Devotions For Real Life

God moments, lessons learned, and hope for the journey

Look for a new post every Sunday. My hope is you find encouragement, wisdom for real life moments, and share them with others who may benefit from any of the posts.

  • It’s Scriptural

    While reading scripture tonight I discovered something that was honestly refreshing to me. Perhaps you’re like me and not all your thoughts are always positive or uplifting. Maybe you see that success seems to come easy to others who get ahead through underhanded means, and you feel like things just aren’t fair. Maybe you’ve made the right choices, but you find yourself in difficult places and when you look you see others who make all the wrong choices that seem to have it all. Maybe you’ve thought to yourself, “this isn’t right and it’s not fair.” I think we all have had these thoughts, but we make ourselves feel bad about having these thoughts. Like somehow, we’re less Christian because some of our thoughts are not positive enough, faith focused enough, or scriptural. Or are they?

    Tonight as I read psalms 73. I saw that long before I or anyone else alive now ever had thoughts like that these the same sentiment was expressed and felt by others. In Psalms 73 it’s David speaking. He said he was envious of the arrogant because he saw them prosper. He saw the wicked prosper and he was jealous and even embittered. He felt the same things that we feel now long ago. Wasn’t he a man after God’s own heart yet these are things he expressed. Interestingly enough he said he had these thoughts until He went into the sanctuary of God, and he discerned their end. So, when he realized that what they have in this life matters little. It’s the end that matters, or after our end here in this life. Interesting right that this historical Biblical figure asked himself questions that I know I’ve heard asked in the present day. Maybe not the exact same way as he said it but in similar ways. Sometimes I’ve even said these things myself.

    I remember a time when I was angry with God because I didn’t understand why if I had made right choices, I was the one who was the single mother of four struggling just to survive. Especially when I saw other people thrive who just did whatever they wanted and didn’t care. I know, I know, just like David I understand that our reward or blessing from God isn’t what we get in this life but it’s hard to wait for the blessing of eternity when you’re living in the here and now. It’s easy to get distracted and look around you at others and compare but we’re not looking or comparing the right thing when we do. The reason I say all this to explain how wrong our own self condemnation for having these thoughts is. We condemn ourselves for thinking and feeling these things when this man in scripture so clearly expressed his thoughts and felt no guilt or shame over it. It’s in the Bible. Why do we feel guilt and shame over thoughts that we don’t see as Christian enough. Maybe we should take a page out of the Psalmist book and express how we feel yet still go to the House of the Lord and let him inform us of truth that can enlighten are very human thoughts.

    If you want more evidence that these seemingly negative and anguished thoughts are not wrong to express take a look at another book in the Bible. The entire book of Ecclesiastes. I know I’ve thought those things written and expressed in Ecclesiastes especially as I age. It talks about how you’re only young once and it fades. The author expresses how pointless and meaningless everything in life is. I can’t tell you how many people have those very same thoughts every single day and somehow feel like they’re the only one. But all those hundreds and hundreds of years ago someone else felt the exact same way and it was ok to express it, and to feel it.  

    Another book in the Bible that demonstrates how not wrong these thoughts and feelings are is the book of Lamentations in which the author wrote of how they were constantly feeling attacked, on all sides.  They felt threatened, abandoned, and were honestly tormented it seems. Depressed would be a good description of their feelings. Yet in the middle of it all, they bring to mind God and recall his faithfulness.  Yet that recollection does not take away from the chapters of distress they express.  They were not just a believer in the great is thy faithfulness section. Yes, we can go thorough those dark times too as a believer.  We are not less than believers because we do or weak Christians.  We are like the author of that book struggling, dealing with frustration, depression, and even feeling attacked by God himself at times.  Yet we too can still in that state remember that God is faithful and let that inform the hopelessness we are struggling against. 

    I truly believe that’s why all of these scriptures and books are included in the bible. It is God’s way of demonstrating that it’s OK to not be OK and to have these very human thoughts, feelings, and experiences. That we all struggle with our thoughts about how things don’t seem fair in life, we all struggle with how things feel so meaningless and pointless at times, and we all struggle to believe in what we cannot see when facing challenges, grief, and hard times. We are not bad Christians for having these thoughts. We are not weak people who are hopeless. No, we’re human. 

    God knew our human condition yet he still loved us enough to send his son for us when we were still his enemies. He’s well acquainted with our frailties and our weaknesses, and he doesn’t despise us for them. We’re the ones who hate ourselves for our weaknesses, we’re the ones who get mad at ourselves when we aren’t a good enough Christian because our faith just isn’t strong enough, we’re the ones who condemn ourselves with our thoughts and our words. He’s the one who when we go to his house informs us of the truth that helps us see clearly. It’s like our thoughts are muddy water and he brings a clarity to it so it’s crystal clear and we can understand and find peace.

    So tonight, if you had some thoughts that you just didn’t feel were quite faith filled enough and Christian enough don’t condemn yourself. You’re not less, you’re not rejected by God because of your thoughts and feelings.  No, you are loved by God. Just as Jesus said to the woman who was brought to him who had committed adultery. When he told all the people you who are without sin cast the first stone and all the accusers left. He looked at the woman and he said “where are your accusers?  Has no one condemned you?” The woman’s answer was “no one Lord?”  Jesus responded “neither do I condemn you.”

    I think that Jesus would want you to hear the same words right now. He is not condemning you for your very human thoughts whether they be anger over unfairness, bitterness over perceived injustice, weariness because life is just plain hard, doubt because sometimes it’s hard to believe, depression because of hard times, or any other thoughts you perceive as not the faith filled or the righteous Christian thoughts you think you should have. He doesn’t condemn you. You can express these thoughts and these feelings to him without judgement. Just don’t stay in them forever. Go to his house and let him enlighten you to the truth beyond the feeling or the thoughts that you’re thinking. It might take several chapters of your story to get past the thoughts you’re thinking and feelings, to move past what you are dealing with in the moment.

    Maybe I didn’t cover the brand of whatever the thoughts you struggle with. But I guarantee you if you look in scripture, you’ll see that somebody thought it before you. God loved all of them and wrote their stories, and he’s written one for you too. It’s absolutely lovely in all of its raw messiness and authentic beauty. So in conclusion yeah your thoughts are scriptural just not in the way you expected, Find freedom in that truth today.

    , ,

  • Starting Over (I wrote this several years ago)

    Recently I have been struggling. As I’m going through the process of divorce, and it is a process because it does not happen overnight.  Neither was the cause an immediate thing. I am surrounded by death, I am at an ending, a graveside. This death of a marriage is something I have been grieving. 

    Like others who have come through divorce or separation I have been angry, sleepless, fearful of the future and all the unknowns.  I have been hurting and even have made a few negative choices.  I have fallen a little in pursuit of whatever it takes to numb the pain. Last night, again up late, I cried out to God. I felt done, finally ready to release this. 

    I could not fix my situation, myself, or even protect my children. Lost and locked in my grief I became powerless against the overwhelming feeling of loss. I was buried alive in my grief.  Yet I could also see clearly that I was standing alongside the grave of my dead marriage. The picture in my mind was of me standing there, at a graveside and on the tombstone here lies What could have been, my marriage, promises made, and my love for him.  All of it over and dead. It occurred to me the only way out was to start over. Climb out of the hole, claw my way out if I had to, brush the dirt off, and walk away.  I needed to begin again. I can’t keep looking back, the good and the bad, all of it I have to walk away from. 

    In this pivotal moment in my life, I cried out for a new vision, a new purpose, because holding on to the old one was killing me. It was killing my spirit, hurting my children, and destroying my life. It was separating me from God. 

    So here goes, I’m at a beginning, not the same as I was at the first start because all I left behind affected and changed me. I’m hoping that God will heal me, so I don’t let the pain or the jadedness get in my way of really living. I don’t want the past to hold me back as I walk forward on this new path that God has set me on. Keeping my eyes open toward the one who pulled me from the deep pit, and looking only to him for hope, love, and guidance I start this new beginning. God give me courage to walk forward, leaving it all behind and never looking back. What God has in store for me, I don’t know, but I know it will be beyond what I can imagine or even dream, that’s what he has promised me.  

    If you like me, have been here.  Facing the death of what was, and it has been keeping you captive.  Be courageous and walk away from the grave of what ifs and what was.  Walk forward to what can be. At least as a believer we have the assurance that we are not starting again alone or in our own power.  We need only press forward and let go of the things that are behind.  So do it, start again. That’s what I am going to do.  

  • Hurt

    I remember when I was a girl, and I would get hurt. I would run to my mother and ask her to make it all better. Such a simple thing. And somehow even though she didn’t magically heal the wound just getting a hug and a Band-Aid somehow made it all seem better. I’m definitely not a little girl anymore but I still get hurt. This actually isn’t easy for me to admit because I try to make myself invulnerable to being hurt by others. I don’t let things offend me or bother me and even when something is done that should hurt me emotionally or otherwise, I do my level best to suppress it or ignore it. The truth is though, that there have been things that have happened that have really hurt me. Really is a loaded word isn’t it. It’s a little small disclaimer word used before another word that in this case means a whole lot. No really, it means there was a whole lot of hurt that I have felt in my life. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.  Although, I’m ashamed to admit it but so much of the hurt is due to my own internal voice criticizing me. But I’ll get to that later.

    There are those who will tell you that as a believer you are somehow magically pardoned from all pain and trouble. That if you’re really living by faith, it’ll be simple. Kind of like the yellow brick road when it was through the munchkin land, but people forget that that road kept winding and it went through a lot of troubled areas too. The life of faith is lived on the road of this world. It is ripe with opportunities for trouble, challenges, and yes, pain. Sure, there’s lots of other great things too but we can’t act like everything is rainbows and sunshine when the truth is that our lives are full of challenge and also hurt. So as a believer we don’t get a pass on pain.

    There is something that we do get as a believer that others don’t. We have someone to go to who can make it all better. Kind of like when I was a girl and went to my mother, but now I can go to my father God when I encounter pain in this life. Sometimes he’s able to just make it all completely better and there’s healing, absolute restoration. Other times what I receive instead is comfort and a Band-Aid. The wound isn’t completely healed yet, no, that will take time, but I do get comfort and strength from his presence. It’s the comfort of knowing that your pain has been seen and understood. It’s the comfort of knowing that you don’t have to suffer alone. It’s the comfort that he doesn’t push you away and tell you to deal with it on your own but instead he’s willing to sit with you in your hurt, no matter how deep. 

    Perhaps you’ve experienced similar things in your life when you’ve encountered hurt, and you’ve gone to God seeking healing and comfort. I want to make a key point here. There were a lot of other times when I was a kid that I didn’t want to tell my mom that I had hurt myself. Perhaps because I had done something stupid and hurt myself. So, I would try to quietly find a way to manage the injury myself, embarrassed and ashamed.

    One such time was when I was riding my bike to school for the first time. I wanted to prove myself to my mother and my grandmother, that I was a big girl. On my way to the school, I accidentally fell and hit the license plate on a car. I didn’t think much about it I just tried to get up and keep going because I was embarrassed. When I got inside the school, after locking my bike up and going into my classroom my teacher asked me if I was OK. She hadn’t seen what had happened so how could she know something was wrong? She told me that I had blood on my shoe, as a matter of fact my sock was completely soaked with blood and about half my shoe was bloody as well. When I hit the license plate, I actually gouged out a good bit of my skin on my ankle. Of course, I was sent to the nurse and eventually we had to go to the doctor only to find out that it had been so long since the injury that there was no point in doing stitches. I still carry the scar to this day. Because I was absolutely sure that I had done something wrong in that moment when I was injured and I didn’t want to be seen as not grown up enough, so I hid my injury. I think we do that in our lives. You see some of the hurts we have are out of our control.  They were other people doing things to us that we didn’t deserve and did no actions that would even lead us to the place where those things happened to us. But then there’s other things. You know what I’m talking about.

    For example, in my life a relationship with an ex-boyfriend that turned out to be very painful with serious negative consequences, but I had chosen to get into that relationship knowing that I wasn’t pursing a relationship God’s way. So, I guess that meant I deserved the pain? For others it might be a choice to take a substance, not realizing the addiction and the ramifications that would follow them for years. There are many more examples so I will stop with just the two and get to the heart of the matter.  The truth is when we think that our pain is our fault, we think that we deserve the pain. If we deserve the pain, then surely we don’t deserve to have anyone tend to that wound. I want to tell you today that we serve a God that doesn’t just want to tend the wounds that we received through no fault of our own. He also wants to tend to the wounds that we inflict on ourselves. 

    The hardest part of this is that we have to go to him and tell him it hurts. We don’t want to tell him it hurts because that would be admitting that maybe we were complicit somehow in the hurting. So, our shame stops us from receiving healing and comfort when we allow it to stop us from going to him. I want to tell you that not only do we serve a God who wants to comfort us from all hurts, but he also is not going to waste his moments of comfort to chide us and blame us. It’s not about I told you so’s with God. If you hear, I told you so. It’s not his voice that’s speaking. 

    This brings me to that other source of pain in my life which is my own criticism of myself. You know what I’m talking about.  It’s that part of you that says you deserve this, if you were stronger, you wouldn’t be here.  You made your bed, so you have to lie in it. You have no one to blame but yourself so you should just die in your pain. Yeah, that voice is harsh, it’s our own or the accuser, and it’s a lie.  We can use his truth to combat the lie.  To set the accuser straight.

    Let me share with you the truth from the word about how God longs to heal you and about how he longs to comfort you. Proverbs 41 verse 3 says “the Lord sustains them on their sick bed and restores them from their bed of illness.” So whether he sustains or restores, he’s with us and strengthening us even in our sickness and sufferings. It says in another scripture that he’s near to the broken hearted so it’s not just physical wounds that he heals. It’s not only physical pain that he comforts us during. In Psalms 107 it says “then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.”  You see God desires to heal us and restore us body, soul, and mind. He desires also to sustain us and give us grace even in our hurts.  

    The Bible not only says that we need to go to God because he wants to heal us and restore us and sustain us, it also says that we should go to each other. The body of Christ is meant to bear each other’s burdens.  In James 5 it says” Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.” Now I know what you’re thinking.  You are thinking that complete healing is not always a given. Like I said sometimes when we go to God for a hurt or a wound, we receive a hug and a Band-Aid, but we still walk away with the wound that needs time to heal. We don’t always receive instantaneous healing. Sometimes we don’t receive healing at all in this life. But we do receive comfort and strength to sustain us. We do have grace that is sufficient no matter what the thorn in our side is that is not being removed.

    I hope it is easy and clear to see that God wants you and me to come to him with our hurts, struggles, challenges, sicknesses, and our pains, all of them.  He doesn’t care why; he just wants you to come. As he said in Matthew 11” come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble and heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Maybe it’s time to stop covering up your pain and hurts and bring them honestly to the one who can truly comfort you and bring about ultimate healing. Maybe it’s time to realize that although you think you’re covering it so well and that no one can see your pain is as obvious as the blood that covered my shoe. It was a definite indicator that something was very wrong whether I wanted to admit it or not. So just admit it and get help, he doesn’t want us to just stay in our pain out of shame. Maybe it’s time to stop being “strong” and allow yourself to be human and seek comfort and assistance. If you can’t go over it and you can’t go under it, but you’ve got to go through it, the least you can do is go through it well. So as believers we need to be examples to others around us of how to go to the father with our pains and hurts and seek comfort from him. I plan to.  I will be just like I was when I was just a girl and go to the greatest source of healing and comfort when I hurt myself or find myself injured, so he can make it all better.  I hope you find the courage to do the same.

    , ,

  • Enduring Grace

    Plumb sings a song that says “How many times have you heard me cry out “God Please Take This”, How many times have you given me strength to just keep breathing, God I need you, God I need you now.”  Have you ever felt the same?  

    If I am being honest I have as well.  Even Paul felt that same distress and shared it in scripture to teach us much needed truth.  He had a thorn in his flesh.  The bible does not name what it was, we only know that Paul wanted relief.  He asked the Lord to remove the thorn, to end his angst.  So what happened?  Did our loving Savior deliver Paul, a man who served him so faithfully?  

    No, instead he told Paul “My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power (strength) is made perfect in your weakness.”  What? God did not take it away.  No, he didn’t.  Why didn’t he remove the thorn? He didn’t because He had already given Paul grace to endure.  He had given Paul enduring grace.  

    We medicate, distract, deny, ignore, or bitterly rage at it, at our thorns.  That is not what God wants for us to do.  He wants us to stop wondering or asking to have it taken away.  Instead he wants us to rest in His grace.  Rest knowing that he can deliver us, but even if he doesn’t he is still good, He is still God.  Sure he can deliver us and sometimes he chooses to show his grace through deliverance.  Yet other times his grace comes in another form.  Enduring grace.  

    Grace to praise through pain, grace to walk when weak, grace to worship while waiting/weeping, grace to endure in someone else’s strength, His, and the grace to trust when we don’t understand.  Grace to say “God you are enough for me” when there is only faith and hope to cling to, and no visible answer.  Grace to say as Mary and even Jesus said, “May it be to me as you will” “Not my will but thine be done.”  For in that enduring grace his perfect strength and power is revealed.  All the glory for enduring goes to Him alone.  We do not get to choose our kind of grace, He does.  We get to choose to trust.  We can trust His love, his mercy and yes, his grace, the all sufficient Grace God has given and supplied to us.

    , ,

  • Waiting on the Lord

    This is a concept I don’t know if we teach very often anymore. It’s not a popular topic in church. We certainly are not teaching waiting or patience in our society. It’s a simple concept, the idea of waiting. Yet rejected by many in our everything is a right now thing mentality. We pay to not have to watch commercials because we don’t want to wait to see what happens next. We binge watch whole series that took years to film, it’s about convenience and not having to wait. We get frustrated at restaurants if they seem to take too long. We are hungry now and we want our needs immediately met. Even waiting at a red light for just a few minutes is an inconvenience for most of us. All of us are in such a hurry, we just can’t wait for anything, we don’t want to wait, and we choose to do anything to not have to wait. I want and you can fill in the blank and I want it now. It’s a silly commercial but it’s true. In this instantaneous world, even as a believer we have been affected. We also come to God and say I want my need to be met right now. But God is not a short order cook taking our order and rushing the delivery because we demand it. No, he does things in his time and in his way. So as a believer we have to learn to wait. We have to learn to wait on God.

    One of the fruits of the spirit is patience. I have said before, of all of the fruits of the spirit patience is probably my least favorite. It’s right there at the bottom of the list alongside self-control. I wished oftentimes I could have just been given these things by God, like they could have been included in my nature but that’s not the case. Patience is something that has to grow and develop in us. It is not naturally gifted to humanity or to believers, just in case you think you are better as a believer. It is developed in us, in all of us. As a believer, as the holy spirit works in us, he can grow our patience. We have to be patient as we grow and develop more patience. What an irony and a challenge. What’s the point though? Why do we need patience? Why do we need it as a believer? That is what I want to tackle today. The how, the why, and the benefit of Waiting. I want to discover what is the blessing of our patience?

    First, whether we choose patience or not, we cannot rush the Lord and his work. In Acts it says ”It is not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has set by his own authority.” God is the one who sets the times, the seasons, and he makes the plan. It is his hand that moves time not us. So, we have to submit to the sovereignty and authority of God by recognizing that impatience does not move him. God moves as he chooses not as we direct.

    You can choose impatience as a believer, and you will then find yourself frustrated, angry even. Yet the fault lies with you. If you trust in God’s wisdom and direction, in his leading then you will wait. You will realize that he is working in his time and for your ultimate benefit whether you can see it happening or not. That he may appear late in your eyes, but he always brings about what he chooses at the perfect time. So, walking in patience is choosing trust. Trusting in who God is, trusting in what he has promised, and trusting in his authority over our life. In this way, waiting on the Lord patiently will allow you to have peace. Instead of anxiously awaiting God to do what you need, you get to rest in the hope of him and all that he will do while you wait.

    This is the first benefit of patience – peace while waiting. This is not easy, but it is possible to feel. It is possible to have peace and hope even as we wait. Remember he gives us a peace that passes all understanding. There is another benefit.

    In Isaiah 40 it says” to whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? Says the holy one. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you complain Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord. My cause is disregarded by God?” Can you see why I just quoted that scripture. They wanted and they needed, it’s OK as god’s people to want and need. God wasn’t moving as they wanted, and they complained. They were feeling impatient. Does this sound familiar? Do we do that when we don’t see God move how we want him to? Try to prod and coerce him into the action you want him to take.

    The Scripture goes on to say” do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” So here it says do you not realize who God is. You see that is the point. The thing we have to keep in mind. He is God. That means that he is able and faithful. So we don’t need to worry or struggle. We can know who He is find peace that passes all understanding no matter our circumstances.

    Isaiah 40 continues on declaring his promises. The promises of our great God. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak, even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall but those that hope, that wait upon the lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” Wow, the benefit of waiting is growing in strength, power, and hope. The strength that God gives will sustain you and carry you. It’s almost as if the scripture is getting us to see that we should want to wait on him, to hope in him. That the place of waiting is a place of power and strength. 

    This isn’t opposition to the wisdom of the world as God’s wisdom often is. When we get what we want so easily and when we live with everything convenient and quickly satisfy, we actually weaken. This is not the way we should be or should desire to be. We should choose, because of the absolute assurance of God’s power instead of trying to demand, complain or manipulate God to action, to wait on him. Think of how an eagle soars versus a regular bird. The regular bird flaps its wings striving for every inch that they move in the sky. The Eagle spreads its wings and catches the air currents.  It soars. They don’t have to expend energy for every inch. They just catch the wind currents and glide. Do you understand? We need to be like the eagles. Rest and not strive. Spread our wings and trust that he will send the wind and direct us where he needs us to go.

    First, the benefit of waiting was peace, a peace that passes all understanding, and now we see that there’s another benefit of power and strength. These benefits are only attained in the waiting. So as much as we think it would be nice to have the instant gratification that we all so often desire, there is something powerful in the life of a believer who waits on the Lord.

    My fellow believers, I challenge you to learn to wait as a believer. Wait in hope and trust. Do not wait in complaints and frustration instead choose to have the peace and strength that God promises us while we wait. As it says in Psalms 27: 14” Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Yes, it takes courage to wait. Psalms 130 versus 5 to 6 declares” I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than the Watchmen for the morning.” So, what we need to do is wait and be still and know that he is God.

    Praise God, that though we wait, we know and can be confident that we won’t wait forever. Wait expectantly, wait hopefully, and yes wait on the Lord. He is worth the wait. So today let’s get excited about something people don’t get excited about very often. Yes, we get to wait on the Lord, what a privilege and what a blessing!

    , ,

  • One Small Light

    I was sitting at the piano before church during worship practice and I looked to the side. There was this one little spotlight sitting in the corner all by itself. This one light, just a small part of the lighting system in our church shined. This singular light got me thinking about how we are like that light. We are just one part of the entirety that is the church the body of Christ, the light of the world. Singular though we may seem when looked at directly or on our own, we are actually connected. We are a fraction, just one small piece of the whole.

    Not only are we a part, one part of a whole, but our section or part is important. We are needed in our place. God has a mission for all of us laity and clergy alike. We have a place and a unique calling. This is our place and our way to shine. Here’s what I mean. The singular light that I’m looking at shows green and red while other lights have different colors or color combinations, other lights have different locations in the sanctuary and around the building, and they even have different levels of brightness. This speaks to the uniqueness that God has created in us, in our purpose as we shine our unique light. We are not the other lights; we are the one that he created us to be. So, we need to shine as God made us. Don’t worry about being what others are or who they think you should be.

    I’ll go one step further and say that the light designer not only set the brightness and the color of the lights, but he also chose the placement. It’s no different than what God has done for each and every single one of us. Where he’s placed us in time and where he’s placed us in geography. It was intentional. The scripture “go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.” Correctly translated it means as you are going you are to do those things. As you are going you shine. From the place where you are you shine. We operate, move, and minister where God has placed us. We are the hands and feet of Jesus in the place that he has set us. Sometimes in the place that he sends us to. God may move us in life to go other places but it’s always his plan that has placed us where we need to be. He meant you to be where you are now. I know it’s easy to question God about why he has placed you where he has. Why here God? Why now? It’s really simple. You have been placed and equipped according to his plan. It says in Psalms 33:11 “the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Proverbs 16 verse 3 goes even further to say” commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”

    So, we know God has a plan and his plan is the one that happens. God is our light director. Do you see it? He plans the placement for each light/life he brings into the world, and he has a purpose for each light/life that he brings into the world. As it says in Proverbs 16 verse 9” the heart of man plans his way, but the lord establishes his steps.” Knowing this, what should our response be to our father, our master, our light director if you will? What is our response in light of knowing that it’s him who establishes our plan, who places us, and who equips us? 

    First, we trust. This is probably the hardest step.” Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6) Trust in God’s plan and trust in his care of you. As it says in Romans 8:28 “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Trust his hand to place you where you need to be and his heart of love and grace to preserve and sustain you.

    Secondly, it is our task or our job to stay connected to him. A system only works if it is connected to the other parts. The lights are all linked together at my church. Though the light streams may go in different directions, may show different colors or patterns, they are working towards the same purpose which is beautiful illumination within the church building. They are all needed. There is not one that is more important than the other for the full effect. This is the same with us, we are all needed. We may not understand the big picture because of our limited vision or view but we are very much connected to each other as fellow believers and we need to be. We need to be connected and work together and with each other not against each other. We are not trying to outshine each other or be more important than another. No, instead it is our role to fulfill our part and our mission together. We shine God’s light thereby building his Kingdom together. Not only do we link to each other, but we need to stay connected to the source. We only shine when we’re connected to Christ, just like the light. A light will not shine unless it’s connected to a power source. So, we stay connected to Christ who is empowering us and each other-our entire system or body shining God’s love together, connected both the Christ and each other illuminating this Dark World.

    That’s really all there is to it. We trust, connect to each other and the source, and we shine. We stay connected and we endure together. When we do that the body of Christ is operating as it was called to operate. Many parts, uniquely purposed, yet working together to love by giving, going, serving, encouraging, teaching, and ultimately building up the Kingdom of God. We are working together to bring about fullness and completeness in the Kingdom of God. It all starts with one small light, lots of small lights. Becoming a beacon when they shine together, a lighthouse for wayward travelers. Each part vital and equally important.

    How beautiful and unique is God’s vision and plan. How humbling to get to be a part of it, and to get to be a singular light in his grand light show. What a mystery! A God who changes things through things so small and insignificant to everyone else, yet not to him. Can you see it? Do you like me want to be a part of this amazing body of Christ, the amazing, connected network of lights shining in the darkness of the world around us. I challenge you-shine as God made you, where he placed you, connected to him and to each other. Shine with me. Let’s light up the world.

    ,

  • Just For One

    I have gone to church all my life really and have seen so many places of worship. Many of them have the picture of the shepherd holding the one wayward lamb. It is a picture that’s depicting A parable told by Christ. He says” what do you think? If a man owns 100 sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about the one sheep than the 99 that didn’t wander off. In the same way your father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” I know you have probably heard this story before. We even sing about it in worship songs such as “Reckless Love” which declares “Oh, the overwhelming, never ending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights till I’m found, leaves the 99.”  Although most of us have seen this painting and even have sung this song, I’m going to go deeper today into the idea of for the one.

    In our world, well at least in America, it is all about quantity. We want more, more, and more. That is how we like it. One is never enough, not enough to celebrate and not enough to be satisfied. Oh, you may have 1 degree? But should you have more. Doesn’t that make you more prestigious, wealthier, and have more influence. This has become the American way. We crave likes and followers more and more of them. We want to have a greater sphere of influence. We are made to feel inadequate if we don’t have this large following or millions of likes. Even I have fallen into that trap before. But as a believer is this how we should live? Should our focus be on getting more likes for Jesus? Should our focus be on influencing greater and greater spheres for Christ? I would argue that the answer is no. Let me explain.

    We feel this constant pressure to be like Paul, John, or Luke.  Really like any of the other great apostles in scripture. If I preach, I should be like Paul and Peter, boldly speaking and preaching to hundreds that come to Christ. Or like Luke, writing many gospels that tell of Christ and his life for all the people to read. We think that we should be like these great influencers of the faith right? Isn’t that what God expects of you. Isn’t that why he’s made you? So, you should push aside all responsibilities or goals and just invest in Kingdom building, big Kingdom building. This doesn’t sound wrong, but it is flawed thinking. You see our callings are all different, our spheres of influence vary. We were called to share and to share where we are. 

    If you are a mother or a father, you were called to the ministry of parenthood. Your flock is the flock of your children that you are called to tend, they are your responsibility and your first mission field. If you are a husband or wife you are called to the ministry of serving and loving your spouse. Every role and job we have, we are to serve and minister in it.  Above anything else you are called to people in your life around you, that you see every day.  To serve them, to encourage them, to love them, and to teach them about how God loves them through your words and actions. Your mission is not less important because it is only to one or a few. Why is that? That’s because one matters more than many to God. We need to wrap our minds around this paradox. God has laid out in his unfathomable wisdom the idea that one matters more than many. Quality of relationships and ministry matters more than the quantity.

    I have a dear friend who took care of her husband for over a decade after he had lost his short-term memory due to a heart attack. She lovingly served him and took care of him day after day after day. Although he mattered a great deal to my friend and she loved him deeply, the truth is he mattered to just a few people in this world. He had no renown that people saw, and he might not have been important to the majority of the people in the world around him but Richard, her husband, mattered to God. He was the least of these that scripture speaks of, and my friend served him faithfully all of those years. She served God by serving her husband so lovingly. That’s how it works, we serve God by serving others. That is significant in God’s eyes. There are so many people who serve God by serving just one or a few others. In our society they have no significance, and their efforts are seen as not important but to Christ their contribution is significant. They go after the one, they care for them, and bring it back home.

    I’m sure you could think of someone like my friend who has invested and built God’s Kingdom in ways others see as small or just to a few but it’s not small in God’s eyes.

    Don’t believe the lie that you need more.  It is not true that you need more to actually have significant influence and that are not great unless you do what others consider as great. The truth is, if your whole life was for one moment, for one person you love, for one life you touch and serve, it was enough. It is significant, and you are essential. Does one fence post in the fence seem significant to you? What if it is not there?  The post is part of the whole, serving its part. Without that one post something would be missing. Do you get my point? 

    Whatever you do, whoever Christ has given you to touch and serve or to influence, do that. He has placed you where he needs you and put others there for you to reach out to and love.  Don’t worry about how significant others see you or how many likes you get on social media. For just one God would go and for just one he would call you and place you where he has. There is no insignificant ministry or effort to God, there is no just in his book. Each soul is significant, and he does not want to lose a single one. Remember he doesn’t want even one to perish.

    Today I pray you see that your value is not assigned according to your likes or how many people applaud your efforts. Your significance in God’s eyes isn’t based on others liking your post or even recognizing you in public. No one here on earth or their opinion matters ultimately. To God you are worth so much that he gave his son for you! For everyone else he feels the same. I pray you can see this, and you can understand this today. That you stop putting on yourself the responsibility of saving the whole world. He loved you when you had nothing worth offering him and he loves you still just the same. You need to just be what he called you to be and let him save, spread, and change other people’s hearts.

    So, I ask you today, what do you think, is the one just as important or just as significant as the 99? Yes, in God’s eyes it is and I sincerely hope that you will begin to see it that way too.

    ,

  • Children’s Moment

    Every week at the church we have a children’s moment. It’s always a refreshing time to hear the hilarious or insightful answers that are given by the young ones at church. Kids are honest and it can be really funny. The past year the pastor here has emphasized that our children are learning the same lessons that we are when they go to their children’s church. Basically, they are learning what we are learning. At first, I really did not see the importance of his emphasis on teaching the same thing to the children. But when I think about it now, something new occurred to me.

    Some adults don’t think that the children’s stories we share from the Bible hold any real significance for us as adults. We only need the adult, complicated scriptures, not the stories. Is that true though? Didn’t Jesus teach adults with parables which are essentially stories. Yes, he did. He made the message relatable to everyone, so that everyone could understand it.

    So here I sit now contemplating these stories that I studied in children’s church that I now realize hold real true-life lessons for my grown up life and situations. Stories such as some of those from the Old Testament.

    We hear stories about people like Abraham. Wow, he made mistakes and even lied, but he listened and had faith. He obeyed God even when it seemed crazy. Leaving everything he had ever known behind to go to a promised land. He waited for a child of promise, even being willing to sacrifice him when God asked him to. To sacrifice that long-awaited son. So, we can know how to live out a walk of faith by looking at the life of Abraham. Trusting, obeying, and believing. We also see faith in obedience in Nahmen. We read his story in second Kings five. He receives healing from leprosy. Of course, at first he was angry with the instructions he received. He wanted to be recognized for his position. He wanted to be treated better than he was being treated by the one who offered him healing. He wanted a great task to do not something simple. Instead, he was asked to go bathe in a dirty river. It took a humble servant to remind him that he needed to humble himself and obey. His servant told him if you had been asked to do a great thing you would have done it. But you’ve been asked to do something simple. You see Namman needed to realize that only through humble obedience is their true restoration. What a great lesson for all of us that we can learn through the life of Nahmen. That’s a lesson for adults and children alike.

    What about Josiah in second Kings 22? He demonstrated to us a righteous life and a heart of repentance. He pleaded with God to have mercy on his nation because he knew there were many in their nation that were going their own way. He was not only concerned with himself and his own sin, but he was concerned with the sin of all of his people. So, it came about that he and all of his people made a covenant with the Lord.  To obey the Lord with all their hearts and souls. We learn that the walk of faith is a walk of righteousness and repentance through the life of the righteous king Josiah. 

    King David is another character from the bible we hear so many stories about. Chosen but not preferred as a child yet God chose him because God looks on the heart. We learn to love God loudly and openly as he did. He danced with such abandon and joy over the ark of the covenant returning to the people that he danced his clothes off. I don’t recommend naked dancing in church, but the point is unabashed, unashamed worship to God is OK. He’s worthy. When David sinned with Bethsheba and committed adultery and murder, he repents and returns to God. What a lesson! That we are not perfect and when we make mistakes we come to God with a humble heart and ask for forgiveness. He asked to be restored in his relationship with God. “Created me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, O Lord, and take not your Holy Spirit from me but restore unto me the joy of my salvation and renew a right spirit within me.” That was David’s prayer. What a lesson! No matter how great your sin, God’s grace is greater if you just seek it. God will see our heart of repentance and he will forgive us. Whether you’re an adult or a child that’s the message you benefit from hearing.

    What about the ladies of the Old Testament? Women such as Esther. In her story we see that God uses us all in very unique ways. He called her to where she was to save all of her people. “For such a time as this.” God makes no mistakes about when and where you were born. Through her life we see that we should live humbly, in obedience, and search to reach out from where we are. We need to serve knowing that God will place you where he needs you. You just have to be willing to see it and walk in the way he gives you to walk.

    Miriam was the first recorded female prophetess in history well biblical history. She trusted God and boldly spoke for him. Her bravery shaped the course of history for the entire Jewish nation. She even helped as a young woman to save her brother Moses. It seems like such a simple thing, but it was an act that would change the course of history for Israel. She also like David praised and we see this in scripture, but she praised with the tambourine. Very exciting. Leading all the women in worship. We see that she, although not the main leader in the story of that time, played a key supporting role. She was vital to the story and to the events that happened. Where would the storyline be without Mariam there to help save her brother. To continue to support him when he returned and praise God for it unashamed. She was a slave so much of her life, yet she found true freedom. So much we can learn from that young girl placing her brother in the Wicker basket in the Nile River depicted so often in children Bible storybooks.

    Time and again in the Old Testament in the lives of people both women and men, people who were once very real and alive but have long since passed. We see that their stories are not just stories for children to read. They are for us all. They prove that God showed up. Whether it’s the story of Noah, Sarah, Jacob, Paul, Deborah, Tamar, Elijah, Rehab, Elisah, Boaz, Naomi, Isaac, Solomon, Daniel, Sampson, Moses, Samuel, Aaron, Joshua, Rehoboam, Ahaz, and on and on it goes. Maybe it’s time for you, as a grown up, to have a few children moments of your own. Look at these old stories and see them through new grown-up eyes. I guarantee you will discover faith in the face of opposition, perseverance despite great challenge, and God’s continuing faithfulness to all generations.  You will see time and again God’s calling and leading, God provision in spite of our imperfections and inefficiencies, and so much love that’s completely undeserved for all of us, past generations and present included. So much we can learn, if we are willing to once again sit for story time and open the Bible. Open your heart to what God can show you through those simple children’s church Bible stories. 

    ,

  • Goodbyes

    Goodbye.  I hate that word.  Each moment is so precious, just its passing is a sorrow.  And yet, we cannot live our lives without saying that word, without the moments passing, without those we know and care for leaving us or us them.  For every hello, there will be a goodbye.  There is not one without the other.  

    Goodbyes come for many reasons, both anticipated and unexpected.  Yet however they come to us or are said there is something bittersweet about the moment of goodbye.  We recognize that we have a hello, a present, memories, and that they are ending all in that moment of goodbye.  

    One kind of goodbye is death.  Death, it rips those we love from us or us from them in a way that feels quite permanent. We know as Christians that it is only a temporary parting, but for our present, we are altered.  We are separated.  It is the end for now.  What grief and sorrow!  I have had to say good bye to my grandmothers, my grandfathers, uncles, great aunts, aunts, multiple cousins, and friends. (although there have been only a few of those so far, I have been told that will change the older I get.)  It is never easy and we think of all the good times, the memories, knowing that they are all we have left to hold of the person we had in our life.  We have our home going celebrations, yet the truth is it just hurts, and we grieve no matter how positively we try to spin it.  After all, they are gone from the here and now, so it’s good bye whether it is wanted or not.  It is final for this life, not fatal to us, although grief can cause you to want it to be.  It is a true goodbye, at least for now.  

    Death is not the only culprit of goodbyes.  Also, change causes goodbyes.  Our lives are on the move, in constant transition.  We do not stay in the same places, jobs, or situations.  We also grow up, grow apart, or leave. Even the bible says that a man and woman leave their parents’ home, and cleave to each other.  The very nature of our maturing and growing causes goodbyes.  Now these goodbyes are not always permanent.  Sometimes these people will come in our lives again.  Sometimes, they don’t.  We don’t get to choose most times.  We just have to accept that we are not stagnant creatures and that change can cause goodbyes of another sort.  This is the good bye that is caused by life and its many morphing moments.  Still, there is a pain in this sort of goodbye as well.  You are left with memories and not the person.  No matter how great the memories are, they cannot hold you or bring back the presence of the person in your current moment.  The person is gone, and the goodbye may not be final but it is just as permanent, because in the present, things have altered and they are gone.         

    There are other kinds of goodbyes, when our relationships with people change from the form they were in.  Death of another type.  Divorce, separation, or estrangement are three situations that cause this kind of goodbye.  You see the person again and sometimes repeatedly, but that part of you that was connected is severed.  In some ways this is the worst kind of goodbye.  It is a tease, because you can remember what was, how can you not when it is in your face, but those things will never be again, and the old wound is struck again over and over and over.  Unlike a true death that with time can be more tolerable because you can move away from it, it is a death that is always in your face.  When I see my ex-husband, I remember all that was but will never be, even having moved on, the thoughts cross my mind.  So I have to actively choose to release that hurt.  It would be easier if he was dead and gone, I wouldn’t have to see him and have him as a reminder of all that was lost.  Not a nice thought, but a true one.  This kind of relationship change does not just happen between lovers.  Children walk away from parents, and parents from children.  These big roles are not supposed to be abandoned but for whatever reason, someone chooses to step away from what they should be doing.  This is a hurt/grief that is unique.  It is a living grief.  Like with death, it can become more tolerable with time, but the pain lasts long after others think you should have moved on.  People also don’t see it as a good bye, but this most certainly is.    

    There is one tolerable form of goodbye, it is that goodbye when you aren’t really saying goodbye.   The non-permanent kind.  This we say all the time.  Interestingly enough, we cannot count on our quick goodbye to not become permanent.  We never know when it will be the last goodbye, at least the last one in this life.  Some people advise to not leave things go unsaid because we have no certainty of another chance to tell someone whatever we want to share.  So this light hearted farewell may seem harmless, but we can’t count on its insignificance.   

    The nature of life itself is that goodbyes will be our reality, no matter the type.  The simple short ones, the long change/choice imposed ones, and the permanent ones that are both by choice and out of our control.   We all only have one life, and for every single hello, there will be a goodbye, said or unsaid.  We can’t let the fear of these goodbyes stop us from saying hello.  That is what living is.  The older I get the clearer this becomes.  I used to think life was all the good things, I’d only want the moments of ease and joy.  I loved every hello and it was what I lived for.  Now I see how much of life is constituted by pain, how that is a very important part of life.  Yet we can find joy in the pain because there is still life, and that the pain makes the joy even more potent and sweet.  The sweetness more significant because of the bitter.  The hellos savored because we know the sweet sorrow of the goodbyes.  

    ,

  • Do You Hear Him Calling?

    One of my favorite slightly older worship songs is “He knows my name.” It is a song that declares “he knows my name, he knows my every thought, he sees each tear that falls, and he hears me when I call.” Can you say that today? Do you believe it? If you struggle to believe it, I hope you can begin to believe that it’s true. That you will start to hear him calling to you.

    The last week I had the privilege of being the Bible story “Stellar Bible Adventure” teacher. I thought it was going to be an exhausting week. Well, I was tired at the end of it so that was true. But I’m ashamed to say that I also thought it would be a waste of my time. I was too prideful to think that I could be touched and blessed there as I served through teaching at vacation Bible school. Wow, I was very wrong.

    On the second day, the lesson was about Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector in the tree. This time I saw something amazing and new in this story that I had never seen before. The story is really not about Zacchaeus at all, it is about acceptance. It is about recognizing that he sees us, and he knows us. Let me explain.

    Zacchaeus is one of the main characters in the story, but it is about what he represents that makes his character significant. He was a person who was not respected by those around him, he was not loved or much adored, and he certainly was completely unwanted by others. He was a hated tax collector. He probably deserved others scorn of him because he was a man who lived very selfishly. As the chief tax collector, like all tax collectors of his day, he took money for the government, but he also kept quite a bit for himself. The tax collectors of that day robbed the people basically and the people knew it. As the chief tax collector, he had amassed a great deal of wealth off of the backs of other people. So, he was not liked, and it was deserved.

    Money could not give back what he lost in the taking of it which was acceptance, respect and the love of others. So when Jesus came, Zacchaeus went to see this man everyone was talking about. Because he was so short, he climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus. He just wanted to see Jesus, after all wouldn’t Jesus hate and reject him like everyone else did? That was probably what he expected.

    Maybe you are like Zacchaeus, you have made choices that have hurt others and estranged you from them. Maybe you were rejected and despised by others for whatever reason. If so, you know how Zacchaeus felt, completely unaccepted. You are in the tree just waiting to see Jesus but certain that like everyone else he will reject you too. But that’s not what happens. You see as Jesus passed the trees that Zacchaeus was sitting in he stopped and looked up. Then Jesus said (in Luke 19) “Zacchaeus, come down immediately.” Did you catch that? “Zacchaeus, come down immediately!” Jesus called Zacchaeus by name. Of course, the God of the universe knows everyone’s name and Jesus knew every name of every person in the crowd that day. But Jesus did not say or call out to everyone around him. No, he stopped and said the name of some one everyone else despised. Someone everyone else rejected. Amazing right!

    He will call out to us even if we are not good enough, righteous enough, respected by others, loved by others, or even holy. The truth is he called out to all of us in our sinful diminished state. When we were in our tree unaccepted and rejected by those around us and sure of his rejection. Doesn’t it bring you peace to know that he knows your name even there. Even more significant is knowing that he calls us when we are in that state. Just like he called to Zacchaeus. 

    We see this behavior of calling by name in another scripture with Paul. God met Paul on the road and a voice calls out from heaven, “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?” God knew who Saul was before he became Paul. God gave him a new name, but he knew him before he was Paul. Amazing!

    I would argue that to be called by name means you know that person. You see them and you acknowledge them. So time and again Jesus or God calls out to those who are unworthy of it. Who do not expect it. Yet there is something amazing that happens when he calls them, when he calls to us. When our soul knows that we are acknowledged, that we are seen, and that we are truly known, it wakes us up. It shakes something up inside of us. It’s transformative.

    It was transformative for both Zacchaeus and Saul. It literally changed their hearts and their identity. He calls our name too. What an amazing thought. If you listen for it you will see and hear his calling to you. Yet Jesus did not stop there. With just calling our name.

    For Zacchaeus he followed through and said come down immediately I must stay with you. Acknowledgement publicly and open acceptance. This totally transformed Zacchaeus’s life. He, after spending time with Jesus, changed his ways and gave back four times what he had taken as well as giving away half of everything he had to the poor. This acknowledgement and acceptance by God changed the fabric of who he was. This happened for Saul as well. The scales were removed from his eyes and he was renamed Paul. He changed from persecuting Christians to instead promoting Christ boldly, becoming a Christian, and spreading the gospel in many places. He worked to build up the very church he had persecuted originally.

    That transformation is the same for us. When we hear God’s call on our life, when he says our name, it’s powerful. He’s calling to me and you – Andrea, Lily, Sean, Darius, Jenny, Ben, Melody – he’s calling to all of you. He says I must stay with you. He wants to be with us. He wants us to know that we’re acknowledged and accepted by him. He wants that acceptance and knowledge and love to transform us. We can be transformed by his love of us and his acceptance of who we are.

    He doesn’t call out only to the worthy, the righteous, the talented, or the ones you see as deserving. He is calling out to us all! Praise God, what a blessing to know that he not only knows my name, but that he’s also calling out to me. What a wonder to know that he calls us and we are transformed by the very wonder of it.

    Do you know that he knows your name too? Do you know he sees you as you are and still wants you to come to him? Do you know you don’t have to wait till you’re worthy or somehow feel that you deserve it to respond to his call? I challenge you to wait no longer. Quiet your soul, look and listen for he calls your name today. What will you do? Will you respond? Will you receive what are you so freely offers? Don’t miss it, listen. Do you hear Him calling?

    , ,