Never Fall
Playing the memory card game with a four-year-old is different: when he picks up a card, he wants to keep looking til he finds the match. If I pick a card he really likes, he wants me to surrender it to him so he can find the match. He also likes to win or we both win – no other options.
Someday soon I will have to start ‘winning’ some of the games I play with him. He will probably cry. But what service would I be doing him if I didn’t allow him to experience loss and failure with me in preparation for what is to come?
About 2,000 years ago a brash young man had to learn some hard lessons. He probably thought he had already had his fair share. He was a fisherman for a living and that wasn’t always easy. Living under Roman oppression was no picnic either. Then came Jesus.
Peter believed with all his heart that Jesus was God’s Son, Messiah. So, he followed Him through thick and thin for three years. Then one night Jesus was arrested and when they asked Peter if he was one of Jesus’ followers, he quickly replied: ‘no way’. Then his eyes met those of Jesus and heartbreak, like no other, overcame him. He wept bitterly thinking there was no chance of a do-over.
But that’s not how things are with the Savior. Peter is the one God used to start the Christian church after Jesus was crucified. The one the Holy Spirit spoke through in Peter’s first sermon – and more than 3,000 were brought to salvation.
Peter teaches us in his second letter to Christians that there are a few things we need to add to our faith: “…make every effort to add to your faith goodness…knowledge…self-control…perseverance…godliness…brotherly kindness…love.” (2Peter 1:5b-7 NIV) He also tells us why we need to be adding these things: “For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2Peter 1:10b-11 NIV)
Peter learned a lot from that bitter night. And now he shows us how we can never fall – have a rich welcome – and have eternity! There will be no more hard lessons someday – only a forever of discovery. Searching out the depths of the Creator and His creation await all who accept Him.
Transplant
This is a hurting world. Broken, lost, trying to breathe. All around the effect of centuries of sin – and its relentless pursuit – swirl. As I write, a friend’s adult son fights for his life – a fall at work left him with a broken skull and his mother clings to God. Babies in the hospital unexpectedly, more moms (dads, grandparents, friends) on their knees.
“I think of You through the watches of the night…My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:6b & 8 NIV)
What of those in similar circumstances, or worse, who don’t know God? How do they keep their sanity? What is their hope?
We speak of ‘heart’ for all manner of emotions. Over and over God refers to our hearts in the Bible.
Here’s an amazing thing: when He takes hold of us (and we let Him), He actually gives us a new heart. Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, He speaks of taking our hearts of stone and replacing them with hearts that are fresh and clean and usable by Him.
“For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” (Romans 10:10 NLT)
Honestly, I don’t know how one navigates all that life holds without truly knowing God and knowing the Hope He has given us. “We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in You.” (Psalm 39:6-7 NLT)
So, a transplant is what this weary world needs. Hearts transplanted and replaced with ones that beat for Jesus and rely on His power and strength. Ones that can weather the tragedies and still say: ‘it is well with my soul’.
For someday these bodies will fail, but those with transplanted hearts from God will again walk and never grow weary, and there will be no more tears (or moms whose pain is not fathomable). “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” (Psalm 73:26 NLT)
Available
Too easy – to be all about self. Pretense that all we’re doing currently prevents us from being able to put ourselves out to add another thing to our schedule. So we drive on by the homeless man, impatiently walk behind the elderly woman, don’t look up from our conversation at the waiter.
And I’m pointing these fingers back at myself. Life is full and chaotic and uncertain. And it’s just so much easier to not invite any more in. To just hope I get the next few hours right. To close off any mention of more.
There was a little boy, his name was Samuel. His mother had tried for years to have a baby. Finally she bore a son. Because he was an answer to a prayer of surrender of herself, she, in turn, surrendered him in service to God. One night as he slept in the temple, a voice called: “Samuel”.
At first the boy thought it was the old priest he was serving with, and he ran responding: “Here I am”. But the priest had not called. After the third time, Samuel was told it was God’s voice and to go back and when the Lord called to say: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1Samuel 3:9b NIV)
You and I may not get called on in the middle of the night (or we might) – but we are called. It’s the very nature of being a servant of God. He calls on us daily to be ready, at a moment’s notice, to respond: ‘I’m listening’.
Question is, will we listen, do we want to hear? The things purposed for us as we walk this life aren’t always easy. Called to be a mom, grammy – got it. Called to intervene when I see a stranger needing to hear Jesus loves you, um, gulp – that’s a little inconvenient, embarrassing, not my ‘gift’.
It wasn’t always easy for Samuel to speak up for God either. And yet he spent the rest of his life delivering messages that often weren’t welcome. He was available and God used his ‘here I am’ to anoint kings and to chastise them as well.
Our call may not be as lofty, but our ‘here I am’ needs to be just as ready. If I want my grandsons to see Jesus, I need to walk in His footsteps. If I want my grown children to see why and how to serve, I must trust. If I want to hear ‘well done’ at the end, I need to say: “Pick me, I’m available.”
Honor
A foreign word these days – honor. And yet when used, it’s misused. We give honor to worthless things. We call people heroes flippantly. In this culture of constant affirmation, words become watered down.
We are so consumed with being entertained, that scoring baskets or goals is heroic. That doing the job we’re being paid for somehow makes us deserve high honor. Maybe it started back when we began giving every child on the team a trophy. Actually I think it started in that garden called Eden: when you eat it, you will be like God.
In that taste, by both the woman and the man, in a mere few seconds, honor became something to be grasped for self. Jealousies, hatreds, divisions – over skin colors, weight, money, status, etc. – start when honor is given to any other than God the Creator. “Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.” (Luke 4:8b CEV)
Certainly those things we do like run into a burning building to save another, donate a kidney to one whose kidneys are failing, and even the kind act of helping an elderly person who stumbles are noble. These are what we are created for.
The very ability to do any of those things and others, is a gift from the Creator. “I have strength for all things in the One strengthening me.” (Philippians 4:13 BLB)
And there’s where we forget. Forget that any ‘good’ we do is a manifestation of the One we are created in the image of.
This is where we lost track. Created in the image of God to do good works: “For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 HCSB)
So all our efforts are not for our glory, our honor. They are to honor the One who gives us each breath. Who knows the number of our hairs, numbered our days before our first breath. “All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.” (Jude 1:25 NLT)
Unbelief
So easy to live like we believe when all is well. Right now I’m in the all is well – no major crisis, heartache, or fear. But where will my belief be when…
When things aren’t so easy. A friend is walking through ALS with her husband. Prayer request came through, he was struggling. Another friend took care of a father-in-law in his last months doing things for him she had never imagined she would find herself doing.
I’ve seen these and others walk hard life things – like friends, much too young to die, lose their battle to cancer. And I wonder, how will I walk through the next hard life thing?
You know the story of the father whose son was possessed by a demon. Constantly hurting himself. A father worn out from the daily struggle, worn out from the worry. Then Jesus is near. Last hope, last resort – he asks: “if you can do anything, have compassion”.
If – such a big word looms. In the seconds between the father’s plea and Jesus’ proclamation, hung all of mankind’s questions. Can you Jesus? Will you?
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23 NIV)
I’m that father, so are you: ‘If you can Lord, please do.’ And what we don’t get is this: He has. Doesn’t always look like what we asked. But someday we will see how perfect the answer was. Know how I know?
Because He’s told us.: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.“ (Mark 11:24 BSB)
Even our unbelief He can fix that too. Maybe we can’t see the answer yet, maybe in this life we won’t see it at all. But someday we will see clearly. For in eternity more than all we could ever ask or imagine is Yes as we proclaim Amen – “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”. (2Corinthians 1:20 NIV) He is for us all the time!
No more pits
Everything has a disclaimer and warning these days. The raisin container says, ‘may contain stems’; the olive jar says, ‘occasional pits’; entertainment has ratings, websites warn of ‘cookies’.
Life seemingly doesn’t come with disclaimers or warnings. Nothing comes with a newborn telling parents this will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. No tag to tuck away for when that child becomes an adult that says, ‘childhood was hard but you haven’t seen anything yet’.
Then again, there is something that talks about these things. A lengthy list telling the results of our actions – for better or for worse. Written to be timeless and handed down through the ages. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2Timothy 3:16 NLT)
In that case, familiarity and constant intake of the Bible are necessities to navigate this life. And even so, we will still stumble, hearts will still break, fear and sadness and despair will still visit us.
But in the soul of every believer there is a constant companion, the Holy Spirt. He’s a deposit given us ensuring us that we will make it through all this world hurls our way. “When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13b-14 NIV)
Personally, I hate biting down on an olive and feeling the crunch of the pit. I haven’t been too fond of the pitfalls in life either. Yet as I’ve gotten to know Jesus and become familiar with God through prayer and His Word, I’ve learned to listen for the Holy Spirit and wait on the calm that is promised me.
Peace in the midst of the storms – joy in times of deep sorrow. Those are opposites, right? Yet they are ours. They come from the knowledge that this isn’t all there is.
When we walk our days knowing that someday all sorrow, fear, even death itself will be no more – we are confident that in eternity there will be no more pits. “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2Corinthians 4:18 NLT)
Endurance
My mother had lots of sayings. When I would be sassy, she’d remind me: You get a lot more with honey than vinegar. When things weren’t going so well for herself or others she would say: Into each life a little rain must fall.
Some lives must feel like it’s a monsoon. I think of war-torn areas and wonder how they endure. I think of moms holding little ones who are skin and bones because of famine. So much heartbreak and trials.
These are the result of things gone awry from way back in the beginning of time. What was perfection quickly became toil, despair, and decay. But all past sins and trials detailed in Bible pages have purposes: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4 NIV)
Not only what was written but what you and I walk through even now. I often wonder: how do those who don’t know Jesus make it through each day? If this is all there is, if we are all just the result of some big bang, some advanced blob on the evolutionary scale – why do any of us keep going?
Though it may be true there are sweet moments in life, far more are the trying moments. Those who love God know this and still struggle. But they have hope. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23 NIV)
When I was a girl, my parents divorced and each summer I flew back to see my dad. On those flights I came up with a saying of my own: Above the clouds the sky is blue – and the sun still shines. We can’t see beyond the grey cover at times – so we must endure the storms.
Trusting God gives us the endurance we think we don’t have: “All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the Light.” (Colossians 1:10b-12 NLT) The Son still shines.
Before & After
I love makeovers – an old house becomes dream home. Sepia tone photos restored in color. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The old or unsightly made new.
Lots in our world could use a makeover: tyrannical or corrupt governments, crime torn communities, false religions, sick or crippled bodies – most of all dark hearts full of self. Hearts that, laid bare, show only a desire to gratify a hunger for power, wealth, dominance, fame, the world’s treasures. Even the hearts of “good people”, whose concern and love only manifest when it’s convenient.
Even you and me. Jesus came so the old could be made new. Transformation of hearts and souls. “So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to – the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self.” (Ephesians 4:22-23a GNT)
Little ones want to be big. Tall like mom, strong like daddy. In a hurry to change from dependent to independent. If only they knew what us ‘big’ people know – it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Because not only do bodies grow up, but also minds and attitudes.
And the result of those who feed on what satisfies self is all around us. From the first man and woman to you and I – uncontrolled by faith in God, we will always end up needing someone to pick up the pieces.
“The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10 GNT)
It’s a life-long process, this transformation. But a life walked with Jesus will result in a makeover. “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.” (Romans 12:2 GNT)
Before and after – once we were lost, now we are being made new day by day. These bodies may be aging and crumbling, but our spirits are growing and changing. We need a metamorphosis not hidden in cocoons, but lived out in ways that show Messiah is our King.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
Beyond the Curtain
Perspective… My four year old grandson napped at my house from the time he was four months old. His room had heavy window coverings to make it nice and dark (and hopefully give gwammy a short break).
This week we took everything out, window coverings off, painted the walls – ready to turn it in to a Little Man Cave for three grandsons. He went into the empty room and looked towards the window: “Wow – gwammy, did you move the house? How did those trees get there?” He never saw beyond the curtain.
Is this us or what? We judge people, circumstances, everything based on our limited view. We also frame our relationship, or lack thereof, with Jesus based on our limited view.
This is why it is so very important to look beyond headlines, news clips, fake smiles delivering false promises. Beyond textbooks and educators with agendas. To seek the truth, because it can be found. To look beyond the curtain that unbelievers and our enemy use to block our view.
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” (Hebrews 6:19 NLT)
It’s also why it’s important that our Bibles aren’t something we dust off only when cleaning house. It’s a living book, new with each reading, brimming over with all we need for life – now and in eternity.
I recently wrote to older grandchildren and told them that not reading the Bible and saying they know Jesus, is like getting married someday but never speaking to your spouse after the wedding.
God wants us to k-n-o-w Him. He’s made it possible. Not some god that has rituals, traditions, icons, etc.; not one who we fail based on a set of laws. “…we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19b-22 NLT)
Jehovah, the God of the universe – Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind – and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us – want us to experience their presence in our hearts and souls now – and in forever. Our Father wants us talking with Him daily and promises, through His Word, to talk with us. He ripped the curtain top to bottom, because He wants us beyond the curtain.
Come hungry
It’s fun to be invited over for a meal, come as you are, don’t bring a thing. A text that day says: come hungry!
So we bring empty tummies anticipating not only good food, but good company and laughs. I’ve noticed that Jesus is an inviter. Two brothers were doing what they always did – fishing for a living. As Jesus was passing by He gave an irresistible invitation: “Come, follow Me’, Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19 NIV)
What was it about Messiah that made those two drop their nets and follow? Little did they know what an adventure they were in for.
He invites you and me too. Meeting us when we least expect Him to show up.
Like when we’ve lost our temper, been critical of someone, been selfish. When we’re tired and just want to escape. The invitation: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28b NLT)
There is an invitation He extends that we seem to ignore: to get to know Him. To spend time with Him. Why? Why is it the world and all our busyness is so much more alluring? Why aren’t we like those fishermen – eager to join Jesus?
We do seem to fill ourselves up with useless things – social media, tv, games, etc. We ‘choose’ to let one day after another fade away often not blowing the dust off the words of the invitation – the Bible. Once a rich young man asked Christ what it would take for him to have eternal life. Jesus kept it simple: “sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21) The man went away sad.
That’s us. Treasure in heaven is the promise and yet we cling to this life, to our earthly riches. We don’t know what an adventure we’re missing out on. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t want us to have stuff – it’s that He doesn’t want the stuff to have us. He wants us to come hungry, feast on His Word and be filled to overflowing with the goodness of all He wants to give us. How can we resist?
parisrenae 