacy of their own home.  People talk on cell phones and text everywhere they go, no matter where they are or who they are with, as if the person seated across from them doesn’t exist.  They thoughtlessly wander through life without a single thought for the people walking along next to them. I once saw a video that showed someone so busy texting while walking that she didn’t see a giant fountain and fell right into it! This is an extreme lack of attention to the things around you.  God tells us to be careful how we live, and that doesn’t include running with scissors or walking around without care for the moment we are in. 

Ephesians 5:15& 17 say, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”  This is a follow up to a list of things that are not part of careful living. It is the exhortation to be imitators of God and to live a life led by the power of the Holy Spirit in you. 

How do we understand what the Lord wants us to do? Pay attention to His Word. Pay attention to the way he is working out his plans in you and in the people around you. Not paying attention leads to carelessness in the way we live our lives and in the way we treat others. 

Are you living with reckless abandon waving scissors of apathy as you go?  “…don’t live like fools, don’t act thoughtlessly…” Don’t run with scissors.

Be careful how you live.

Spring

Song of Solomon 2:12 “The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtle doves fills the air.”

I love the springtime.  I love that the birds have returned to my yard and are taking baths in our sprinklers and bird bath. I love that dormant grass is showing signs of greenness. I love that the apparently dead plants in their pots have little green buds bursting out of stems that look incapable of supporting life.  I love that I can plant flowers and they will stretch their faces to the sun, spreading gladness to all who see them! 

I am told that not everyone wants to plant flowers then sit in a chair with iced tea and admire them…It is quite possibly a sickness…many people do not look upon flowers and grass as if they spread gladness. 

I believe that we are supposed to celebrate new life. Who can drive past a field of little lambs and not say “ah”?  Who can look on a new baby and not see how sweet it is?  Who can watch someone understand and respond to the gospel for the first time and not say “Yes!” followed my an invisible fist pump in celebration?

In the Bible God celebrates new beginnings:  the star announcing his Son’s birth, the worship following the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem, the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb.  As we celebrate Easter I want to encourage you to see the signs of new life around you.  Over and over God reminds us that new life is possible; the greatest reminder of that being what Jesus accomplished through his resurrection. Luke 24:5 & 6 (adapted) “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?   He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!"

Not just a picture of new life, but eternal life; his for the giving, yours for the receiving.

Isaiah 61:11 “Praise Him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring with plants springing up everywhere.”

Bliss

A popular idea is that each of us needs to find our bliss: the thing that makes us perfectly or deliriously happy. Apparently you can find your bliss in chocolate, a spa day, driving a fast car on a curvy road, quiet reflection, or even by watching Oprah!  There are websites dedicated to helping you learn how to find your bliss. Is finding real, actual Bliss attainable? If you are defining bliss as perfect happiness then it is absolutely unattainable. However, if you read further in your dictionary you will find that bliss is also described as “a state of spiritual joy”.  I confess that I have always thought of bliss as being something obtainable through really great dark chocolate, and not obtained through my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Recently I was gathered with other believers and was forcibly struck by the words to the song It is Well With My Soul: “My sin oh the bliss of this glorious thought: My sin, not in part, but the whole. Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, Oh my soul.” 

Jesus has put himself between God and our sin; interceding with God on our behalf by dying on the cross and rising again. Isaiah 53:11 & 12 “My servant will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities….Because He poured out Himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.”  Have you accepted the work that Jesus accomplished on the cross?

For those of us who know Jesus personally, who believe in His name and have accepted his gift of salvation, bliss is already within our grasp. If bliss is a state of spiritual joy, then we have everlasting, eternal bliss. You can’t obtain it through chocolate, shopping or driving fast. No website can tell you how to get it. It is obtained only through the transforming power of Jesus in your life.

“Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  John 1:29

In Control

I like to be in control. Most people do.  It’s a joke in our family.  Once when we were driving to church I told my husband that we should stop and get gas.  He thought it was fine.  I pushed it. His response, “I am in control”.  At that exact moment our car glugged and ran out of gas.  I prefer to think that God looked down and said, “Ha! You think you are in control? I will show you who is in control!”

Many things remind me that I am not in control. My son recently got his drivers permit.  I sit in the passenger seat and he chauffeurs me around.  This is the ultimate example of not being in control. I know that I am a more skilled driver than he: I have more experience, more knowledge, and more everything.  However, I choose to sit in the passenger seat and allow him to take us to our destination.  Once in a while I catch myself braking (my invisible passenger side brake) or wanting to steer. I offer “gentle suggestions” like, “I think you don’t want to be so close to that car”, or “people are going to start braking ahead”. I think he would prefer that I simply ride along without giving any direction.

Learning to drive is a lot like learning to navigate the Christian life.  Without a doubt God has more expertise than I do. He’s been through all of the usual life things himself.  He has guided many people before me and will guide many after me. He certainly could offer some gentle suggestions like, “I think you will regret making that decision”, or “people generally don’t prosper when they live that way”. 

Actually, scripture is full of gentle suggestions and commands regarding the proper way to conduct our lives.  Could the Lord take over and get us to our destination with ease? Absolutely. Would we learn much in the process? Absolutely not. We journey each day with our Father who is constantly beside us, offering guidance along the way.  He is like the ultimate Driver’s Ed teacher: he knows all the roads, he knows the destination and he knows what it will take to get there.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”

Valentine

You’ve read it and you’ve passed it on: the candy conversation heart. It’s like the fortune cookie of love. Pick up a heart, read the saying, and pass it on. What will you tell your Valentine? “Purr fect, call me, cutie pie, new love, my love, UR kind, love bird, smile, lover boy, or be mine.” You wonder who to give a heart to, and ask yourself, who will give one to me?  What will it say? Will you be my Valentine?

The great thing about conversation hearts is that you can choose what saying to give to which person.  The bad thing about a conversation heart is that it is disposable: Temporary promises from a would-be Valentine.

There is someone who loves you, totally and unconditionally; someone whose love has been demonstrated and passed the test of time. Someone who keeps every promise, sees every tear, and knows every hurt. The invitation to be loved by Him is personal. The invitation is just for you. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only son, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Unconditional love, reaching down, saying to you, “Let me be your Valentine”.

Going Organic

When it comes to eating, I don’t really buy into fads. You could definitely say that I am not “organic”. I like chocolate, coffee, fried food, fast food and cookies.  I eat a lot of chicken and salad. I am not dairy or gluten free. I don’t like green beans, lamb, tomatoes, or legumes. I believe that all things can be eaten in moderation. I want my family to eat healthy, but I guess when it comes down to it I think that a little bit of preservatives are probably okay.  Preservatives and other additives are used in our foods to make things stay fresh longer, or to give a forced appearance of health and vibrancy.

Are you plumping up your spiritual life with preservatives? Do you know how to make your life look great without really living authentically for Jesus? We can fill our days with Bible study, church, service work and ministry. We can dress up and come to church with perfect hair and clothes and still be decaying on the inside.

I think in my spiritual life it may be time to go organic.  Organic is defined as something that “occurs or develops gradually and naturally without being forced or contrived”.  God wants us to worship him and serve him with our whole hearts. He wants us first on the inside and then on the outside.  He is not impressed by the performance we put on for the world and even sometimes for ourselves; He is concerned about the condition of our hearts.

Are you organic? Is your relationship with Him something that occurs naturally without being forced or contrived?  I love that the definition for organic includes the fact that this organic something “develops gradually”.  We will not become spiritually rich and deep people overnight. There is no preservative we can take that will cause this lasting transformation, it will naturally occur over the span of a lifetime spent with God. 

How is this sort of organic relationship with God possible? As believers we are each indwelt by the Holy Spirit the moment we become children of God. The Holy Spirit is at work in our lives every day whether we acknowledge his presence or not.  The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit “gives birth to spiritual life” (John 3:6), is sent as an “advocate from the Father”, to teach us everything and remind us of everything we have been told (John 14:26), and that “the Holy Spirit leads into all truth” (John 14: 17) Allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us as we take time to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, pray, and experience times of refreshment with other believers, are all ways we grow in our relationship with God.

Let’s go organic!