What’s Ahead?
Truth? For everyone who ever has, is, or will walk this earth – nothing is static. Life changes – sometimes gradually, sometimes in an instant.
About two thousand years ago Jesus’ cousin John was born. His papa hadn’t been able to speak since learning he was going to be a father. At his birth when Elizabeth said we’re naming the baby John, all present said ‘That’s not a family name, Zechariah what should it be?’ Zechariah wrote: “His name is John.” Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.” (Luke 1:63b-64 NLT)
About thirty or so years later a beggar, blind and at the mercy of anyone with pity called out to the Healer. “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.” (Luke 18:39b&40-42 NLT)
I’m seeing a trend – and it’s not the miracles. And it’s not rubbing a genie lamp and instantly getting what we want. Each time praising God was the response.
Not every life changing moment is rosy – some are catastrophic. Our response has to do with our focus. Zechariah was surely frustrated but for nine months he looked ahead to what was coming. The blind man was shunned and had nothing but when the One he had heard about came his way he loudly kept calling even when shooshed by the crowd. His focus on the only One who could help.
Our problems, our ‘oh no-now whats’, our helplessness usually result in short-sightedness. As Renee Ratcliffe recently said “Sometimes I look around instead of looking ahead.” Miracles or tragedies and all the in between – we need to improve our vision by keeping it focused ahead. To what God has called us to, to our someday when we will see clearly.
“I ask that your minds may be opened to see His light, so that you will know what is the hope to which He has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings He promises His people,” (Ephesians 1:18-19a GNT) That’s what’s ahead, wonderful – blessings – promises kept. Praise Him in all things.
The Fixer…
Can’t fix the things that seem most broken? Me either.
We pray, try to forget or bury, do things, say things, buy things, and worry. And yet the very things we fret over are oh so useful in the hands of The Fixer. No ‘caught off guard’ with God. He needs no ‘plan B’.
Heartaches are not roadblocks they are avenues. Regrets are not dead ends they are detours. Suffering and loss are not accidents, they are maps showing the way. It may take our life times to really get this: “…God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28b NIV)
Our Jesus doesn’t miss one tear we shed, each deep sigh finds strength only in Him. You and me, we’re not perfect; we have and we will mess up. Yet we are perfectly loved and all our messes are not too big for God.
So take it from a ‘fixer’ in rehab: we can’t fix it and He doesn’t want us to. He wants us to release our tight grip and let His strong hands make beauty out of the mess. It is in the letting go we find freedom. Trusting His ability for our ‘I can’t’ and discovering rest. The opposite is true – unless we allow The Fixer to handle the impossible, we will live in fear. And in fear there is only bondage.
This is how we live in freedom – we listen to His declaration of lavish love – we live like we believe it. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1John 3:1a NIV) Then the fixing will begin with us and spread like ripples in a pond.
Restoration is ours today. The Fixer knows just what needs to be done.
Can You Believe It?
Oh to be childlike – laying on the grass watching clouds float away, to see a lizard and not understand why you can’t catch it, to read just one more story – and not think about time.
Seems like one day melts into another and a week is gone, then a month. Years march on and a little slowing down is what the soul longs for. Sometimes the hard things make time flying by seem like a good thing. But what about the moments we wish would linger. Is there a rest stop in the fast lane of life? “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.” (Psalm 62:5 HCSB)
When Jesus was here there was a woman whose brother suddenly became deathly ill – word was sent to Jesus, but the man died. When Jesus arrived she wondered if things could have turned out differently had he gotten there sooner. He said to her “He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NIV)
Time loses its grip when we believe Jesus. When we let regrets about time not spent well, or missed opportunities, or special occassions not attended stay where they belong – in the past – then we are free to live in the now. To believe that even if things don’t turn out our way, we will never die – and someday there will be no regrets. Do you, can you, will you believe this?
Here’s the truth of our fragile believing: When a father came to Jesus wanting healing for his son Jesus told him “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23b NIV) The father exclaimed “I do believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24b NIV)
Our unbelief – even that is okay. Because just enough faith to seek Him is all that is needed. God doesn’t say only if we have faith to move mountains will He help us. He says faith as small as a mustard seed will move our mountains. It’s a matter of remembering that some mountains are moved in the here and now and some are moved down the road after we are done here on earth.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me…I will come back and take you to be with Me” (John 14:1 & 3b NIV) Believe Him.
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here!
I Forgot…
I forgot – again. Forgot that I’m not alone. Forgot that fear is an enemy. Forgot that now isn’t all there is.
But this is what God tells me, tells you: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b NLT) He wants us to be sure – so He put His Spirit in us and wherever we go, we are never alone.
My one year old grandson doesn’t understand when I leave the room, I haven’t left him. He comes running to make sure he’s not abandoned. Jesus left us here for a little while, but He didn’t desert us. On every journey He is with us.
What about our enemy fear? “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2Timothy 1:7 NLT) Though enemies – seen and unseen – may surround us, fear is an enemy only we open the door to.
It’s getting warm here, so recently we were moving a big fan in the garage to blow on my grandson and I while we play. At first the noise bothered him but it wasn’t close so he went about his business. But when grampa moved it our direction, he thought it was coming to get him. We’re like that, when the bad stuff is far enough away, we keep our chin up. But when confronted with what frightens us, we think it can swallow us.
So over all this, there’s a promise: “…God Himself will be with them…He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:3b-5a NIV) Now is brief, eternity is forever.
Until we’re about fifty we live like things will go on the same indefinitely. Then it begins to hit us, our mortality. We begin to calculate approximately how many years we have left. I think it’s why people started bucket lists – cram as much in as you can before it’s too late. Too late? This side of eternity is to shine God’s light – the other side has endless wonders. Time to remember – never forget – the best is yet to come.
Save, Don’t Save…
When I write something and then close it out, a dialog box pops up ‘Save or Don’t Save’. Two little boxes, one big question.
Kind of like when we clean out the garage or attic – save, don’t save? Stuff that at one time had meaning – enough to store it away even after its usefulness.
Fortunately God doesn’t use a program with a dialog box and an easy button to push. “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent Him to save them!” (John 3:17 CEV) That’s why you and I don’t get to decide for others. In moments of frustration we would hit ‘don’t save’.
But this Father of ours, our Creator, the One who loves when we give no reason to, chooses save every time a lost one looks to Him.
What a sweet picture – not only did God send Jesus here to walk this earth, but after Jesus returned to sit at God’s side He now speaks up for us. We are His and when our actions condemn us, He intercedes for us.
“He is forever able to save the people He leads to God, because He always lives to speak to God for them.” (Hebrews 7:25 CEV)
Jesus before the Father saying things like: ‘Yes, she lied, but I paid for it on the cross.’ ‘Yes, he had an affair, but my blood covers over his sin.’ ‘This one doubts and doesn’t trust You all the time, Father, but I made a way even for her lack of faith.’
And then instead of save or don’t save there’s this: “How great is God’s love for all who worship him? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! How far has the LORD taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west!” (Psalm 103:12 CEV)
You, me – saved for all eternity and looked upon as worth keeping forever.
If you stopped by because you read my devotion over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here!
Free Fall…
Ever actually seen a field of wheat? Me either – but I love the pictures showing stalks gently blowing in the breeze, like a sea of gold.
These days machines do much of the work taking the grain from the stalk and leaves – stuff called chaff. But back in the day before all that modern equipment, wow, hard work – messy – time intensive. The workers would spread the sheaves out and beat them and then begin tossing them in the air. The wind takes away the lightweight unwanted chaff and the grain falls to the ground.
A picture of us. Standing in our own confidence. Then life happens. We stubbornly hold on to all we’ve known. But little by little, if we let Him, God breaks us down. All our chaff – selfishness, pride, greed, ugly things we hold on to – begins to blow away.
For us it is a lifelong process. Some days much of our good grain – compassion, generosity – becomes apparent. Other days the chaff fills the air around us.
Love this quote by George Eliot “Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with You, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”
The breath of kindness, just as we are. Free falling grain into the hands of our trustworthy God. No pretenses needed, for He knows us better than we know ourselves. He looks upon our worst moments and still says “This one is mine.”
A Faithful Hand, in the midst of our faithlessness, beckoning to our spirit to trust, to let His love transform us, to finally be crushed into something useful. The grain that fell to the ground still has no use. Milled into a fine powder then mixed with oil, water, and yeast it bakes into a wondrous aroma and life sustaining food. Us too, transformed by the renewing of our spirit with His sweet aroma to those around us.
“He saved us — not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy — through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5 HCSB)
8:45am
Funny how we mark things with time – the year of the hurricanes, September 11, 2001, the call this morning from a tearful child “I’m on my way to the emergency room”.
The slow motion moments. Moving at the speed of light to get to her side but feeling like time has come to a standstill. The praise news is all is well – the soul news is God’s there even when all isn’t well.
“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,” (Psalm 91:15a NIV)
In the midst of chaos His peace is always being offered – but our eyes become focused on our own sufficiency and forget His. On my way to the hospital a homeless man, head down, with his sign. A plea for help – not oh so different from mine. And then the blessing: me with no cash but I did have bottled water and a Bible, my apologies for not having more. “Thank you, no worries, life is getting a little better each day” he tells me.
That’s it. Each day is another day closer to being with Jesus and no more emergency rooms, no more homelessness.
Why oh why do we doubt? Has God not proved Himself faithful over and over – in the minor and major life happenings? Yes, death still comes, sickness still weakens, marriages dissolve, jobs get cut. In those moments, O Lord, take our eyes off our perceived ability and put them on Your moment by moment provision. It is in the jumping ahead, the what ifs, and the ‘no please’ – that we lose our way.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34 NIV)
We don’t know the next calendar date we won’t be able to forget – but we can know the God who doesn’t let a sparrow fall without His noticing. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” (Matthew 14:1 NIV)
Eyes Fixed…
How do you teach a one year old about Easter? The little guy in our life is thrilled to point out birds in the blue sky, search for the airplane he hears overhead, and loves to come up to the base of a tree straining his gaze upward to see the top.
So I sing songs about a Savior, His love, His creation. But how do I tell him the wrongs we all do, did, will do caused this Savior to be nailed to a tree?
For now, I choose to do as this little one naturally does: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2a NIV) Soon enough he will begin to see sin for himself. Choosing to say ‘mine’ instead of share a toy, temper tantrums, and unfortunately the really vile all around him.
Then I can tell him: “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame,” (Hebrews 12:2b NIV) Why would Jesus suffer so? In the few thousand years before His earthly ministry, man had proven most cruel and He knew we would continue down the same path for the next couple thousand. But Jesus was the plan before time was set in motion. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6 NIV)
That is Easter summed up. We are powerless, God’s perfect timing, Christ died. But wait there is one more thing: He rose again!
Someday this little one will find out what you and I know: life is not easy. Tomorrow, today for that matter, could find us gasping for God to make sense of the mess. So we are reminded “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:3 NIV)
This is our call for the days leading to Easter Sunday. Consider – ponder long, think about much, search out, seek. Remember all He endured. For my sin – for your sin. As we do this, not only at Easter but each day, we will not grow weary and our hearts will be strengthened.
So be like a one year old – keep your eyes fixed…on Jesus.
Sweetest Embrace…
Nothing quiet like being held. Babies who are cuddled thrive – those fed and diapered but not held have been known to die. Recently I witnessed a precious groom sweetly cradle his new bride’s face in his hand as he kissed her.
Just look at mothers’ hands. Gone (for the most part) are the manicured nails and smooth skin. But out of all the caring those hands do, comes a sureness and beauty that speaks without words – these hands know how to hold.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry here on earth the Bible speaks often of people coming and asking for Him to touch them with His hands. Just a touch – somehow knowing in their hearts that in His hands were healing, forgiveness, peace. And Jesus, just before His last breath on the cross, spoke these words: “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
After He rose from the dead He showed His hands. Even more beautiful than before, though scarred from spikes – they revealed He holds the keys to death and life.
As I squeeze my grandson’s sweet cheeks between my palms, love swells. In the tender hug of a friend, love grows. In the hand holding of a husband and wife, the love grown through struggle and triumph is solidified. In the sweetest embrace, the one we receive as we pass from this life and behold Jesus’ face, that embrace assures: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV)
So, dear one, if you know Jesus, you are being held – don’t let go. And some sweet day you’ll hold the hands that stretched out willingly on a cross in order to hold you forever.
On Marriage…
Only daughter walked the aisle this past Saturday – my ‘do it myself, my way’ girl.
Ever been to a wedding? Some are sedate and full of ritual, some are party start to finish. But all are a celebration of two people saying they want to live in commitment to each other. And so our Jesus has committed to all who know Him as Savior. Some day a wedding banquet like no other will take place – Pinterest doesn’t have anything on this celebration.
“For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ “ (Revelation 19:7-9 NIV)
That will be a time of joy like no other. And the celebration will never end, for that celebration will signal the end of our fallen world and usher in the eternity we have so long hoped for.
The Lamb came once to lay down His life. He will come again so our days will be eternal. The bride has made herself ready – in the simple act of saying yes to Jesus. Righteous acts will clothe us like a stunning wedding dress – not our righteousness, but Christ’s. For only through Him working through us are any of our acts without self-motivation.
Blessed are those invited – favored, honored, special preparations made for. The love that is ours now will be so overpowering in His presence we will feel immersed in it.
For now we commit to have and to hold. Through the good and the bad. Til death us part. It is a chance to try and live out a relationship the way Christ lives for us. We will flub it up over and over – and some will have the great pleasure of many anniversaries. But we never have to worry about our Jesus’ commitment to cherish from this day forward, for He knew us before we came to be and He waits to walk into a jillion sunsets with us.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3 NIV)
parisrenae 