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)