I find myself a bit amused this morning with God's sweet sense of humor and His tender way of caring for me.
Just yesterday afternoon, as I drove home in the car with my daughters, God was preparing me and giving me answers before I even realized I had a question.
We were coming home from running errands and my 7 year old was sprawled out in the back seat asleep while my 10 year old was in the front seat with me, playing a game on her D.S.i.
She let out a sigh and sat, looking down at the floor, clearly troubled. This, in case you didn't already know, is code in girl language for "something is wrong, but I want you to ask me about it before I tell you".
So, I asked her what was wrong. She begins by informing tme that it's just not fare that all the best friends she has made over her short 10 years have all either moved away, or she has had to leave them behind to move. Last year, her best little friend Roxie had to move right towards the end of the school year. Roxie's last day at school was unexpected and earlier than we thought it would be, and Olivia was absent that day. She didn't get to say goodbye. The phone numbers we had for them are now disconected, and Olivia has no way to "ever see her again..." (Olivia states dramatically). She then goes on to talk about 3 or 4 other little friends that she no longer gets to see, whom she really loved and had so much in common with, and how she doesn't have anyone like that now.
I felt sad listening to her, and wished I could make her understand that the new school year was on the horizon and it was full of the hope of making new best friends and having all sorts of new amazing memories.
I began to tell her about how people come into our lives for all differant reasons. Some people, like your family, are meant to be in your life forever. Some people, we only know for a few days or weeks or even just a moment. Some people are our very good friends, but sometimes they aren't meant to stay forever. It's hard to understand, but God has a plan for all of us and sometimes that plan takes us to many differant places. It hurts to say goodbye. It's ok to miss them, it's normal. It's ok to cry and remember the good times you had and to wish you could see them again. But, it's also ok to open our hearts to the next "best friend" God brings along for us.
I helped her to see that if she'd never had to move away she wouldn't have met some of those best buds, because she would have stayed in the same ol' place. I asked her if she thought it were better to have had the time she had with each of her close friends, but had to suffer the goodbyes, or would she rather have never met some of them, stayed in the same place, but not had to say goodbye so soon.
She and I agreed it was better to have known them and spent time with them, no matter how short, rather than ot have never met them at all.
I told her that I agreed....life was hard sometimes and not fair. When we felt sad or didn't understand all the "why's" the best thing to do is take that hurt to Jesus. He may not always give you what you want, or answer all your questions, but He will always love you and help ease the pain.
I also told her that one thing she could always rest in was that God was always with her, always on her side, and always moving behind the scenes to make good things happen for her. I said "so that means that right now....while we are in the car driving home....God is busy working on something great for you this year. Maybe even a new best friend."
She thought that sounded pretty good.
As we drove on I reflected on some of my best friends that I've had to say goodbye to over the years. People who meant the world to me, who I thought I would never be able to live without. The pain isn't as sharp for me now, because I took it all to Jesus a long time ago.
I thought nothing more about this until this morning when I realized what Jesus had done. You see, last night I went to my regular Wednesday night women's bible study, only it wasn't a regular night because we were having a special "going away party" for one of the girls who is moving far far away to New York city next week.
I've been stubbornly avoiding the emotional reality of this fact for the last few months, trying not to think about the approaching "D-day", but last night was the last time we'd have her in small group on Wednesday nights. I cried, which for me is a big deal, and I felt an old longing creeping up for not only her, but all the goodbye's from the past.
I found myself wishing for more time with her. A few more weeks, or just one more fun filled day.
This morning, God brought to my mind the conversation I'd had with my daughter the afternoon before. I could feel Him repeating those same words of comfort to me...
"Some people are not meant to stay in our lives forever, but they live in our hearts for a lifetime."
God has plans for me and for them, and sometimes those plans take us away from the places and people we love. But, just on the horizon is another adventure, more amazing friendhsips and even still, more goodbye's. It is a part of this life.
There will come a day when there are no more goodbye's no more sadness or longing, and on that day we will all meet in heaven for our regular Wednesday night Bible study.
To my sweet friend Margaret Zundel, and all the best friends I've had to say goodbye to. I love you, and I'll see you again real soon.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Moses and the Rock: Presumption vs. Reality
I just finished listening to a podcast about Moses and the Israelites during their time in the wilderness. The teaching was about Living Waters and how Moses brought forth water from the rock for the people in Exodus 17 by striking the rock with his staff as God commanded him to. It also mentioned Numbers 20 where Moses is faced with the same situation (needing to provide water for the disgruntled Israelites) and is desiring the same results as last time, (water from the rock).
God tells Moses to take his staff, the same one from the last H2O lesson, and go to the rock and tell/ask the rock to bring forth water.
Seems easy enough right? But that's not what happens. Moses, in his frustration with the people and their constant griping and unnapreciativeness, strikes the rock with his staff 2 times.
It is this action alone that causes Moses to be unable to enter the long awaited promised land.
So, what happened? Was Moses not paying attention when God was giving the instructions? Or perhaps he was replaying his conversation with the nagging Hebrews over again in his head, thinking up just the right response to silence all the nay sayers.
If he is anything like me, then either of these could be true. There is also another possibility that dawned on me when I was wondering what would have been going through my head had I been in Moses' perdicament.
It seems as though we often times, as people capable of rationale and cognitive thought, treat the spiritual world like we do the physical world, making the presumption that it works the same way. In school we are taught that 2 + 2 = 4. If you mix chemicals A and B together you get an explosion. The verb describes theaction of the noun. In other words, follow the formula to acheive the desired results.
But God doesn't always work within the parameters of the "formula" we are familiar with; In fact, He rarely does.
I can't think of one time in my life where God has taught me something by doing or having me do the exact same thing I did last time he taught me something. God is always New. Even Jesus declared that He came to make all things new.
This is hard for us; well, at least for me it is. If I am having a problem with one of my children, I want to be able to follow the same formula that worked last time. I'd also like to be able to use the same procedure on each child and have them both magically see the error of their ways, but that never happens.
Moses had experienced success. He had a problem, he went to The Lord for a solution. He received the formula, followed it with 100% accuracy, and viola..... desired result acheived. The next time Moses came up against the same problem he went to God again, just like last time, he received the instruction, just like last time, AND he used the same formula of striking the rock, JUST LIKE LAST TIME.
I have had this "back to the drawing board" experience before. It's frustrating. We want things to work like a mathematical equation. We want the routine, repeditive, going throught the familiar motions, course of action. Why? Because it's easier; it's familiar; we are comfortable with it; it has a proven record of success with low probability of loss or injury.
Fortunately for us, God did not come to make all things routine. During Jesus' earthly ministry he healed many people. Lepers, demon posessed, lame, he even healed dead people. Jesus also healed the blind. It is interesting to note that out of all the recorded times he healed the blind, He never did it the same way twice. The gospel records a blind man who recognized Jesus as being the Messiah and Jesus tells him that his faith has healed him and then he is able to see. Another account lists two blind me who identify Jesus as The Son of David. Jesus touches them and their sight is restored. A third account identifies a man born blind from birth. Jesus spits in the dirt, makes a mud pie, puts it on the man's eyes, and tells him to go and wash in a certain pool, and upon doing so, the man's eyesight is healed.
Jesus is the Great I Am. He could have healed those people any way He wanted to. He could have done it the same way everytime, but He didn't. So, what is Jesus telling us?
He is showing us that the miracle is not in the mathematical formula. It isn't our action, it isn't the dirt mixed with spit, it isn't the laying on of hands, it isn't the staff striking the rock. The things of God are accessed and executed only by a personal, intimate and detailed relationship with Him and understanding of His words.
Every time we look to God, everytime we take a step, we should be watching and listening and carefully following His directions. This makes perfect sense if you stop to think about it. Our lives are constantly new. You never live the same day twice (unless you're Bill Murray and it's groundhog day). Each circumstance or set of problems is unique. As we grow and learn or responses and circumstances change as well. The formula that worked for us six months ago is not going to be what is needed today. I shouldn't expect this any more than I should expect my 10 year old daughter to continue cleaning her room the same way she did when she was 5. Yes, it may be a similair concept, but she is older now. She is more capable than before and I desire and expect for her to be grow in maturity and be able to follow more directions and do a more thourough job.
The same is true with our Heavenly Father. He wants us to grow, to mature. What was acceptable for us when we were baby Christians should not be the bar we measure success by when we have become adult Christians. Also, in this lesson we discover the truth layed out in all of scripture. That man can do nothing good outside of God. If we believe this, then we have to begin living each moment hanging on every Word from God. He didn't become flesh to reveal the correct formula, He became flesh to restore the broken relationship with Him and The Father. Through this healing, we are then to rely on The Holy Spirit to direct each and every action.
This can only happen if we are actually listening to what God is trying to tell us. How often do I, in my own life, try to produce water by using the old familiar formula of striking a rock, when God is telling me to simply ask Him and He will produce more water than I could ever imagine?
It's all about being with Him. Moving as He moves; facing the same direction; stepping where He says step, and only when He tells me to. The leading of The Holy Spirit, when followed, syncs us perfectly and completely with the moving of God. Think of it like the most beautifully choreographed dance in all the universe, only we don't know the steps. We can assume we know whats coming next and "shuffle ball change" in anticipation, but chances are, we are only going to get our toes stepped on. God is in the lead, and we were made to follow, So Let's Dance.
God tells Moses to take his staff, the same one from the last H2O lesson, and go to the rock and tell/ask the rock to bring forth water.
Seems easy enough right? But that's not what happens. Moses, in his frustration with the people and their constant griping and unnapreciativeness, strikes the rock with his staff 2 times.
It is this action alone that causes Moses to be unable to enter the long awaited promised land.
So, what happened? Was Moses not paying attention when God was giving the instructions? Or perhaps he was replaying his conversation with the nagging Hebrews over again in his head, thinking up just the right response to silence all the nay sayers.
If he is anything like me, then either of these could be true. There is also another possibility that dawned on me when I was wondering what would have been going through my head had I been in Moses' perdicament.
It seems as though we often times, as people capable of rationale and cognitive thought, treat the spiritual world like we do the physical world, making the presumption that it works the same way. In school we are taught that 2 + 2 = 4. If you mix chemicals A and B together you get an explosion. The verb describes theaction of the noun. In other words, follow the formula to acheive the desired results.
But God doesn't always work within the parameters of the "formula" we are familiar with; In fact, He rarely does.
I can't think of one time in my life where God has taught me something by doing or having me do the exact same thing I did last time he taught me something. God is always New. Even Jesus declared that He came to make all things new.
This is hard for us; well, at least for me it is. If I am having a problem with one of my children, I want to be able to follow the same formula that worked last time. I'd also like to be able to use the same procedure on each child and have them both magically see the error of their ways, but that never happens.
Moses had experienced success. He had a problem, he went to The Lord for a solution. He received the formula, followed it with 100% accuracy, and viola..... desired result acheived. The next time Moses came up against the same problem he went to God again, just like last time, he received the instruction, just like last time, AND he used the same formula of striking the rock, JUST LIKE LAST TIME.
I have had this "back to the drawing board" experience before. It's frustrating. We want things to work like a mathematical equation. We want the routine, repeditive, going throught the familiar motions, course of action. Why? Because it's easier; it's familiar; we are comfortable with it; it has a proven record of success with low probability of loss or injury.
Fortunately for us, God did not come to make all things routine. During Jesus' earthly ministry he healed many people. Lepers, demon posessed, lame, he even healed dead people. Jesus also healed the blind. It is interesting to note that out of all the recorded times he healed the blind, He never did it the same way twice. The gospel records a blind man who recognized Jesus as being the Messiah and Jesus tells him that his faith has healed him and then he is able to see. Another account lists two blind me who identify Jesus as The Son of David. Jesus touches them and their sight is restored. A third account identifies a man born blind from birth. Jesus spits in the dirt, makes a mud pie, puts it on the man's eyes, and tells him to go and wash in a certain pool, and upon doing so, the man's eyesight is healed.
Jesus is the Great I Am. He could have healed those people any way He wanted to. He could have done it the same way everytime, but He didn't. So, what is Jesus telling us?
He is showing us that the miracle is not in the mathematical formula. It isn't our action, it isn't the dirt mixed with spit, it isn't the laying on of hands, it isn't the staff striking the rock. The things of God are accessed and executed only by a personal, intimate and detailed relationship with Him and understanding of His words.
Every time we look to God, everytime we take a step, we should be watching and listening and carefully following His directions. This makes perfect sense if you stop to think about it. Our lives are constantly new. You never live the same day twice (unless you're Bill Murray and it's groundhog day). Each circumstance or set of problems is unique. As we grow and learn or responses and circumstances change as well. The formula that worked for us six months ago is not going to be what is needed today. I shouldn't expect this any more than I should expect my 10 year old daughter to continue cleaning her room the same way she did when she was 5. Yes, it may be a similair concept, but she is older now. She is more capable than before and I desire and expect for her to be grow in maturity and be able to follow more directions and do a more thourough job.
The same is true with our Heavenly Father. He wants us to grow, to mature. What was acceptable for us when we were baby Christians should not be the bar we measure success by when we have become adult Christians. Also, in this lesson we discover the truth layed out in all of scripture. That man can do nothing good outside of God. If we believe this, then we have to begin living each moment hanging on every Word from God. He didn't become flesh to reveal the correct formula, He became flesh to restore the broken relationship with Him and The Father. Through this healing, we are then to rely on The Holy Spirit to direct each and every action.
This can only happen if we are actually listening to what God is trying to tell us. How often do I, in my own life, try to produce water by using the old familiar formula of striking a rock, when God is telling me to simply ask Him and He will produce more water than I could ever imagine?
It's all about being with Him. Moving as He moves; facing the same direction; stepping where He says step, and only when He tells me to. The leading of The Holy Spirit, when followed, syncs us perfectly and completely with the moving of God. Think of it like the most beautifully choreographed dance in all the universe, only we don't know the steps. We can assume we know whats coming next and "shuffle ball change" in anticipation, but chances are, we are only going to get our toes stepped on. God is in the lead, and we were made to follow, So Let's Dance.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Mother and Child
Mother's Day was a big event at my house this weekend. My two girls started off with a special breakfast prepared for me Saturday morning, and a talent show while I ate. They choregraphed and orchestrated a singing/dancing number, then a comedy skit, and finished up with a ballad. They worked all week on pictures and cards and even a gift bag with homemade confetti in it. They did chores at their MeMe's house to earn money to go "shopping" in her magical Mary Poppins closet of goodies for me. Michael took them shopping Saturday night for more gifts and cards. Sunday morning I was overwhelmed with all of the sweet sentiments and thoughful presents they spent so much time constructing.
My heart was so touched. Each of them had one or two things they pointed out that they messed up on, but I didn't care. They tried their very best and each thing was filled with all the love their little hearts could hold.
I couldn't help thinking that this must be how God feels when we give Him things and do things lovingly with Him in mind. I'm always worried I didn't get it just right. I scrutinize my efforts and see every place where I "went outside the lines" or "cut the corners" too short. But God sees to my heart. No, it's not perfect, and it's no masterpiece hanging in a museum, but He never expected me to be perfect. He wants me. He wants the hand drawn, misspelled, glue oozing over the side, me. Sure, I would have loved anything the girls gave me that morning, but those little crafts they labored over were more special and meaningful than any Hallmark card they could have picked out.
Over the course of time, I suspect that my children's art will progress. There will come a time when my cards won't have small tears or accidental scriblle marks, and that's ok too. As we grow, we hone our skills and learn new things....as long as whatever they give me is a reflection of who they really are, then it will be my most cherished posession.
I think this is how it is with God too. He knows that as we grow in Him we will gain certain skills and some of the "flaws" will fade away the more mature we become. No matter what the outward appearance, God sees our heart, and He loves us unconditionally.
The next time I feel down on myself about my finished project, I'll remember Mother's Day and that I am, in fact, a work in process, and God loves me every step of the way.
My heart was so touched. Each of them had one or two things they pointed out that they messed up on, but I didn't care. They tried their very best and each thing was filled with all the love their little hearts could hold.
I couldn't help thinking that this must be how God feels when we give Him things and do things lovingly with Him in mind. I'm always worried I didn't get it just right. I scrutinize my efforts and see every place where I "went outside the lines" or "cut the corners" too short. But God sees to my heart. No, it's not perfect, and it's no masterpiece hanging in a museum, but He never expected me to be perfect. He wants me. He wants the hand drawn, misspelled, glue oozing over the side, me. Sure, I would have loved anything the girls gave me that morning, but those little crafts they labored over were more special and meaningful than any Hallmark card they could have picked out.
Over the course of time, I suspect that my children's art will progress. There will come a time when my cards won't have small tears or accidental scriblle marks, and that's ok too. As we grow, we hone our skills and learn new things....as long as whatever they give me is a reflection of who they really are, then it will be my most cherished posession.
I think this is how it is with God too. He knows that as we grow in Him we will gain certain skills and some of the "flaws" will fade away the more mature we become. No matter what the outward appearance, God sees our heart, and He loves us unconditionally.
The next time I feel down on myself about my finished project, I'll remember Mother's Day and that I am, in fact, a work in process, and God loves me every step of the way.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Reincarnation: Gail Irwin The Cowboy's Poem
"What is reincarnation?" A cowboy asked his friend.
"It starts," his old pal told him, "when your life comes to and end.
They comb your hair and wash your neck and clean your finger nails,
and put you in a padded box away from life's travails.
Now the box and you goes into the hole that's been dug into the ground.
Reincarnation starts in when your planted 'neath that mound.
Them clods melt down just like the box and you who is inside,
and that's when you begin, your transformation ride.
And in a while the grass will grow upon your rendered mound,
till someday upon that spot a lonely flower's found.
And then a horse may wander by and graze upon that flower,
that once was you and has now become your vegetated bower.
Now the flower, the horse done eat, along with his other feed,
makes bone and fat and muscle sinew, full essential to the steed.
But there's a part that he can't use, so it just passes through.
And there it lies upon the ground, this thing that once was you.
And if per chance I should pass by and see this on the ground,
I'll stop a while and ponder this object that I've found.
I'll think about reincarnation and life and death and such,
and I'll come away concluding....
"Why....you ain't changed that much".
"It starts," his old pal told him, "when your life comes to and end.
They comb your hair and wash your neck and clean your finger nails,
and put you in a padded box away from life's travails.
Now the box and you goes into the hole that's been dug into the ground.
Reincarnation starts in when your planted 'neath that mound.
Them clods melt down just like the box and you who is inside,
and that's when you begin, your transformation ride.
And in a while the grass will grow upon your rendered mound,
till someday upon that spot a lonely flower's found.
And then a horse may wander by and graze upon that flower,
that once was you and has now become your vegetated bower.
Now the flower, the horse done eat, along with his other feed,
makes bone and fat and muscle sinew, full essential to the steed.
But there's a part that he can't use, so it just passes through.
And there it lies upon the ground, this thing that once was you.
And if per chance I should pass by and see this on the ground,
I'll stop a while and ponder this object that I've found.
I'll think about reincarnation and life and death and such,
and I'll come away concluding....
"Why....you ain't changed that much".
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Is The End Near?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about or seen something that has to do with the End of the World. Hollywood has been mass-producing movies about world-wide destruction in rapid succession over the last few years. The Mayan's calander has been getting a lot of coverage surrounding their 2012 prophesy. The History channel has been showing a ton of programs on The Book of Revelation and the coming apocolypse. Shows on Ancient Aliens are on day and night, linking present day alien encounters with the "gods" of ancient civilizations like Sumeria and Egypt.
As believers, we may find it difficult to wade through all the differant worldly concepts regarding the time of the end. We may choose to disregard the theories all together, believing that tomorrow will come and go just like the day before and that the 2nd Coming is a distant and vague concept that is probably true but won't happen in our lifetime.
If you are a believer, and you believe that God is who He says He is, then you have no other option but to believe His Word, The Holy Bible, Is what He says It is, and is 100% without a shadow of a doubt, the Truth, and the prophesies about the 2nd Coming of Christ will unfold with complete accuracy just like the prophesies predicting Jesus' first coming.
We know, as Christians, that our Savior is coming back for us. This fact is not up for debate.
If we truly believe this, then the world should be able to tell we believe this by the way we act every day and the way we live our lives.
So I guess the real question is do we behave like our Father will show up at any moment?
Jesus says over and over again that if we aren't looking for His return, if we aren't paying attention, He will come when we least expect it, like a thief in the night.
Have we taken His promise seriously? Do we believe He is who He says He is, means what He says, and intends to keep His promises?
Most of the time my children are pretty well behaved. Every once in a while they seem to lose their little minds and I find them in the midst of a screaming match over a toy or game or invasion of personal space, but for the most part, they will check themselves and remember that Mommy is never very far off and once they reach a certain decibel level I will appear and dole out the befitting punishments.
The reality of my close proximity helps them to remember that I am who I say I am, I meant what I said, and I intend to keep my promise to them that every action brings about a reaction and the consequence will either be good or bad.
In the summer time, I cut the grass once a week. We have a big piece of property and I also cut my Mother-in-Laws grass, who lives just behind us. Even with our industrial deisel fuel 0' turn lawn mower, it still takes me about 3-4 hours to get everything cut. I put my headphones on and off I go. I try to do this chore when the kids aren't home or when someone else is home to keep an eye on them, but there have been a few times when I have let them play outside or stay inside together while I'm busy.
I like to pop in the back door periodically to check in on them and just to let them know Mommy is still here, I'm still watching, and they are still expected to do what they know they are supposed to do.
I can always tell when they have lost track of reality and have wandered into the land of "out of sight out of mind" because the kitchen will be ransacked with candy and junk food wrappers everywhere, toys littering every room of the house in a Hansel & Gretel trail leading to a room in the house that will be totally and utterly destroyed, at which point I will enter to find them engaged in some type of activity that they know full well they are not allowed to do, like painting our fingernails and toenails on our bedroom carpet, or cutting our sister's hair, or giving each other tatoos with Mommy's colored Sharpi Markers.
They get this look on their faces that is a mix between sheer terror and frantic creativity to come up with a way to make this the other one's fault or to convince me that this activity is perfectly acceptable.
I often wonder what look most of us will have on our face the day Jesus comes back for us. Will we be terrified and grasping frantically to validate our behavior? Will we be reasoning to ourselves that Our Father didn't really mean we had to do ALL those things He asked of us, and surely He wasn't serious about ALL those things he told us to avoid.
Maybe like my kids, we will tell Him that we were going to get to those chores He left for us, just as soon as we were done with this video game, or cartoon, or art project. We meant to obey, we just got sidetracked.
While you may be content to continue believing Jesus' 2nd Coming is far away in the future, one glaring fact you can't ignore is that each of us has a shelf life on this earth. Death & Taxes are the only things you can count on, isn't that how they saying goes?
Our bodies will perish one day, and just like with Jesus' return, we are not told exactly when that day will come.
It could be tomorrow, or 50 years from now. Wether
You will meet your maker. This moment will either catch you unawares and ill prepared or will fill you with joy because you know that you have walked step by step listening for His voice, following His instructions and directions, and that He has been right there with you at every turn.
What do you want Him to find you doing when He returns? More importantly....Begin to shift your view of reality and become aware of the fact that He is watching you and with you every moment of every day. Wether you chose to acknowledge or be conscious of Him, He sees everything you think and do and say.
We think of coming face to face with Him in terms of, "We have'nt been in His presence, and one day we will be." when the actuality is that our every breath is taken in His presence.
Are you living your life as one of the little mice that play when they think the cat is away, or are you living each day as the warrior and salt & light that Jesus called you to be, bled and died for you to be?
I don't want to be like Lucy and have a bunch of "splainin' to do" when "Ricky" comes home. I choose to wake up and realize today that My Savior is very much alive, very much present, and very much aware of every move I make. Not only that, but He has called me, redeemed me for a special purpose. I don't belong here on this earth. This is not my home. I am just passing through. I am a warrior in the Lord Almighty's army, a servant in His House, a missionary to His lost children, and an ambassador to His Great Name. I am to be about my Father's business.
People's souls are on the line. We are in a battle of life and death. Our Father's lost loved ones are in danger of dying behind enemy lines. We have been sent in to battle to seek them out and bring them back to base camp so when the rescue ship shows up, we can all leave together.
Most days, I feel like this is not the reality I have chosen to live in at all. Here I am, a soldier in God's army, and I have moved in to the local village, put on their garments and have started shopping at the local markets, taking in the sights, going to the shows, and trying real hard not to offend the bad guys who are there only to kill steal and destroy. Either that, or I've become so preoccupied with myself and my own struggles that I don't even try to go out and find lost civilians any more, I'm just worried about my own safety and comfort and when I'll get to go home.
Time here is limited. God payed a heavy price to buy us back from slavery. He is coming for us, and we will see Him face to face.
My prayer is that every believer alive today will wake up to this reality, and no matter what your "End Time" scenario looks like, or what you think you believe, none of us are given any guarantee for how much longer we have here. It's time for the Body of Christ to get to busy and be about our Father's business.
As believers, we may find it difficult to wade through all the differant worldly concepts regarding the time of the end. We may choose to disregard the theories all together, believing that tomorrow will come and go just like the day before and that the 2nd Coming is a distant and vague concept that is probably true but won't happen in our lifetime.
If you are a believer, and you believe that God is who He says He is, then you have no other option but to believe His Word, The Holy Bible, Is what He says It is, and is 100% without a shadow of a doubt, the Truth, and the prophesies about the 2nd Coming of Christ will unfold with complete accuracy just like the prophesies predicting Jesus' first coming.
We know, as Christians, that our Savior is coming back for us. This fact is not up for debate.
If we truly believe this, then the world should be able to tell we believe this by the way we act every day and the way we live our lives.
So I guess the real question is do we behave like our Father will show up at any moment?
Jesus says over and over again that if we aren't looking for His return, if we aren't paying attention, He will come when we least expect it, like a thief in the night.
Have we taken His promise seriously? Do we believe He is who He says He is, means what He says, and intends to keep His promises?
Most of the time my children are pretty well behaved. Every once in a while they seem to lose their little minds and I find them in the midst of a screaming match over a toy or game or invasion of personal space, but for the most part, they will check themselves and remember that Mommy is never very far off and once they reach a certain decibel level I will appear and dole out the befitting punishments.
The reality of my close proximity helps them to remember that I am who I say I am, I meant what I said, and I intend to keep my promise to them that every action brings about a reaction and the consequence will either be good or bad.
In the summer time, I cut the grass once a week. We have a big piece of property and I also cut my Mother-in-Laws grass, who lives just behind us. Even with our industrial deisel fuel 0' turn lawn mower, it still takes me about 3-4 hours to get everything cut. I put my headphones on and off I go. I try to do this chore when the kids aren't home or when someone else is home to keep an eye on them, but there have been a few times when I have let them play outside or stay inside together while I'm busy.
I like to pop in the back door periodically to check in on them and just to let them know Mommy is still here, I'm still watching, and they are still expected to do what they know they are supposed to do.
I can always tell when they have lost track of reality and have wandered into the land of "out of sight out of mind" because the kitchen will be ransacked with candy and junk food wrappers everywhere, toys littering every room of the house in a Hansel & Gretel trail leading to a room in the house that will be totally and utterly destroyed, at which point I will enter to find them engaged in some type of activity that they know full well they are not allowed to do, like painting our fingernails and toenails on our bedroom carpet, or cutting our sister's hair, or giving each other tatoos with Mommy's colored Sharpi Markers.
They get this look on their faces that is a mix between sheer terror and frantic creativity to come up with a way to make this the other one's fault or to convince me that this activity is perfectly acceptable.
I often wonder what look most of us will have on our face the day Jesus comes back for us. Will we be terrified and grasping frantically to validate our behavior? Will we be reasoning to ourselves that Our Father didn't really mean we had to do ALL those things He asked of us, and surely He wasn't serious about ALL those things he told us to avoid.
Maybe like my kids, we will tell Him that we were going to get to those chores He left for us, just as soon as we were done with this video game, or cartoon, or art project. We meant to obey, we just got sidetracked.
While you may be content to continue believing Jesus' 2nd Coming is far away in the future, one glaring fact you can't ignore is that each of us has a shelf life on this earth. Death & Taxes are the only things you can count on, isn't that how they saying goes?
Our bodies will perish one day, and just like with Jesus' return, we are not told exactly when that day will come.
It could be tomorrow, or 50 years from now. Wether
You will meet your maker. This moment will either catch you unawares and ill prepared or will fill you with joy because you know that you have walked step by step listening for His voice, following His instructions and directions, and that He has been right there with you at every turn.
What do you want Him to find you doing when He returns? More importantly....Begin to shift your view of reality and become aware of the fact that He is watching you and with you every moment of every day. Wether you chose to acknowledge or be conscious of Him, He sees everything you think and do and say.
We think of coming face to face with Him in terms of, "We have'nt been in His presence, and one day we will be." when the actuality is that our every breath is taken in His presence.
Are you living your life as one of the little mice that play when they think the cat is away, or are you living each day as the warrior and salt & light that Jesus called you to be, bled and died for you to be?
I don't want to be like Lucy and have a bunch of "splainin' to do" when "Ricky" comes home. I choose to wake up and realize today that My Savior is very much alive, very much present, and very much aware of every move I make. Not only that, but He has called me, redeemed me for a special purpose. I don't belong here on this earth. This is not my home. I am just passing through. I am a warrior in the Lord Almighty's army, a servant in His House, a missionary to His lost children, and an ambassador to His Great Name. I am to be about my Father's business.
People's souls are on the line. We are in a battle of life and death. Our Father's lost loved ones are in danger of dying behind enemy lines. We have been sent in to battle to seek them out and bring them back to base camp so when the rescue ship shows up, we can all leave together.
Most days, I feel like this is not the reality I have chosen to live in at all. Here I am, a soldier in God's army, and I have moved in to the local village, put on their garments and have started shopping at the local markets, taking in the sights, going to the shows, and trying real hard not to offend the bad guys who are there only to kill steal and destroy. Either that, or I've become so preoccupied with myself and my own struggles that I don't even try to go out and find lost civilians any more, I'm just worried about my own safety and comfort and when I'll get to go home.
Time here is limited. God payed a heavy price to buy us back from slavery. He is coming for us, and we will see Him face to face.
My prayer is that every believer alive today will wake up to this reality, and no matter what your "End Time" scenario looks like, or what you think you believe, none of us are given any guarantee for how much longer we have here. It's time for the Body of Christ to get to busy and be about our Father's business.
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Coming King
The Ultimate Monarchy
The Coming King Is.....King of the Jews
King of Israel
King of Ages
King of Heaven
King of Glory
King of Kings
And Lord of Lords
A Prophet before Moses
A Priest before Melchizedek
A Champion like Joshua
An Offering in place of Isaac
A King from the line of David
A Wise Counselor above Solomon
A Beloved, Rejected, Exalted son like Joseph
The Heavens declare His Glory & the firmament shows His handiwork
He who Is, and Was, and Always Will Be
The First and The Last
The Alpha and The Omega
The Aleph and the TauThe A and the Z
He is the ἐγώ εἰμί, the אָנֹכִי הָיָה, the I Am That I Am
He’s the Voice of the burning bush
He is the Captain of the Lord’s hosts
He is the Conqueror of Jericho
He is Enduringly strong Entirely sincere Eternally steadfast
He is Immortally graceful
Imperially powerful
Impartially merciful
In Him dwells the fullness of the God Head bodily…..
The very God of God…..
He Is our Kinsman Redeemer
AND
Our Avenger of Blood
He is our City of RefugeOur performing High Priest
Our personal Prophet
Our Reigning King
He’s the Loftiest Idea in Literature
He’s the Highest Personality in Philosophy
He’s the Fundamental Doctrine of Theology
He’s the Supreme Problem in “Higher Criticism”
He’s the Miracle of the ages…
The Superlative of everything good.
You and I are the beneficiaries of a Love Letter
That was…..
Written In BloodOn a Wooden Cross
Erected in Judea
2,000 Years Ago
He was crucified on a cross of wood,
Yet He made the hill on which it stood.
By Him were all things made that were made.
Without Him was not anything made that was made,
and by Him are all things held together.
What held Him to that tree?
It wasn’t the nails….
At ANY time He could have put an end to His suffering.
It was His Love for you and me.
He was born of a woman…….…so that we could be born of God
He humbled Himself…………..so that we could be lifted up
He became a servant……...so that we could become joint heirs with Him
He suffered rejection…..so that we could be called His friends
He denied Himself…..so that we could freely receive all things
He gave Himself….so that we could be blessed in every way
He’s Available to the tempted and tried
He Blesses the young
He Cleanses the leper
He Defends the feeble
He Delivers the captives
He Discharges the debtors
He Forgives the sinners
He Franchises the meek
He Guards the besieged
He Heals the sick
He Provides Strength to the week
He Regards the Aged
He Rewards the diligent
He Serves the unfortunate
He Sympathizes
AND……
He Saves
His Offices are Manifold
His Reign is Righteous
His Promises are Secure
His Goodness is Limitless
His Light is Matchless
His Grace is Sufficient
His Love never Changes
His Mercy is Everlasting
His Word is Enough
His Yoke is Easy…..and His Burden is Light
I wish I could describe Him to you…..
HE IS
IndescribableIrresistible
Invincible
The Heaven of Heavens can’t Contain Him
Man can’t Explain Him
The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but soon learned they couldn’t Stop Him
Pilot couldn’t find Fault with Him
The witnesses couldn’t agree against Him
Herod couldn’t Kill Him
Death couldn’t Handle Him
The grave couldn’t Hold Him
He has Always been…..and Always will be
He had no Predecessor…..and will have no Successor
You can’t Impeach Him….and He isn’t going to Resign
His NAME is above every name…
That at the name of YESHUA
Every Knee shall bow
and Every tongue shall confess
that…
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD
His is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory
Forever and Ever….
Amen
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